Disclaimer:

Prologue:

It began in the future. Having nearly wiped itself out by nuclear wars, massive overpopulation, and over-consumption, Humanity stood on the brink of extinction. Those few who survived lived in cities ruled by corrupt men. The corrupt rich lived in palaces of wealth and privilege, while the poor suffered and toiled for the privilege of survival. In one such city, a genius scientist began a secret project to save his only daughter. He built a time machine to send her back before humanity's death to give her a chance at a normal life. Though his project was successful, it cost him his life...and would set in motion events that would lead to a far greater tragedy.

His daughter, Miku, was sent back into the past to the borders of a small town called Yabaize. However, the trip nearly destroyed the time machine and badly wounded the young girl. Fate, however, saw her delivered from death. Another young girl named Mia saw her time machine crash. Mia was able to make use of the advanced healing equipment in the time machine to save Miku and took her to the old abandoned World War 2 bunker built nearby.

The two became fast friends and Miku told Mia of the horrors of the future. Rather than sit idily by and let Humanity whip itself out, Miku was determined to save it. Mia agreed to help and the two brilliant girls set out to create an organization to save the Human race from itself.

Using her knowledge of future events and incredible intellect, Miku was able to build a massive empire of wealth and resources. At the same time, she began to recruit like minded girls and women to her cause. Soon the Advanced Science Society was formed with her as its Director and Mia as its Vice-Director.

Using the massive underground bunkers, the Society began to research advanced weapons, armor, and other projects to bring about their dream of saving humanity. While their weapons and armor soon became far more advanced than any others on earth, they stumbled upon a far better plan to change the world as they saw fit. They discovered a way to shrink not just objects but people to miniscule sizes. More testing of the shrink devices was needed, and the male population, who most of the Society saw as worthless, was used as guinea pigs.

However, as their need for test subjects grew, the Disappearances drew the attention of investigators. Most of them were easily dispatched by the AS Society... save one. Chijinda You was the last detective sent and proved far more capable that the others. Despite being shrunk to barely 1inch in height, he survived against impossible odds, escaped from giant(to him) girls, bugs, robots, and was able to get into contact with his still normal sized friend, Narue. With her help and his shrunken friend, Kon, he returned to his normal size and fought through the ranks of the AS Society all the way to Miku herself.

On top of her greatest invention, Miku revealed her plan. She would use the massive tower to fire the shrink beam to satellites and cover the Earth in its shrink energy. Only high ranking members of the AS Society would stay full sized and they would takeover running the Earth. Members were already set to takeover in every country, and in fifteen short minutes her plan would succeed. Chijinda, Kon, and Narue fought Miku for the fate of humanity and its future. Their strength, while more than a match for Miku, was not enough. Time ran out. They lost.

And the world fell into the AS Society's now giant hands.

Act 1: Just a Fool's Hope

Chapter 1: Things Change

October 17, 2023 11:15 AM

The wolf tracks lead off to the north, further into the forest. Aviel stood back up as she narrowed her blue eyes in concentration. The forest was oddly quiet safe for the occasional distant rumble. She was close and she could almost feel the wolves' eyes watching her. Slowly she drew her sword and began to advance along the tracks.
She inched forward, her sword ready to lash out and her legs braced to leap out of the way. Any second now, she thought to herself as her grip tightened on her sword. Come on out so I can put you down...

Suddenly a brush to her right burst as a wolf leap out and straight toward her neck. With practiced ease she spun back out of the way, her red ponytail whipping around her, and brought her sword around to slice into its flank. It yelped in pain, but quickly darted off back into the brush to vanish from sight. Aviel stood her ground as she held her sword ready.

Another brush rustled behind her and she spun around just in time as another wolf came rushing toward her. It lunged for her leg, but she was quicker and darted back away from its jaws. The first wolf reappeared out of the brush to her left and leap up to bite into her arm. Instead it bit into her blade as she plunged it into the wolves mouth. It gurgled as it flew past, taking her sword with it.

Now unarmed, she turned toward the other wolf just in time as it leap up onto her. She fell back to the ground with it on top of her, its mouth already salivating in anticipation. It came down to bite out her neck, but she slammed her forearm into its neck, holding its gnashing teeth barely inches from her throat. She grunted in effort trying to hold it back as her free hand struggled to reach her only chance. Finally, it closed around her knife on her belt and she brought it around and into the wolves head. The wolf twitched and slowed its gnashing before finally heaving its last breath and flopping on top of her.

Aviel let out a sigh of relive as she pushed the dead wolf off her and pulled her knife free. She whipped the blood off onto her flak vest as she walked over to the other dead wolf. She pulled her sword out of its mouth before flicking the blood off it.

"Well, that was a bit closer than I would have liked," she said to no one in particular. While she did want to keep going and finish off the wolves herself, she knew she had come a little too close to getting a new air hole there for comfort. Proving herself and getting C-Rank was important, but she couldn't enjoy it if she was dead. She sighed as she activated her radio headset.
"Isabella, I've found the wolves den. Locator is active, I'll st-" she stopped mid-sentence as more rustling got her attention. Growling began to come from the brush around her...a lot of growling.

"Aviel, report," Isabella's stern voice said through the radio.

"Make that back-up double time, Isa," she said as she readied her sword again. This...was not going to help her prove herself. Having to get saved by Isabella was just going to give her more ammo in holding her back. She shook such thoughts away as she focused on surviving.

The first wolf came rushing out straight at her. Aviel readied to cut it down, only to have two more rush her from either side. The smart choice was to retreat so she could face the one at a time, which was why she didn't. Instead, she charged at the one coming straight at her with a yell. The wolf leap up to try and pin her like the last one, but she was ready as she shifted to the side and brought her sword down onto its neck. The wolf yelped in pain before flopping back to the ground behind her.
Aviel turned back to the two others charging her. Behind them, three more appeared from the brush where Aviel would have gone if she had retreated. These wolves were smart, but she had been fighting them for years now. The two rushing her stayed on the ground and slashed at her with their sharp claws. She managed to avoid one, but the other cut into her left leg leaving three nasty cuts in her jeans and legs.

"OWW, you piece of shit!" she yelled as the cut brought her down to one knee. The wolf that had cut her turned and leap toward her. Aviel fell back onto her back and caught the wolf's stomach with her legs. With a grunt of effort and pain, she sent the wolf flying back behind her and used the momentum to get herself back onto her feet. The wolf yelped as it hit a tree, but was back on its feet within a second.

She drew her knife with her free hand as the two wolves circled her from either side. The three that had tried to ambush her came out of the brush to circle her as well. Things were not going well. The wolves all began to close in on her before stopping as the constant rumbling began to grow louder. Suddenly, the trees around them were pulled up by their roots as a massive nearly building sized hand pulled them into the sky. The wolves yelped and took off in one direction, but another massive hand came down and smashed them into the ground with the flat of its palm. Aviel shielded her face as dust was sent flying from the impact, and she had to steady herself from the small quake it made.

The hand rose back up leaving nothing of the wolves save some red stains in the hand-shaped crater. Aviel turned and looked up at the source of the hand. High above her, like a moving skyscraper, was her Captain Isabella. She was squatting down so that her hands could reach the ground and was looking around the area for any other wolves.

"Are you alright, Aviel?" she whispered into her headset as she finally looked down directly at Aviel. Aviel had seen Captain Isabella up close more than once, but it still never lost its awe-inspiring-ness. Seeing her long black hair hanging off the trees like ivy, and her massive legs like redwoods in a sea of pines was truly a sight to behold. Aviel had to swallow back a bit of jealousy as she answered.

"Yeah...I'm fine. Would have been fine without your help too," she said, her wounded pride overriding her sense. Isabella sighed at Aviel's unneeded add on, causing her large breasts to bounce in their tanktop. She began to rise back to her full height, but stopped as a large figure burst in from the woods.

Aviel recognized the figure immediately. It was her partner, Sanders Cutter, bursting in to "save" the day, his large mace in one hand and his shield in the other. His short brown hair was a bit moist from as he rushed into the clearing, his large riot-cop like armor causing him to sweat despite the relative coolness of the fall.

"YEAAA-AAAAAAAHHHH!!!" Sanders yelled as Isabella's hand came rushing toward him getting ready to crush him.

"ISABELLA STOP!" Aviel yelled into her headset as the hand stopped barely inches from crushing Sanders. Isabella moved her hand to reveal the quivering form of Sanders. He looking ready to pass out from fear and his shield was raised up above him like it would have stopped the massive truck-sized hand.

"SANDERS WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT TURNING OFF YOUR LOCATOR!" Isabella bellowed at the still in shock Sanders. Aviel gripped her ears in pain as the massive sound wave of Isabella's yell made her ears ring and everything go silent for a minute. Sanders seemed to snap out of the shock thanks to the sudden pain in his ears and instead doubled over in pain.

"OWW, Captain, I'm sorry, I'M SORRY just don't yell! Ahh my ears..." Sanders said as he clutched his ears. Isabella looked about to yell again, but instead took a deep breath and closed her. Aviel shook her head as she looked at Sanders. He was in for it now that he had pulled something like this twice now. Both times coming within inches of being killed by Isabella.

"Sanders, turn your locator on, NOW," she said through gritted teeth and giving him a glare that made even Aviel feel a cold chill. Sanders did as he was told as quickly as he could. He turned the locator beacon on his wrist panel on and made sure it was activated. Isabella's heads-up display patch blinked a few times as it loaded Sander's location into it.

Sanders gulped as he looked back up at the still glaring face that would have dwarfed most buildings, too scared to even look at anything else. Aviel knew under normal circumstance, he would have been staring straight at the Captain's well-endowed rear and its green khaki pants hovering above their heads. Right now, though, he was more concerned with the brown eyes larger than most windows boring holes in him.

"If this happens again, I will make sure you never work on the outside of the cities again AND will demote you back down to cleaning the toilets. The large sized ones," Isabella hissed at him her anger clearly plastered all over her face. Sanders gulped again and struggled to say something, but only managed a nod. Aviel was impressed he even managed that.

Isabella stared him down for a few more seconds before finally turning from him to Aviel.

"And you, next time you call me before you find the targets and you don't engage them till I am here. You are meant to be scouts not soldiers, understood?" Isabella said, her voice now back to a whisper, though it was still plenty loud enough for them. Aviel crossed her slightly muscular arms as she grumbled out a yeah. Isabella's eyes narrowed at the much smaller woman.

"Yes, yes, I got it. No more rushing ahead," Aviel said with a sigh. Isabella didn't look convinced by Aviel, but relented as she stood back up. Sanders and Aviel couldn't help watch Isabella stand back up to her towering full height. To them, she was at least 600ft and it was like watching a sixty story building slowly rise above them.

Of course, that wasn't exactly the case. It wasn't that she was gigantic, but that they were tiny. Even Sanders, who had been six and a half feet tall, was only a bit taller than a quarter of an inch now. They had the stupid Chinese and their damn weapon tests to thank for that.

"I'll think up punishments for your infractions later. Its safe to say the wolf threat has been dealt with so we will head back," Isabella said as she pressed a button on her wrist unit. The sounds of the wenches engaging started as the transport cages began being lowered from her shoulders. Aviel and Sanders headed to opposite sides of Isabella's massive boots as the cages began their descent. Aviel leaned back on the Captain boot as she waited for it to reach ground level.

"So, what where you doing rushing into the clearing anyway?" Aviel asked Sanders through the radio. She wasn't able to see him thanks to Isabella's gigantic legs being between them, but could already guess he was blushing a bit.

"Oh...well just coming to help," Sanders said in a completely unconvincing way.

"It wasn't cause you wanted to be the big hero and save the day? Repay me for that time near Marietta?" Aviel teased smiling to herself. One this she had learned for the week Sanders had been in her group, he was easy to tease. He got flustered about the funniest things at times.

"I told you, that one doesn't count! And no I didn't want to be the big damn hero, I was just worried about you cause your always rushing off without telling anyone."

"Says the guy who keeps leaving his locator off..."

"ON ACCIDENT! I just keep forgetting to turn it on OK!"

Aviel chuckled to herself as the cage finally arrived on ground level. Aviel moved into the metal cage and strapped herself in with the many straps to make sure she wouldn't fall out of it. She pushed the ready button and the cage began to rise up toward the Captain's shoulder. The trip wouldn't be a speedy one, though, as they had to rise the equivalent of sixty stores to reach Isabella's 5'10 high shoulders.

The cages were just passing Isabella's knees when she turned back towards the highway. She began the walk back to the vehicle seemingly ignoring the fact the transport cages were meant to be locked in place on her shoulders before she moved. Her wide shifting hips and shoulders caused the cages to begin to swing a bit forcing Aviel to hang on to the cage.

"Captain, can't you wait till we get up higher before moving?" Sanders asked as he swing forward enough for Aviel to see him. He did not look comfortable at all as he held onto either side of the cage with both hands. Even from this distance, she could tell he was fighting not to freak out.

"This is part of your training. There might come a time when being able to handle me moving while the cages are lower will prove invaluable," Isabella answered almost mechanically. Her gait didn't slow at all and the cages swinging was only getting worse.

"LIKE WHEN?!" Sanders yelled as the cage went flying backwards and out of sight of Aviel again. Aviel gripped the cage tighter as hers began to swing back. She grunted from the G-forces pushing against her as the cage slowly reached is back zenith. Aviel let out the breath she had been holding as she looked forward to see Isabella' titanic rear beginning to come closer. It swayed up and down almost hypnotically as the cage went back forward. It struck her in the rear and caused Aviel to nearly be thrown forward into the metal. Her harnesses stopped her momentum, though not without some pain, as the cage spun backwards a bit before passing Isabella's ass. If Isabella felt the hit, she made no mention of it nor answered Sanders' question

Finally, after a long few seconds, the cage rose past Isabella's hips and the swinging began to lessen. Aviel let go of the cage as she let the straps do their jobs. Quite honestly, she never understood why Isabella always put them through that, but it had stopped bothering her a long time ago. Sanders though, hadn't had a few years to get used to it and it showed.

"Ugh...uhh going to be sick...uhh..." Sanders groaned. His cage swung into view of Aviel for a short time and she could see he was bent over in the straps. He looked rather green, but hadn't lost his lunch yet.

"You are such a light weight. Try to act all tough and use all that armor, but all it takes is some rocking to send you reeling," Aviel taunted him as she waving happily at him. He responded with a finger before swinging out of view behind Isabella's tanktop covered waist.

"Leave him alone, Aviel. Or should I mention a certain s-word," Isabella said looking down at Aviel with the barest hints of a smirk. Aviel felt a shiver run down her spine just from the word almost being said. Damn her for knowing about that. At least Sanders was so out of it he would probably never remember that being brought up.

The group stayed quiet, save a few groans from Sanders as they finally rose to Isabella's shoulders. The cage rocked a bit as it locked into its base on top of Isabella's shoulder. From here, Aviel could see what Isabella saw everyday from her godlike viewpoint. Her large breasts, easily DD-cups, blocked a good bit of the view and made Aviel feel a bit...lacking. Of course, any normal sized person would be against those mammoth milk factories. They rivaled most houses in sheer size. Aviel took her eyes off Isabella's titanic chest and looked past them.

Far below them was the forest, the trees barely coming up to Isabella's ankle. The treetops made the place look like a gold, red, and orange sea stretching out for miles. A sea that Isabella's massive feet easily smashed apart like a normal-sized would grass. Up ahead, the sea of trees was parted by the pavement of the old highways. Despite the many years of being under maintained, they were still drivable and were the main way the Society got around the outskirts of Old Atlanta. She had heard something about plant life just not being big enough now to break the pavement had keep most of them intact. Honestly, Aviel didn't much care about that kind of stuff and usually just ignored such lessons back when she was in school. Whatever the reason, they still worked and that's all that mattered.

Aviel looked further up and saw the scout car, a slightly redesigned and reinforced jeep, ahead of them. Isabella opened its door and climbed inside before starting the engine. She keep her two soldiers strapped to her shoulders as she went about her business, causing some more rocking and tilting. Sanders groaned at each one and Aviel wondered how well Isabella would take having his lunch on her shoulder
.
"Patrol 5, Ranger-Class returning to base. Wildlife threat contained," Isabella said into the vehicle's radio. She began to turn the vehicle around and point it back South toward Old Atlanta.

"Please don't hit any potholes, Captain. Or swerve...or anything...ugh..." Sanders groaned. Isabella cast a glance at Aviel and raised her eyebrows a bit. Aviel gave her a wicked smile and nodded her head before holding onto the cage with both hands this time.

It was going to be a long ride of Sanders. But how else were they going to toughen up the rookie?

     Article on "Rangers" (Advanced Science Society)

Rangers are a relatively new arm of the Society. Created in 2018, the Rangers have become one of the most successful and well-respected groups in the Society. Their primary mission is to patrol the frontier, protect the civilized edges from Resistance and animal incursion, and explore uncontacted areas.

Most Ranger Companies are separated into three main branches.

Urban: These units are tasked with exploring and patrolling those areas closest to the cities. Their main tasks are to drive out Resistance fighters and identification of dangerous areas that need to be either repaired or avoided. These units generally have two giantess' assigned to them and three or more normals to assist them.

Rural:These units are tasked with exploring the sub-urban and small towns outside the city proper.Their main tasks are to drive out threats from outlying towns, such as animals and Resistance troops, along with identification of new areas for possible colonization. They have, also, been known to clear highways to allow for further exploration out from the cities. These units general consist of a single giantess and two or more normals to assist her.

Wilderness: These units are tasked with exploring the furthest explored areas of the world since the Shrink Disaster. Their main task is simply exploration, but they often are used as threat detection and scouts against Resistance forces. They are unique among Rangers as they only consist of a lone giantess.

Currently, there are ten units of Rangers in the Atlanta area: four Urban, four Rural, and two Wilderness.

Chapter 2: But Stay the Same

October 17, 2023 11:25 AM

Sanders groaned out a thank goodness as the AS Society base came into view. The base had been built around and into the old Atlanta airport. Now that everyone was so small, no one, save the the Society, could use the old planes making it an obvious choice. The area around the airport was now covered in barracks, armories, and other military equipment. A few giantesses could be seen moving about the area doing whatever odd jobs needed to be done.
Isabella pulled the jeep into the vehicle depot before heading out and toward the main area of the base, remodeled from the old airport. Sanders took a few deep breaths as he tried to pull himself together before the debriefing and return trip to the new city. Damn the Captain for seeming to hit every pothole in the highway and swerving like they were in a high speed chase. He knew she was doing it on purpose, but there wasn't much he could do about it. What he wouldn't give to be able to drive himself again...

The Captain entered the base and passed through the security checkpoint without incident, the giantesses working it knowing the Captain on sight. A few giantesses waved or greeted the Captain on their way. She returned the greetings and pleasantries, but didn't stop to talk. Instead, she made a bee-line for the Ranger's equipment room.

They arrived in short order and the door leading it slid open as the Captain approached it. A small alert rang out in the room to warn any normal-sized people of a giantess entered the room. The room was pretty bare. Near the door were some giant-sized benches and chairs for the giantesses to use while their waited for their team. About halfway into the room, a large red warning line had been drawn and big letters declaring it TINIES ONLY was written all along it. Past it were the lockers and equipment racks used by the scouts of the Rangers. Two other Ranger groups were getting unloaded while their assigned giantesses waited. Sanders didn't recognize them, though.

"Looks like 3 and 7 made it back all shiny and spiffy as usual. Must be nice to only get jobs in the city limits so you can keep your boots nice and shiny," Aviel taunted them as the Captain detached the cages from the holdings.. Apparently Aviel knew them and was doing her usual playful taunting. It had taken him a few days to learn that being taunted by Aviel was not a bad thing. She only did it to people she liked and cared about.

"Yeah, keep talking. Like to see you go down into the old sewers and see if you are still talking like our job is easy," one of the normal sized men yelled back up at her.

"Or have to climb up three stories looking for Resistance guerillas in the old buildings. Maybe then you wouldn't have those toothpick arms," his female squadmate taunted before showing off her own arms. Sanders had to admit, the woman was rather muscular and looked capable of pulling herself up giant sized stairs with ease.

"Like to see you say that to me when I'm not locked in a transport cage," Aviel yelled back at them. The others made a few ohhs and "so scaried" comments, but mostly laughed her off. Sanders didn't take part in the banter, though he did want to. He didn't know these guys and it was only his fourth mission. They would all just get mad if he, a rookie, joined in the ribbing.

By the time the Captain got the cages unhooked and placed them on the ground, the other two groups were heading back to get picked up by their own giantesses. Aviel gave them a few last taunts which they returned as they passed. Most of them only gave small nods or heys to Sanders. The joys of being a rookie in a high risk job...

Sanders headed for his locker as the Captain spoke to the other two giantesses. They talked for a few seconds before the two other giantesses took their scouts and headed out. Aviel appeared beside him and opened her own locker to begin putting her stuff away.

He stole a quick glance at Aviel as she started to undress, not able to resist admiring her figure. Compared to the Captain, she was a lot less busty and didn't have those wonderful motherly hips he loved about Isabella. But, she was a good bit more muscled and toned than the Captain was. Quite honestly, he had no idea what the others were talking about with toothpick arms. Her biceps were quite obvious on her arms even through a shirt and her shoulders had some definate definition to them. Her legs too we-

Sanders suddenly noticed the three claw marks that were in her leg, obviously wounds from her fight with the wolves. They were still bleeding a bit and some of the blood had begun to stain her jeans.

"You're hurt," he said before fishing out his first aid kit, "here let me bandage it."

"Huh? Oh yeah, that. Alright," Aviel said before taking a seat on the nearby bench. Without even a second thought, she pulled off her jeans to let him get at the wound better. Sanders took a second to oogle Aviel's well-toned legs now that they had nothing save her panties covering them. They had just the faintest hint of red hair on them and their muscles were swollen with potential power. Sanders still hadn't gotten completely used to how the other Rangers were so casual about being undressed in front of each other. Sadly, the Captain and the other giantesses apparently had their own room somewhere else, but getting to feel Aviel's muscular legs was more than good enough.

Aviel seemed to notice him staring a bit and took off her flak vest to reveal her white T-shirt under it. Its top buttons were open revealing a good bit of Aviel's C-cup cleavage.

"You sure you just wanted to patch me up," she stopped as she leaned forward to give him a better view of her chest, "or did you just want an excuse to get close to me?"

Sanders felt his face turning bright red as she stammered out, "T-That is not why! I was just being nice!" He turned away from her and went back to getting out of his armor to leave Aviel to finish. She laughed at his back for a few seconds.

"Haha, calm down. I was just kidding. You know that kind of stuff is why everyone still calls you a kid, right?" she asked still giggling to herself. Sanders didn't bother answering as he took off the last bit of armor and put it in its case. He made sure it was locked tight and secured to the locker before putting the rest of his gear away.
"Always so careful with that armor of yours," Aviel said as she pulled her still cut and stained jeans back on.

"The Captain gave it to me so I should take care of it. Besides, its not like you don't do the same with that sword of yours," Sanders said watching Aviel carefully put her sword back up with utmost care.

"That's different. I made this sword with my own two hands. That armor was just a gift," Aviel scoffed at him as she finished putting away the rest of her stuff.

"You are just jealous the Captain gave me something and not you," Sanders said closing his locker. He stretching a bit now that he was out of his armor and could move freely. Aviel gave a short laugh at that notion before closing her own locker.

"Yeah right. More like she gave it to you so you wouldn't get killed," Aviel taunted. Sanders was about to respond when the heavy footsteps of the Captain stopped him. She had moved to the very edge of the red warning area and was bent down to see them better.

"Are you ready?" she asked keeping her voice a low whisper so as not to blast them with it. Aviel gave her a thumbs up while Sanders just nodded. The Captain lowered her hand down, palm upwards, to let them climb on before slowly standing back up. Sanders grabbed hold of her tree like pinkie for support while Aviel just stood in the middle of the palm like nothing was even happening.

Despite the Captain's best efforts, her walk still sent some large tremors through her hand. Sanders couldn't help but grip the pinkie tighter in response, knowing full well a fall from here was certain death. Aviel, though, only chuckled at him and didn't seem bothered by them in the lest. Yet another sign that he was new at this while she was a veteren of the Rangers.

Thankfully for him, the trip to the normal-sized tram back to New Atlanta was a short one. Soon enough they passed the warning signs indicating they were entering a tiny person area, warning the giantesses to watch their step and be mindful of their surroundings. The Captain slowed her pace as she made sure no one was lurking around her feet before heading to the drop off platform.

The platform had been built into the wall of a dead-end hallway to make sure the only giant foot traffic near the area was on purpose. There were a few normal-sized people on the floor heading for the elevators going up to the platform or to the doors leading into the safe normal sized hallways that snaked under the far too dangerous giantess hallways above. Most of them steered well clear of the Captain's building sized feet.

The Captain stopped once she was within easy reaching distance of the platform. She held her hand to the platform to let him and Aviel off. The platform itself looked like any other tram station in the city. A security checkpoint was checking people's IDs and making sure they were who they said they were and were not taking anything they shouldn't. Past them, rows of seats were lined up parallel to the track alongside some large ad towers showing off the latest fashion trends and "in" stuff. Up above was a number of screens showing the time of the next tram arrival. The tram leaving the base only went to the main tram intersection so as to help security and keep the Resistance out.

Sanders and Aviel turned back to the Captain. Sanders had to fight off the urge to stare at her colossal twins now at head level with him. Damn what he wouldn't do to just dive into those titantic tits that would make most houses size-envious. Of course, he knew he WOULD live to regret it if he did and wished he hadn't. He shook his perverted thoughts away as the Captain began to dismiss them.

"Try to stay off your leg, Aviel, and make sure to redress it. I don't want you sitting off-duty with an infection," she whispered to them just loud enough to be heard over the commotion of the station.

"Yes, mom, I'll make sure to do that," Aviel said in a sarcastic tone. The Captain looked a little annoyed, but let it go as she looked over to Sanders.

"Sanders I meant what I said. Don't ever forget to turn your locator on again. If I hadn't stopped when I had..." she said glancing away for a second before focusng on him again, "Don't let it happen again... please."

"It won't, Captain. And I'm sorry for nearly getting myself killed," he said trying to sound as bad as he felt. He knew as horrid as being crushed would have been, at least he wouldn't have to live with it after that. The Captain, though...he wasn't sure she would ever have forgiven herself for killing him even if it had been his fault.

"Good, now get get some rest and I will see you both here tomorrow at 0615. Dismissed," she said before glancing back down and carefully making her way back into the giantess only hallways.

Aviel waited till she was out of sight to elbow Sanders, "Suck up."

"How was I sucking up?" he asked as they both headed for the security checkpoint, "I honestly do feel bad about it. You know how the Captain is, she would have been devastated."

"You have no idea, but you're still a suck up," Aviel said as they reached the security checkpoint. They showed their IDs, got sweep with a metal wand, handed their stuff over to be checked, and finally got the clear to head out onto the main platform. A large amout of other people were here chatting, reading, or just waiting for the tram to arrive. The next one wouldn't get here for another two minutes so Sanders took a seat. Aviel stayed standing and scratched a bit at her wound.

"If we had guns you probably wouldn't have gotten that," Sanders said letting a bit of annoyance come through.

"Oh boy, here we go," Aviel sighed as she rolled her eyes, "I already told you you're going to get in trouble if you keep bringing that up."

"If it saves a few lives it should be brought up. I don't get why we can only use weapons that are meant for a medieval battlefield," Sanders said getting more annoyed the more he thought about it. It was just so...stupid.

"Because if they gave us guns some would wind up with the Resistance. And the Resistance can fight back when they have guns. Our swords and such are useless against the Society," Aviel said sounding like she was lecturing a young kid.

"But they already have guns so why does it matter? If they let the people on the outskirts have guns we wouldn't have to keep going out there everyday chasing away bandits, wild animals, and other problems. We could focus on other more important things!" Sanders said getting more impassioned as he went.

Aviel chuckled at him and asked, "Like what?" Sanders opened his mouth to answer before realized he hadn't thought of that. Food and water was in no short supply anymore, seeing as everyone needed a lot less. Power was pretty much the same. Living space was no longer an issue either. Unemployment was unheard of since the Society gave people without jobs employment usually out of town.

Finally, something hit Sanders to fire back at Aviel and he turned to her with a satisfied look.

"Crime."

"Crime?" Aviel said looking at him like he had just suggested they run back to New Atlanta.

"Yes, there is still a crime problem. Gangs, murders, even some Resistance bombings," Sanders said thinking he had finally found something Aviel couldn't blow off.

"You do know New Atlanta doesn't even have half the amount of crime old Atlanta had, and yet we have nearly double the population. right?" Aviel said looking even more tired of the conversation than before.

"I...really?" Sanders asked looking confused. He honestly had no idea what the crime levels were compared to the original Atlanta. He had just known he heard about some kind of crime a lot on the TV. Aviel put her face in her palm and groaned at him.

"Next time, do some research before you say stupid shit," Aviel said before turning back to watch the tram pull into the station. Sanders couldn't help blush a bit at his mistake. He stood up as the doors to the tram opened and allowed the next wave of people onto the base. Once they were out of the way, Aviel, him, and a bunch of others crowded into the tram for the ride back to the main station.

"Wait...how do you know that?" Sanders asked, suddenly realizing something.

"Know what?"

"The crime levels of old Atlanta?"

"Oh... I didn't," Aviel said with a nasty grin. Sanders glared down at her for the trick as the doors closed and the tram headed back toward New Atlanta.

Sanders didn't talk to her for the rest of the ride, being rather pissed at the trick. Aviel didn't seem to mind though as she just leaned back in her seat and imitated sleep. With nothing better to do he looked out toward the old city skyline.

Just ten short years ago those buildings would have been full of people, the roads chocked with cars, the noise of city life roaring out. Now they were just silent giants, mute testiments of the time before the disaster. Before everyone save the lucky few had shrunk.

Still hard to believe the Chinese had made such a weapon with no one knowing. According to the news, they had planned to shrink the US down and then just march on in, taking over without firing a shot. Idiots fucking something up, though, and managed to shrink everyone save those lucky enough to have a gene that made them immune. A gene that was only active in females no less, not that Sanders was complaining. He had no wish to see a giant to be honest.

For about month everything was utter chaos. Everything that modern society relayed on, computers, cars, buildings, infastructure, was now far too large for anyone to use. Communication broke down, people panicked, and all hell broke loose. Society literally tore itself apart. And then the Advanced Science Society came in.
Those that hadn't been shrunk all got together over the internet and other forms of communication. They talked and, eventually, made a group to try and salvage civilization before it fell apart completely. They got to Atlanta just in time and set about reestablishing everything. New mini-homes, mini-cars, working water, everything a city needed to function.

And now...well now New Atlanta was better than the old one in everyway. The Society was a god-send and had saved not just Atlanta but the whole of the world. Within the first five years of them taking the reins, pretty much everything was back to normal. Save the larger distances and the giant girls.

His thought were disrupted as the tram began to slow. Aviel opened her eyes and stretched as the tram pulled into the main station. The main station was nearly as big as most of the old buildings. Every tram came through here to head toward the different parts of New Atlanta and its outskirts.

Aviel and Sanders got off along with the rest of the passangers and headed for the main part of the station. There was no need for a checkpoint coming off the tram as they had already gone through one. The main area was stuffed full of people going to all over and the area was lined with various resturants and stores. Screens with trams arrival and departure times were nearly everywhere.

"Guess I should head back and rest, don't want Mommy Isa throwing a fit if my wound isn't healing right," Aviel said as the entered the main area.

"Alright. See you tomorrow, Aviel," Sanders said as they headed off in different directions. Just cause she was going to head for bed, didn't mean he was. It was still pretty early so he figured stopping by and checking on his folks and siblings would be good. Nice visit with them, then a short ride back would make for a full day. Then some TV, fall asleep with it on, and then do it all over again.

Funny how things seemed to stay the same.

     Article on Atlanta, GA post-Shrink Disaster.

Atlanta was one of the first cities reclaimed by the Advanced Science Society's American arm. Hoping to make use of its massive airport to ship supplies all over the country, the Society made it a large priority to reestablish the city and return some order to the city in chaos.

At that time, Atlanta had fallen into complete chaos. A few police and other social workers attempted to reign in the chaos, but the sheer distances and inability to provide even the most basic of needs doomed their efforts to failure. In a single year, the population of Atlanta had fallen from 432,427 to less than 350,000. Exact figures of the death toll are impossible to establish with so little being recorded, but it it estimated to be in the 60,000 range with another 10,000 moving out of Atlanta and another 10,000 simply vanishing without a trace.

Thankfully, in the year 2013, the Advanced Science Society arrived in force to Atlanta. They immediately set about rebuilding the city's infrastructure to accommodate the much smaller people and helped build new homes, businesses, and trade for the city. Within two short years, the city had boomed and grown to fill an entire ten block area and have a population of 551,845. Adding to this are a large number of smaller towns and cities radiating outward from the main section of the city. Current estimates of the actual population of the Atlanta city area, including these smaller cities, is in the 2 millions.

These separate cities are all connected by a wonder of tiny engineering, the tram. Designed and built by the Scientist, Gregor Manchent, the tram is capable of moving at speeds rivaling that of full-sized cars. Combined with a high tech computer system that keeps the trams always on time means that passage from the different cities can take only a few minutes or an hour rather than a full day on foot or in mini-cars. The tram is larger considered the reason why Atlanta has grown so large so quickly and is the lifeblood of the area.

Chapter 3: The Fairly Newbie

October 18, 2023 6:04AM

5:15 came too early for Aviel. If there was one thing she hated most about being in the Rangers, it was the early mornings. She was not a morning person and her alarm clock demanding her rise was her one true hate in the world. But she had to play the good soldier so she could rise through the ranks. She wanted her normal height back and the power that came with it. And the revenge that would come after.

She half dragged, half stumbled into her apartment's bathroom and began to get ready. She ran on suede auto-pilot as she showered, dried off, kinda combed her hair, and ate her normal bowl of cereal(Commodore Crush). By 6:00 she was half awake and on the tram heading for the station.

The tram was rather bare of people, most in the same daze of still waking as she was in. They all looked to be heading for their own jobs. Outside, most of the city was either winding down or slowly rising. Those few night time businesses began to close up while daytime ones had their first few employees file in. She yawned as she looked down on them from the tram rail high above. One day she wouldn't need to be in a tram to look down on them.

Finally, the tram pulled into the station. She sighed to herself before heading for the doors. Waiting nearby was Sanders who looked as bright and cheery as ever. The damn bastard was the exact opposite of Aviel when it came to mornings. The guy seemed to always be smiles and sunshine no matter how early it was. She swore something was broke in him.

"Good morning, Aviel," he said in an infuriating cheery tone. Aviel wanted to make a snappy remark, but the message got garbled between her brain and mouth. Instead all she managed was an annoyed grumble. She was too tired to try again so she just focused on getting to the tram going to the base.

The trip was as awful as she expected. Sanders was as talkative as ever about his family visit. She had learned from day one he was big on family. She would have thought he was rubbing the fact he still had one in her face if she thought he was that cruel. But Mr. Farm-Born-and-Raised didn't have a cruel bone in his body. She did usually enjoy these stories as they were always funny, but right now she hated everything. Including his damn stories.

Her mood didn't improve as they arrived to find Isabella waiting for them. She was already fully outfitted in combat gear and looked ready for a fight. Her long sleeve shirt was covered by a combat vest with a few added bits of flak over her arms. Her feet were covered in large combat boots that came all the way up to her knees and protecting them in lightweight but highly durable metal. The only reason Isabella would be be using that is if they were in for combat, and not the animal kind. She had their gear waiting for them in her hand. Whatever they were about to do it was damn urgent if they weren't even getting a proper briefing.

"Hurry up you two. Get kitted and hold on," she said as they climbed into her hand. She didn't even wait for them to get to their gear before starting back, though still took a moment to make sure she was clear of any normal sized people. Aviel didn't have much trouble getting to her gear and getting on her stuff despite the shaking. She had been at this long enough to have her giant-legs, as they were called. Sanders, though, was having trouble just standing up, much less getting his much heavier gear on.

"Dam-oww! How the hell do you make this look so, FUCK, easy?" Sanders said getting smacked around by his own armor. Aviel couldn't help but laugh at him, her tiredness vanishing as the adrenaline of a mission began to set in.

"Does the kid need big sis to help?" Aviel taunted him with her hands on her hips. She didn't give him a chance to answer before pushing him down on his back.

"Just stay there and I will get your stuff," she said with a more sincere tone. Despite his annoying morning mood and her constant taunts, she did like Sanders. He was still really new to the Rangers and hadn't gotten fully used to how they did things, but he wasn't a complete waste. Really, the only problem she had with him was just his inexperience and she couldn't really hold that against him.

With her help, Sanders managed to get his stuff on, though he was already starting to turn green. Isabella either didn't notice or didn't care that she might get his breakfast on her hand as they headed out toward the vehicle depot.

"So what's with the big rush or we just going to be in for a big surprise?" Aviel asked as she moved away from Sanders' range.

"We are on a rescue mission. Dr. Gregor Manchent vanished last night from his home-"

"Wait, THE Gregor Manchent?" Sanders interrupted suddenly looking less green and more shocked.

"Yes," Isabella answered looking a bit angry at the interruption, "the Gregor. His bodyguard was found a few minutes ago near the edge of the city, killed by a gunshot to the head." Sanders eyes went wide as Aviel cursed under her breath. The Resistance, no one else had guns and no one else would be evil/crazy enough to kidnap Dr. Manchent.

The Doctor was famous in New Atlanta. He had helped design practically everything new in the city. From the tram lines to the new water systems, basically everything the city needed to run he had helped with. Doing such had made him very wealthy, though you would never have known it. He had given nearly all his money away to charities, scholarships, and just random people on the streets. If New Atlanta had a universal father figure, it was Gregor Manchent.

"Shit...with his knowledge there is no telling what kind of damage they could do," Sanders said with a hint of fear entering his voice.

"Exactly, which is why we need to hurry and search our assigned area. And why we have a new member joining us," Isabella said as they arrived at their scout vehicle. Aviel raised an eyebrow as Isabella opened the door to reveal their newest recruit.

The new recruit was standing in the passenger seat fiddling around with the power windows. She was far larger than Sanders and Aviel, standing at least one and a half feet tall, and had a very slim figure. However, her height was not the thing that drew Aviel's attention. No, that was her translucent, butterfly-style, purple wings sprouting from her back.

She turned as the door opened causing her short grass skirt to flutter up a bit. Two large "antenna" made from her green hair waved about her head and almost seemed to move of their own will. She gave them all a big smile as she waved to them.

"This is Flonne, the fairy assigned to help us. Flonne, this is Sanders and Aviel, my scouts," Isabella introduced them pointing them out with her free hand. Sanders stiffened and looked about to grab his mace while Aviel just stood there. She didn't exactly dislike fairies, but she wasn't a fan of any new additions, monstergirl or otherwise. She had just gotten used to Sanders, now she had to deal with another new addition. Flonne, however, didn't seem to have any problem with them.

"Hi!" she beamed out with more cheeriness than Aviel had seen in her entire life. Aviel could already tell she was going to find Flonne annoying. Sanders, however, relaxed a bit hearing her talk and gave a pseudo wave.

Isabella climbed into the car and took her seat. She moved her hand over toward Flonne and nodded to her. Before Aviel or Sanders could react, Flonne had grabbed them both by the waist, one in each hand, like a person might grab a doll.

Aviel grunted from the hand going around her. Flonne didn't squeeze them too hard, but being held like a doll was not very comfortable, doubly so by a stranger. Knowing that all she would have to do is squeeze only made it worse. Aviel was able to keep calm, though, knowing that fairies were practically the opposite of violent. They were meant for capture and rescue and there were almost no stories of them causing Society deaths, unlike catgirls. Sanders, however, didn't seem to know, or just didn't care, and began to struggle rather violently as he started to freak a bit. He began to kick and punch at her hand trying to free himself.

"Let go, Let go! LET GO, DAMMIT!" he yelled causing Flonne to set him down on the seat. Sanders scrambled away from the giant fairy as he hit the seat.

"Calm down, Sanders. She isn't going to hurt you. Just look at her, does she look dangerous?" Aviel said from her higher vantage in Flonne's hand. Flonne's antenna had drooped a good bit and her big cyan eyes were slowly beginning to water. Her lip quivered a bit as she looked away from Sanders. Sanders looked at her for a second before opening his mouth to say something. He reconsidered as he closed it and looked away, blushing a bit.

"He is just upset that you grabbed him so suddenly. People don't like being held like toys without their permission. Set them on your lap, Flonne, and they will be more comfortable," Isabella said in a soothing tone. Flonne looked up at the far larger woman and Isabella gave her a warm motherly smile.

"Ohhhh, so he didn-... sorry," Flonne said to Sanders before whipping her eyes with her free hand. Sanders' hand moved away from his mace hearing her say sorry and he relaxed a bit. Flonne sat down and then placed Aviel on her lap before looking over, expectantly, at Sanders. Sanders took a deep breath and walked toward her tree trunk-sized legs.

"Little help?" he asked Flonne with a sigh. She slowly lowered her hand toward him, seemingly scared of him panicking again. Sanders keep his cool, though, and used her hand like a step and pulled himself onto her lap.

"Make sure they don't fall," Isabella instructed giving Flonne a small pat on the head.

"Okay," Flonne said cheering up again as she slid her hands behind them to make sure if the slipped backwards she could catch them. Sanders looked over at Aviel with an annoyed look, giving her an unspoken I hate this. Aviel just shrugged as if to say, what are you going to do? He slumped a bit before looking back up at the fairy who was going to be their seat for the ride. She was looking between both of them confused as to what they were doing. At least, for Sanders sake, she wasn't a catgirl. Aviel was positive Sanders wouldn't be able to keep it together if she was. For good reason too...

Isabella's smile spread a bit seeing them at least getting somewhat along. She closed the door and started up the car now that they were situated. She quickly floored the gas pedal and they speed out of the depot. Flonne keep her hands close to Sanders and Aviel as Isabella speed to their target.

"Should I hold you now?" Flonne asked them looking a bit worried. Sanders was having trouble staying on and keep slipping back onto Flonne's waiting hand. Aviel wasn't faring much better, despite her experience. Isabella was driving more erratically than ever and the fairy's thigh was far too smooth.

Finally, Sanders gave up as he slid back into her hand and said, "Dammit! Yeah maybe that would work better, but be-" He didn't get to finish as Flonne wrapped her table-sized arm around him and pulled him into her mostly flat chest. Sanders looked scared at first, but his panic faded as he noticed he was being held between her modest breasts. Even more so when he noticed he could see somewhat past her sling top and see her pert nipples. Flonne smiled down at him before turning to Aviel.

"I'm fine," Aviel said before sliding back into Flonne's waiting hand again. Sliding or not, she wasn't going to be held like a baby. Unfortunately, her pride made for one hell of an unfun ride and the thirty minute drive to the outskirts of the old city seemed to drag on forever. Doubly so with Sanders looking down on her making himself out to be rather comfy between the fairies small breasts.

Finally, Isabella brought the car to a stop and reached back over for them. Flonne handed them both over as gently as possible. Isabella climbed out of the car and waited for Flonne to fly out of the car before shutting the door.

They looked to be in an old suburb, long abandoned now that most everyone was in the actual city. The old houses looked to be beginning to crumble thanks to their lack of maintenance and a few small vines and plants were beginning to grow into the roadways and houses. Miniature trees were already beginning to grow in what had once been lawns, turning them into new forests. If the Resistance was here, they had more places to hide than Aviel cared to imagine.

Isabella knelt down and placed them on the ground before saying, "I have sent you a picture of Dr. Manchent just in case you have never seen him. Remember, we are dealing with the Resistance so assume they are armed. And do NOT fight them." She looked hard at Aviel with the last line which only made her grumble inside her head. Like she would be stupid enough to rush a guy with a gun. Wolves were one thing, guns were another.

"I will be waiting near the vehicle so as not to spook them. Flonne, you take to the air and keep an eye on both of them," she instructed getting a playful salute from the fairy, "You two, find Dr. Manchent and then send the regroup signal. Don't use the radio unless absolutely, necessary. The Resistance have been known to have working radios and might catch wind. Stay alert and keep each other alive, understood?"

Aviel and Sanders nodded as Isabella stood back up. Both of them activated their locators then looked at each other.

"Take this side and I'll take the other? Meet up in the middle?" Sanders suggested.

"Sounds good, watch yourself. That armor can only do so much against bullets," Aviel agreed before slapping his chest plate.

"Same to you, can't dodge bullets," Sanders said with a grin and a thumbs up. They split up heading for their side of the suburb. Above them, Flonne hovered in the air and tried to keep an eye on them both.

     Article on Fairies

Fairies are one of the most common and most seen monstergirls used by the Society. They are also, the only monstergirls that are allowed inside normal city borders. Unlike other monstergirls, fairies have no desire to consume normal-sized people. Quite the opposite, in fact, as nearly all are strict vegetarians.

While much of their creation is held as classified information by the Society, what is known is that they are created from vat-grown human embryos. These embryos are somehow changed so that they turn into a fairy and then grown to their full size after a few months. Some have protested this practice, but such movements are rather small and unorganized.

Fairies general stand somewhere between 11" and 1'2" tall, considerably larger than any normal person. For this reason they are often mistrusted by people despite their unaggressiveness tendencies. Their large wings give them the ability to fly making them near impossible to escape from and some reports even state they have some kind of "magic" that they can use, though such reports are generally thought to be false. They are, also, most known for their ability to "store" people inside themselves for transportation back to cells or medical attention.

Typically, fairies are used to capture Resistance terrorists or particularly heinous criminals when inside city limits. Outside the city, their uses are classified.

Chapter 4: The Resistance

October 18, 2023 10:14AM

Sanders moved into the first "lawn" of his patrol area. However, there was very little left to identify it as a lawn. Now it looked like a slowing regrowing forest coming back to life after a disaster had come through. Most of the trees were still rather small and only made for a patchwork leaf cover. Still, it was more than thick enough to make any searches from up above mostly pointless. Sanders quickly dug up a bit of grass and dirt and began to smear it over himself. His armor was great for protection, but it was not so great at staying hidden. Some dirt and grass stains would help that, though make for an unfun laundry day. With that done, he keep moving.

The forest was oddly quiet as he pushed deeper into it. It was almost as if the animals could sense something was about to happen and had fled the area. Sanders, though, knew that was not the case here. His many days hunting at his parents' farm back when he was kid gave him a knack for finding game trails and hidden little clues about passing animals. But he couldn't find any hint of them anywhere he looked. Which meant something or, more likely, someone was keeping them away.

He slowed his pace and keep his practiced eyes out for any signs of human traffic. Like before, though, he didn't find anything that was for sure made by a person. These Resistance guys were good, damn good to be able to hide their tracks from him. Finally, though, he caught a break and saw something glinting in the grass. He bent down and picked up a strange metal cylinder. It took him a few second to realize what it was. It was a rather ramshackle, but still functional, shell casing.

While it proved the Resistance was out here, it didn't show where they were out here. Unless you knew what to look for. Sanders looked around the area, trying to figure out where he would have taken a shot at a passing animal here. Up above him, he saw a large branch going right across where the shell had been. He smirked to himself as she moved to the nearby and tree and started to climb up.

The climb was not easy with all his gear on, but he eventually managed to get to the branch. He didn't try to climb onto it, not willing to risk it holding his weight, but keep to the trunk as he looked around for a sign of what the Resistance member had shot. Off about forty meters, he could just barely make out what looked to be dried blood caked onto a tree along with a large portion of grass pressed down.

Got ya, he thought to himself as he leap back down.

Just like he had hoped, the pressed down grass looked big enough for a large deer to have made it. Sadly, it didn't look like the hunter had dragged the deer back, but carried it instead. But carrying a deer and covering your tracks was a very hard thing to do, and this guy hadn't succeeded. Sanders could just barely make out a path of blood droplets and weighted down boots leading deeper into the subdivision. He hefted up his shield and mace before following it as quietly as possible.

The trail was a long and winding one. Sanders wasn't sure if the hunter was trying to throw off anyone who followed him or if there was something he didn't know about the areas the hunter was avoiding, but he stayed on the trail either way. Finally, the path lead to a large stone that looked to have once been a decorative piece. Most of it was being covered by the tree cover now, save for the very top. Anyone looking from the sky or giantess perspective would just see a rock. But down here, it was obviously a Resistance base.

The low hanging greenery had been cut back away from the rock, giving it a large area around it without any cover. A few windows and even a doorway with a working wood door had been carved into the rock. Sanders figured it had been one of those fake rocks to hide keys in hence why it was hollow. It even had a second story considered the two higher up windows near the top of it, just below the tree cover.

Sanders was about to try creeping forward when a man appeared at the closest window. Sanders ducked back down into the shrubs and stayed still as the man looked out over the area. The man keep his large rifle close at hand as he looked out. He spit a wade of something out the window before moving off to another window to continue his patrol.

Sanders swore under his breath as a second person, this one a woman, appeared at the same window the man had left. She, like the man, had a large rifle in her hands and eyed the area carefully for any signs of movement. With the two of them watching the windows, he would get filled with holes long before he got close to the base. Worse, he had no idea if the Doctor was even in there or if this was just a watchtower-esque place. He couldn't call in the Captain till he knew the Doctor was in there, but he couldn't get close enough to find out without getting shot. Pity he couldn't just land on to-...

Of course, Flonne! he thought to himself as he slowly creep backward away from the base. Once he was sure he was out of earshot, he leap to his feet and took off toward the street to hopefully find the fairy.

It took him a few minutes of running, but he finally arrived out of the forest and to the virtual sea of cement. He looked around in the sky trying to see if he could find the fairy. After a minute of looking, he finally noticed her way out near Aviel's side. There was no way she was going to see him from over here unless he used a trick Aviel and Isabella had taught him. He moved around so as to get the sun to reflect on his shield and used it to try and get her attention. It took a few times, but eventually her distant figured stopped and began to move toward him. He stopped signaling her as he waited for her to arrive.

Despite her large size, she landed with inhuman lightness and bent down toward him. He motioned for her to get all the way down and she landed flat on her chest to keep below the tree cover. Her massive face, easily as big as him, towered in front of him and he had to fight back a sudden wave of panic to keep from freaking out again. Damn that feral catgirl...

"Did you find him?" she asked looking a bit worried he might freak out again and ready to back up. He shushed her and motioned her to keep it down.

"Maybe, I found a place where the Resistance is hold up, but I can't get close enough to see in from the ground. C-....Can you g...get me to the roof?" he asked, a bit of his nervousness getting in his voice. He wasn't sure this was a good idea yet. The only monstergirls he had personal experience with were catgirls, an experience he never wanted to go through again. So far, though, Flonne seemed to be the exact opposite of that encounter and was actually intelligent. Flonne's nervous look vanished to be replaced with a big smile.

"Of course! Those Resistance baddies won't be expecting a roof attack!" she said way too loudly. Sanders shushed her again and she clamped her hands over her mouth and whispered out a "sorry." Sanders waited for a bit to make sure no one had heard them before continuing.

"We don't need to attack them. Just spy on them and see if the Doctor is in there," Sanders said keeping his hand to remind her to keep quiet. Flonne looked puzzled for a moment before realization seemed to dawn on her.

"Oh OK. A stealth mission," she half whispered, "We'll be real quiet and they won't ever know we were there, like ninjas!" Sanders wasn't sure if her enthusiasm should worry him or not, but at least she seemed to get the idea.

"Yeah, like ninjas. Just remember, real quiet," Sanders reminded her. Flonne nodded before offering her hand to Sanders. Sanders gulped a bit, but climbed into her hand and let her wrap her fingers around him. He had to suppress a bit of panic, but was OK enough. Flonne began to lift off again, and her large wings began to make a rather audible fluttering noise as wind was kicked up by her takeoff.

"What, this won't work. You're too loud, they will hear us!" Sanders yelled over the sound.

"Nuh uh," Flonne said as she closed her eyes and her wings began to glow. Suddenly the noise died away and the wind being kicked up became more akin to just a normal cool breeze. The glow faded as Flonne opened her eyes and got a big smile.

"How di...What did..." Sanders said making sure he was still hearing correctly.

"I used a quiet spell to make my wings real quiet and then a wind spell to make sure I don't make any real big wind. Now we can sneak up on them!" Flonne said before pushing off the ground with her free hand. She shoot up into the air far faster than Sanders was ready for. Sanders felt his stomach lurch a bit at the sudden lift off and couldn't help but grip Flonne's fingers tightly as he saw the trees fall away. Flonne looked down at him with a worried look.


"Sorry, forgot you're not used to flying. Don't worry, I'll make sure to get a nice good grip on you," she said before wrapping her other hand over him and pressing him tightly against her chest. Sanders could feel her heart thumping in her chest and felt his panic wash away wrapped up in her warm embrace. He almost wanted to ask Flonne to let him stay like this for a few minutes and enjoy her tender embrace and pleasant smell. However, there were too many lives at stack to not hurry. Every second the Resistance had the Doctor put more people in New Atlanta at risk for the terrorist attacks.

He looked down at the ground and spotted the top of the rock that had been the Resistance base. He pointed it out to Flonne and she slowly descended down toward it. Despite her large wing span, her wings were nearly silent and the wind put out by them didn't seem to rustle the top of the trees at all. She slowed to a hover over the roof and slowly lowered him down onto it.

He slid down onto all fours to try and keep from making any noise before slowly worming his way toward one of the windows on the second floor. He reached it with out too much trouble and took a second to get ready. There was a chance he could look in just in time to look straight into a Resistance member's face, but that was a risk he had to take.

He looked through the window and into what looked to be some kind of radio room. A man was sitting at the radio facing it with the headset half on. Thankfully, he was not looking anywhere near Sanders.

"-to report," the man said, Sanders only catching the tail end. The radio crackled with the response, but Sanders couldn't catch what it said.

"Don't worry, Darius, we'll make sure none of those Society bitches get anywhere near the Doc. We'll hear them coming long before they get to the site," the man said into the radio. The man began to turn his head towards the window and Sanders didn't risk listening any further. He pulled himself back up onto the roof, but couldn't catch anything from the rest of the conversation through the plastic. He waited a few seconds before he heard the man beginning to walk towards the window he was on top of. He couldn't risk the Resistance seeing him and getting word back to where they held the Doctor, which meant it was time to go. He, quickly, motioned for Flonne and she plucked him off the roof before racing back into the sky.

"He isn't in there, but he is close," Sanders started before pointing down to a small clearing away from the rock. "Set me down there so I can keep looking."

Flonne did as she was told and flew them down into the clearing. She bent down and put Sanders on the ground and tried to keep below the trees, and failing thanks to her size.

"Should I go get Aviel?" she whispered, looking around all over like people were going to jump out at any second. Sanders wondered what she was doing before remembering her ninja thing from earlier. Despite her huge size, she was acting more like a little kid, even making hand gestures... At least she was a well behaved one so far.

"No, they might be holding him on her side of the street. Just tell her what I found out and that the Resistance is definitely here," he said stifling a bit of a chuckle as she started to make ninja poses.

She stopped her ninja act long enough to give a big, "Okay~!" and then took off back into the air. Maybe she wouldn't be so bad to have around after all. She made keeping radio silence easier and she gave some great hu-

"Woah, no time to think about that. Come on Sanders, focus," he told himself feeling his groin stirring a bit at the memory. That was not what he needed right now. Thankfully, the boner had only just begun to stir and he was able to settle down easily enough. He was about to turn back into the forest when something pressed up against the back of his head.

"Not so fast, traitor," a Hispanic-accented male voice said behind him. Sanders tried to turn, but the pressure on his head only increased along with an audible click.

"No need for that. Drop the weapons, amigo," the voice said from behind him, emphasizing the words with more pressure. Sanders cursed himself for getting caught off-guard as his mind raced to think of something, anything to get out of this mess. His mind drew a blank as he unhooked his shield and mace from his armor and let them hit the ground.

"Good, now turn slowly to your right till I tell you to stop," the voice said keeping the gun on Sander's head. Sander didn't have any choice but to slowly turn. As he did, the man behind him moved along with him staying just outside Sanders' view, but keeping the gun on his head.

"Stop. Bueno. Now start walking forward till we are in the forest and away from prying eyes," the voice ordered again. Sanders did as he was told moving forward toward the forest. His mind keeping trying to think of what to do, but everything he could think of lead to him getting shot. Radio was useless, he was disarmed, nowhere near fast enough to try anything, dammit he was fucked.

As he approached the edge of the forest, another person came out from behind a tree. She was a woman with long blonde hair and green eyes, probably only five scale feet tall. Her hair and face were covered in dirt and looked to have not been washed in weeks. Her clothing was a patchwork of different fabrics and colors and had no real uniformity to them. On her shoulder was a patch that looked like a flaming bird, though it was hard to tell with how patch-worked it was. She looked Sanders up and down while she keep her rifle slung over her shoulder.

"Should have just busted a cap in his head when you had the chance," she said as she stared at Sanders. He didn't want to look her in the eyes and instead looked down at the ground. Where he saw his salvation. He pulled his eyes back up as he approached the tree the girl had been hiding behind.

"Darius said he wanted some prisoners to question, now I got one. Be gettin me a good reward for this," the man said as he pushed Sanders forward. Putting his plan into action, Sanders go his foot caught in an uprooted tree root and he stumbled forward a bit, getting the pressure off his head.

"Shit!" he said trying to sound caught off-guard as he made it out to have nearly fallen over. He stumbled into the tree and stopped his fall on it. Suddenly, the pressure was back as the man shoved the gun back onto his head. Only this time, on the side of his head.

"What are you trying to pull, dumbass? You want me to pop your head?" the man said from the side, just barely in view. He was pretty scrawny and was probably only about 5 scale feet. His skin was lightly tanned and his brown hair was badly matted and unwashed. Like the girl, most of his clothing was a patchwork of different fabrics and a few furs. His gun looked like some kind of jury-rigged revolver.

Sanders put his hands back up before he said, "No I just tripped, alright. I couldn't see the-" He never finished as he shot his hand up and forward hitting the gun pressed into him and sending it up. From the left side of his head, there was a bright flash and a monstrous sound as the gun went off, and hit some branches in the trees. Sanders didn't give the girl a chance to pull her rifle up as he grabbed the man's handgun with both of his and started to try and pull it out of his grip. The man, now in full view, did the same.

"SHOOT HIM DAMMIT!" the man yelled at the woman. She raised the rifle at Sanders, but Sanders was quicker as he moved to put the man between them. The man tried to fight back, but the bigger Sanders found it easy to jerk him into the line of fire.

"Dammit, move Henderson!" she yelled in annoyance.

"I'm trying!" Henderson yelled as Sanders made sure to keep the man between him and girl. The two of them keep fighting for the gun, but Sanders just couldn't get a good enough grip on the small handgun to get control of it. The ringing in his ears suddenly gave him an idea though, as he forced the gun up and tried to force it to fire.

He managed to get three shots to ring out as they tussled for the gun. Suddenly, the woman came rushing in, gripping her rifle by its barrel. She swung for Sanders head and he just barely managed to avoid it. The dodge, though, gave Henderson a chance to get a better grip on the gun and he tried to rip it away. Sanders felt the gun come lose from his hands as Henderson pulled it up out of his grip.

Henderson brought the gun back down to fire and Sanders dived down and launched himself forward into a tackle. The bullet grazed the back of the flak armor as Sanders tackled Henderson just below his arms and sent them both sprawling to the ground. Henderson's handgun flopped to the ground thanks to the impact and now they were both unarmed. Sanders didn't stay still long before purposely rolling to the side to let Henderson be on top. Just in time too as he heard the girl curse again, her shot ruined.

Sanders keep their roll going, trying to force them back out into the clearing. However, the very same root that saved him, became his doom as they got stopped by it. The two were on their side struggling to strangle the other when the root stopped them. Henderson smiled despite being chocked as the girl raised her rifle to fire into Sanders' head.

Suddenly, a huge gust of wind sent her flying backwards. She smashed into a tree with enough force to send bark flying and her head snapping back to slam into the trunk. Her eyes flew open before lulling a bit as she grunted in pain. She feel to the ground in a limp pile, her gun falling to her side.

At the same time, the area Henderson and Sanders were in darkened as Sanders call for help was answered. Henderson looked up and got a very "oh shit" face before trying to scramble out of Sanders' grip. Sanders keep a grip on him for a second longer before a familiar pair of hands snatched him up. Sanders let Flonne take him as she pulled him a good ten scale stories into the air.

"Leave Sanders alone!" she yelled at Henderson with an angry glare. Henderson looked completely terrifying looking at the twelve scale stories of angry fairy now gripping him. He tried to say something, but only managed a few mumbled words. Flonne didn't get any less angry at his mumbling as her grip tightened a bit.

Sanders stood up and looked over at the woman. Her chest was still rising and falling so she was still alive, though she was going to have one hell of a headache. He walked over to her body and kicked her rifle away before searching for anything useful on her. His searched drew the attention of Henderson. His terror at being held by Flonne seemed to vanish and be replaced with anger.

"Don't you dare hurt her, you puta! I'll kill you myself if I- AHH" he was cut off as Flonne squeezed him again. He looked back at her with an annoyed look and she returned it with the same glare.

Sanders didn't find much in the girl's pockets and pouches save some more ammo for her rifle. He thought about strip searching her, but decided that was just too crude to do. Resistance or not, she was still a lady and searching her like that was just wrong. Instead, he snatched up her rifle and the ammo she had on her. The rifle looked to be a lot like old World War II rifles he had seen in Call of Duty games. Typical lever-action, all single shots, powerful but slow to fire compared to modern guns. It had a number of odd little bits and parts added to it including a scope that seemed to be made from a carved down contact lens and some wood. It still looked workable and Sanders couldn't help but want to keep it. He hadn't held a rifle since before the shrink and his skills with them were starting to get rusty. Now he could get back to practicing... as long as Isabella didn't find out he was keeping it.

He moved back to Flonne and their prisoner, Henderson.

"Tell us where you are holding Doctor Manchent," Sanders demanded as he checked the rifle to see it was loaded.

"G-Go to hell!" Henderson yelled back down, a bit of fear leaking into his voice. Sanders sighed to himself, though he kinda figured that wouldn't work. Interrogating people wasn't his forte and they needed to get the info out of him now. The nearby base had to have heard those shots and were probably sending people to investigate.

"We don't have time for this, Flonne we'll take him back to the Captain and let her get the info out of him," he said before running back into the clearing to get his shield and mace. He hooked them to his armor again while keeping a grip on the rifle. Allowed or not, he was keeping it and Isabella would just have to deal with it.

"Okay," she said down to him with a smile before looking back up at the man with a odd gleam in her eye. "And I got the perfect place for you~..." Henderson only had a second to wonder what she meant before she lowered one of her hands toward her skirt. She lifted it up a bit before moving her, already moist, panties out of the way. She gave him a lustful smile before beginning to lower him toward her waiting vagina.

Sanders turned back just in time to see Henderson beginning to approach Flonne's fully revealing crotch. His loins stirred a bit seeing her tight, hairless vagina begin to swell and leak in anticipation. He had almost forgotten that Flonne was a fully matured woman...fairy...whatever up until now.

"Wait, WAIT I'LL TALK, I'LL TALK!" Henderson screamed out as his face rubbed against her vagina's walls. Flonne either didn't hear or didn't care as she raised her head up and moaned in enjoyment. Henderson let out a scream which turned into a gurgle as Flonne shoved him head first into her vagina. She gasped in pleasure and bit her lip with enjoyment as she shoved him further in.

Meanwhile, Sanders found himself paralyzed by the sight of the giant fairy using their prisoner as a living dildo. Some part of him was screaming at him that Henderson had been about to talk AND there was probably Resistance members coming, but that part was being drowned out by Flonne's gasps and moans of enjoyment.

A soft gurgle came from Flonne's stomach as Henderson seemed to be slowly sucked in by her vagina. His arms flailed around in panic before a slurp brought his upper torso further in. Flonne rubbed her slowly swelling stomach before moaning out a soft, yes. His hands turned and tried to push against her vagina, but all he managed to do was cause it to swell slightly larger and more red from his panicked movements. Another wet slurp brought him up to his waist, female cum drenching him to make his sliding easier. Flonne's stomach swelled again and made her look somewhat pudgy. Only Henderson's legs remained outside, still kicking and struggling to get free. Flonne gave one last moan of enjoyment before beginning to slowly push his legs into her with her fingers. She groaned and moaned in utter enjoyment as she began to suck up the last of the man. Her vagina gave a soft slurp as his feet disappeared and her bulging stomach rippled a bit. She rubbed it as it began to move and jiggle, enjoying the feeling.

"He's kicking...mmm feels good. But its time to settle down," she cooed at her stomach as she rubbed it some more. The ripples and movement began to die down as she softly hummed and rubbed her stomach. A few more ripples came from her stomach before they finally came to a halt. Flonne gave a satisfied sigh before she rubbed her stomach one last time.

"There, sleep well," she cooed to her stomach again before turning back to Sanders. Sander stood transfixed by the sight he had just witnessed, unsure if he should scream, jack off, or demand to be inserted too.

"Sanders? Are you OK?" Flonne asked seemingly back to her normal self as if nothing odd had happened at all. Sanders was still processing everything, but managed to nod his head and close his gaping mouth. Flonne seemed to take this as a good sign and scooped him up in her arms. He was pressed against her chest, but could feel the odd bump in her stomach with his legs. Fuck he had just watched her unbirth a man... As they took off into the air, his brain finally caught up and managed to get over his shock at seeing the incredibly hot-HORRIFYING YES HORRIFYING DEFINITELY NOT HOT sight. His penis disagreed with his assessment, though.

"Did you just kill him?" he asked trying not to let his fear of the answer get into his voice. Flonne looked insulted at the question and got a hurt look on her face.

"Of course not! He is sleeping nice and safe in me, all warm and comfy," she said absently stroking her stomach with one of her fingers. Sander breathed a sigh of relive at that before remembered what Henderson had said just before he had been shoved in.

"OK, sorry I didn't know fairies could do that," he apologized before continuing, "We need to land, though, and let him out so we can find the Doctor."

"Aww, so soon?" Flonne said still stroking her stomach a bit. Sanders nodded to her and she sighed in disappointment. She brought them down further back toward where the Captain was still waiting and into another small clearing. She put Sanders down before stepping back a step.

"Okay," she said before squatting and closing her eyes. She moved one of her hands over her vagina, slowly rubbing it up and down, while her other began to squeeze her small breasts. She sighed and moaned as he vagina and clitoris swelled again. She pushed her love button a few times, sending a tremble through herself each time, before going back to her slow strokes.

"Time to come out," she whispered as the bulge in her stomach shifted downward. Her slow rubbing turned into full on insertions as he fingers began to dig into her vagina. She started slow, but she began to speed up as her eyes rolled back. Her moans got louder and her hips began to move, trying to drive her fingers ever deeper. Soon her hips were thrusting like mad while her entire hand had plunged into her now gushing love canal. She gave one last soft moan before crying out in orgasmic bliss. The bulge shifted even further downward quickly as femcum spewed out of her. It stopped for a few seconds as she strained a bit before Henderson was shot out, covered completely in Flonne's juices.

This time Sanders was able to keep his head a little better and moved over to check on Henderson. As he did, Flonne flopped to the ground with a loud crash and laid sprawled out on her back, moaning with the residue of her orgasm. Henderson was still breathing and looked to still be fine, despite having just been born again or whatever had happened to him.

Henderson's eyes slowly opened and he began to wipe the juices off his face. He looked around a bit and blinked a few times, like he was just waking from a nice nap. He looked at Sanders for a second with a confused look on his face before the coin finally dropped. Before he could try anything, Sanders put his heavy boot on Henderson's chest and shook his head.

"Don't try anything stupid. I don't want to hurt you if I don't have to. Now, tell me where you are holding Doctor Manchent," Sanders demanded as his free hand drifted toward his mace. Henderson glared up at him defiantly but didn't say anything.

"Fine, then back in you go," Sanders said before looking up at Flonne who was still recovering on the ground. Henderson followed his eyes and his defiance was replaced by fear and terror.

"OK, OK, I'll talk, just don't put me back in there! We-We got him stashed in an old storm cellar. Its next to the fourth house on the left if you were going toward the dead end ," he admitted in panic before adding, "Not like it is going to matter."

"What was that?"

"I said its not going to matter, you punta! The watchpost probably heard the gunfire and already warned them you guys are on the way. The Doc will be getting moved out of there."

Sanders cursed under his breath, "Where are they going?"

"I don't know," Henderson said. Sanders reached down and began to pull him toward Flonne which got the man to freak out a bit.

"I DON'T KNOW. SERIOUSLY I DON'T! THEY KEEP THAT A SECRET! I SWEAR!" he screamed out. Sanders stopped and let him go. The man whimpered a bit as he tried to get himself back under control. Sanders didn't give him much time as he delivered a quick kick to his head, knocking him out. He couldn't risk him warning the others, but he wasn't going to murder a defenseless man either.

With Henderson dealt with, Sanders had to get the word out about where the Doctor was. The time for subtly was over and now it was a race to get to the Doctor before the Resistance got him out. He turned on his radio as he looked at the house where the Doctor was at, it was on Aviel's side.

"Captain, Aviel, I know where the Doctor is at. He is in a storm cellar next to the fourth house on the left going toward the dead end. The Resistance are probably about to move him, though, so we need to hurry," he said into the radio as Flonne slowly began to regain her senses.

"On my way. Aviel where are you?" the Captain said as Sanders began to hear and feel the Captain running toward the house.

"Right where I need to be."


     Article on Resistance Weaponry

Perhaps one of the greatest mysterious of the Resistance is their access to guns. Guns have, since the beginning of the Great Shrink, been unavailable. Like all inorganic matter, they were not shrank along with living creatures and thus are far too large for any shrunken person to make use of, alone at least. Despite this, however, the Resistance are regularly seen in possession and making use of guns of various types. Both civilian and Society researchers have spent long hours studying this mystery, desperate to find a way to cut off this supply of modern weaponry to those that would do us all harm. Sadly, their efforts have only been able to come up with three theories.

The first is that the Resistance has found a way to construct the gun themselves. While much of the Resistance does remain a mystery, many find the idea that they could construct, staff, and run a factory-like gun maker ludicrous.

The second theory is that the Resistance are receiving outside aid from someone. Exactly who, however, has yet to be answered and many point out the massive distances between even just towns to show such an idea is just unfeasible without giantesses.

The third theory is that someone inside Atlanta itself is assisting the Resistance. While many of us would like to believe traitors are simply a myth, the possibility cannot be dismissed. However, many point to the fact no guns are allowed in Atlanta to prove this theory is preposterous.

Whatever the truth of the matter, all Resistance members should be considered to be armed and extremely dangerous. Any sightings of Resistance members should be reported to the authorities ASAP.

Chapter 5: Right place

October 18, 2023 10:14AM

Aviel entered the forest opposite Sanders and headed in to look for the Resistance. The forest was quiet and looked bare of any obvious tracks or footpaths. She supposed that wasn't surprising as the Resistance would be trying to stay hidden. Aviel was not as good a tracker as Sanders, but that didn't mean she was useless in these woods. She had been a Ranger for years now and had picked up a number of tricks during that time. Doubly so when it came to dealing with the damn Resistance.

One thing the scum bags could always be counted on was to build somewhere out of sight. Doubly so if it was a place giantesses couldn't get into easily or funneled them into one path. And they really, REALLY loved being underground where the giantess' size was more a hindrance than an advantage. Rather than wonder about the forest hoping to get lucky, she headed for the houses and looked for any basements or other underground places.

The first three didn't have anything, basements or otherwise. She did find a few places to get into the houses, but knew the Resistance would not go into the house proper. It was too open and too exposed for them. She moved on to the fourth and found it had a storm cellar, something she knew the Resistance couldn't resist. Doubly so with most people stocking their cellars with plenty of food and water in case they got trapped inside. While the food would be long spoiled, the water would still be good as long as it had been sealed right. All that water and the wildlife outside to hunt would make it the perfect outpost.

She approached the cellar through the thick brush and looked through her binoculars to get a better look. An, obviously, man-made hole had been cut into its massive, wooden entrance door creating a way down into the cellar. Outside the hole two men in Resistance clothing were chatting away while idly sipping at some kind of drink. She felt a wave of anger wash over her as she took out her weapons and began to creep toward the two guards.

She was able to get within a few scale feet of them thanks to the brush and caught a bit of their conversation. It wasn't about anything important, though, just general bullshit about somebody dating someone or if some group was going to do something. She ignored their talk as she slowly raised her knife and aimed it at the further ones head.

With a flick of her wrist she sent the knife flying toward the man's forehead. He stopped mid-sentence as it hit him and he starred, slack-jawed, at its sudden appearance. He never got a chance to full register what happened as he fell over, dead before he even hit the ground. The other swore and turned just in time to get a glimpse of Aviel before she plunged her sword into his throat. He stumbled back and gurgled once before Aviel pulled the sword out and sliced off his head.

"Be glad I need you to be quiet," she told his dead corpse as she flicked the blood off. Tempting as it was to let him drown in his own blood, she didn't need him making anymore noise.

With the guards dispatched, she moved to the hole and glanced in. She couldn't see very far thanks to her eyes not being adjusted to the low light, but could see the immediate area around her. The hole lead to the first step of the massive staircase leading down to the cellar. A "table" made of random bits of wood along with some equally hap-hazard "chairs" were set up nearby. A few scraps of cardboard with pictures of cards drawn on them set on the table along with what looked to be some kind of half-assed radio. At the very edge of the step were some large drums with some cables sticking out of them. The cables snaked down into the darkness out of sight. A more normal sized staircase lead down off this large step and down to the next.

Aviel slowly moved forward, both weapons ready, and peeked over the side of the step. Thankfully, the large steps below her were vacant of people. At the bottom of the staircase was a number of random junk scattered about haphazardly, some of it with sharp edges pointed upwards. A Foot trap, the kind that Resistance members loved to use against giantesses. A giantess that had her foot cut open was one that was easy to escape/kill depending on what they had on hand.

Past the foot traps, Aviel could just barely make out forms that looked like buildings and the soft glow of artificial lights. Her eyes still hadn't fully adjusted yet so she wasn't able to make out anything certain. Rather than wait, she decided to get moving and get down to the floor.

She keep herself low and ready for a fight as she made her way down the stairs the Resistance had made. A number of the large steps were missing small bits of wood here and there, obviously having been used to make the smaller stairs she was using. After a few minutes of walking, she finally reached the bottom.

In front of her was a virtual forest of broken glass, rusted metal, and chipped stone all shooting up into the air. All of it was far too large to be of any danger to her unless it fell over, but would have cut an unaware giantess' foot to shreds, even with armored boots. She would have to remember to warn Isabella about this trap when she found the Doctor and called her in.

Aviel weaved her way through the trap, still not running into anyone. Of course, there really wasn't much that needed to be checked on with a trap like this, so that wasn't all the surprising. She reached the end of the maze of junk and stopped at a large broken rock before peering out beyond the trap. Her eyes had fully adjusted now and she was able to see far more clearly.

Past the trap was what looked to be the main outpost of this area. The outpost wasn't huge, only having three real "buildings". The closest one looked to be a barracks made out of an old cardboard box. A few lights could be see inside along with a few people milling about. Three men were standing outside the door having a chat and playing a game of cards on the steps leading in.

Across from the barracks was an old, rusted can of beans that had been converted into a radio tower. On top of the can was a huge array of jury-rigged antennas and transmission masts, probably made from old cellphones parts. Most of them looked to be held together by nothing more than duck tape and prayer. Cables snaked out and into it every which way making it look like the center of some giant spider web. Aviel could just barely make out the dim glow of artificial lights coming from the windows near the top of the tower.

At the end of the "street" between the two buildings was the last building. It looked to be a large open air warehouse that used an old Doritos wrapper as its cover. It was near pitch black inside making it impossible to see what was inside.

Outside the three buildings, Resistance people were going to and fro or milling around. Some where working on their "weapons", some were running back messages, some where doing as close to nothing as humanly possible, all the usual stuff people in outposts did on down time. She counted at least twenty people outside. Far too many for her to take, doubly so with an unknown amount in the buildings.

While calling in back up was the safest bet, she wasn't here to play it safe. She was here to prove herself and get promoted so those....murderers would tremble before her might. So she could crush them like they deserved. And the best way to prove herself was to rescue the Doctor and THEN call it the rescue. But that plan went up in flames when a sudden flurry of activity caused her to slip back behind cover. At first she thought maybe someone had noticed the two Resistance guys were gone. Maybe they had found their bodies and knew someone was inside. She gripped her weapons tighter as she leaned back out just enough to see. A large man appeared at the top window of the can tower.

"We got Society bitches at the gates, boys and girls. Rear guard, get to your positions and lock and load! Everyone else, grab what you can and get the train ready to go!" he yelled down at them as the entire outpust suddenly burst to life. A number of people rushed into the barracks one way and came out armed with their makeshift rifles the other. They all began to rush toward the staircase, thankfully going around the trap where Aviel was hiding.

Meanwhile, others were grabbing anything not nailed down and taking it toward the warehouse. The warehouse lit up to reveal a dull red caboose like one might find on an old model train set. Past it, Aviel could just barely make out more cars and a working train engine up front. The engine went into a large hole that looked to have been blasted out of the wall and into a large pipe, most likely the old sewage pipes that were now unused and unfull. The creative bastards had used a fucking model train set to give them a perfect means of escape. She was about to call in Isabella when her headset came to life on its on.

"Captain, Aviel, I know where the Doctor is at. He is in a storm cellar next to the fourth house on the left going toward the dead end. The Resistance are probably about to move him, though, so we need to hurry," Sander said through the radio sounding a little...odd for some reason. Looks like he had managed to give them away. But he did confirm that the Doctor was here so she guessed it was an OK trade off.

"On my way. Aviel where are you?" Isabella responded as Aviel felt her face creeping into a smile.

"Right where I need to be," she answered as she realized that she was in the prefect spot to get the Doctor out in the confusion. "I am inside the cellar. The bastards have already gotten word about us and are setting up for your arrival. They got a foot trap right at the bottom of the steps so watch out. Past it is their outpost along with the train they are trying to escape in," Aviel reported crouching down lower. She was glad that the Resistance was making so much noise getting ready to leave so she didn't have to worry about anyone hearing her.

"Wha- how did-" Sanders started before Isabella cut him off.

"Sanders, not now. What do you mean a train?" Isabella asked.

"Like a model train you might get for a kid or a train junkie back in the old days. Looks like it goes into the old sewage lines. They are loading it up right now with their equipment. Haven't seen the Doctor yet, though," Aviel said as she looked around to make sure no one was heading her way. Most of the Rear Guard had headed up the stairs and were almost out of sight. The others were far too busy getting the train loaded to notice her.

"Understood. Aviel I need you to get in there and find the Doctor and get him out. I can't fight the Resistance and worry about stepping on the Doctor at the same time," Isabella ordered as she began to breath harder from her mad dash to the cellar.

"Consider him already safe," Aviel said with a vicious smile. Isabella had a much larger stride then all of them, but she still had to run past four old houses before she got to them. it would be another minute or two at least before she got here. Plenty of time for Aviel to find the Doctor, get him out of the way, and kill some of the Resistance bastards along the way.

She creep forward, sticking to the shadows and hiding behind random crap that had fallen to the floor. There wasn't a lot of cover to use, but the half controlled chaos of the Resistance evacuation made it easier for her to stay out of sight. She moved up to the radio can and pressed herself flat against it. She stayed in the shadows cast by its huge form before moving toward one of the windows on the side facing the other way from the barracks.

She didn't dare look in, but pressed herself against the "wall" hoping to hear something. She couldn't make out much through the metal save for some indistinct talking and things being moved. She was about to give up when she caught something.

"Doctor, you're with me," the same gruff voice that had yelled the warning said. Loud booted footsteps echoed through the wall heading for the exit. Aviel cursed to herself as she remembered the entrance was on the same side as the barracks. There was no way she could sneak over there without getting seen.

Instead, she keep going around the can till she was able to see the "street" between the barracks and radio tower. There was a lot of things getting moved around and a lot of people moving around, making it hard to pick out the Doctor. After a second, however, she was able to spot him thanks to him still having his normal clothing on.

The Doctor didn't look any worse for wear. His old black beard and glasses were still on his round face. His clothing didn't look to have been torn or anything such as that. The only odd thing about him was there was something around his neck, though Aviel couldn't make it out from this distance. She might have thought he was not a prisioner if it wasn't for the beast of a man behind him.

It was the same man who had yelled out the tower, but unlike before she got a good look at him. He was huge, easily seven scale feet. His black hair was shaved down and his face almost looking to be in a permanent scowl. He was packed with muscle and his patchwork of clothing barely contained him. On his back was a massive gun nearly as big as he was and didn't look anything like the weapons she had seen the Resistance using. It almost looked like a chaingun, but didn't have the usual massive drum of ammo a weapon like that would need.

Aviel couldn't help but gulp a bit looking at the monster of a man. Even without the gun, the man made Sanders look tiny and he was escorting the Doctor straight to the train. He alone would be enough of a threat, but with all the others still loading the train...

"Isabella, might want to hurry. They are loading Manchent onto the train," Aviel said as she watched the two men board the front car of the train. No sooner had their boarded, did the lights on the train come on. The effort to load it redoubled as the train got ready to leave.

"I'm here, delay them Aviel!" Isabella yelled out. A second later, the huge cellar door exploded outward as Isabella's gargantuan form pulled it completely off its old hinges. The sound was horrendous and Aviel had to close her eyes as the cellar was suddenly flooded with light. For a brief second silence settled over the area, as everyone held their breath. Then all hell broke lose.

Far away gunfire and rockets came from back up the stairs as the rear guard tried to hold off Isabella. Isabella used the door as a shield from the gunfire before her foot came crashing down like a meteor, causing the cellar to fill with the echoes of its impact. At the same time, the people in the outpost began to scream and yell in panic as they piled onto the train. Aviel opened her eyes as she held her hands to her ears. She had to squint to see thanks to the glaring light, but she could just make out the form of the train. And it was leaving.

"The train is leaving! Isabella, hurry!" Aviel screamed over the radio trying to be heard over all the noise. She didn't bother trying to hide anymore, hoping the chaos would keep her hidden, and made a mad dash toward the retreating form of the slowly speeding up train.

She glanced back at the towering form of Isabella and couldn't help but be awed at the sight. Isabella was, practically, dancing all over the first step of the staircase, every stomp crushed entire squads of Resistance members. Gunfire bounced off her green energy shield surrounding her body. A barrage of anti-giantess rockets flew toward her, but Isabella used the wooden door as a shield to stop them. The rockets blasted apart the wooden shield, but gave Isabella more than enough time to crush the rocketeers before they could reload. Cast in the green glow of her shield, Isabella looked like some kind of descending Goddess unleashing her wraith on the tiny Resistance. Aviel could hardly wait till it was her turn to be so powerful... The gun fire died down as Isabella stomped out the last of the rear guard. Aviel couldn't help but shudder at just how many people Isabella had killed in less than a second and without getting so much as a scratch on her.

With the defenders dead, Isabella looked up at where the train was and started down the stairs. She got to the second step, before a massive explosion ripped through them and caused the stairs to collapse underneath her. Isabella yelled out in surprise before crashing down into the rubble that had once been the stairs, sending a massive rumble through the ground.

Aviel barely managed to keep her feet as the earthquake from the explosion and Isabella's fall hit. A large stack of boxes came tumbling down towards her and she had to smack it out of the way before getting back to her feet. She took off at a full sprint as the train began to hit full speed. Behind her, she heard someone yell something and the air suddenly began to be filled with bullets and gunfire. She ignored them as she ran for the last car on the train, a large flatbed with a number of tied down boxes.

Just as she was nearing it, a massive explosion of wood and planks came from behind her as Isabella threw off the wood that had fallen on her. She leap over the foot trap Aviel had warned her about and landed right on top of the barracks, crumpling it like it was nothing. Her massive hand swung down and swat the people shooting at Aviel away into the air, their screams of pain and terror vanishing in an instant. A massive gust of wind blasted into Aviel's back and nearly caused her to tumble. She managed to keep her feet for a few more steps before diving for the edge of the train. She grabbed hold of one of the tying ropes and pulled herself up onto the flatbed before looking back.

The train had entered the pipes now and was gaining speed fast. Isabella's massive face looked in half a second before her hand came into the pipe. It rushed forward trying to catch them, but the train had reached full speed. Isabella's hand came within a few inches of the train before it clamped close, barely missing the train. Aviel heard Isabella curse and slam her fist into the wall as the train, and Aviel, were now out of her reach. Aviel was on her own.

Chapter 6: Off the Rails

October 18, 2023 12:04PM

Aviel stayed crouched down behind the crates and tried to catch her breath. Her mad sprint had winded her and she needed a moment to recollect herself. While her lungs tried to resupply her limbs with oxygen, her mind used its time to review her situation. She was alone on a Resistance train with at least twenty possibly armed Resistance members heading who knew where. It was going to be a fun afternoon.

"Aviel, are you alright?" her headset crackled as Isabella came over the line.

"So far," she said pausing for another big gasp of breathe, "sorry about not seeing those explosives."

"Don't worry about that. You j-," suddenly a bit of static filled the headset making her words impossible to hear.

"Say again? I didn't catch that," Aviel said. She covered her ears to try and hear better. The line crackled to life again, but was so static filled Aviel only caught bits and pieces of it.

"...ou...ed.....do....ow. Sa.....re o......way.....ort...." Aviel cursed as she realized something was blocking the signal. She checked her locator, but found it to be working fine. Odd, if it was the ground or something in the area interfering with the radio it would have caused both to fuck up...unless...

Aviel grabbed her knife from her boat and jumped to her feet. A Resistance member was just on the other side of the crate a step away from having her sitting form in his sights. He looked shocked by her sudden spring into action and raised his rifle to fire. Aviel was quicker, though, and hit the rifle to the side with her open hand before plunging the knife straight into his neck. The man's gasp turned into a gargle as another member came out from behind his own set of tied crates, rifle raised to fire.

Aviel didn't have enough time to duck back, so she grabbed the bleeding out man and used him as a shield. The second man fired, but the bullet hit his, now dead, friend. Aviel yanked out her knife and flung it straight at the second man's face. Unfortunately, the rocking train and high wind caused her aim to be off. It speared into his left shoulder causing him to cry out in pain and grasp at the knife. Aviel didn't give him time to recover as she shoved the first out of her way and rushed toward the second. The wounded man saw her coming and fumbled to rearm his bolt action rifle. He had only managed to get the bolt to eject the spent round by the time Aviel was upon him. She drew her sword and plunged it into his chest, straight through his heart. He gasped in pain for a second before falling limp on her sword. She yanked her knife out of him before kicking him off her sword.

She didn't get time to rest, though, as she heard people yelling in alarm from further up the train. She cursed as she looked around for what to do. Her little area was separated from the rest of the train by a large pile of crates. The big pile covered the entire width of the train, which meant the only obvious way to pass them was to go over them. It would, also, be a good way to get filled full of holes. She got closer and checked the re-purposed cables holding the crates down. She found that they were not cables at all but were actually old unshrunken cobwebs, probably harvested by the Resistance to use a rope and cable. They were more than strong enough to hold these crates in place and that meant they had to be strong enough to hold her too. She then looked out over the side of the train. The crates were stacked up all the way to the next train car, another flatbed though this one had large drum-like things rather than crates.

Rather than go over, she grabbed one of the cables to see if she would get stuck on it. To her surprise, it was only slightly sticky and only took a bit of force to get her hand off it. She had no idea how the Resistance had managed that, but right now she didn't care. She took a deep breath, getting herself ready, and the swung out to the left side of the train.

Holding onto the webs for dear life, she slowly made her way up the side of the crates, the unforgiving pipe bottom speeding by just below her. She made sure not to look down as she heard the Resistance members moving around on top of the crates. She was about halfway to the next car when she saw a left turn in the pipe coming up. She smiled to herself as an idea suddenly hit her.

She took out her sword and began cutting the webs she passed. The webs went flying back up and she heard a few cries of alarm from the people above her. She keep moving and cutting as the turn drew near. She was almost done when someone yelled down at her and she looked up to see another Resistance member glaring down at her. The Resistance woman raised her rifle to fire just as the train began to turn. Without the webs to hold them down, though, the crates shifted and the woman staggered backwards. Yells of shock and terror came from the top of the crates as they slide off the train, taking the people on top of them with them. The crates and people smashed into the wall of the pipe leaving behind a mess of equipment and broken bodies.

Aviel smirked at her plan working before pulling herself up to the top of the crates she hadn't cut free. Only two people had escaped the falling crates and they were running back to the next car. Aviel climbed up and took off after them. She jumped down and onto the next flatbed just as one of them turned and fired a shot at her. She rolled behind one of the drums, it was actually a thimble they had made a lid for, full of whatever just as the bullet zipped past. She peeked out and saw the two of them slide into cover behind their own thimbles further up the flatbed. She quickly dashed to another thimble closer to them as they got situated and was back in cover before they knew it.

She stayed down hidden from sight, hoping they wouldn't realize she had moved. She heard one of their rifles fire and a small hole suddenly appeared in the thimble she had been hiding behind. Out of the hole came a brown liquid that began to pool up around the thimble. The smell of it made it obvious what it was, gasoline. What the hell did they need gas for? She filed that away for later as she refocused on the here and now.

She used their confusion of where she was to slowly sneak her way forward, trying to keep thimbles between her and them. She got about halfway up the train when one of them managed to spot her. She rolled back behind a thimble and pressed herself as low as possible as they opened up.

Holes began to spring up all over the thimble and liquid began to pour out of it, thankfully water and not gas. A small mercy before she was shot to pieces... She looked for some way to get out of this mess when suddenly a gun shot came from behind her and not in front of her.

"Oh fuck!" one of the Resistance members yelled in panic. She looked up from her thimble and watched him suddenly get tossed into the air by a sudden tornado under his feet. The man screamed in panic before flying off the train and landing rather badly on the ground. His body bounced and rolled in a jumbled mess of limbs before quickly vanished from sight as the train sped on. She looked back to where the other man had been and saw him draped over the thimble, blood leaking from a bullet hole in his head.

Aviel turned back to the rear of the train and couldn't help but get a big smile of relief. Flonne was flying toward the train, gaining on it rather quickly, with Sanders in her hand. Sanders was reloading a rifle he had stolen from a Resistance member and Flonne had a ball of green magical energy in her other hand. They both looked rather pleased with themselves having saved Aviel.

Flonne came down toward Aviel. She knocked the last few crates off the last train car and laid down on it, she would have hit the top of the pipe if she stood or sat. She put Sanders down on the flatbed Aviel was on and he rushed forward to the next car, another flatbed with a virtual wall of boxes. He ducked down behind a thimble near the edge of the car and keep his gun ready in case any other Resistance came at them.

"You alright, Aviel?" he yelled back over the noise of the train.

"Little banged up here and there, but I'm fine," she said trying not to look too relieved. She didn't need him getting a big head after being the big hero.

Aviel moved forward and ducked down by a thimble near where Sanders was. No Resistance members had popped up, but that only made Aviel worry more. They had to know they were on the train and probably seen Flonne too. They would be preparing something to stop them and pulling out all the stops to do it. The longer they gave them to prepare, the worst it was going to be.

Aviel motioned for Sanders to cover her as she jumped over to the next car and began to climb the stacked crates. She reached the top and peeked over the top.

The car was mostly a solid "floor" of crates leading to the next car with no cover at all. The Resistance had learned from their previous mistake and were not on any of the crates. In fact, they were not on the train car at all. She looked past the fully loaded flatbed car and toward the next train car.

The next car was a typical passenger car used on model trains. It was completely enclosed with only a sliding door on either end leading inside. Windows lined its side, giving people a view of the scenery(which consisted of dingy pipe walls for now). Two more windows were beside the sliding door along with a ladder leading up to the roof.

Two Resistance members were at the windows facing Aviel. Both had their guns raised and scanning for anyone. Two more were leaning out the windows on the sides and scanning the sides of the train to prevent Aviel's trick from working a second time. One of them spotted her and turned his rifle to fire, but Aviel managed to duck back into cover before he got a shot off. Getting up to the next car was going to be a bit of an issue without any cover. Even Flonne would be taking a risk going up. Her bigger size made her tougher, but not invulnerable. Doubly so when they had no idea how many enemies were waiting for them inside or what they were armed with.

"The next car is just a supply car. No cover at all on it. After that is a passenger car with four Resistance watching the supply car. Not sure how many more are inside it," she yelled back to Sanders and Flonne as she jumped back down.

"There has to be a way to get past them without getting shot up," Sanders said as he looked around for something to use. Aviel did the same before stopping at the thimbles leaking gas onto their car. Now that would be a good way to clear the entrance. And they had the perfect way of getting it over to the Resistance thanks to their giant fairy.

She moved over to one of the undamaged thimbles and pried the lid off it with her knife. Inside was what she was hoping for, gasoline. She pounded the lid back on with the pommel of the knife and turned to Flonne, who had been watching her with a puzzled look.

"Flonne, think you can toss this into the passenger car up ahead?" Aviel asked. Flonne looked at it and then peeked up to get a look at the car up ahead. She leaned back down and looked back to Aviel.

"Yep! Do you want me to?" Flonne asked with a big smile on her face.

"Hold on for a second," Aviel said before moving over to Sanders, "Sanders, I am going to have Flonne toss one of the thimbles into the car."

"What? Why-" he stopped as he looked back over to where the gas had spilled out of the damaged thimble. He got a knowing smile as he nodded to her in understanding. He jumped over the the supply car and started to climb up. While he did that, Aviel headed back to Flonne.

"OK, Flonne. When I say toss, throw the thimble," Aviel instructed. Flonne nodded in understanding, giggling a bit in excitement. Her dainty hands easily lifted the thimble that both Aviel and Sanders would have struggled to even move. Aviel felt the all too familiar jealously of Flonne's and Isabella's sheer power rising up. Maybe if she could pull this mission off and save the Doctor...

She shook off her thoughts before turned back toward Sanders. Sanders clung to the top of the boxes with one hand and his rifle with the other. His feet had found two footholds and he gave a nod of being ready. Aviel climbed up next to him and took out her sword.

"Toss!" she yelled back at Flonne. Flonne leaned up and sent the thimble of gas flying toward the passenger car with an overhand throw. Some yells of alarm were cut short as the sound of metal crashing together, bending, then warping echoed through the pipe. Aviel and Sanders pulled themselves up over the crates to see the damage.

The thimble had smashed apart the back end of the passenger car, leaving it a twisted ruined mess. The thimble had stopped about halfway through the car and was leaking gas all over. The four men who had been at the windows were nowhere to be seen, most likely having been buried in the badly mangled steel.

A few people began to move in the car and started to recover from the suede cannonball crashing through. Sanders didn't give them a chance to full recover, though, as he aimed at some of the leaking gas. He fired and the bullet struck a part of the steel that had been covered in gas. The sparks given off by the bullet hitting steel was more than enough.

Sanders and Aviel ducked back down as the sparks caught the gas on fire. A second later, a massive explosion came from ahead of them and large pieces of flaming wreckage was sent flying behind them on either side of the track. Flonne eeped in alarm before letting go of the train and hovering backwards to avoid the flaming wreckage. Aviel and Sanders looked back over the crates and Aviel couldn't help but smile at the devastation.

The middle of the passenger car was simply gone as if it had never existed. The front wasn't much better with the roof having been peeled back like a banana peel. There was no signs of any of the Resistance in the rubble, but there was some blood splattered around the car. The back part near them was an even bigger mess than it had been before with only the barest of its frame still left.

Both Sanders and Aviel pulled themselves up onto the crates and took off running toward the next car. They only had a few seconds to take advantage of the confusion that little stunt had bought them and they were going to use it. Sanders took the lead as they made their way through the ruined passenger car. Ahead of them was another passenger car exactly like the one they had ruined. Sanders looked back and pointed up and Aviel nodded in understanding. Sanders put away his gun, and took out his mace and shield before plowing straight through the sliding door of the next car. While he charged in, Aviel jumped onto the ladder next to it and scrambled up onto the roof.

Aviel ran over the roof of the train car as yelling and the sounds of fighting came from below. She stopped as she neared the back of the train and moved to the left side of it. She swung out from the train, hands on the roof, and kicked in the window below her to force her way into the fight. Her feet smashed into the face of a Resistance member who had been moving back to the front car and sent him flying into the opposite window. The man crashed through the glass and tumbled off the train with a cry of terror.

Aviel took out her sword as she took in the situation. Sanders was near the back of the car fending off two attackers. A third already laid on the floor with his head smashed in. In the middle of the car were three more Resistance. Two of them had weapons out, a slightly sharpened sewing needle for one and a handgun for the other, while the third was yelling into a radio he had strapped to him to be heard over the fighting.

The two with weapons wheeled around to Aviel as she smashed into the car. She took out her knife and throw it just as the man with the handgun raised it up. His shot went wide as the knife struck his face and sent him sprawling onto the ground with its force.

"Shit! Ollie, get out of here!" the man with the needle yelled to the one next to the radio. He charged Aviel and tried to pierce her with the needle with a lunging strike. Aviel dodged out of the way and counter-attacked with a horizontal cut. The man parried her cut with his needle before hammering his fist into the side of her waist. She grunted in pain as she recoiled from the blow. She swung her sword downward to force the man back as she regrouped.

Ollie, the radio operator, got to his feet while Aviel was fighting. He looked between the two melees going on around him before opening the window.

"I'll get Derek, just hold them off for a few seconds," Ollie said as he climbed out and onto the roof. Aviel didn't have time to worry about him going to get help as the man rushed her again. He thrust the needle straight for her head and she barely managed to knock it off target. She throw her own punch at his face, but he leap back and out of reach.

Aviel growled in annoyance before she rushed him, trying to take back the initiative. She swung a blow for his neck before sweeping her leg to try and knock him to the ground. He parried her blow and leap back away from her leg sweep. Aviel didn't relent as she charged after him. The two traded blows and Aviel was able to force him back with every exchange.

Finally, they passed his dead friend and Aviel forced him backwards long enough for her to grab her knife. Aviel let a viscous smile creep across her face causing the man to raise an eyebrow. She swung her sword at the man's side and smiled as he easily parried the blow. Her knife came racing forward to pierce his throat and the man was too slow on his feet. The knife plunged in before her sword followed into his chest.

"You deserve worse you murderer," she whispered into his ear with sheer hate leaking out of her voice. She pulled her weapons out of him leaving him to gurgle and bleed out on the ground before turning back toward the front car.

Sanders was still dealing with the last Resistance member, so she went forward alone. She opened the sliding door leading out of the car just in time to see Ollie closing the one to the front car. She leap across the gap between cars and took cover on one side of the door, she opened the door and looked in. The Doctor was in the very back in cover behind some of the chairs. The massive man from before was talking to Ollie and had his huge weapon in his hands. He shoved Ollie aside as the door opened. Aviel ducked back into cover just as a bright red laser suddenly shot out of the door. The laser cut into the car behind her and created a scale baseball-sized hole in the train car's frame. The fucker had a damn laser cannon!

Aviel had no idea where the man had gotten Society-level tech, but it was really, REALLY bad news. Neither her nor Sanders' armor was going to mean shit against that and even Flonne would be seriously hurt if she got hit by it. Aviel looked at the ladder leading up and jumped onto it. She stomped her feet on it as if she was climbing it before swinging onto the side of the train. She gripped the lower part of the windows, grunting in effort, and began to shimmy her way to the front side of the train. As she did, she heard the laser cannon go off as the man fired up into the roof. Her little trick looked to be working.

She stopped at the window where the laser was the loudest and took a deep breath. She vaulted up above the window and then crashed through it. The large man turned to his side to see her and tried to bring the massive gun to bear on her. She was quicker, though, and swung her sword straight for his neck. The huge man was quick despite his size and dodged backwards to avoid the blade, just barely. However, his focus on her sword gave Aviel an opening. Aviel took out her knife and plunged it into his shoulder as he was distracted. He growled in fury before he swung a backhand blow straight into Aviel's jaw. She had been so focused on offense she had forgotten to defend herself, stupid!

Aviel staggered into the side wall of the car and recovered just in time to see the man pointing the cannon directly at her. Her eyes widened as it powered up. Suddenly, Sanders' shield smashed into the weapon and caused it to shift just off target enough to miss her by centimeters, the heat from it nearly singeing her ear. Aviel turned to see Sanders charging the man with a mighty yell. The man, however, looked unconcerned and swung the weapon around with faster than Aviel thought humanly possible. He used it like a giant bat and smashed Sanders into the side of the wall. Sanders gasped in pain as pieces of wood flew off from the impact. H groaned in pain before he slumped to the ground, unconscious.

Aviel cursed under her breath at Sanders getting taken out so fast. But, he had saved her and given her an opening and she was going to use it. She leap forward and swung her sword at the man's mid-section. He leap back just enough to keep his gut from being sliced open, but not quick enough to avoid it all together as it left a nasty cut on his stomach. Blood began to leak out from the cut as he growled in fury. He raised his cannon up and used it like a giant club. She dived out of the way as he pulverized the seating behind her with the massive blow. Her quick feet got her behind the man and she rolled back to her feet. The man tried to turn to face her, but was too slow as she thrust her sword into the man's back.

The man yelled out in pain as Aviel used the sword to launch herself onto his back, feet first. She landed on his shoulders and wrapped her muscular legs around his throat to try and choke him. He dropped his cannon as his big hands reached up and tried to pull her legs apart. Despite her leg strength, the man was beginning to win their test of strength and he began to get bigger lungs full of air. However, Aviel still had one ace to play as she ripped her sword out of his back and raised it over his head. Strong or not, he wouldn't be surviving this.

Suddenly, a massive spike of pain slammed into Aviel's shoulder just before she could thrust downward. The loud bang of a gun echoed in the room as blood came flying out of her shoulder. She cried out in pain as she toppled off the large man's shoulders. She grasped at the bullet wound in her right shoulder in horror as she tried to figure out what had happened. The big man took a big gasp of air as Aviel looked over at her fallen sword. She tried to grab her sword, but her right arm refused to obey her and laid still. In the front of the train car, the other Resistance soldier, Ollie, stood up with a ramshackle handgun in his hands.

"You alright, Derek?" Ollie yelled to the large man. The large man turned back to Aviel with a look of utter hate on his face.

"I will be," he growled out as he smiled down at her. "Not so tough when you don't have a five hundred foot advantage, are you Society bitch?" he spit out as he picked up his laser cannon. He raised it to point directly at Aviel's head.

Suddenly, the roof of the passenger car began to rip and tear as two massive, but rather thin, hands peeled it backwards. Derek looked up and raised his cannon just in time to be blown into the air by a large tornado. He flew up and one of the large hands snatched him out of the air, pinning his arm and the cannon in its grip. Flonne had appeared right in the nick of time and was hovering over the car behind them.

"Leave them alone you jerk!" Flonne yelled before tossing Derek backwards towards the rear of the train. His yell of anger slowly vanished as he was sent flying off the train. Flonne glared after him for a second before turning toward Ollie.

"Oh shit," he said before running out the front of the car. Aviel got to her feet and stumbled after him, her rage at him shooting her making her ignore her pain. She got outside just in time to see him jump off the train and start a controlled roll to lessen his injury. She hit the side of the train in annoyance at him having gotten away.

Flonne had moved to the edge as well and glared after the man. She looked down at Aviel and noticed her wound. She reached out and tried to touch it before stopping as Aviel locked her with a harsh glare.

"I...I just wanted to heal you..." she said looking hurt. Aviel looked at her wounded shoulder, sighed, and then motioned for Flonne to go ahead. The fairy slowly moved her hand forward to make sure it was alright before she touched Aviel. Flonne's enormous hand covered most of Aviel's chest, and Aviel had to bit back a gasp as her breasts were pressed inward. A soft white glow appeared on Flonne's hand and spread to Aviel. Aviel winced as the wound flared up, but let out a sigh of relief as it faded away completely. She looked at the wound and saw that it and any sign of it was gone.

"Thanks," Aviel said without giving the fairy a second look. Magic or no magic, Flonne was still new and Aviel didn't want to get attached to her. Plus she had more important things to do. She turned back to the inside of the train car and saw Sanders slowly coming to. The Doctor was still hiding in the front corner looking very worried about what had just happened. He looked between Aviel and Sanders with a terrified look.

"You don't need to look so scared. We are with the Society, Shields Regiment, Ranger Division. We are here to rescue you," she said trying to sound comforting. She must have been better at it than she thought as he suddenly brightened up.

"Did you say Shields? You're with the Shields?!" he stammered out as he grabbed her by the collar. He looked at her like he was begging her to say yes, like it was the only chance he had.

"Yeah I am wi-" she stopped as she noticed something on his neck she hadn't noticed till he had gotten closer. Her blood suddenly ran cold as realization of what it was hit her. A bomb collar...the fucking monsters had put a bomb collar on him.

"Oh fuck, SANDERS!" she yelled at Sanders as she pulled the Doctor along with her. He stumbled a bit from the sudden pulling, but came along as she pulled him toward her partner.

"Wha...what happ-" Sanders groaned out as he finally began to regain his bearings.

"LATER, he has a bomb collar on him!"

"A bo-A WHAT?!" Sander yelled out before jumping to his feet. Having gotten a second wind, he rushed over and turned the Doctor around to face the back of the collar. He looked at it for a few seconds before cursed to himself.

"Fuck, its code locked. I can't get it off him unless I know the code."

"Then guess something!"

"If I guess wrong it will blow, too! Now shut up so I can thin-" Sanders stopped as the bomb collar began to beep out a warning. The Doctor's face turned pale as he mouthed out an "oh god." But his terror was soon replaced by grim determination. He grabbed both Aviel and Sanders with his hands. He pulled them close with surprising strength.

"Listen to me, Lindale. Seven, nine, two. Thirty-two, eighty-five, twelve. The tr-" he was cut off as the collar went off. The small explosive sent bits of Doctor Manchent's head flying everywhere and covered both Sanders and Aviel in bloody pulps. Sanders looked on in utter horror as Flonne gasped and looked away. Aviel stared at the headless body as it slumped down to the ground, stunned that the Resistance would go that far. A man who had done nothing but help people, even those outside the city...

For a few minutes the train car was silent save for the sounds of the train moving down the track. Sanders clutched his mouth and moved to the side before barfing as he tried to get pieces of the man's skull off. Aviel numbly did the same as the shock still wore on. They had really did it.... Then their radio's crackled and sputtered to life.

"-opy? Sanders, Aviel, Flonne, anyone answer," Isabella practically begged over the radio. She sounded to be on the verge of tears and pleaded for one of them to answer. Aviel activated her headset as she turned away from the dead Doctor.

"Aviel here...we're all fine," she said, her voice a bit more mechanical than she had wanted it to sound. It was...hard to feel anything right now.

"Oh than-..." Isabella started in relief before stopping herself. There was a short pause before she continued, in her usual demanding tone, "What is your status? Why did you wait so long to report?"

"Resistance was jamming our signal. We found the Doctor and captured the train, but...Manchent is dead," Aviel said feeling the sting of failure finally hit home. This was supposed to be a rescue mission, and they had failed. He had been right in front of them and... If only she had been stronger, been more powerful maybe....

"Dead... Did the Resistance kill him?" Isabella asked.

"Yes. He had an explosive collar on him. We tried to defuse it, but... there wasn't enough time," Aviel reported before glancing back at Sanders. Sanders had fallen to the ground and was gasping for breath as he recovered from his revulsion. He still had a blank look on his face as if relieving the moment in his head. He looked back at Manchent's body with a far away look.

"I see... I'll report what happened to Command. There is a damaged section of pipe that leads outside soon. Come out there and I will be there to pick you up. And don't blame yourselves for his death. I am sure you did everything you could," Isabella said trying to soothe them. It helped a bit to hear that it wasn't their fault and Aviel knew it wasn't, but...but damn was it hard to accept. Failure, when it cost such a good man's life, was never easy to swallow. Damn the Resistance to hell for their cruelty.

Flonne came back to the hole she had ripped in the roof and waited for Sanders and Aviel. Aviel headed over before looking back at Sanders. Sanders had recovered for the most part. He picked up Manchent's headless torso in his arms, turning only a bit green from it, and carried him over to the hole.

"Least we can do is bring him back for a proper burial. Do something right..." he mumbled still looking downcast. Aviel opened her mouth to say something, but couldn't think of anything to say. There really was nothing to say. She put her hand on his shoulder before nodding up at Flonne. The giant fairy picked them up and slowly flew them to the opening up ahead.


     Article on Resistance

Terrorist bent on the destruction of Atlanta and the Society, the Resistance is the greatest threat to peace in the current world. Scattered all over the world, these small bands of criminals and malcontents attack, pillage, and destroy anything in their mad quest to oppose the Society.

Convinced the Society is evil and attempting to gain control of the world, they attempt to sway people with their conspiracy theories and make them join them in their cause. Despite their supposed noble goals, they often kill more innocent civilians than military members in their raids. Society spies have found that most people in the Resistance are simply jealous of the success and peace those in the cities have. Rather than joining, however, they chose to fight and bring everyone down to their level.

Citizens are advised to treat all Resistance members as armed and extremely dangerous. Resistance members almost always carry guns and have been shown to have no compulsion about using them. Exactly how the Resistance makes or gets these guns, however, is something of a mystery which even the Society has been unable to fully explain. Anyone with information on this should contact a Society member ASAP. Rewards for such info are ready to be given.

Typical tactics, weapons, uniforms, and locations of Resistance forces are all classified.

Chapter 7: Suspicion, Shields, and Swords.

October 18, 2023 2:45PM

Isabella looked down at the ground and watched as the three blips on her HUD patch began to close on her. As they got closer, Isabella's worry and fear waned away. Losing contact with Aviel after she had boarded the Resistance train had been bad enough, but when both Flonne and Sanders stopped reporting... She thanked whoever that they were still safe, she wasn't sure she could take losing them after... No, she wouldn't think about it anymore. She had given him enough tears.

She looked down at the damaged sewage pipe just as Flonne flew out of it. Isabella smiled as the fairy flew up to her. Three figures were wrapped up in her arms: Sanders, Aviel, and the headless body of Doctor Manchent. Isabella's smile dimmed as she saw his body. She had meet the man only a few times, but those few times he had always been a very kind and gentle soul. He practically gave everything he owned away without a second thought and was always willing to help anyone. New Atlanta would not be as ideal as it was without him.

Isabella raised her hand and Flonne placed her passengers onto Isabella's hand. Both Aviel and Sanders looked crestfallen as Flonne placed Gregor's body down as well. Isabella sighed to herself before looking at her two tiny scouts. Her HUD patch automatically zoomed in to let her see their tiny faces better.

"I meant what I said before. I know you two did your best to try and save him. If anyone is to blame it is me for not arriving at the train soon enough," Isabella said to them in as kind a voice as she could. The two of them didn't look much better. Even Flonne looked sad as her antenna's drooped down along with her shoulders.

Sanders shook his head as he said, "Wouldn't have mattered if you did. Had a damn code-locked collar on him. No way to get that off without the code. Or an expert."

Isabella's mind suddenly stopped worrying about her soldiers as Sanders mentioned the code-locked collar. She let her motherly, caring side slide away as her soldier side took over.

"Did you say a code-locked collar?" she asked, wanting to make sure she had heard right. Without thinking it, her face had already gone back to its usual neutral look.

"Yea-," Sanders stopped as he looked up at Isabella's stern face, "I mean yes ma'am. He was wearing a code-locked collar. Keypad and everything."

Isabella looked away as her mind began to race. How did the Resistance get their hands on top-of-the-line hardware like code-locked collars? They had barely been in production a year and most were in the Society's armory. Those few that were not should have been under rather close guard by the New Atlanta police. Her soldier's instincts were telling her something wasn't right here.

"What condition was it in? Was it as jury-rigged as the rest of their equipment usually is?" she asked as she turned back to them. Sanders and Aviel looked between each other with confused looks.

"Uhh...actually, now that you mention it, no. It looked pretty new and well taken care of." Aviel said. She looked down in concentration before she looked back up at Isabella with a shocked face.

"Wait, you don't think they were GIVEN the code-locked collar by someone in the Society, do you?" Aviel asked.

"That would explain that guy with the damn laser cannon," Sanders added before rubbing a large knot on his head.

"One of them had a laser?" Isabella asked in surprise.

"Yeah. He had a huge laser cannon like they used to use on those old robots back before they got decommissioned. Thing was almost as big as him, but he swung it around like it was nothing," Aviel said looking a bit angry about something.

"But I beat him and tossed him away!" Flonne added. Flonne perking up a bit as she got to brag about her victory and her antennas raised along with her mood. Isabella smiled at her boasting, but was more focused on this new information.

Aviel could be right and someone inside the Society was supplying the Resistance. However, Isabella just couldn't shake that something was off with that theory. Why only one laser and from one of the old robots? To avoid detection? And yet supply them with a state of the art explosive collar? If only she had more to go on...

"Aviel, I need you to tell me exactly what happened when you rescued Manchent. Don't leave anything out," she instructed as she locked Aviel with a stern stare. Aviel nodded without missing a beat or making a remark. Even she knew not to test Isabella when she was in full soldier mode.

Aviel explained everything, his initial reaction of fear, his sudden change at the mention of them being Shields, the collar, the explosion. By the time she was finished, she, Sanders, and Flonne had gotten back a bit of their gloom. Isabella, however, was more concerned by Manchent's reaction to them and his last words.

"Are you sure that was all he said? Just Lindale and those numbers?" Isabella asked. She sorely hoped there was more. A few random numbers and a name of someplace was not a lot to go on.

"He did try to say something after, but..." Sanders paused as he looked down, "he didn't get it out in time..." Isabella softened her stern look as she saw her scouts looking more devastated than before. This mystery did require further investigation, but her scouts needed rest and time to forgive themselves. Continuing to grill them would only push them further into despair.

She smiled down at her tiny charges with all the warmth she could muster as she said, "I'm sorry, I forgot how hard this must be for you. We can discuss this further some other time. For now, we should return Gregor's body to New Atlanta for burial."

The others nodded, all looking a bit relieved to not have to discuss this any further. Isabella turned back to where her jeep was displayed on her HUD and began to long trek back. She glanced down at the tiny forms of Aviel and Sanders both sitting in her hand. She wished she could say or do something to cheer them up. Even just being able to hug them to show them she felt their pain would be a blessing. But if she tried, she would smother them and, probably, crush them, even with just her fingers. For not the first time, Isabella despised the power she wielded and the curse that came with it. So powerful she could crush entire squads of Resistance soldiers under her feet, yet she couldn't even hug those she cared for...

The ride back to Atlanta was a somber one. No one said anything as the jeep made its way to the base. Sanders made no complaints with being held by Flonne on the ride back. If nothing else, at least the two of them seemed to have accepted each other. Aviel, however, rode between Flonne's legs along with Manchent's body. She had said it was to make sure it was safe, but Isabella knew it was more about not having to be held by Flonne.

Isabella turned her thoughts back to the mystery of Gregor's death. So many unanswered questions and only Gregor's last words as clues. Last words that didn't make any sense too. Lindale...it sounded like a town, but was not one she knew of. Perhaps her other Ranger friend, Alice, would know. She had traveled a lot before the disaster with her Father. And, with her being part of the Frontier group of the Rangers, she made it her business to stay well informed about area's outside the normal patrol routes. As for the numbers...she really had no idea what they could mean. Perhaps a code or a GPS location?

The sky was turning the orange of sun set as Isabella pulled the jeep into the vehicle depot. She watched as a small crowd of women began to form outside the depot. Gregor had been a popular man even amongst the AS Society's higher ranks, supposedly even knowing both Matriarchs personally, and news of his death had spread like wildfire, doubly so with so many having been sent to search for him. This was not what she and her scouts needed right now. To be forced to march through a group of grieving women all reminding them of how they had failed was just too much. She had just started to try and think of a way out when a harsh voice cut through the general chatter outside.

"Alright all of you beat it. You heard me, GET GOING! Anyone still around here that ain't got a good excuse is volunteering for a rumble with me," the voice barked out. The group dispersed like a flock of frightened birds as the source of the voice came toward the jeep. Isabella smiled as she saw the welcome face of Gabriella Pearson walking toward her jeep. Her blue hair and "badass" tattoo across her face making it easy to tell her apart from the now scattering group. She was wearing her usual open urban camo jacket over her tanktop along with her rather torn and dirty looking fatigue pants. On her shoulder was the shield icon of the Shields branch of the Society.

Isabella climbed out of the jeep and smiled to her old friend. She extended her hand to shake, but Gabriella smacked it aside before wrapping her large, muscular arms around Isabella. Isabella groaned at Gabriella's inability to understand personal space and her underestimation of her own strength. Gabriella's large, 6'2 frame easily lifted Isabella's 5'5 self off the ground.

Gabriella had been in the same training regiment as Cathrine back in the US Marines. The two of them had become fast friends in the corps and had stayed friends throughout the disaster and beyond. They even volunteered for the Society on the same day. However, Gabriella had chosen to become a Shield Security officer while Isabella... she had gone down a different path.

"I heard what happened, Cap. Wanted to see if you were OK, and scare off the gawkers," Gabriella said using her nickname for Isabella. Isabella had never earned the rank of Captain, but that didn't stop Gabriella spreading the rumor that she had been. All to upset Isabella's giantess leader, no less... She had paid for that prank, though, but Isabella had never been able to get the nickname to unstick.

After a few agonizing seconds of Gabriella's bear hug, she put Isabella down and released her. Isabella coughed as she caught her breath and made sure her ribs were still intact.

"I'm fine, Gabby. Thanks for getting rid of them. My scouts have suffered enough without having to be paraded in front of people," Isabella answered with a smile. As if on cue, Flonne flew out carrying Aviel and Sanders in each hand. Gabby looked over at the fairy and her eyes flew open wide. She practically shoved Isabella aside as she stared with starry eyes at Flonne. Flonne backed up a little, unsure how to react.

"You got a fairy?! AWWW look at her cute wings and her little skirt and-" Gabby started in a cute voice before she stopped as her head seemed to catch up with her mouth. "-her two passengers." Aviel and Sanders stared in amazement at Gabriella's reaction.

Gabby coughed as she tried to move the conversation along, "H-Hey, pipsqueaks you two doing alright? Not letting this get you down too much are you?" Sanders didn't answer and just turned away with a look of shame.

"Be a lot easier if people would stop reminding us..." Aviel grumbled out through the radio as she stared back at the far more massive Gabby. Gabby's smile dimmed a bit. She backed up and rubbed the back of her neck in embarrassment.

"Sorry...I just...hell you know what I mean," she said unable to find the right words. The two scouts didn't seem to know and keep their gloom. Gabby looked about to try again which prompted Isabella to stop her before she said something stupid again.

"Gabby, can you take Dr. Manchent's body to medical? I want to let my scouts head back to rest ASAP," she asked pulling her friend away from trying to talk. Gabby looked about to go back to the two scouts, but Isabella managed to pull her away enough to get her to focus on her.

"Huh? Oh, yeah sure," she answered before getting a worried look, "Oh...and there is one thing I forgot. The Matriarchs wanted to see you. All of you, in the debrief room." Isabella cursed internally as she looked down at the ground. She had hoped to get Aviel and Sanders away from here before the debriefing, but now....

"How serious?" Isabella asked.

"Serious enough that they specifically said all four of Patrol 6. Not going to talk your way out of this or delay it. Can't really blame them with it being Gregor who was taken," Gabby answered, her smile having completely vanished.

"I suppose... Thanks for taking the bodies, an-" she was about to mention Gregor's last words, but reconsidered," ...never mind. I'll just see you later. Come on, Flonne. Let's get this over with."

"Okay..." Flonne answered as she zipped forward to fall in with Isabella. Gabby gave her a confused look, but just shrugged and headed for the jeep. Once she had walked a few steps, Isabella held out her hand and took her two scouts from Flonne. Isabella had wanted to ask Gabby what she thought of Gregor's message and the collar, but it might be best not to mention it to her at all, or anyone for that matter. This thing was giving her a bad feeling...

Isabella glanced back and saw Gabby getting into the jeep to get Gregor's body. She deactivated her radio before offering her shoulder to Flonne. Flonne accepted the invitation and sat down on her shoulder. Now they could all hear without Isabella risking anyone else hearing.

"Aviel, Sanders, Flonne, don't mention anything about Gregor's last words. Not to anyone, including the two Matriarchs," Isabella whispered just loud enough for them to hear. Both Aviel and Sanders turned toward her with stunned looks. Aviel jumped up with an angry look.

"WHAT?! We can't let the Resistance keep getting their hands on Society equipment! Those monsters will just use it to kill more innocent people, like... like Gregor and..." she stopped as she looked away.

"We don't want whoever gave the Resistance those weapons to learn we are on to them and, potentially, have a clue. And, we can't rule out that one of the Matriarchs may be the traitor, unlikely as it is", Isabella whispered trying to soothe Aviel. Aviel's anger slowly faded as she thought for a moment. Her face got back its neutral look as she nodded.

"Our best advantage is the fact that the traitor doesn't know we know they are here. Giving that up so soon would be pretty stupid. Alright, I'll keep it to myself," Aviel agreed before sitting back down.

"Me too! I won't let the baddie who hurt that man get away with it!" Flonne said with an actual serious face. Isabella looked at Sanders who nodded as well, but didn't say anything. He just stared off in the distance as if focused on something else as he gripped Isabella's middle finger in a death grip. Isabella didn't have time to ask what was the matter as the door to the base opened. Two security guards, dressed in the usual gray combat fatigues of security, were at the door, one of them all too familiar to Isabella. Both had the crossed swords of the Swords on their shoulders.

"Patrol 6, you are to come with us to the debriefing room. The Matriarchs wish to speak with you. Even the....fairy," the familiar one with brown shoulder length hair said, almost spitting out the last words. She glared at Flonne through her visor HUD and sneered a bit at her. Flonne whimpered before hiding behind Isabella's neck, a sniff escaping her.

"Leave her alone, Lutice," Isabella said with an equally hateful glare.

"Lu-Lutice?!" Sanders suddenly said in confusion over the radio. Isabella didn't have time to wonder about the outburst as Lutice turned toward Isabella and stepped closer, her face getting a smug smirk. She puffed out her C-cup chest as if trying to measure up to Isabella.

"Or you'll what? Hit me? Yell at me? Do anything? Just try it, but do be careful with those two...scouts of yours there," she said before she looked down at Aviel and Sanders, "Be a tragedy if I thought you were threatening me and my hand hit yours."

Isabella's anger flared as she pulled her carrying hand closer to her and covered it with her other. She stared daggers as Lutice and had to fight back the urge to smack her smug smile off her face. But doing that would be what Lutice wanted and she wasn't going to fall for that. Unfortunately, Flonne did not pick that up.

"Just try it, you big meanie! I'd catch them and then Isabella would kick your ass!" Flonne said before sending a burst of air to blast into Lutice's face. Lutice's head was sent back a bit from the sudden burst of air and her smug look vanished to be replaced by one of sheer rage. She took another step closer and her hand started going toward her baton. The other officer looked about to reach for her's before stopping and coming to attention. Lutice didn't notice as she took out her baton and started to brandish it toward Isabella.

"LUTICE, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Gabby yelled from behind Isabella. Lutice's smug look vanished to be replaced with on of terror as Gabby came charging toward her from behind Isabella.

"I-I...sh-" was all Lutice was able to stammer out as she looked up at the far taller and bigger Gabby.

"YOU ARE BRANDISHING A WEAPON AT A FELLOW SOCIETY MEMBER, AREN'T YOU?! AND one transporting tiny Society members as well! You better have damn good reason or so help me, I will shove that baton so far up your ass I will pull it out of your mouth and repeat the process till I get bored!" Gabby yelled straight into the face of Lutice. Isabella couldn't help but smile as Gabby showed off her old skills as a Drill Sergeant and put Lutice in her place as just a security member. Lutice backed away and whimpered out something that sounded sorta like an excuse, but Gabby apparently didn't like it.

"Sounds like bullshit to me! You are lucky I am on corpse delivery or you would be throwing up that baton right now! You," she said pointing at the other security officer, "take Lutice to the brig and keep her there till I get back. If she isn't there when I get there, you'll be coughing up batons too! Understood?"

"YES MA'AM!" the other officer yelled with a hint of terror in her voice. She grabbed Lutice and began half dragging half running her toward the brig. Gabby stared them both down as they retreated out of sight.

"Thanks, Gabby," Isabella said as she opened her palm back up to let Aviel and Sanders see again. Aviel had taken her sword out and looked ready for a fight, while Sanders was clutching her finger even tighter. Both calmed down as they saw that Lutice was gone.

"Don't mention it, Cap. That little bitch is getting too big for her panties, anyway. I swear those Sword girls think they can do whatever they want no matter their rank," Gabby grumbled angrily.

"They have been getting more...aggressive lately. Lutice was not one for such open shows of hostility until recently," Isabella commented.

"Yeah...like I said, too big for her panties. But enough chitchatting. Matriarchs will be the ones doing the ass insertions if I hold you up. Good luck in there," Gabby said as she headed off to the medical ward with a wave. Isabella sighed to herself as she headed for the debriefing room. It seemed like the tensions between the Shields and Swords got worse everyday. And she was about to walk right in the middle of it.

"What was that about, Sanders?" Aviel asked reminding Isabella of his outburst.

"N...Nothing. Just...I knew someone who was named Lutice once, but that couldn't have been her," he said in an unsure voice. Neither Aviel or Isabella pried any further, they had gone through enough today without dragging more old history out.

Isabella arrived at the debriefing room and looked at her three charges. They all didn't look ready in anyway, but there was no delaying it any longer. She opened the door and stepped into the debriefing room with the two leaders of the Atlanta area Advanced Science Society.

     Article on Shields and Swords Creation

In the year 2018, the Society was no longer able to ignore the threat posed by the Resistance. With the Society death toll around the world reaching into the thousands, the Director and Vice-Director came up with a new strategy to combat the threat. They split the Society into two main groups.

The first would be the Shields. The Shields would be tasked with protecting the already established cities and overseeing their continued prosperity. They would act as shields to their normal-sized charges and defend them from the threats o the Resistance and the outside world.

The second would be the Swords. The Swords would be tasked with taking the fight to the Resistance and driving them out of the areas around the cities. They would crush any threats and make more areas safe for the cities to expand into.

Since then, the two groups have worked hand in hand to lead the world into further prosperity and drive the Resistance back further and further. Loses due to Resistance efforts are at an all time global low and their activity has nearly reached negligible levels.

Chapter 8: Matriarchs

October 18, 2023 4:15 PM

Sanders snapped out of his thoughts as the door to the debriefing room came into view. Both Matriarchs...the heads of the Shield and Sword branch and the defacto leaders of this area were just inside. No one outside Society high command was above them and he was about to be put in front of them both. To say he was nervous was like saying a bull was pushy. The only good thing about this was he had forgotten to be depressed about failing Manchent.

He had only ever seen one of them, Shield Matriarch Cathrine, before now. She had been at his induction into the Rangers, along with a number of other recruits, giving them the usual intro speech. She had been rather imposing then, even not taking into account her skyscraper size, and that had been when she was talking to everyone in the room. Now there was a good chance he was going to be the center of attention. Not to mention Sword Matriarch Angela would be there too. He had never seen her, but had heard enough to know he didn't want to. But he was going as Isabella opened the door into the room.

The debriefing room was a rather bare place having only a few chairs set around a large table. It had no real ornamentation or decorations and looked just as utilitarian as its purpose. On the table, a miniature replica of the table was set in the middle of the larger table with its own miniature chairs. Two of them were at the edge closest to them, obviously meant for himself and Aviel. The back wall was dominated by a large screen that was currently displaying Isabella's report of what had happened. Two people were looking at it from their seats at the far end of the table. The both turned to face them as they entered.

The woman on the right Sanders recognized as Cathrine Williams. She was just as intimidating as he had remembered... Her slightly wrinkled and nearly emotionless face turned to regard them with judging stare. She was wearing near identical combat fatigues to the security officers save with the inclusion of some stripes to show her old rank of Colonel. Her green eyes moved between them as she crossed her arms. Her dark red, shoulder length, hair hung just above her eyes and gave her a slightly darkened stare making her all the more intimidating. Thankfully, her stare was fixed on Isabella for now.

That meant the woman on the left had to be Angela Buckel. Her long green hair hung down covering her right eye and pooling on her shoulders. Her blue left eye was calmly regarding them as if this was nothing but a unofficial get together. Unlike Cathrine, she was dressed in a simple low-cut V neck shirt, which showed off her generous cleavage nicely. They were at least Ds as far as Sanders could tell. Big, but still smaller than Isabell- SHIT WHY AM I THINKING ABOUT THIS NOW?!?! he thought to himself. Angela leaned back in her seat and smiled warmly at them. Unlike Cathrine, she didn't have any signs of wrinkles.

The Captain snapped to attention along with Aviel as they entered. Sanders did as well maybe a second later, getting a stare from Cathrine that made his blood run cold. He couldn't see what Flonne was doing on the Captain's shoulder, but imagined it wasn't right as both Matriarchs seem to look up to where she was.

"Isabella Raim, B-Rank, Ranger branch, Patrol-5, Full-sized member reporting, ma'am!" the Captain said loud enough to nearly cause Sanders to wince.

"Aviel Wolff, D+-Rank, Ranger branch, Patrol-5, Veteran Scout reporting, ma'am!" Aviel said barely a beat behind the Captain. Sanders would almost swear they had practiced that if he knew they didn't. Or at least not when he was around.

"Sanders Cutter, E-Rank, Ranger branch, Patrol-5, Roo- "he stopped as he realized his mistake, "Recruit Scout reporting ma'am!" Cathrine's gaze fell back onto him at his misspoken word and the barest hint of annoyance passed her face. He gulped a bit before Flonne's welcome voice got her attention.

"Uhhh...Flonne, fairy Ranger branch, Pa...ummm," Flonne said with an near void of confidence. Cathrine glared at her and looked about to say something when a chuckle from Angela stopped her.

"Hehe, that's good enough. We don't usually make fairies do these sorts of things, so we can let it slide, right?" Angela said looking at Cathrine. Cathrine sighed and nodded, but didn't look happy with it.

"At ease, take your seats," Cathrine said, her annoyance just barely noticeable in her tone. The Captain sat down in one of the chairs near the miniature version of the table. She lowered her hand onto the table and let him and Aviel off to head for their much smaller seats. He half marched half ran to his seat as Aviel calmly walked to hers. If she was intimidated by the two mansion-sized faces of their bosses watching them, she didn't show it. Sanders really envied Aviel's poker face. He felt like he had his nervousness and intimidation written all over his face.

Once everyone was settled, Angela looked over to Cathrine and motioned for her to go ahead. Cathrine nodded and made some selections on the touch screen of her wrist computer.

"Debriefing of Patrol-5, on mission to rescue Doctor Gregor Manchent to follow. Date: October 25, 2024. Debriefing begins," Cathrine said still looking at her wrist computer. She then made one final selection before turning her stoic gaze back to them.

"Myself and Angela have read your report, Isabella. As I am sure you are aware, the fact it lacks any of the details of the fight on the model train or Doctor Manchent's death is unacceptable. The potential sensitive information Doctor Manchent could have given to the Resistance means we cannot delay in hearing a full report," Cathrine said as she looked between them.

"I know you are tired and don't wish to dwell on Gregor's death, but we really have no choice. This matter is simply too pressing to let linger for even a night," Angela said in calm and understanding voice. She looked between them all before her narrow eyes settled on Sanders.

"Sanders was it?" she asked and he nodded, "Ah, good. Sanders why don't you start. Make sure not to leave out any details, no matter how small or graphic." Sanders swallowed a large lump in his throat as he adjusted his headset to make sure the mic was picking up right. He stood up and took parade rest as both Matriarchs stared at him. He had to swallow another lump as their massive size suddenly became all too evident to him. Shit, they could just blow hard and send him tumbling to his death...

"Y-Yes ma'am," he stammered out, his voice being amplified by the speakers so the three giantesses could hear him. Angela's smile spread at his discomfort, seemingly trying to urge him on. Cathrine was completely stoic as before.

Sanders managed to get through his side of how things went without stammering again. He made sure not to leave out any details and stuck to the facts, for the most part. He did stumble in a few places, getting the exact number of Resistance members wrong or just not remembering somethings completely clearly, but his confusion didn't draw any anger from either Matriarch. Instead they focused on making notes on their wrist computers or just listening to him.

"I tried to disarm the collar, but found it to be a code locked collar. Without the code there was nothing I could do. Guessing wrong would have triggered it so I tried to think of some other way to disarm or remove it. However, I had maybe a second, probably less, before the collar started to activate. Gregor..." he paused as he remembers the Captain's request. If the Matriarchs found out he had lied to them...Then again, the way Gregor had acted and his strange words...

"Gregor looked terrified as he realized there was nothing we could do. I tried to do something, anything, but...the collar went off," he said trying his best to keep his face completely free of all emotion. The two Matriarchs stared at him for a brief second and for an agonizing second he was sure they knew he had lied.

"Thank you, Ranger Cutter," Cathrine said as she began to tap at her computer again. Sanders let out his held breath as he saluted and turned to sit.

"Just a moment, Sanders," Angela said, causing Sanders' heart to stop for a moment.

"You paused near the end as if you were thinking of something. Right as you mentioned Gregor's last moments, in fact. Why?" she asked with the same calm smile on her face. Sanders' mind raced for an answer. Something they would believe, something he was really...of course!

"I...It was just painful having to relive that moment of seeing him...He was right in front of me when the collar went off, Matriarch Angela. I am sorry if it seemed like I was hiding something," he lied and easily managed to summon a pained look. His failure and horror at seeing Gregor die so violently was real enough, making it easy to sound convincing. It wasn't exactly untrue, after all.

Cathrine's stoic face showed the barest hint of a reassuring smile. She turned toward Angela as if to say she was satisfied with the answer. Angela stared at him for a few seconds before nodding in satisfaction.

"I see. Forgive my suspicions, it was just odd that you paused there and nowhere else. But, it is understandable why you did. Seeing such a horrid sight would give any man pause," she said in an apologetic tone. Sanders turned back to his seat and let out his held breath. He sat back down and let his heart-rate go back down to normal.

"Ranger Wolff, give your version of the events," Cathrine said once it looked like Angela was done. Aviel stood up and started telling her version of things without a hint of nervousness. She never stumbled once and seemed to have remembered nearly everything save a few small details here and there. Then she arrived at Gregor's death.

"Gregor was still hiding in the corner when I reentered the train car. Being closer to him, I noticed the collar on him. I pulled him over to Sanders to see if he knew how to disarm it. I thought his time as an SWAT officer and handling shock collars would perhaps have given him some knowledge I did not have. He looked at it and concluded it was a code-locked collar. Before he could do anything further, however, the collar activated and terminated Gregor," she said without the hint of any emotion. If Sanders didn't know better, he'd swear she was telling the complete truth. The two Matriarchs looked to believe it too as both simply nodded and took a few notes on their wrist computers.

"Thank you, Ranger Wolff. Fairy Flonne," Cathrine said as she looked at Flonne, "give your version of the mission."

"Umm...OK...well we started with getting in a car, or is it a jeep? Uhh, A-and then we got out and...uhhh..." Flonne stammered, obviously terrified. Sanders risked a glance back and saw Flonne slowly inching her way behind the Captain's head. She was rubbing her hands together nervously and was stark red from blushing.

Angela and Cathrine looked between themselves sending some kind of silent word with each other. Angela turned back to Flonne and gave her a warm smile.

"Why don't you just tell us what happened with Gregor instead of the whole story?" she suggested. Flonne didn't seem all that comforted by Angela's smile, but nodded anyway.

"OK...I...I heard fighting in the train where they were, but I couldn't see c-cause of the roof. S-So I ripped it off and saw a big mean guy pointing a big weapon at Aviel. I shot him into the air with my magic and snatched him u-" Flonne was just starting to get her confidence when Cathrine interrupted.

"JUST the parts with Gregor, Fairy Flonne," she said her annoyance plastered all over her face. Flonne epped and hid behind the Captain's head, but slowly peeked back out, the Captain's hair hanging off her.

"I..I didn't see much. I was outside when th-they started t-to yell about something. I-I looked in a-and the other m-man was l-looking at Sanders. T-then he p-poped and I l-looked away," she said before hiding again. Sanders blood ran cold as she let slip Gregor had been facing him. He tried to keep the nervousness off his face, but could feel his face twitching toward a look of horror.

"Looking at Sanders? Are you sure he was?" Angela asked as her warm smile faded away to a cold stare.

"I-I...I don't remember..." Flonne said trying to cover up her mistake. The two Matriarchs were not buying it though as they both narrowed their eyes.

"Was he or was he not?" Cathrine said with a harsh edge.

"I...I..."

"Fairy Flonne, you will answer the question right now!"

"I...he was...wasn....I..." Flonne stammered out as tears began to form in her eyes.

"ANSWER THE QUESTION!" Cathrine yelled, causing Sanders to cringe from the sound. Suddenly, the Captain jumped to her feet, causing Flonne to be pushed off her shoulder and hover behind her.

"Leave her alone, Cathrine!" she yelled at Matriarch Cathrine, thankfully not as loud as Cathrine had. Sanders and Aviel couldn't hide their utter shock at the Captain having yelled at the Shield Matriarch. They both stared up at their leader before looking at each other as if to make sure the other had heard the same thing. Sanders turned back toward Cathrine just as the entire table was shook by a massive earthquake.

Cathrine slammed her colossal hands down on the table as she stood up too. The impact nearly sent both Aviel and Sanders falling out of their chairs. Her face was twisted by sheer outrage as she practically screamed back at the Captain.

"HOW DARE YOU!? SIT BACK DOWN NOW, RANGER RAIM, BEFORE I HAVE YOU THROWN INTO THE BRIG FOR INSUBORDINATI-" Cathrine yelled before Sanders stopped comprehending her. Both Sanders and Aviel had clamped their hands over their ears, but it was no use. Cathrine's yell was like a nuclear bomb of sound going off to them. A nuclear bomb that keep going off. Sander's hearing faded away, replaced by ringing, but the pain in his ears didn't stop.

Finally, the pain subsided as a faint trickle of blood began to run down his ears and into his hands. He looked up to see Angela standing next to Cathrine. She was saying something to her and gesturing toward him and Aviel. Cathrine turned toward them and looked at them a moment. Her rage seemed to die down as she got back her stoic passive face. She sat back down as Angela turned to the Captain and said something to her.

Sanders got back to his feet and wiped the bit of blood on his hands onto his armor. Aviel had already gotten to her feet and was looking between the Captain and Cathrine. Sanders looked at the Captain and watched her sigh before taking her seat as well. The ringing in his ears slowly faded as sound returned to him.

"-s keep things civil. If for nothing else than for our smaller members' ears sake. Are you two alright?" Angela asked as she looked at them with a bit of worry.

"Yes, ma'am, we are fine," Aviel answered as Sanders nodded in agreement. Angela smiled at their assurances and took her seat. Sanders and Aviel sat back down as well as the three giantesses seemed to wait for the others to say something.

Finally, Angela cleared her throat, "Well, I believe we were asking Flonne about her version of the story. She had said Gregor was looking at Sanders when he had been killed. However, Isabella did bring up a good point that flustering her is not going to help get a straight answer.

"So," she paused as she looked at Flonne with a warm smile, "Flonne, was Gregor looking at Sanders when he died?"

"No, I...I just got confused," she answered still sounding rather scared. She ducked back behind the Captain and into her hair as Cathrine still glared at her.

"Well then, we will just assume it was her nerves getting the best of her. Is that fine by you Matriarch Cathrine?" Angela asked turning her smile toward her. Cathrine didn't look fine with it at all, but slowly nodded just the same.

"Wonderful. If the four of you would step out, we need to discuss your reports in private for a moment," Angela asked as she motioned for them to go. The Captain placed her hand back down on the table to let Sanders and Aviel climb back on before heading out through the door. It closed behind them a bit faster than normal, leaving them alone in the hallway.

"What the hell was that, Isabella?!" Aviel yelled up at the Captain. The Captain turned her massive eyes down toward Aviel as she continued, "Are you out of your mind yelling at Matriarch Cathrine?! You are lucky she didn't ship you off to some backwater nothing farm outpost!"

The Captain moved her hand so that Flonne came into view on her other shoulder. The fairy was clutching to the Captain's neck crying into it like it was her mother's bosom. Sanders was now keenly aware of why the Captain had yelled at Cathrine, and why she would do it again. Aviel opened her mouth to say something, but reconsidered it as Flonne keep on crying. The Captain sighed as she cast her eyes downward.

"Aviel, a good soldier would have stayed silent. But we are not soldiers, we are protectors, guardians. We are called the Shields for a reason, because we protect those that can't protect themselves. Ultimately, it is not Cathrine nor the Society we serve, but those that need help. Don't ever forget that," the Captain said like a teacher would explain a problem.

Sanders nodded in understanding at the Captain's words, even though they were not directed at him. It was sentiments like that that truly made him proud to serve under the Captain. And why he made sure to always refer to her as the Captain, even if it was not her official rank. Aviel, though, turned away from the Captain and crossed her arms. She shook her head before she huffed to herself.

"Well maybe I don't want to be a protector..." she whispered to herself, too softly for the Captain to hear. Sanders shoulder drooped a bit at hearing that. Aviel had always said she would have preferred to be the in the Swords, but they didn't use normal-sized people so she was stuck in the Shields till she proved herself. With what happened to her parents he supposed he couldn't blame her. She couldn't get the revenge she so badly wanted in the Shields.

They waited in silence for a few more minutes till the door into the debriefing room opened again. The Captain moved back inside and they all took their seats again, just like last time. Cathrine looked to have calmed down and simply stared at them with her impassive face, waiting for Angela. Angela looked up from her wrist computer and smiled at them.

"We have gone over your reports and come to a decision about your actions," she said before nodding to Cathrine.

"We have concluded that you did everything you reasonably could to try and save Doctor Gregor Manchent's life and stop the Resistance from gaining sensitive intelligence. His death was not your fault, but one of faulty intelligence and planning. You had no way of knowing the Resistance had access to such advanced technology and thus no way to prepare for it. Therefore, Ranger Wolff and Cutter are to be commended for going above their assigned roles and stopping the Resistance from escaping. Ranger Cutter, you are hereby promoted to D-Rank," Cathrine said as she looked at Sanders with just the barest hint of a smile. Sanders couldn't stop from looking surprised by the sudden promotion and took a few seconds to respond. Promoted for failing to save someone...

"I-...Thank you, Ma'am." he said as he stood and saluted. He tried to sound happy and enthused, but the promotion felt hollow considering what had happened. Neither Matriarch seemed to notice though as Cathrine continued.

"Ranger Wolff, we discussed promoting you to C-Rank and awakening your dormant shrink-immunity gene," Cathrine said as Aviel suddenly lit up. Her usual mask of emotionlessness fell away as she looked on in anticipation and excitement. Sanders wasn't sure how to feel honestly.

"We agreed that you are still not ready for that step, however. Your performance was admirable, but not good enough to warrant over-ruling Isabella's judgement of you not being ready," Cathrine said. Aviel's face darkened almost immediately and she looked about to slump into her seat. She stopped, though, as she straightened and saluted.

"I understand, Ma'am," Aviel said not letting any of the disappointment Sander was sure she felt get through. Instead, she simply keep her face stone-like and stared straight ahead. Sanders wanted to say something to comfort her, but just couldn't find the words. What did one say to someone who had their hopes raised and dashed like that?

"Ranger Raim, for your earlier outburst, you will be on cleaning duty for the next week and can consider this your warning that future conduct will see you demoted. Is that understood?" Cathrine said as she glared at the Captain. The Captain returned the glare, but nodded just the same. The two of them sat glaring at one another for a few seconds before Angela spoke up.

"I think that concludes this debriefing. As Cathrine said, we are very proud of your accomplishments. While Gregor's death is a tragedy, stopping his knowledge from falling into the Resistance's hands prevented a far greater tragedy. I hope you take some solace in that knowledge, despite his death," Angela said with the same warm smile. Sanders didn't feel much better after her talk. All he felt was the stinging memory of Gregor's death...and his words.

Cathrine nodded her agreement, finally tearing her eyes from the Captain. "Indeed, you all did fine work and should be proud. You are dismissed and can leave for some well-earned R&R."

With that, they all stood, saluted, and then reboarded the Captain's massive hand. Sanders went straight back to one of her waiting fingers and gripped it as Aviel simply sat down in the middle of her palm. She still didn't show any sign of emotion on her face as she just sat there and stared at the Captain's palm. The Captain turned a bit too quickly, causing Sanders to tighten his grip and Aviel to put a hand down to steady herself. Then she was off and heading out of the room.

Sanders waited till they were a few steps out of the room to let go of the Captain's finger. He crawled his way toward Aviel, having some trouble keeping his balance as the hand shook. He got to her and had to take a few minutes to steady himself as he tried to sit next to Aviel. She glanced up at him, her face still a mask of passiveness.

Sanders tried to think of something to say to her, but again drew a blank. Finally, he just put his arm around her and gave her the best smile he could manage.

"Sorry," he said as he tired to comfort her. Aviel snorted at him before shaking her head. She looked away, but didn't try to move away from him. Instead she placed her head on his shoulder and just stared off into the air. Sanders did the same as his thoughts turned back to Gregor. Lindale...what had he been trying to tell them? And what had they just gotten into by not telling it to the Matriarchs.


     Article on Matriarchs

Matriarchs are the leaders of the Society of any given region. A mixture of General and President, Military and Political figures. For those in the Society, they are the highest authority, save for those in high command. Society members are expected to obey their orders without question or hesitation.

Those outside the Society, however, are under no such obligation. While Matriarchs do have some sway with the local government of their area, they cannot override or disregard laws or requests made by the local government unless they directly contradict their orders from high command. However, such issues have rarely happened as most laws that are unpopular with the Matriarchs rarely succeed. Of course, the Matriarchs only rarely involve themselves in political issues unless it directly affects the Society.

All regions have two Matriarchs, one for the Shields and one of the Swords. These two work together and decide how best to continue to use the Society's resources to help the people of the region. While deputes between them are not unheard of, most are simply a matter of small details and worked out. Those that do become serious are dealt with by High Command.

The current Matriarchs of the Atlanta region are Cathrine Williams for the Shields, and Angela Buckel for the Swords. Cathrine has held the position for three years while Angela has held it for only one after the removal of the last Sword Matriarch. Information on the removal of the previous Sword Matriarch is Classified.

Chapter 9: Overhead

October 18, 2023 5:04 PM

They arrived back at the Rangers' equipment room to find it, thankfully, empty. Isabella stayed back as Flonne carried Aviel and Sanders down to their lockers. Flonne intently watched them as they put up their equipment before kneeling down to get a better look. Even knelt down, she towered over the two scouts by at least a good six inches. It didn't sound like much, but to the 3/4th inch tall scouts it was like a six story building leaning down to watch them.

Aviel didn't seem to pay the fairy any mind as she finished putting her equipment away. Sanders, though, looked to be talking to her about various things and causing the fairy to ohh and ahh a few times. Isabella, however, couldn't hear anything thanks to them no longer having their radios on. Isabella couldn't help but feel left out, a feeling she was all too accustomed too.

Finally, Sanders and Aviel finished and they turned back to Flonne. The fairy gently picked them up and flew them back toward Isabella. Isabella held out her hand for them and took them the rest of the way to the platform. No one said anything as they traveled making the trip rather morbid and awkward. Then again, no one wanted to talk about what had happened.

The platform was rather bare of people. It was late now and most of the day workers had left and the night workers taken over. She sat them down on the platform as Flonne flew down to look at the station in utter wonder, like a child at a new toy shop. She made sure not to actually land on it though. Both Sanders and Aviel turned toward Isabella waiting to be dismissed.

"I..." Isabella started before reconsidering, "Just get some rest and try to forget about today. Take tomorrow off to do something nice for yourselves. And that isn't an order, just a request, alright?"

Isabella's eye-patch HUD zoomed in to let her see their faces, despite the size difference. Sanders' tiny form gave a smile and nodded as Aviel simply stared at Isabella. Isabella could tell she was angry at not being promoted and still being small. She was turning to leave when Isabella called out to her, "Aviel, wait." Aviel's shoulders dropped as she turned around to face Isabella.

"I am sorry that they did not promote you. But I stand by my decision that you are still not ready, even after today. I know you have the skill and drive to be a wonderful member, but I... I don't want you to rush into this.I just don't want you to have to suffer through what I do," Isabella said as she felt her tears welling up again. She fought them back as she tried to push the memories of Jeremy away.

"I do understand, Isabella. But that doesn't mean I have to like it or accept it. Just because YOU messed up doesn't meant I will," Aviel's tiny voice said as she turned away. Isabella sighed to herself as Aviel retreated back to the gate. Sanders was waiting for her there and proceeded through the checkpoint after her.

"Bye!" Flonne said to them when she noticed they were leaving and gave them a big happy wave. Sanders returned it before elbowing Aviel and making her give a half-hearted one. They then boarded the tram and headed back into the tiny city that was just barely glowing off in the distance.

Isabella sighed as she watched them go. She hoped Aviel would come to accept her reasons soon, but knew that the chances of such were low. She really did have the makings of a great Society member, but Isabella feared she would travel down a path she knew all too well. A path that would only lead Aviel to forgetting what was really important. A path Isabella wanted to desperately steer her away from...

With the scouts gone, Isabella turned back to leave the area, checking her feet first, and headed for the barracks. While she wanted to continue to think of how to save Aviel, she still had a clue to look into and a mystery she did not want her scouts involved in. She had only gotten a few steps before the familiar fluttering reminded her she still had one person with her. Isabella turned to Flonne and saw her let out a long yawn.

"Maybe you should go get some rest too," Isabella suggested as the fairy landed on her shoulder.

"No, I'm fine. I'm not sleepy," Flonne obviously lied as she yawned again.

"Flonne, you need to get some sleep. It has been a long day," Isabella softly chided the sleepy fairy.

"I don't wanna, I don't like going back to the cages," Flonne whined. She huffed, crossed her arms, and turned away from Isabella. Isabella felt a bit of sadness hit here gut as she remembered seeing the cages the fairies were usually put in. She still didn't understand why they were locked up like that. The catgirls at least needed to be because of their danger to tinies, but the fairies were no threat to anyone. But Flonne didn't have to sleep there now that she was in Isabella's care.

"Flonne, you won't have to sleep in the cages ever again. You will be sleeping with me in my room from now on," she said to the back of the fairy. Flonne wheeled around to look at Isabella, studying her face for any sign she was kidding.

"Do...do you mean it? No more c-cages?" she asked her voice trembling a bit.

"Yes, no more cages," Isabella said giving the fairy a warm smile. Flonne got a giant smile as she leap into the air. She cheered and laughed as she circled around the area making loops and barrel rolls through the air. Isabella was glad no one else was around to see her little performance as she felt her face blush.

Suddenly, Flonne zoomed toward Isabella and wrapped her arms about halfway around Isabella's face. She pulled herself into Isabella's cheek and started to blurt out, "Thankyouthankyouthankyou," faster than Isabella could easily hear. Isabella returned the hug as gently and as best as she could, only really able to get her fingers around Flonne's much smaller frame.

"You're we- calm down now," she said as she finally got Flonne to stop talking, "you're welcome. Now why don't you go see your new home?"

"OKAY!" Flonne cheered before almost taking off.

"Wait! Its in the barracks. Room 136, alright?"

"OK! Room 136, 136, 136," she repeated to herself before taking off like a rocket toward the barracks. Isabella smiled after her retreating form. Something as simple as a room had made her so happy...

She pushed those thoughts away as her smile melted off. It was back to the business of finding out what Manchent had been trying to tell her and she had no time for distractions while it was left unsolved. Her instincts told her there was something she was missing, something important, but she couldn't see what it was. For now, she would just have to go on the clue she had and find Lindale.

Isabella waited for Flonne to get a bit of a head start before heading for the barracks herself. Hopefully, Alice would be in her room and wouldn't mind letting Isabella borrow her maps.  Alice was a bit...reclusive and nearly everyone found her discomforting, but Isabella had been partnered with her back when they were both normal-sized. Isabella considered Alice a friend and Alice seemed to as well, though it was kinda hard to tell with her. If nothing else, she didn't seem to find Isabella's company disagreeable.

The barracks was a new structure built by the Society to house a hundred of the thousand plus full-sized Society members that worked around New Atlanta. It had been built where an old parking deck had been before it was torn down. It was rather bland as far as building went as it had been built with utility in mind, rather than aesthetics. It was just a basic square that rose two stories into the air. Windows lined its outside and a door on either side lead into it.

Isabella heading inside and saw a few other members chatting in the small entrance lobby. They waved at her and she waved back before continuing toward Alice's room. She arrived at Alice's door after a few minutes of walking and knocked on it. There was a few seconds of silence before the door opened. Alice appeared at the door wearing a pair of sleeping shorts and a tube-top. Her shoulder-length black hair was a bit messy, looking to have been uncombed. Her brown eyes looked up at the slightly taller Isabella with all the emotion of a dull rock.

"Isabella," she said in her nearly mechanical voice. The corner of her mouth ever so slightly moved up in the closet thing she ever came to a smile. Isabella returned the "smile, though in the more traditional way.

"Alice, sorry to bother you so late. I am not interrupting anything, am I?"

"No," Alice said simply before moving to the side to let Isabella in. Isabella headed in and was still stuck by how spartan Alice lived. All she had was a bed, a single dresser, a small desk, a padlocked trunk, and a blacked out window. A door off to the left lead to her bathroom and...that was it. There were no decorations of any kind anywhere to be seen and the only form of entertainment Isabella could see was a pair of books lying on the floor next to the bed. Even cosmetic supplies were absent save a brush Gabby had given Alice for her birthday as a gag gift, Isabella was fairly sure it still hadn't been used. Isabella wasn't surprised by the state of the room in the least, however. Alice had always been very utilitarian with everything, especially her own belongings.

Alice closed the door as she asked, "Do you need something?" Straight to the point as always...

"Yes, actually. I need your help to find someplace or something," Isabella said, still debating on telling her the whole story.

"What?"

"Lindale," Isabella said.

Alice's eyes narrowed a bit as she asked, "Why?" Isabella was torn on whether to tell Alice about Gregor or not. Lying to Alice wouldn't be easy, but getting her involved in this was just too dangerous.

"Personal reasons," Isabella lied keeping her face emotionless. One of Alice's eyebrows raised as she stared at Isabella. She didn't say anything, but her look made it obvious she found that explanation, unsatisfactory.

"Reasons I do not want to say because I do not want you involved," Isabella said going with the truth rather than another lie. Alice's eyes narrowed again as she stared at Isabella. Alice waited for a few heartbeats before sighing and going to her trunk. She unlocked it and dug through it before finding and old, heavily battered and slightly torn map.

Alice unfolded it and looked over it for a few seconds before placing it on her desk, still only half unfolded. Little notes in short hand that Isabella didn't fully understand covered it all over along with markings and other designs. The outline of Old Atlanta was clearly marked on it, though, along with most of the still intact highways and new tiny cities. Alice pointed out the old 75 highway and showed it going north-east to the town of Rome, a well known Resistance hot spot. Isabella was about to tell Alice that she was looking for Lindale, not Rome, when Alice pointed to a small town just on the edge of Rome's southern tip. The name next to the town was right by Alice's finger, Lindale.

"Do you know anything about it?" Isabella asked as she took out a notepad and began to write the directions to it down.

"Old mill town. Mill closed, town suffered," she said before shrugging, "Never went that far. Rome dangerous now."

Rome was indeed dangerous. So dangerous even the Swords seemed to be happy just to ignore them, despite being a known Resistance hideout and black market. It having a National Guard Armory plus two fully stocked and well run hospitals before the shrink had given the Resistance there access to some nasty weapons. Syringes full of medical cocktails shoot out of jury-rigged assault rifle-turned gun emplacements all behind massive rivers made for an intimidating prospect for assault. Not to mention whatever traps they had rigged up in the actual town proper. The town was a veritable fortress that had been left alone mostly due to its distance from Atlanta.

Thankfully, Lindale was outside the city limits so there was a chance it would not be so well fortified. Hopefully, she could get in and out without much trouble. Of course, going straight there and back would be too obvious a clue to anyone who might be watching her thinking Gregor might have said something. She would have to go to a few places off the beaten path to throw them off the trail.

She wrote down a few other places that was on the map and were well outside the usual patrol range before nodding to Alice. Alice watched her mark the other places and gave her a worried look.

"Don't worry, Alice. I will be careful," Isabella reassured her as she put away her notepad.

"Overhead."

"I am not over my head," Isabella snapped back. Alice stared at her before shaking her head and folding back up her map. Isabella ignored her as she stood up and moved toward the door.

"Thank you for the help, Alice," Isabella said as Alice gave a grunt in acknowledgment. She was angry, and Isabella couldn't blame her. She had left her out of the loop and refused to accept her help to protect her. If Alice had done it to Isabella she would have been angry too. But it was for her own good, at least until Isabella stopped getting this feeling she had...

Isabella left and headed for her room on the second floor. She opened the door and found her room to be a bit messier than she remembered. A few of her clothes had been scattered about along with some of her make-up. A bottle of water had been knocked over and one of her clean pants had been used to sorta clean it up. Isabella felt anger rise up in her as she looked around for Flonne.

Her anger faded, however, when she noticed the small fairy. She was laying on Isabella's pillow curled up in one of Isabella's clean towels as a blanket. Flonne gave a soft yawn as the lights disturbed her, but she simply rolled over and went back to sleep. Rather than yelling at her, Isabella let her rest as she cleaned up the worst of the mess.

With that done, she looked for a place to put the fairy for the night so that she wouldn't accidentally hurt her. Isabella looked at her nightstand and felt her heart sink. The picture of Jeremy, her husband, rested there still smiling in his usual carefree way. She looked back over to Flonne and smiled as she got an idea. She picked up the pillow as gently as she could and laid it on her night stand, next to the picture of Jeremy.

Flonne didn't budge an inch as she sleep through her move until she was placed back down. She mumbled under her breath before rolling over to face Jeremy's picture.

"It is not the same, Jeremy, but it is the best I could do," she whispered to the picture before heading over and turning off the lights. The light coming in through the window let her see her way back to her bed and the nightstand. She looked down and gave Flonne's tiny head a soft kiss goodnight. Flonne mumbled again under her breath.

"-ood night, Mommy," she said with a soft yawn. Isabella's eyes shoot open and she recoiled from Flonne. Isabella didn't try to hold the tears back as she sat back down on her bed. She let them flow freely as her thoughts turned back to that day. Looking under her foot to see...

She had to cover her mouth to not wake Flonne as she cried out in pain and loss. Everything she ever wanted, everything she dreamed off, crushed under her own foot, turned into nothing but a smear. She cried as she begged forgiveness from whoever was listening and longed to her the one voice she would never hear again.

    Excerpt of Doctor Gregor Manchent's biography

While Doctor Manchent  was best known for the tram line built in Atlanta, it was far from his only contribution to the city. In fact, his genius level skill in engineering and design saw him assisting in nearly every major infrastructure work done in the city and many done outside the city.

During the first few years after the Shrink Disaster, Gregor spent nearly all his time designing and planning construction projects nearly everywhere, including areas far outside the city limits. Back during those early years, the Resistance had not appeared allowing him to travel nearly completely freely, save for a single giantess that acted as a bodyguard. He spent two years moving from project to project both inside and outside Atlanta leaving behind great works to rival that of any done today.

In 2018, Gregor began his largest and most ambitions project, the Atlanta Tram line. Creating a tram small enough for shrunken people, but fast enough to allow travel all over the city proved a great challenge. However, with the help of Society scientists, Doctor Manchent managed to create a tram that could do just that. Once that challenge was meet, it took only a year to build thanks to the Society's assistance and Atlanta exploded in size and prosperity.

Despite the extensive wealth he gained because of these accomplishments, Doctor Manchent never lived lavishly. He owned a small flat that all described as simple, but cozy, and gave much of his wealth to charities, scholarships, and even to just random people. His kind heart, welcoming smile, and willingness to help nearly anyone no matter what made him a much beloved citizen of Atlanta. It was no surprise that his funeral drew in thousands of mourners including a number of Society members, including both Matriarchs. He will be sorely missed by all those in Atlanta.

Chapter 10: R&R

October 19, 2023 8:03PM

For the first time in a long time, Sanders found himself waking after 10am. Yesterday had left him exhausted in every way imaginable and even his alarm couldn't wake him. Despite his oversleeping, a large part of him wanted to just roll over and go back to sleep. At least in his dreams he didn't have to see Manchent's face... Have to remember he had failed and it had cost someone their life.

He rolled off his bed and slowly got himself bathed and dressed. He really had no plans, nor wanted any, for today. All he really wanted to do was just get his mind off his failure yesterday. TV, games, porn, whatever it took. He did all the above and then some as the day dragged on, but they were only temporary retreats. Ironic that he would have his first day off in weeks and he could not enjoy it in the least.

It didn't help that all the news stations were reporting about Manchent's death. Not a single one had anything else other than his death, their lose for losing him, and the public's panic at the Resistance managing to pull off such a kidnapping. Resistance hysteria and fear was going to go through the roof...again. He might have been angry at the News channels cashing in on his death and the fear if he wasn't feeling it was all his fault.

Finally, the sun began to vanish past the titanic old skyscrapers and night slowly moved to take its place. Sanders was about to just settle in for the night when his phone buzzed for his attention.  He unlocked it and found a message from Aviel waiting for him.

"Other Ranger patrols want to celebrate your promotion and welcome you to the big leagues. Come to the Giga Stomp at 8.

PS. Don't try to weasel out of it, it will only be worse if you do."

Sanders groaned inwardly at the thought of having to go out, much less going out to celebrate. This promotion was nothing but a reminder of how he had failed to save a man and he just wanted to forget about it. But he knew there was no getting out of it. He had little doubt the other Rangers would show up at his door and drag him there if they had to. He grumbled and cursed as he got himself dressed in some of his nicer clothes before heading out.

Despite the crowded tramlines, Sanders managed to arrive at the Giga Stomp a little after 8:00. The place was one of the biggest clubs in Atlanta known for its loud music, giant-sized dance floor, and having more types of beer on tap than could be contained in their five page drink book. In fact, rumors said there were some types that you could only get by knowing secret phrases and contained all kinds of illegal stuff. Sanders had only been here once before, with Aviel when he had first joined the Rangers, and had no real wish to go in again. But, he knew he would regret it if he blew off his fellow Rangers.

The line to get into the Giga Stomp was, as always, far too long to be worth it. He was about to simply leave and take whatever hell the others dished out at him when a voice yelled out at him. He looked over and saw one of the Rangers of Patrol 2 waving him over from the door. Like Sanders, he was dressed in nice clothing, but nothing really formal. His brown hair hung from his head like a shaggy mope and his green eyes already had the signs of alcohol in them. Sanders sighed as he realized there was no getting out of it now and headed for the door. A few jeers and curses came from the line, but the bouncer's angry scowl got most of them to be silent as he let Sanders in.

"Sanders, good to see you, man. Was starting to think you were not going to show and we would have to go fetch you," the Ranger said as he clamped his lanky arm around Sanders. "Name's Trent, by the way, Trent Leon. I'm on Patrol 2 in case you were wondering," he continued barely giving Sanders a chance to get out a word.

"Now, we need to hurry along. Don't want to keep the girls waiting now do we?" he said practically pushing Sanders along.

"Girls? What do you mean girls?!" Sanders managed to stammer out as he tried to stop himself. He sure as hell didn't agree to this and he couldn't believe Aviel had...actually he could believe it.

"What? What ar- Oh OHHHH No nonononono, not that kind of girls," Trent said catching on to what Sanders was thinking. "The Ranger girls. You see," he hooked his arm around Sanders again and began to lead him deeper into the club entrance, "it just so happens that most of the Ranger patrols with more guys than girls in them are out on patrol, where as the ones with more females, are off duty. Which means there are five girls waiting for just us three guys, me, you, and Bland, but he doesn't really count because he is...well bland. Hence the nickname."

Suddenly Sanders realized why Trent was making sure he didn't go anywhere but toward the party. He was not in the mood for this, but the only other place he had to go was back home to wallow in his depression. He supposed this was a better option and, though he would never admit it, the allure of five to three ratio was too good to pass on. He let himself be lead into the main area of the club without protest.

Even though Sanders had seen it before, he still had to gawk at the sheer scope of the Giga Stomp. What had once been an overly pampered and done-up entrance to some business was now a truly massive dance club on a scale full-sized clubs could only imagine. The club was three scale floors high and each floor had its own theme, DJ, and decoration to set them all apart. The first level was the typical club vibe with booming music, flashing lights, and more people than anyone could hope to count. Above them the second and third level dance floors were visible thanks to their glass flooring allowing the higher levels to look down on the lower ones and vice verse. Around the dance floor were a number of bars set to provide anyone with drinks and snacks. Further out from there were set the small tables and booths for those who had tired of dancing and wanted to recharge. The music was nearly deafening and Trent had to lean down to Sanders ear to be heard.

"WE'RE UP ON THE SECOND LEVEL. DON'T WORRY, ITS A LOT QUIETER!" he yelled into Sanders' ear, still only just loud enough to be heard. Sanders nodded and the two headed for the stairs leading up to the second level. They arrived at the second level and opened the sound-proof door leading inside. Sanders let out a sigh of relief as the door closed and the booming music was left behind.

The second floor of the Giga Stomp was almost like a completely different building from the first. Rather than booming music that seemed to pound into ones head, it had soft, background music playing. It was still dance music, but much slower and more delicate than the thumping techno downstairs. A single bar provided the dance floor with drinks with the rest of the floor being taken up with booths and server areas. Most people forget that Giga Stomp actually had a restaurant in it, including Sanders. Trent led the way through the many dining parties before making a beeline for a table near the edge of the seating area. Seven people were seating at the round table with two empty seats for Trent and Sanders. The group was idly chatting with each other as the two of them approached.

"Hey, hey, guess who I found? Man of the hour himself," Trent said before pushing Sanders forward to lead the way. Sanders suddenly found seven pair of eyes all staring at him and only knowing one of them, Aviel's.

"Hi, I'm...Sanders Cutter. Nice to meet all of you," Sanders said with a small hint of nervousness. Aviel smirked at his nerves showing but, thankfully, didn't say anything. The others all said their "hi"s and "nice to see you" and such. Sanders took his seat next to Aviel as Trent came up beside him.

"Alright, time for introductions," he said before pointing Sanders' head to Aviel, "This is Aviel, she works in Patrol 5, has lovely red-hair, is single, has an OK rack, and is about to hit me." About became did as Aviel punched Trent in the arm getting a chuckle from those at the table.

"Oww! Not so hard!" Trent said as he rubbed his arm.

"Pussy, take it like a woman, Trent," a colored woman with long black hair said from across the table.

"Screw you, Lizette. Which reminds me, that is Lizette Wembley. She is in my patrol and a real pain in the ass," Trent said getting a bird from Lizette and more laughter. Sanders was started to chuckle himself, despite himself.

"Moving on from that thing," double birds flew out now, "next to her is Blanch Devine or Bland. He is in my squad too." "Bland" looked anything but with his dyed red hair and obviously contact colored yellow eyes. And yet at the same time his clothing was just...well bland and seemed completely at odds with the look he was going for...whatever that was.

"I told you to stop calling me that. Come on, its not funny," Blanch said with a sad look. Everyone seemed to ignore him, though.

"Those two are in Patrol 4 and are Laci Trengove and Rena Gonzalez," Trent continued pointing out two new girls. Laci had average black hair and green eyes, but seemed a good head taller than most people at the table, even sitting down. She smiled warmly at Sanders before nodding. Rena was hispanic in origin and had a mess of brown hair. She gave him a half-hearted wave before going back to her drink.

"And last, but not least is Patrol 6, Madeleine Frank and Jadyn Hope," Trent finished as he pointed to the two girls closest to him. Madeleine had her long black hair up in some braids and her blue eyes regarded him in a way that was eerily similiar to Aviel's. The colored Jadyn, however, keep her brown eyes downcast and only looked up for a moment to wave before looking away.

"Sadly, Patrols 1, 3, 7, and 8 all had to be on patrol so they are going to miss the party, but we can more than make up for their lost fun with our own, right?" Trent said elbowing Sanders.

"Uhh..sure," Sanders said feeling very much out of his element here. Trent didn't seem to notice as he went and took his seat.

"Excuse me, sir?," a waitress asked at Sanders' shoulder, "What would you like to drink?"

"Huh? Oh," Sanders paused as he noticed everyone else was drinking some form of alcoholic drink, "Rum and coke please."

"Oh come on, new guy. You got to get something better than that!" Lizette said with a huff.

"Yeah, the new guy always has to drink the heaviest drink, that is the rule for these things," Rena said as she leaned forward to give a nice few of her low cut shirt. Sanders stammered a bit before looking over to Aviel for help only to find her talking with Laci and facing the complete other-way. How convenient... He had no wish to get wasted tonight, but just flat out refusing would not earn him any friends. Damn he hated being the ne-...

"Well, I guess its a good thing I am not the new guy anymore. That's what this party is about, isn't it? That I'm no longer the rookie?" Sanders said with some very forced confidence. Rena and Lizette looked about to say something, but stopped as they thought about that.

"He does bring up a good point. We are celebrating him NOT being a new guy anymore," Madeliene said with a smirk in his direction.

"Hahaha, looks like he got you two," Trent said with a big smile before flinching at the raised fist of Lizette. It seemed he had found a way out of having to get trashed tonight.

"Rum and coke it is then," Sanders said to the waitress who went off to fetch his drink.

"Well, once the lightweight gets his drink, anyone care if we begin the real night festivities? Typical rules, loser and bluffs tell, folds help pay the tab, everyone fine with that?" Rena asked as she took out a well worn deck of cards. Everyone else nodded in agreement leaving Sander completely lost. He felt a tap on his shoulder as Aviel leaned over toward him, apparently finished with her conversation.

"The game is Straight Poker. We don't play with money though. Instead, if you fold you throw in a dollar for everyone's tab at the end of the night. If you lose, or fold to a bluff, though, you have to tell an embarrassing story of some kind. Doesn't have to be about you, though. We ran out of those a while back," Aviel explained. Sanders was about to nod when Trent spoke up.

"You, though, have to tell embarrassing stories about yourself. We haven't heard all of yours yet, after all," he said with a smile Sanders wanted to punch off. That son of a bitch... Unfortunately, everyone all nodded in agreement and Sanders' drink arrived just in time to stop him from debating the point. He had a feeling he was going to be doing a lot of folding...

Rena dealt the cards and Sanders feeling proved true. His hands were all terrible for the first couple of games and he was not alone in that. The first three games only had a winner as most people just folded.

"Oh come ON! Rena you are done dealing, you suck at this!" Levette said as she snatched up the cards and gave them to Blanch. "Here, Bland, you deal them." Rena grumbled and said a few untoward words under her breath as Blanch expertly shuffled and then dealt out the cards.

This time Sanders found himself with one hell of a hand, three jacks, a queen, and a four. He called it and watched as everyone else folded. No drink money was coming from him this time. Then it came around to Aviel, who called it too. He looked over at her and saw her calmly regarding him with her usual emotionless face. Dammit, he couldn't read anything off her face. He had some good cards, but... no it wasn't worth it.

"Fold," he said before tossing his cards away. Aviel smiled as she revealed her cards to be...nothing. All she had was a high 7. Oh crap, if he lost to a bluff then...

"Well, it seems someone got bluffed," Madeleine said holding his cards and showing his great hand. The table erupted in ohhs and laughter as they all turned to look at Sanders. He gulped as he tried to think of the least embarrassing thing he could think of, but would still appease them. Before he could, though, Aviel spoke up.

"How about what happened when you first got picked up by Isabella?" Aviel asked with a dagger like smile. Sanders gave her his best death glare he could as the table began to beg for the story. There was nothing for it, he was going to have to tell it.

"Fine...fine...The first time I got picked up by Isabella, I made the mistake of sitting near the edge of her hand. She picked us up a bit too fast and seeing the ground just fall out like that was...pants wetting terrifying. Which I did. But it only got worse thanks to my motion sickness and vertigo. I tried to stumble away from the edge, still pissing myself, but I only managed to turn around before I barfed too. Right onto Isabella's hand..." Sanders said trying to be as quiet as possible. It didn't help as everyone had leaned in to hear. The table erupted in laughter as Sanders felt his face turn tomato red. He was going to get Aviel back for this...

"And the look on Isabella's face was priceless. I have never seen her more disgusted, but trying desperately not to show it, in my life," Aviel added.

"Oh man, pissing AND barfing on your giantess? How did you even get into the Rangers? Even Laci was able to hold it her first time," Rena said between laughter.

"R-Rena! Don't be an asshole!" Laci scolded Rena to which Rena made a blah blah motion with her hand.

The rest of the night Sanders made sure to fold no matter what. Most of the stories were not nearly as personal as his, being more about other people doing stupid stuff. Most of them were funny, save for one told by Blanch which fell completely flat. Sanders enjoyed himself immensely, having forgotten about Manchent, the mystery, and everything for a night and, instead, just enjoying some alcohol and good laughs. As the night dragged on the others, including Aviel, grew increasingly drunk and the card game feel aside forgotten.

Eventually, the party moved to the dance floor and the group displayed some...interesting dance moves. Their drunk "dancing" was more like just people flaying about and it wasn't long before they were all shooed back to their table. As the group began to head back, Sanders noticed Aviel was off standing near the edge of the dance floor, nursing a drink. He headed over to her.

"Tired of the drunken antics?" Sanders asked as he came up to stand beside him. Aviel looked over and shook her head.

"No just...thinking," she said before looking down through the dance floor to the still rocking lower level.

"About not getting the promotion?" Sanders asked.

"No...and yes in part. I...I just realized that if I had gotten that promotion I would have missed this," she said gesturing back to the table that was currently being used like a mini battlefield with forks as catapults. Sanders wasn't sure he wanted to know what the ammo was.

"In fact, I would miss all of them. Once I got back my size I could never come back here. Never be able to take part of these nights again or get these kinds of drinks again," Aviel said finishing off her drink. Sanders stared at her in confusion wondering where the hell this was coming from. She looked up at him and he got his answer. Her face was completely flushed and the smell of booze came off her like mighty waves. It was all Sanders could do not to turn away from her face as she keep going. She wasn't completely smashed, but she was well on her way.

"I know Isabella is scared I will wind up like her. That I will make some horrid mistake in my need for vengeance. A mistake that will plague me forever... And I am not so stupid or arrogant that I believe it can't happen... but I can't just stop. I HAVE to get revenge, its all I have, its all that has keep me going. You understand, right Sanders?" she said moving closer to Sanders. Sanders didn't move away, despite her breath and stood his ground as he looked down at the slightly shorter Aviel. He felt a bit of anger rise up in him at her words.

"No, I don't. Is the fact Isabella treats you like her own daughter not good enough? Is all your Ranger comrades not good enough? Am I not good enough?" Sanders said as he glowered down at Aviel. Aviel looked down and mumbled something out.

"What?" Sanders asked getting her to look up. To his surprise, her eyes had the beginnings of tears in them. His frown vanished to be replaced with a look of shook and confusion.

"For how long?! How long until you or them or Isabella wind up like my parents, or Caroline, or my other partners, Kimberly, Tom, and Colin? All dead...and left me here... How long before..." she stopped before brushing past him and heading for the bathroom. Sanders tried to say something, but she was gone before he got out a word. He just stood there for a few minutes until Trent came and dragged him back to the table.

Sanders didn't join in the merriment at the table, his eyes constantly going back to the bathroom. Aviel did not come out of it even as the party winded down. Finally, everyone had had enough and began to file out. The girls went into the bathroom to check on Aviel and brought her out looking even more drunk than before. She was a mess and had, somehow, gotten two more shots in her system. She was completely wasted and was not going to be getting home in her condition. Considering everyone else was on the verge of that same level of drunkenness, Sanders volunteered to take her home. He bid the others farewell as he and the still barely conscious Aviel headed for the tram going to her stop.

A few people gave them so odd looks as Sanders had to practically drag the wasted Aviel on board. He set her in the window seat before sitting down next to her. She mumbled out some random words before slumping up against the window and passing out. Sanders looked over at her, still hearing her drunken admission. He sighed to himself as he looked out the window. He wished he could do or say something that would help her, but he really had no idea what to do. But maybe...maybe someone he knew would.

    Excerpt of guest column in New Atlanta Journal website written by anonymous. Received over 500,000 positive reviews, less than a hundred  down votes.

Doctor Manchent's death just further proves how far those damn terrorist outside our city will go! The man never hurt anyone and even spoke out against the war with the Resistance on multiple occasions! Hell, some of the very structures and infrastructure they probably relay on was built BY Doctor Manchent to help them!

We have let this war go on too long without taking matters into our hands! How much longer will we let the Society do all the fighting for us?! We need to stop relaying on these heroic women, who give their lives everyday, and fight ourselves! It is time WE stand up to these terrorists who continue to try and steal our way of life! It is time New Atlanta formed its own army and did its part to assist the Society in defending our homes!

Chapter 11: Kids and Parents

November 24, 2023 11:15 AM

Sanders looked out the window of the tram as it headed for the outskirts of New Atlanta. It had been nearly a full month since Doctor Manchent's death and his promotion. It still felt bitter sweet and no amount of pay raise or fun parties would change that. It didn't help that Aviel had barely talked to him after her drunken spill aside from when she had to, such as on missions. He wasn't sure if she was angry, embarrassed, or just unsure what to say but her silence was beginning to worry him.

Even worse, Aviel was making sure to wear her anger at the Captain on her sleeve whenever they were off mission with her. She did keep that anger hidden away while on duty, but once they were out of danger it was open season again... Understanding why the Captain had held her back didn't seem to make her any less angry about the result. At the end of the day, Aviel wanted to be a full-sized Society member and the Captain had gotten in the way.  

Thankfully, their last three missions were simply patrols and animal dispersal. Compared to their botched rescue mission, they were a nice easy break and let Aviel keep away from the Captain as much as possible. Flonne joining their squad in full made them all that much easier and Sanders had begun to like the big, sweet gir- err fairy. Aviel, however, seemed to be keeping her at arms length. Considering what she had told him that night at Giga Stomp, Sanders had a guess why...

The tram's intercom beeped to life and an automated voice told them they were approaching their stop. Aviel, who had been sitting next to Sanders taking a nap, stretched a bit as she woke up. Normally, Sanders might have been tempted to stare, but Aviel was covered up in a heavy coat to fight off the winter chill. Instead, he looked out and tried to see which of his parents had come to pick them up.

The tram pulled into the station and Sanders looked through the small crowd for either of his parents. He didn't spot either of them, however, and grumbled a bit under his breath.

"Think they might be running late...again," Sanders said as he got up to get off the tram. Aviel didn't seem to care as she shrugged an oh well and headed off the tram as well. The two of them got off the relatively warm tram to enter the biting cold of the winter. Even down this far south, old man Winter had come down hard. So cold that snow was not out of the realm of possibilities, a rare thing in this area.  Sanders tucked his hands into his jacket to protect them from the cold as Aviel slipped on her gloves.

The two headed down off the tram platform and toward the pick up area. A few people were here either waiting for their own rides or loading up into their rides. Normally this stop area was mostly abandoned with it being so far on the fringes of New Atlanta, but this was not a normal time of the year. Which was the only reason Aviel had agreed to come, most likely.

It had taken a bit of prodding and wearing down, but he finally got Aviel to agree to come to his parent's for Thanksgivings. The thought of her sitting alone in her apartment on Thanksgiving would have been enough of a reason, but he had other reasons for wanting her to come. Despite her aptitude with hiding her emotions, Sanders could tell she was happy to have some people to spend a holiday with. She had just the faintest hint of a smile on her face when he had asked and even had one when he had meet her at the tram. Here half hidden smile made him sure this was a good idea. He really hoped it would at least help her start healing, if nothing else.

"Do your parent's usually run late?" Aviel asked as she took a seat in the pick up area. Sanders shook his thoughts away before sitting down next to her.

"My dad does. Pretty much a known fact you tell him thirty minutes before you want him to show. But sometimes even that isn't enough." Sanders said grumbling a bit. He was going to continue on a rant about all the time his dad was late to important things, but spotted his dad's truck coming into view.

"Speak of the devil, and of course he is driving the truck..." Sanders said as he sighed in annoyance. His dad's truck was a, relatively, old model being about six years old. It was electric like all the new motor-vehicles, but didn't have some of the newer features that the newest models had, such as heated seats, TVs, and a cabin that could seat three people comfortably. Instead, most of the vehicle was taken up by its very large bed and engine leaving it with a small cabin even for two people, much less three.

"You have two cars?" Aviel asked in surprise.

"Yeah, most people do who live out here on the fringes. The trams only go so far so you need a way to get around without them. Not to mention a way to get out of the area fast in case of any number of things," Sanders answered as he stood up to give his dad a half-hearted wave.

"Didn't realize the fringes were still dangerous. The News and Society makes them seem perfectly safe," Aviel said before giving her own short wave.

"Well, its better than it was, but stuff still gets in under the Society's feet, so to speak. Just a matter of being prepared for the worst is all. Hence why we need two vehicles in case one gets taken or breaks down," Sanders said as his dad's truck pulled up in front of him.

Sanders opened the door to reveal his dad sitting in the driver's seat. Despite being upwards to fifty, his dad only looked about mid forties and was well toned thanks to his work in the fields. He still had a full head of slowly greying black hair and his large full beard had the same hints of gray coming in. His slightly wrinkled face smiled out at the pair and his big meaty hand motioned for them to hop in.

"Hey, there's my boy. Come on you two, get in so we can get back in time for dinner. Your mother will have my ears if we don't get back in time," he said in his usual happy tone. Aviel got in first, as there was no way Sanders would fit in the middle, and had to squeeze in to let Sanders get in. Sanders had to pack in like a sardine to get in and Aviel swore a few times at him pushing up too hard against her. He shut the door and didn't even try to dig out his seat belt.

"Dad, did you have to bring the truck? I told you Aviel was coming too," Sanders grumbled at his father. Mr. Cutter chuckled to himself before answered.

"That's exactly why I brought it. Thought you'd like some time to get close to her more," Mr. Cutter said giving Sanders a teasing look.

"That's...I don't.." Sander said suddenly at a lose for words. As if right on cue, Aviel seemed to come out of whatever funk she had been in. She pushed a bit closer to him and turned her blue eyes toward him with a look of longing.

"What's the matter, Sanders? Don't you want to be close to me?" she said in a pouting voice. Sanders felt his face turn completely red as he looked away and stammered out a few sounds that were definitely not words. Aviel's look of lust turned into one of trying to hold in a laugh as she pulled back away from him. She couldn't hold it back as she burst out laughing along with Mr. Cutter.

"HAHA, oh its too easy to get you relied up Sanders. I really needed that," Aviel said with a big smile.

"Haha, he has always been quick to get flustered by the opposite sex, ain't that right boy?" his dad added as Sanders embarrassment turned to anger.

"Dammit, I KNEW I should have asked mom to pick us up," he said before turning to look out the window. The two only laughed more at his outburst.

"Uh oh, now we made him mad. Going to give us the silent treatment now," Aviel said making Sanders all the more angry. And yet happy too that Aviel was joking around and cutting up.

"Just means we will have to make up for his lose in conversation. You ever been out to the fringes before, Aviel?" his dad asked driving the truck back toward their home.

"Well, depends. I pretty much have to cross it every time we go on a mission, but we are usually in a full-sized car then. So really, no I haven't," Aviel answered.

"Then this is going to be a good experience for you. Some people like to say people out here are crazy or act different, but that is just a bunch of hooey. The only difference between us and city folks is we know how to actually work and get up and ma-..." his dad began going into his usual lecture. His dad loved to make it sound like anyone not from out in the back-country was a lazy good for nothing, and Sanders had heard it way too many times to pay it any mind. Instead, he looked out the window and busied himself with his thoughts.

Frontier Farm Area 1209-something was the official name of this place. Unofficially, it was called Donnersvile by Exit 39 for the old, massive exit ramp that went right past its left most corner. The area had been just a small little undeveloped area between the exit ramp and a large suburb who's name he couldn't quite recall. The place hadn't been developed thanks to its proximity to the highway and all the noise it made back before the shrink, but now it was perfect for a large farming community. The only cars that went up the highway was the rare Society vehicle and the highway itself made for the perfect route for the tram to go down. It was not the furthest fringe community out along I-75 by any means, but it was far enough out to be a bit dangerous. He glanced up to see a large shape moving after them in the air and smiled to himself before it vanished behind a small ridge. He then turned his thoughts back inside just as Aviel was finishing up a joke. Apparently, she had done what he thought impossible and gotten his dad off his rant box.

"-the guy that if he wanted it he would have to take it up with Isabella's shoe cause that is where I left it," Aviel said as she started to laugh. His dad joined in with his usual boisterous laughter as he pulled them into the road leading to the house.

"Ho.. boy, you got a keeper there, son. Better hurry up, too, unless you want her snatched away by someone. Fine woman like this don't stay single long," his dad said before laughing again with Aviel.

"Yeah right, like I would settle for weak-kneed Sanders here. Can't even keep his food when he goes for a short walk on Isabella's hand," Aviel said causing more laughter. Sanders grumbled to himself in annoyance as the birds of a feather began to flock together. Figured his dad and Aviel would find picking on him as their common interest. AND it would be the thing to cheer her up... Thankfully, he was spared any further dating advice as his dad brought the truck to a halt in front of the house.

The house was an old style home built by his family with some help from the Society. It was two stories tall and had six rooms inside along with a kitchen, dining room, and a large porch out front. It was, definitely, one of the nicer farm houses in the area and his dad was always bragging about it(like he was now to Aviel). A few yards from the house was their pre-built barn they had bought from the Society. It was pretty much just a normal barn save for a large tire swing dangling down from the top level's crane and being a bit larger than normal. Past the barn were the actual fields of crops they harvested along with the machines they used to harvest them. The machines had been given to them by the Society when they first moved out here to help them raise and harvest their crops. Those same crops then went to feed the people of Atlanta and other areas nearby, a win win for everyone involved. The machines were all silent, however, as the winter freeze meant there was little to harvest.

Sanders climbed out and had to stretch to get his body uncramped from the ride. Aviel hadn't fared much better as she spent a moment to get herself unstuffed in. Sanders had barely gotten himself sorta stretched out when a young voice called out, "BIG BRO!"

Sanders turned to see his three younger siblings all running up to him. The second oldest at thirteen, his brother Johnathon Jr., was leading as always. Behind him was the youngest at seven, his sister Lissa and the second youngest at eleven, his other sister Jessy, brought up the rear. They were all dressed in large coats to fend of the cold and some earmuffs for good measure. They all dog-piled him and he fell over in a heap of limbs and laughter.

"Oh no! I've been taken down! Help, someone help me!" Sanders said in a mock panicked tone as his siblings all tried to pin him down. He looked up at Aviel and saw her giggling at the sight of Sanders wrestling with his siblings.

"We got you, Sanders! You can't beat us!" Jr said as he grabbed his arm.

"Got you!" Lissa said as she wrapped around his leg.

"Going to beat you thi-" Jessy stopped as she noticed Aviel. She let go and stood up, looking a bit embarrassed at Aviel having seen her. Sanders pushed his way up, dragging his two still wrestling siblings along. Jr let got of his arm and jumped onto his back causing Sanders to lose his balance and really fall this time.

"OWW! Oh that is it, Jr, you're getting it now!" Sanders said as she brushed the dirt off his face and started to chase the fleeing Jr around. He finally caught his younger brother and put him in headlock as he began to give him a noggy in revenge.

"Ahh, no stop it! Let me go!" Jr said as he tried to wiggle out, but couldn't break Sander's grip. The noggying would have continued for a good while if Mrs. Cutter hadn't arrived at that moment.

"Sanders leave your brother alone. And all of you stop horsing around, we have a guest," she said as she tutted at them all, including Mr. Cutter for not stopping it sooner. Sanders let go of Jr. and was given a raspberry for his troubles by Jr. Jr. took off over to join his mom in welcoming Aviel before Sanders could get him for that.

"You must be Aviel Wolff. Its a pleasure to meet you," Mrs. Cutter said as she gave Aviel a big bright smile. Aviel returned the smile and shook Mrs. Cutter's offered hand. Mr. Cutter eyes suddenly lit up with realization as he looked a bit embarrassed.

"I..I forgot to introduce myself in the truck, didn't I?" he began getting an annoyed look from Sanders' mom, "I'm Johnathon Cutter, nice to meet you." Aviel shook his hand as Mrs. Cutter spoke again.

"I'm Abigel Cutter and these are my children: Johnathon Jr, Jessy, and Lissa," she said before the kids sounded off at their name.

"Hi," Jr said only looking at Aviel's eyes for a second.

"N-Nice to meet you.." Jessy said only looking up at Aviel once before looking back at her toes.

Lissa stared at Aviel for a moment causing Aviel to look a bit uncomfortable before saying, "Do you fight bad guys too?" Mrs. Cutter tutted at her rather direct question, but Aviel laughed at it.

"I do. And make sure your brother doesn't get himself hurt by them," she said causing Sanders to give her an annoyed look.

"Yeah he needs help, cause he is a big dummy," Jr. said before taking off running when Sanders made to chase him. Mrs. Cutter let the comments slid as she looked around in confusion.

"Didn't you say someone else would be arriving with you?" she said as she looked around.

"Yeah, but I have a feeling she is hiding," Sanders said as he began to look around. Aviel elbowed him and nodded toward the barn. Sanders looked over and just briefly caught a glimpse of Flonne's green hair and antennas sticking up over the barn. She quickly ducked back down behind it before anyone else noticed. Sanders sighed to himself and looked over to Aviel.

"You were the one who wanted to bring her," Aviel said before going to talk some more with his parents. They started to chat about the area and their work, and left Sanders to get Flonne. With Aviel being no help, he headed off alone to go talk to Flonne and try to get her out from her hiding spot.

He came around the side of the barn to see Flonne on all fours barely keeping herself below the barn. She was wearing a pair of sweat pants she had gotten from Isabella along with a large, specially made, sweater to allow her wings to be out, but still keep her heat in. She looked rather scared and embarrassed as she hid behind the barn like a kid from a scolding mother.

"Flonne, why are you hiding back her?" Sanders asked as he moved toward her. She bent down more to lay her head on the ground to look him sorta in the eye. Her eyes were about a head higher than his eye level thanks to her head being taller than he was and far larger. Her big eyes darted between him and the ground as she tried to say something. Her large antennas stayed drooping down far lower than normal.

"Are you scared they'll think you're scary and freak out like I did that first time we meet?" Sanders asked trying to sound as soothing as possible. Flonne looked down again before slowly nodding, looking ashamed to admit it. Sanders cursed himself again for freaking out so bad back then. He wished he had known just how not threatening Flonne was back. He had no right to let his old scars and phobias affect her. But it was too late for that and all he could do now was try to heal them before they became permanent. He didn't want the sweet fairy to fear approaching anyone new because of him and his problems.

"Flonne, don't worry. My parents and siblings know you won't hurt them. I told them all about you and they really want to meet you, so come on out, OK?" Sanders said trying to coax Flonne out. Flonne frowned and looked down nervously again. Sanders sighed as he tried to think of some way to talk her into coming out.

"WOAH! Look how big she is!" Jr cried out from behind Sanders. Sanders whipped around as Flonne looked up and her antennas shot up in fear. Jr was standing at the edge of the barn along with Jess and Lissa looking at Flonne with mouths wide open. Flonne stared back at the much smaller kids with a deer in headlights look locked on her face.

"Her wings are so pretty," Jessy said as she looked at Flonne's large translucent wings. Flonne blushed a bit at the compliment and her wings went down behind her to hide them.

"Forget her wings, just look how huge she is! She's almost bigger than the barn even on all fours! That's so awesome!" Jr yelled moved up next to Sander to get a better look at Flonne.

"Awesome and pretty!" Lissa imitated as she followed Jr. Flonne's face flushed even redder as the two kids came up to her without the slightest hesitation. Jessy followed them up, but moved to the side trying to get a look at Flonne's wings again. Sanders let them go forward and moved back to let them try to get through to Flonne. Maybe a younger approach was better..

"Wow, her mouth's so big she could eat me in two bites. Just RAWR, RAWR!" Jr said as he made a big fake mouth with his hands and "ate" Lissa. Lissa giggled as his hands chomped on her. Flonne looked horrified as she leaned back onto her knees.

"I-I wouldn't do that! I-I don't want to hurt anyone a-and..." she stopped as she realized she had sat up. Now, rather than being hidden behind the barn, she was easily visible over it by a good two scale stories(about two inches above it in normal scale). Her entire torso was above the barn and Aviel and Sanders' parents were staring right at her.

The three people waved at her without any sign of freaking out and Flonne gave a half smile as she waved back. Sanders smiled as Flonne began to come out of her shell and got an idea to give her that last little push.

"You know she can fly too, right?" Sanders said out loud for the kids and Flonne to hear. Flonne looked to Sanders in confusion while all three of his siblings faces lit up like Christmas trees.

"REALLY?! THAT IS SO AWESOME! Come on, Fairy Girl, fly!" Jr said as he bounced up and down in excitement.

"That would be really exciting to see. Please Ms. Fairy, could you show us?" Jessy asked as polite as ever.

"FLY FLY!" Lissa added as she bounced around with Jr.

Flonne looked between them as they bounced around all excited and a smile began to form on her face. Sanders couldn't help smile himself as he saw his idea coming together. Seeing the kids so excited about her was getting her to come out of her shell and his siblings would NOT be able to get enough of her if she did fly.

"O...Okay, but my name is not fairy girl or Ms. Fairy," Flonne said getting more and more comfortable with talking to them. 

"Maybe you three should introduce yourselves?" Sanders suggested as he leaned against the barn with a big grin on his face. This was going better than he had hoped.

"Oh right, I'm Johnathon Jr, but everyone just calls me Jr," Jr said puffing out his chest and trying to act cool.

"My name is Jessy, its good to meet you," Jessy said.

"I'm Lissa, now fly, fly!" Lissa cried out. Flonne smiled down at them all in turn.

"I'm Flonne," she said with the same big grin Sanders had become accustomed to seeing on her face. Her antennas were now back to their usual upright selves and seemed to be just as calm as Flonne was. Flonne shooed the kids back a bit to get them out of the way and then stood up to her full height. The kids gasped as she rose high above them like a moving building. The two scale story barn barely reached her knees as she stood to her full height, and the kids barely reached her ankles.

She looked down at them before starting to beat her wings. A bit of wind and dust began to kick up before Flonne's wings glowed with magic to keep the noise and wind down. The kids watched with delight as she pushed off the ground and slowly rose up into the air above the barn.

The kids cried out in wonder and excitement as Flonne took off into the air and away from them. They ran out from behind the barn to watch her hover about in the air. Flonne's smile spread even further seeing how excited they were as she took off toward the fields at high speed. Even with her spell, a large gust of wind came blowing into them, or maybe thanks to it, which only made the kids even more impressed. Flonne raced out over the fields and quickly did a few aerial tricks such as loops, quick u-turns, and of course barrel rolls.

She came racing back toward them and quickly stopped just above them as she looked down at the kids. They all cheered and jumped up in down in excitement at the show and Flonne's face practically glowed in joy. As much as Sanders loved to see Flonne so happy, he knew he needed to put a stop to this before she decided to buzz the house or barn.

"Alright, that's enough showing off Flonne! You still need to meet my folks!" Sanders yelled up at her to be heard over her wings and the cheering. His siblings all awwed in disappointment and Flonne's shoulders and antennas slumped a bit too. But she came down all the same and landed, just as inhumanly softly as always, on the ground.

His parents and Aviel had seen the show and were walking over to the large fairy. Sanders was a little worried they might be upset at her air show, but they didn't look upset in the least. They both smiled up at the far larger fairy like she was just another guest and not a small office building-sized person kneeling down toward them.

"You must be Flonne. I'm Sanders' mother, Abigel Cutter and this is my husband Johnathon," she said as Johnathon extended his hand to shake. Flonne held out her finger and Johnathon managed to get his hand mostly around its tip to shake.

"I-Its nice to meet you," Flonne said letting a bit of nervousness into her voice as her antennas moved closer to her face.

"There's no need to be so nervous, Flonne. We ain't gonna bite or freak out on you," Johnathon said with a slight chuckle. Flonne relaxed a little bit at his assurances.

Jr, however, had had enough talking as he came bounding up. "Daaaad, I want to play with Flonne. Can we go now?" Both Jessy and Abigal gave Jr. a hard look, but Jr. didn't relent. Once he got something into his head there was practically nothing to get him to not do it.

"Alright, alright. I guess we can leave the talking for when dinner is ready. You kids go have fun now. Don't go too far," Johnathon said as he shooed off Jr. Jr and Lissa took off running toward the fields, waving for Flonne to follow. Jessy sighed as she went to follow them with a shrug. Flonne gave a short nod to the two Cutters before hovering up into the air and following after them.

"Wow, wouldn't have thought you would have been OK leaving Flonne alone with your kids," Aviel said as she watched them go. Abigal turned toward Aviel before she answered.

"Normally, I wouldn't have. But Sanders," she stopped as she brought Sanders closer for a hug, "considers her a friend and thinks she would never hurt them. And after meeting her, I agree that Flonne wouldn't hurt a fly without a good reason to."

"Hell she was more scared of us than we were of her. Besides, the kids have taken to her like dogs to bacon and ain't no way we could keep them from her, now anyway," Johnathon added as he watched the kids start to play with Flonne. Sanders glanced back as well and saw them using Flonne's finger like monkey-bars.

Aviel nodded in understanding, "True, and I would agree with Sanders that Flonne wouldn't do anything to hurt them, if that makes you feel better. Practically the opposite, actually, that fairy would rather get hurt herself than let someone else get hurt."

"It does a bit, yes," Abigal said as she smiled at Aviel. "Now, why don't we all head inside and get dinner ready while the kids play. Aviel, do you mind helping me in the kitchen?"

"Of course not, Mrs. Cutter. I'd be happy to," Aviel answered.

"Just Abigal is fine. Do you also mind if I ask what sorts of missions you and Sanders go on?" Abigal asked as they headed for the house. Sanders felt his color draining as he moved to stop that conversation when his arm was gripped by something. He turned to see his dad pulling him along to the barn.

"Come on, son, let the woman-folk talk. We got to set up the porch so your fairy friend has a place to eat too," he said with a knowing grin. He was doing this on purpose! Sanders tried to think of any kind of excuse to go and stop Aviel from spouting off about how they were in mortal danger basically everyday, but all that came to him was half sputters and nonsense. Sanders sighed to himself as he gave up and got ready to never hear the end of his mom's worrying.

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Flonne smiled as she watched the three other kids have so much fun with her fingers. She was squatting down and had here hands flat out in front of her for Sanders' siblings to play with. It made her feel so happy to see them have no fear of her at all. It was almost like she was just another kid wanting to have fun...except she was still really, REALLY big compared to them.

Suddenly, Jr lost his grip and slipped off one of her fingers before falling square onto his butt. Lissa, Jessy, and Flonne burst out laughing as he rubbed his backside and gave them all an angry look.

"Shut up, it's not funny!" he yelled as he slowly stood up. The three girls only laughed harder at his anger causing him to blush in embarrassment. Flonne felt herself lean back from the laughing only to realize too late that she had leaned too far. She tried to lean back forward to stop her fall, but it was no use. She cried out in surprise as she fell back onto her butt causing the kids in front of her to lose their footing and nearly fall over from the small quake she made.

Flonne winced a bit at the hit before she realized what she had just done. She panicked a bit as she looked down at the kids hoping to stop them from freaking out. Instead of scared faces, however, she saw them just gawking up at her as they got back up.

"Whoa, she caused a quake just from falling down. That's awesome!" Jr. said as he smiled up at her like she had just performed the best trick in the world. Lissa was beaming just as brightly and repeating "awesome" over and over. Only Jessy looked worried, though her looked quickly turned to annoyance.

"You guys, stop it! Flonne, are you OK?" she said with a concerned tone. Flonne felt a wave of happiness wash over her as the little kids were not scared by her little quake in the least. In fact, two of them seemed to want her to make more and the other was concerned for her! Flonne felt some tears beginning to form as she realized they really think of her as just another person.

"AWES- Flonne? Oh no, you didn't hurt yourself did you?" Jr said as Flonne felt tears beginning to run down her face. She shook her head as she rubbed them away on her coat.

"No, I'm fine I...I just got something in my eyes," she lied as she got the biggest smile she could manage. "Let's play another game you guys know, one I can play too!" she said as she whipped away the last of her tears of joy.

"Umm....OKAY! Lets play....uhh....umm..." Jr said as he tried to think of something.

"Tag!" Lissa said before smacking Jr. and taking off running. Jr yelled angrily at her before taking off after her, but the two were stopped by Jessy.

"We can't play tag with Flonne, she is too big," she said causing Lissa to huff and flop down in a pout. Jr smacked Lissa upside the head anyway before taking off from her with a laugh. Lissa's face twisted into a full on cry as she held her head in pain. Flonne felt a bit of anger come over her at Jr for picking on his smaller sister.

She moved her hand forward and pushed the still running Jr with one of her fingers causing him to trip and fall flat on his face. Lissa's cry turned immediately into mocking laughter as she found Jr's face-plant the funniest thing ever. Jr jumped back to his feet and started to stomp back toward them. Lissa moved over and hugged herself to Flonne's side for protection. Flonne brought her hand around Lissa to shield her before she turned a glare at Jr, he would have to pick on someone a lot bigger than him with her around. Jr's advance stopped once he saw Flonne's glare and he couldn't hide his fear.

"Y-you can't hide with Flonne forever, Lissa!" he said which seemed to make Jessy's eyes suddenly widen.

"I know, why don't we play hide and seek!" she said. Jr looked at her in confusion before getting a big smile and nodding in agreement. Lissa nodded too and started repeating hide and seek over and over.

"Yeah, that's perfect!" Jr said in an excited tone. Flonne felt a surge of excitement come over her as well at the thought of being able to really play with them like a normal kid. She didn't know exactly how hide and seek worked, but she could guess it had something to do with hiding. Hopefully, it wouldn't be her having to hide cause that would be hard to do...

"Alright, Flonne you're it so close your eyes and count to fifty then come find us," Jessy said as the others got ready to dash off once Flonne closed her eyes. Flonne nodded and rolled over onto her chest and buried her head in her arms. She started counting up to fifty as she heard the kids feet running off away from her. She shifted a bit in the field in excitement as she counted ever upwards. It didn't last, however, as it became obvious to her that counting numbers was really boring. She hoped she got to fifty soon as she passed twenty...


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Aviel watched through the window as the kids all took off running from Flonne.  It was good to see the kids treating Flonne like just another person rather than a giant fairy capable of crushing them like a bug. Seemed like Sanders really could have a good idea every so often.

Aviel went back to helping Mrs. Cutter with the last few dishes for the Thanksgiving dinner. Part of her wished she was outside helping set up whatever Mr. Cutter had in mind rather than in here with all the delicious smelling food. Mrs. Cutter was certainly an accomplished cook if the meals smell was anything to go by. It brought back memories of when her mom used to cook before she was...

Aviel shook the thought away, having no inclination of delving into her painful memories while the Cutters were doing so much to try and give her new good ones. Instead, she looked over at Mrs. Cutter and decided to focus on the conversation they were having.

"I would be lying if I said we were completely safe, but Isabella, our giantess leader, does all the real fighting. We are just there to find the problem and tell her where it is," Aviel said. She was trying to lessen Mrs. Cutter's fear over her son's line of work. Telling her the truth would have just caused her to worry and making the older woman worry herself to death wasn't worth the fun of her constantly nagging Sanders.

"So you and him stay out of the fighting?" Mrs. Cutter asked. She was adding a few more spices to the turkey before putting it back into the oven.

"Yes. We only get into fights when there is no other choice. Isabella does her best to make sure that rarely happens," Aviel said without giving a hint that she was kinda lying. It wasn't too hard because they rarely did get into fights, doubly so after the train incident. Isabella had gone full on overprotective mom since then, much to Aviel's annoyance.

"Thank goodness. It's a shame Isabella could not be here too. I would have loved to thank her in person," Abigal said looking to have bought Aviel's lie. Aviel was less disappointed that Isabella had not been able to come. She had no wish to see her leader anymore than necessary.

"Yeah...a real shame..." she said trying her best to hide her annoyance for her superior. Abigal, however, picked up on the change of her tone and gave Aviel a curious look.

"Did something happen between you two?"

"No," Aviel answered a bit too quickly, " just...a disagreement between us. Worked related things."

"I see. Something you want to talk about?"

"Not really," Aviel said as she turned away from Abigal to make sure the point got across that she wasn't going to talk about it. Abigal relented and there was a moment of silence in the kitchen, save the occasional rumble of Flonne's footsteps as she looked for the other kids.

"Sanders has told me a good bit about Isabella. He seems to respect her a great deal and, I hope you aren't jealous of me saying so, I think he might have a bit of a thing for her," Abigal said ending the silence. Aviel laughed at Abigal thinking she would be jealous of Sanders having a thing for Isabella. Even if she cared, its not like Isabella would be any real contender. The sheer size difference meant any sort of relationship was going to be, basically, impossible. Not to mention Jeremy...

"No need to worry about that. Sanders is a good guy, but not my type. More like a kid brother I never had than boyfriend material. As for him and Isabella, he has always been a bit...awe-struck with her. He probably does have a little thing for Isabella, but it won't work out," Aviel explained as she turned back to Abigal.

"Why not?" she asked.

"The size difference for one and then there's..."she paused for a second. She considered how to answer the question before continuing, "There is the personal stuff. Stuff you'll have to ask Isabella about."

"Oh dear, I didn't mean to pry into such things. I wa-"

"No, its fine, Abigal. I was the one who started talking about it. Let's just talk about something else. So, how long have you and Johnathon been together?" Aviel said trying to keep the mood light.

"Hm...I think it will be thirty-three, or is it thirty-four? Well, somewhere in that range," Abigal answered.

The conversation stayed focused on the Cutters for awhile. Aviel learned that they had owned a farm much further outside the city back before the shrinking disaster. Once it came, they managed to use their horses to get to Atlanta only to find it in utter chaos. Once the Society came and got order back, they were some of the first to sign up to go further out to make the first farms. In fact, they were one of the first people to settle into this little area.

Aviel listened with some interest to the story. While some of it was rather boring, she didn't lack for distractions as Flonne keep up her search. She had managed to find the youngest, Lissa, already, but was way off with the other two as she began to search over the parked machines. She really was just like a kid.

"What about your family, Aviel? How long were your parents together before they...passed on," Abigal asked causing Aviel to double take at her.

"Wh-Wha...I don't want to talk about that, Mrs. Cutter," Aviel said letting a bit of her anger come through. Sanders had to have mentioned what had happened to her family and for Abigal to bring them up out of the blue made her furious. She was going to make sure Sanders keep his damn mouth shut about her personal issues when this was over.

Abigal stopped her preparing as she turned full on to Aviel. "Please, Aviel. I can see how much it still bothers you and if you never talk about it, you will never get over their lose. Please, just tell me about them and I promise you will feel better," she said with a soft tone Aviel had only know her own mother to have.

Aviel closed her eyes as she turned away from Abigal. Damn Sanders and damn herself for that night at Giga Stomp. Bastard just HAD to play the white knight and try to get her help didn't he? She really didn't want to talk about them, but...but some part of her was so desperate to talk about them. It was the oddest feeling she had ever known and it refused to go away. Thinking about it hurt so bad and yet she was like a bottle under too much pressure.

"Did Sanders tell you how my parents died?" Abigal suddenly asked as she finished the last of the preparations and left the food to cook for the last few minutes it needed. Aviel turned back toward her and shook her head.

"A car accident. A drunk driver swerved into their lane and hit them head-on. Killed them both on impact, the other driver survived. I was only twelve when it happened," Abigal said as she looked out the window. Her tone was a mixture of old pain and the barest hint of anger.

"My Aunt and Uncle took me in. They did more than raise me, though. They talked to me and, in time, got me to talk to them about the accident. They helped me to get past my sadness and anger. It took me many years to come to terms with it, but I know somewhere deep down that talking about it was the first step to coming to peace with it," Abigal said, her tone shifting to one of soothing peace. Of acceptance...acceptance that some part of Aviel desperately wanted.

Aviel knew where she was going with this and a part of her felt angry about it. However, hearing that Abigal had gone through the same thing was...comforting in some small way. Just having someone else who knew sorta what it was like and looked to have gained a wonderful life was nice. It gave her hope that somewhere past her lust for revenge she could find peace and maybe...just...

"That is why I asked about your parents, Aviel. I want to be to you what my Uncle and Aunt were to me. I don't expect you to talk about them today. But if you want to talk just ask and I'll be ready to listen," Abigal finished with an understanding smile. Aviel felt tears beginning to form, but held them back. She knew she couldn't talk without letting her emotions show through her voice so she just nodded instead. Abigal looked happy enough with that answer as she gave her a knowing smile and turned to leave the kitchen.

"I wonder how the men are doing getting the porch ready," Abigal said as she left the room. Aviel didn't follow as she turned back toward the window and closed her eyes. It was taking all her willpower to hold back the tears, but she refused to cry about her parents. She had promised herself she wouldn't cry about their lose anymore. Instead, she would turn her sorrow into determination. Determination that maybe...maybe should be put to something other than revenge.

She took in a deep breath as she got herself back under control. She opened her eyes just in time to see Flonne reach into a tree and pull Jessy out from its branches. She smiled as she watched the fairy celebrate, yet having to be so careful not to hurt Jessy and Lissa. Was that really what she wanted? Flonne was only a foot tall and still could barely play with kids her own age. Aviel would be titanic compared to that...

"Aviel? Hey Aviel come check this out!" Sanders yelled from outside. Aviel pushed her thoughts back down as she put on a mask of good cheer. At least the mask would only have to be fake for a little while. Sanders always did find some way to cheer her up and boy did she need it. Maybe...maybe he was enough. She gave one last look at Flonne before turning and heading outside.

    Article on Frontier Towns
Frontier towns are those settlements that are beyond the old city limits of Atlanta. While not all towns classified as Frontier Towns actually sit at the border, most are close enough and generally undeveloped enough to seem as if they do. It is not uncommon for most building to be built of wood and the rest of the land turned to farming.

Almost all Frontier Towns are farming communities founded on land that was once far too small or far too noisy to accommodate anyone, such as exit ramps, medians, and other such areas. These farming communities provide most of the food for the city, all of which is delivered by the Society thanks to their ability to transport far larger loads.

Frontier Towns are not without dangers, however. It is not uncommon for predators, such as wolves, bears, and other such animals, to move into the area. Most are driven off by the Society, but there is always the danger of some slipping past them. Resistance raids and attacks are not unheard of, especially on those towns that are on the border of Resistance-held territory and more than a few towns have been wiped out by them in the past.

Weather can also provide no small amount of danger as well. Where as Atlanta citizens have the massive city's structures to provide cover, Frontier towns must weather the storms and rains that come. To help with this, the Society has given all Frontier towns a weather screen to help them. The weather screen is a deployable screen that goes over the town to protect it from the worst of the rain. The screen breaks the falling rain, forces it to separate to pass through the screen or wash off the side into reservoirs and other such things.This turns downpours that could flood a Frontier town into mild showers that are able to survive the rain. It even acts as a lightning rod and many towns have even set up generators to capture the energy and use it for any number of needs.

Sadly, it is not unheard of that the screen fails or is ripped away in particularity large storms. The town of Malcomville suffered such a fate in 2019 when its screen was ripped apart by the high winds and the town simply washed away. Of the thirty residents, only five survived and only thanks to the timely arrival of a Society Shield member who carried them back to safety. Since then, Shields are often sent to patrol Frontier towns when large storms hit in case such a disaster should repeat itself.

Chapter 12: Lindale

November 24, 2023 11:25 AM

Isabella slowed the jeep as it came into sight of the exit ramp leading to Lindale. She was about a mile outside of Rome on an old highway that passed by the town. Old rusted vehicles littered the edges of the highway along with badly rusted signs. All the cars showed signs of damage from the crashes that had stopped them. Isabella couldn't help wonder just how many people had lost their lives simply because they had been driving when the Shrink Disaster had happened. Poor commuters were lucky if they had died in the crash and not been forced to suffer through a slow death trapped in their car. She dearly hoped whatever Chinese official had been behind the Shrink weapon had been driving as well.

She took out her notepad and flipped it to the random page she had written the numbers down on.  Seven, nine, two, thirty-two, eighty-five, twelve... Six numbers were the only clue she had to finding...something in this small town. A something she still had no idea what it was. It was a fool's errand, she knew, but she owed the Doctor the courtesy to at least try. She would do her best to make sure his dying act was not in vain.

Isabella sped the jeep up a bit as she headed down the exit ramp and onto the road leading into Lindale. The road was a small, two lane road flanked by old, slowly crumbling houses. All of the houses looked to be old homes that had, most likely, been on their last foundation even before the Shrink. Now...now they were practically condemned death traps just waiting for someone stupid enough to enter into them. Isabella keep headed down the road, avoiding the occasional old wrecks, and passed a badly rusted sign that welcomed her to Lindale.

Isabella brought the jeep to a stop as she looked at the map of Lindale she had copied off Alice's map. The mill Alice had spoke about was close to the middle of town and much of town's infrastructure seemed to radiate out from it. A single, small, shopping center was a few yards from the mill with an old rail-yard between the two structures. Past the shopping center was the town's old Elementary and High School, apparently having been built nearly right next to each other. The town's Middle School, however, was about a mile further out for whatever reason. The rest of the town was marked as either residential or small business locations.

Nothing on the map jumped out at her, sadly. No obvious numbers or streets that had all the numbers. Sure there were a few streets that had one of the numbers in it, but Isabella figured that was just coincidence rather than a clue. She sighed as she put away the map and took the wheel again. She was just going to have to do this the old fashioned way.

Isabella moved the jeep into the town and through a small residential area. The houses here looked no better off than the ones before and Isabella dearly hoped whatever Doctor Manchent had sent her to find was not inside one. She did her best to inspect each house's number, but many had their number lost to the many years of disrepair. Those that didn't brought her no closer to her objective.

After a few minutes of traveling, she came down a small hill and toward the old mill. It was a large facility of about three buildings. Old chimney stacks sprouted off each one, their vents empty of anything save normal air. The old brick and mortar buildings were holding up better than the wood houses, but it was clearly beginning to show signs of succumbing to time's assault. Bits of brick and rotted mortar were flaking off its sides and nearly every window it had was without glass. The old chain length fence that once blocked access into its area now rested on the ground save a for a few stubborn portions.

Isabella pulled up to the mill and looked over its outside. The factories name had once been painted on its front but was now so badly faded to be illegible. Its doors were cracked open and slowed creaked in the wind. She debated going inside, but decided not to. If the inside of the mill looked anything like the outside, it was going to be a dangerous place. Best not to go in there unless she had no choice.

She pulled away from the mill and continued into the town decided to head toward the shopping center. Looking at the major landmarks first then exploring the outside parts of the town sounded like a good enough plan for now. As she headed down the road she passed an old gas station. She was about to just ignore it when something caught her attention. She looked up at the gas prices on the slowly crumbling sign and shook her head. Seven dollars and twelve cents for a gallon?! No wonder this town was dying even be-

Her eyes shot open as she slammed the jeep to a halt with a screeching skid. She took out her notepad and looked at the numbers. Sure enough, seven and twelve were numbers the Doctor had said. Was this what she was looking for?

Isabella turned off the jeep as she climbed out of it. She shivered a bit in the biting cold, but pulled her jacket tighter to keep it off. The old gas station was in bad shape to be sure, but still looked safe enough. She turned on her energy shield just in case as she passed the old, rusted beyond repair, gas pumps. She moved up to the glass doors leading inside and looked in.

The inside of the gas station was a mess of torn wrappers, knocked over cans, and general chaos. It looked as if people, either Resistance or just wanderers, had tried to get some of the food still on its shelves. Most of the food wrappers had parts or all the food inside missing and many of the bottles of water and cans of drinks had leaked some of their content onto the floor. Even the cash register looked to have been raided and parts of the money inside ripped apart for any number of reasons.

Isabella pushed on the glass door and had to strain a bit to get the old door to move. After a bit of struggling, she managed to force it open. Inside it was a bit warmer than it was outside, but still rather cold. She sniffed and covered her nose as the smell of rotten food and spoiled products filled the air. She pushed down a cough as she walked further into the store. She moved through the mess-covered aisles looking for anything out of the ordinary that might give her some hint to what she was looking for. All she found, though, was more ripped bags, spoiled food, and gunk to get stuck to her shoe.

Isabella frowned as she came back to the entrance to the store. There had to be something here, that sign was too odd to be just a coincidence. She moved behind the counter and looked around it for anything. Like with the aisles, however, nothing jumped out at her or looked out of place. That only left the storage area of the store to search in.

Isabella headed for the swinging door leading into the storage room and found it to still be working. She pushed the door aside as she moved into the rather small storage room. She was about to give the place a good looking over when she stopped dead in her tracks. Just to her side, only a few feet away from her, was a miniature town made from old cardboard boxes and wood taken from palettes.

Most of the "buildings" barely reached her ankles and looked to be on the verge of collapse. A thick layer of dust had settled over everything and there was no sign of anyone having lived her in a long time. Isabella moved toward it and squatted down to get a better look. She picked up one of the cardboard houses and looked under it. A collapsed pile of wood that might have been a table was on the floor along with a number of animal pelts that had been used as flooring, but were now dirty beyond use. A large pile of straw was set near where a corner was, perhaps some kind of bedding. It was looking like this had been a town at some point, but was now long abandoned.

She wished Aviel and Sanders were here to go through the town properly and look for any clues, but she was determined to keep them out of this. She would just have to explore it the non-proper way. She began removing more cardboard houses, searched through their innards for anything that could be useful. Some, like the first, had the cardboard for the roof and walls. Others, however, were still closed boxes and had cardboard floors. She had to shake out the contents of those buildings, which caused quite a mess in her hands, but she was determined to find something here.

She had searched about half the houses when she picked up another house without a proper floor. She was about to start rummaging through the house when something caught her eye. In what had been the corner of the house sat a tiny woman with her arms wrapped around an even smaller child. Both were dressed in tattered rags and were covered in filth, dirt, and dust. The two of them stared up at Isabella in complete terror as Isabella stared back in stunned silence. Someone was actually LIVING in this horrid place, and with a child no less.

The tiny woman clutched her child even closer to herself as she pushed the child's head into her shoulder. She stared up at Isabella with a mixture of fear and determination as she stole a few glances around. Isabella looked down at them and wondered if they were part of the Resistance. They didn't look like it considering their clothes and condition looked far worse than any Resistance members she had ever seen. Perhaps they were just some wanderers who had stopped in the abandoned village to rest...or...

"Stay calm, I don't want to hurt you. Just stay there," Isabella said in a soft and calm voice. She lowered her hand out, palm up, to try and coax them to get on, but the motion was enough to get the woman to tear off running. Isabella cursed in her head as the woman headed for another building. Isabella was quicker, though, and circled her arms around the woman's escape route. The woman stopped and spun around to try and find an exit, but there was nowhere to go. Instead, she simply backed away from Isabella's face and clutched her girl even tighter.

Isabella felt horrid scaring this poor mother and child, but she didn't have a choice. They might be the only clue she had to finding what Manchent had tried to tell them.

"Please, just calm down. I won't hurt either of you, I promise. I just want to ask you some questions, that is all," Isabella said as softly as she could. The mother stared up at her, but stopped backing away. She nodded, warily, as her grip around her child loosened a bit. Isabella smiled down at her nod and slowly picked up her hands to show she didn't mean any harm. The woman didn't make any moves to run as Isabella untrapped her.

Isabella was about to ask her first question when she noticed movement just at the corner of her eye. She looked up to see a tiny figure peering out from behind one of the buildings and raising something up to point at the woman. Reacting on pure instinct, Isabella slammed her hand down behind the woman, causing her and the child to scream in terror. But it also saved their life as a small bullet bounced off the energy shield around Isabella's hand. Isabella knew she was going to scare the two of them worse for doing this, but she would rather scare them than let them be killed. She moved her hand forward and snatched them up as gently as she could before standing up.

Now standing, she could see a large number of small figures weaving through the buildings she had not searched. Her HUD patch zoomed in on a few and they all had the ragged, but capable, appearance of the Resistance. Worse, they all had either guns or rockets in hand, ready to use. If she had been alone Isabella could easily have defeated them, but with her two passengers in her hand... No, she couldn't risk hurting them during the fight. Isabella turned back to the swinging door and rushed out of it before the Resistance members had time to send any rockets her way. She came out into the main area of the store only to find a large number of small vehicles sitting right outside the door leading into the store.

Isabella's HUD-patch highlighted a massive amount of people moving through the area and working on what looked to be modified RC cars, redesigned toy trucks, and a heavily modified skateboard-turned mobile base. She might have been able to handle the group inside, but this many Resistance would bring her down before she managed to get them all. Isabella didn't give them time to react to her sudden appearance, though, and took off running for her jeep. She watched as the Resistance members tried to grab weapons, but were too slow as she raced past, kicking a few of the vehicles as she passed just for good measure. She wasn't sure how many she had stepped on, but was sure it was a drop in the bucket as her shield began to report numerous hits to her rear. She jumped into her jeep and quickly gunned it as the small convoy of Resistance vehicles began to regroup and turn their vehicle-mounted guns on her. She had almost forgotten she was deep in Resistance territory and near one of their main bases of operation. She should have expected something like that and been more on guard.

Isabella didn't stop to check on her two passengers till she was out of sight of the gas station. Finally, she slowed her speeding jeep down as she opened her right palm. The two were safe, the mother still clutching the now crying and shaking girl. Isabella felt a massive pang of guilt hit her chest as she saw how terrified the poor girl was.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't want to do that, but there were people trying to kill you. I didn't have a choice," Isabella explained. Her patch zoomed in to let her see the mother's face and she expected to see a look of disgust and anger. Instead, her face was devoid of all emotion as she nodded in understanding.

"Is there some place safe I can take you?" Isabella asked looking back and forth from her to the road. The woman said something, but it was lost over the noise of the engine. Isabella was so used to her scouts having headsets on them that she had forgotten this woman didn't have one.

"Hold on," she said before stopping the jeep. She rummaged through the small supply case in between the two seats and brought out a very small case from it. She set the tiny case on her hand and then nodded for the woman to open it. The woman eyed the case with some suspicion, but moved over to it, still holding the child. She opened it and took out one of the spare tiny headsets inside before putting it on.

"Try talking now," Isabella said as she shut the case and put it back. If Sanders had done his job properly, it would already be set on the proper channel.

"H-Hello? Is it working?" the woman said, this time coming in nice and clear through Isabella's headset.

"Yes it is. Now, is there someplace safe I can take you two?" Isabella asked again. She tried to put her must comforting smile on as she looked down at them in her hand. The woman looked up at Isabella and shook her head.

"No. Those marauders have destroyed every town outside Rome," the woman said looking like she was about to cry. The little girl started to cry again too as the mother tried to comfort her. Isabella had heard that there were bandits and pillagers outside the cities, but never that they were that well equipped. Was this how the Resistance got their equipment and numbers?

Isabella put such thoughts aside as she tried to figure out what to do with these two. Taking them back to Atlanta would be the safest place for them, but there were problems with that plan. With Manchent's death, people were very suspicious of newcomers and a sort of witch-hunt for Resistance members had gripped the city. The chance of these two being viewed as spies was far too high. Which was the second problem, if they really WERE spies. The Resistance had used such sob story tactics before. No it was simply too risky either way to take them there.

"If I drop you off near Rome, can you get into the city?" Isabella asked. The woman shook her head again.

"The Romans wouldn't let us in. They turn away anyone now unless they have a tribute of resources or a special skill they need," the woman said sounding more depressed by the second. This was news to Isabella as she had assumed Rome to be more open then that and the area around it to be...well civil. Instead it sounded more like...well more like Atlanta only for the Resistance. She filed that back for later as she focused on what to do with these two. After a few moments of thinking, Isabella got an idea.

"Is there someplace near here that people rarely go to? A place that doesn't have anything useful and is off the usual routes people take?" Isabella asked. The woman looked up, confused, but thought about it for a second.

"Well...the middle school is far from any major roads and my husband said it was dry when it came to supplies," the woman said. She looked a bit pained having to bring up her husband. Isabella didn't press her on the matter and, instead, tried to move the conversation away from it.

"Alright, I will take you two there," Isabella said.

"Why? There is nothing there. No food or water or...or shelter," she said giving Isabella a slightly angered look. Isabella had almost forgotten she had, quite literally, ripped their home away from them. She may have saved their life, but she took away their home as well.

"I will give you a new shelter and provide you with enough food and water to last for a few months at least. I said I wouldn't hurt you and I meant both physically and quality of life," Isabella said. She had a few spare water bottles that would be more than enough water for these two and her rations, while leaving a lot to be desired taste-wise, were long lasting, nutritious, and more than enough to feed them for a long time. As for shelter, she had a tiny-sized tent in her supplies for use in case of emergencies along with winter gear. It was not perfect, but would be better than a cardboard box.

The woman looked suspicious of this, but didn't say anything more. Her child had stopped crying and was now staring up at Isabella. Isabella couldn't help but feel a small bit of jealousy for the woman. As horrid as her state was, she still had her child and... She shook the thoughts away. Isabella was not going to let petty jealousy compromise what she knew was right.

After a few minutes of driving in silence, and getting lost once or twice, Isabella arrived at the old middle school. The mother had been right that it was off the beaten path and much of the roads that led to it were badly weathered and slowly falling apart. While this made getting there a bit of a chore it, also, meant that any shrunken people would have an even tougher time getting to it. Hopefully, that would keep these two safe from those marauders.

Isabella pulled the car into the pickup area of the school. Old rusted husks of cars were scattered everywhere. A number of buses, now nothing more than scrap heaps, were lined up along the pick up area still waiting for kids that would never come. Two of the buses were further past the line and looked to have crashed into a part of the school. It seemed that the Shrink Disaster had hit right as school was letting out. Isabella could only imagine the terror those poor kids had gone through. How many of them managed to make it home, how many were on those first two buses, how many of their unmarked graves were in amongst these rusting hulks? 

Isabella sighed to herself as she lowered her hand for the mother and child to climb on. The mother climbed on, still holding the child in her arms, and sat down in the middle of Isabella's palm. Isabella cupped her hand to try and keep them from falling as she slowly climbed out of the jeep. She made her way through the maze of ruined cars till she arrived at the front door to the school. She twisted the handle and found it to be unlocked. It took a few pulls to get the old door to finally work, but it gave way with a screech of rusted metal.

Isabella entered the school to find the hallways covered in papers, rotting away bookbags, slowly molded books, bits and pieces of cut apart fabric, and other assorted school supplies. Every so often, Isabella would catch a glimpse of dried blood between some of the supplies and get a pang of pity. Poor kids were crushed by their own school supplies... She turned away from the grizzly scene and headed deeper into the school.

The school was much like any other. Long hallways lined with lockers, broken up by the occasional classroom door. It was a bit warmer inside without the wind, but it was still cold enough to cause a chill. Of course, now its floors were badly cracked, its walls slowly crumbling, and its lockers a rusted mess. More junk was scattered all over the ground and Isabella was having to be careful where she stepped lest she trip. After a few minutes of wondering, she stopped at a classroom and pushed the door open.

The classroom was a mess of ruined desks, paper, and general chaos. Most of the desks showed signs of being sawed on and harvested by small people. Those few that were not looked to be very badly rotted and liable to fall apart with a stiff breeze. A single plastic desk was the only thing still standing and on top of it were a number of molded books and classroom decorations. Isabella smiled at the plastic desk as she moved to it. With a quick sweep of her free arm, she sent the books and junk falling off the desk. She lowered her hand and let the mother and child get off onto the plastic desk.

"This place should be safe enough. Its too high for any shrunken people to get onto and the plastic won't rot away anytime soon," she paused as she reached into her pocket and took out the shrunken-sized tent's box, "Here, this has a tent in it along with some winter weather clothing you can use for shelter till I can bring something more permanent."

The woman, finally, sat down her child and moved to the box. She opened it and took out a few of the tent's parts. She looked at them with disbelief in her face as her girl came over and began to dig through it as well.

"I...Why are you doing this? I mean...I am grateful, but to do all this for someone you don't even know," the woman asked as she looked back up to Isabella. Isabella was caught off-guard by the question and began to wonder why she was doing this too. She had come out here to find what Manchent had meant with those numbers, but was now saving a random mother and child she had just met. A mother and child who would have been murdered or slowly died if she hadn't helped...and there was her answer.

"Because you would have died if I hadn't and...that is the only reason, really. I don't want anyone dieing because of my actions or inactions, ever. Doubly so when that person is a fellow widow," Isabella said with a smile. The woman looked at Isabella for a moment before returning the smile.

"So you-"

"Yes...I could tell," Isabella interrupted her with a knowing smile. She, also, knew the woman would not want to talk about that anymore than necessary. The woman returned the smile and nodded as her daughter came over with some of the tent parts in her hand. She asked something that Isabella didn't catch and the mother nodded. The girl went off further from the edge of the desk with some of the parts.

"At least you have her still..." Isabella said feeling the same jealousy come up again. She hated that she felt it, but couldn't help it.

"Yes...she keeps me going despite everything. At little piece of her father," the woman said as she closed her eyes. Isabella felt the same pain she was feeling as memories of Jeremy flooded back. His smile, his scent, his laughter, his death...

Isabella took out two water bottles she had brought and poked a hole near the bottom of each. She left the small pin inside each to prevent the water bottle from spilling out and then placed their caps right below each hole. When she removed the pins, the water poured right into the caps and it was simple to push them back even, even for the smaller woman. Her ration bars were far easier to handle as all they needed was a small tear in the wrapper for the mother and child to get into. With shelter, water, and food all taken care of the mother and child should be set for a few days till Isabella could come back with better supplies.

"Thank you, really and truly thank you. To do all this and...and I don't even know your name," the woman said looking like she was about to cry in joy.

"Its Isabella Raim, and you are more than welcome Mrs?" Isabella asked with a bright smile. For the first time in a long time she was truly happy about being this big compared to most people.

"I am Madyson Orinda and my daughter is named Christina" Madyson answered. Christina looked up from messing with some of the tent parts at hearing her name, but went back to fiddling with them once she realized she wasn't be called over.

"Well, Madyson and Christina, keep safe and I will be back in a few days with some better supplies," Isabella said as she rose up and turned to leave. The two smaller people waved as she left the room and headed back out to her jeep.

She got outside and noticed that the sun was beginning to get low in the sky. It looked like she had spent most of the day helping those two and not finding whatever Manchent wanted her to find. She even forgot to ask them if they knew anything. She debated going back, but decided it could wait a few days. Drilling them with questions while they were trying to get resettled would not have been very nice. Instead, she got back in her jeep and began to make the long trip back to Atlanta. 

As she drove she remembered that Sanders said he and Aviel were going to visit his parents for the holiday. After seeing that mother and child she suddenly felt a keen sense of loneliness. Maybe she should see if they wouldn't mind visiting with her too.

    Article on towns outside Atlanta:
Despite having been in contact with many villages and towns outside Atlanta before the Resistance formation, the current living conditions and lifestyle of people outside Atlanta is mostly unknown. While most people outside Atlanta used to live in small villages and towns usually built inside of old structures, the Society reports this practice has fallen out of favor. For those towns that joined the Resistance the cause is easy enough to understand. Such towns were easy to find and thus easy to destroy so they were moved. For those that did not join, however, it is most likely to hide from bandits, marauders, and Resistance fighters.

Current Society intel has shown nearly all neutral villages have been whipped out by bandits or forced to join the Resistance. Those few that do remain have either moved further away from Atlanta to escape the war or gone deep into hiding. Their current lifestyle and locations all remain a mystery, however the Society reports many bandit groups have been seen following them.

Resistance towns are, usually, hidden underground where the Society have a more difficult time reaching. Such towns are, by the Society's reports, disease-ridden and absent of all amenities. The people of the towns life in squalor and barely scrap out a living. Despite the poor condition of the common folks, the terrorists live in orderly, clean barracks and given every amenity. These men and women are keep healthy and strong to allow them to continue their war of terror against Atlanta. Many question why the common folk allow this to continue, but the answer is obvious. With them so sick and weak, they have no will to try and change their lot in life and, instead, simply toil away in silence.

Some have suggested attempting to free these people to help fight the Resistance, however, all such attempts have proven unsuccessful. Despite their horrid conditions, most of them truly do believe they are in the right and view the Society and Atlanta as evil. For these people, the only way to stop their attacks is execution.

Chapter 13: Give Thanks for the Memories

November 24, 2023 12:12PM

Sanders smiled up at his dad's and his handiwork. Maybe it wasn't the prettiest piece of craftsmanship ever, but it got the job done which was what really mattered. Aviel came out from the kitchen, looking to have enjoyed her talk, and noticed their project. She stared up at it in wonder for a moment before chuckling to herself.

"Wow, glad I am not eating off that thing," she said as she started up at the over-sized TV dinner tray they had put together next to the porch. It was about as high up as the house and did look a little flimsy, but Sanders was not going to admit that to Aviel.  It was pointed perpendicular to the porch to allow Flonne to sit on the ground and have her legs go out away from them.

"Oh really? And I here I thought you wanted to be large and in charge. Guess you will just have to stick with us little people and our well built tables," Sanders shot back. Aviel gave him a miffed look and was probably about to return fire when Mrs. Cutter interrupted them.

"That's enough of that. We still need to set up the dinner table," she tutted at them.

"You two can flirt some other time," Mr. Cutter added getting a slight chuckle from Abigal. Both Sanders and Aviel narrowed their eyes at him in anger before starting to set up the much smaller table on the porch. While it was rather cold for an outdoor dinner, Abigal had been insistent they have it where Flonne could join them. With John's "little" project to build the fairy her own table, she could sit with them and have dinner just like a part of the family. Neither of his parents would have accepted anything less.

It didn't take long to set up the table for the family. With the tables set, Flonne's was left unset as they really had no way to get up to it, Abigal and Aviel went in to get the food. John went back over to Flonne's table to make sure it was holding up and Sanders was given the job of getting the kids to come to dinner.

He headed off toward the fields and saw the large form of Flonne searching around for something. As he got closer he saw Lissa and Jessy hanging a good ways away from her, but still obviously following the large fairy. Flonne was brushing aside bits of dead shrubbery, searching through trees, and even lifting up some of the heavy duty farming equipment to look under it. He could guess what game they were playing and knew that calling Jr out for dinner would be useless. The little punk took his hide and seeks way too seriously and wouldn't come out till he was found. Good thing Sanders knew where he was.

"Flonne, you looking for something?" Sanders yelled up at Flonne. Flonne was looking over one of the farming tractors in her hand, like it was large toy, before she turned to look at Sanders. She set the tractor back down, gently, before she knelt down to him.

"Yeah, I am playing hide-and-seek with your brother and sisters and I found Jessy and Lissa, but can't find Jr. anywhere," she said as her antennas drooped a bit. Jessy and Lissa came up and Lissa clung to Flonne's leg like it was some kind of tree-like teddy bear. Looks like Flonne had made at least one friend.

"Well that's no good. Dinner is about to be ready," Sanders said in a slightly sarcastic tone.

"Great, he won't come out of hiding even in Mom tells him to. She'll ground him for a month if he does that on Thanksgiving," Jessy said as she sighed to herself.

'Probably. And if he is grounded he can't come play. Looks like you need to find him Flonne," Sanders said in a slightly more "serious" tone.

"But...but I can't," Flonne said as he antennas drooped even further.

"Well, how about if I give you a hint. Like that you should check something big...and red. Maybe the second floor of that big red thing in a big pile of yellow stuff," Sanders said giving her a mischievous grin. Flonne looked confused at first before looking up and looking around. She turned in the direction of the barn before her face lit up with realization. She looked about to run over when Sanders stopped her.

"Wait!" Sanders yelled as Flonne stopped, "like the ninja?" Flonne got a wicked smile as her wings glowed again and she took off a few feet off the ground. Sanders got Lissa off Flonne's leg and then Flonne, silently, flew toward the barn. Sanders, Lissa, and Jessy all headed for the barn and arrived just in time to see Flonne looking into the second story opening. She raised her arm and got it ready before reaching forward into the barn. The ruffling of hay and the sounds of Flonne's hand scrapping against the floor drifted down to them before Jr yelled out in surprise.

"GOT YOU~!" Flonne said as she pulled the startled Jr out of the barn, bits of straw raining down from them both. He looked completely taken off guard as he suddenly found himself looking at a person-sized face staring happily down at him while resting in a hand big enough to close around him. Flonne giggled in glee at her having won the game and Lissa started to cheer for her.

"Yay! You're awesome Big Sis," Lissa said as she bounced around. Flonne's smile lit up even more at being called big sis and her face blushed a bit. Sanders left Jessy to get them to dinner as he headed back to see if there was anything else to do at the porch.

Aviel was waiting on him on the porch, having watched the whole thing with Flonne. She smiled at Sanders warmly as he came to stand next to her.

"I didn't think bringing Flonne along was such a good idea, boy, was I wrong. Don't think I have ever seen that fairy happier," Aviel said as she watched Flonne and the kids laugh as they got in a few more seconds of playtime.

"Yeah...Just wanted to apologize for freaking out on her that first time. Wasn't right to treat her like she was a monster just because she was big," Sanders said as a wave of guilt washed over him.

"And had antennas...and wings...and could use magic, though we didn't know that at the time," Aviel added in a lighthearted tone. Sanders smirked a bit at the joke and nodded his agreement. Still, it was hard to imagine Flonne as anything but a little girl now that he had gotten to know her. Wings, antennas, and size aside, she reminded him of his own two sisters in almost every way.  Maybe that was why he felt so bad for treating her like a monster. It felt like he had done it to one of his own little sisters.

He glanced back over to Aviel before getting a wicked grin, "Wait, you actually do care about what happens to Flonne, don't you?" Aviel shot him annoyed look as she moved further away from him in anger.

"Of course I do. I don't want her to get hurt or anything like that. Why would you even think I did?" she demanded as she looked angrily at him.

"Well you haven't exactly treated her well over the past month. In fact, you have been downright mean to her a lot of the times," Sanders said as his face got rather serious. Aviel opened her mouth to say something but closed it as she turned away.

"It-...Its just I don't want to get too attached, alright?" Aviel said giving Sanders a hard look. Sanders remembered her talk in the Giga Stomp and turned away as he looked at the ground. He really had no idea how to respond to that... Hell, how did one respond to that?

From behind them, Abigal yelled out, "KIDS DINNER TIME!" The two of them gave each other a look and a silent agreement to put this aside for now was reached. The kids started to run over to the porch as Flonne floated over herself. She looked rather confused by the large table-like thing next to the porch and stopped in front of it.

"WOAH! Dad, did you build a table for Flonne?" Jr asked as he looked up at the big table.

"I sure did. Its quality work, if I do say so myself. Go ahead, Flonne, try it out," John said motioning for Flonne to take a seat.

"Okay.." Flonne said before moving toward it. She sat down on the ground and found the table just slightly lower than what might be totally comfortable, but still usable. She placed her hands on the table and gave it a few test pushes. It creaked a bit, but did not give out under the weight. Flonne smiled in utter joy as she looked down toward John.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Cutter!" she said and then placed her chin in her hands as they rested on the table. She giggled at being able to have her own table to sit and eat at.

"You are very welcome, Flonne. Now lets get to eating," he said as Abigal began to bring out the food. Sanders and John had to head inside to get Flonne's much large portions, but it wasn't long before everyone was eating, talking, laughing, and just enjoying each others company. Even Aviel looked to be having a great time as she told embarrassing stories about him, Isabella, and other Rangers.

After a long while, the sun began to creep downward and the dinner wound down. The kids and Flonne all headed back out to the fields to get in one last bit of fun before bedtime as the adults cleaned up the porch.

"Thank you for having me, Abigal and Johnathon, this was a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner," Aviel said with a warm smile.

"Oh it was our pleasure, Aviel. Your welcome to come back anytime, a friend of Sanders is always welcome here," John said as Abigal nodded in agreement. She moved over and whispered something to Aviel that Sanders didn't catch. Whatever it was, it caused Aviel's features to darken a bit but only for a second. Aviel nodded and mouthed a thanks as they both retreated into the kitchen with some of the dishes.

Sanders and John headed over to Flonne's large table, which she had cleared herself, and began to take it down. They tried to take it apart without damaging it so that it could be used again if Flonne came back to visit. Considering how much fun she was having with his siblings, and them with her, he thought that was more of a when than if now.

After some careful deconstruction, the seat was put away and stored inside the barn. By then, Aviel and Abigal had finished with the dishes and were waiting on them by the porch. The sky was getting dark as night began to descend.

"I think its about time we headed back. I'd love to stay but I got clothes to wash and that kind of stuff," Sanders said.

"Yeah, same here," Aviel agreed.

"I understand. I'll go get the car ready and take you two back to the tram. Johnathon go get the kids and tell them its bedtime. Oh and tell Flonne to come here for a second," Abigal said as she went back inside to get her keys. John nodded and yelled to the kids to come on back, which brought a few groans and whines.

Flonne did as she was asked and flew down to land near Sanders and Aviel. Abigal soon came back out with her keys and a small camera. Sanders sighed to himself as his wondering when she was going to break that out came to an end.

"Just want one picture of my boy and his co-workers, if you don't mind," Abigal said as she moved toward them with a smile. Sanders mentally begged Aviel or Flonne to voice a complaint, but both nodded in agreement. He grumbled as Flonne laid down flat to fit in the picture and Sanders and Aviel stood on either side of her face. Abigal raised the camera and was about to take it when Sanders phone began to ring.

"Hold on, my phone is ringing," Sanders said, thankful for the distraction. He moved off a bit as he took out his phone to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Sanders, are you still at your parents' house?" the Captain said over the line.

"Huh? Oh...uhh yeah I am. Do you need something, Captain?" Sanders asked, a bit confused as to why she was suddenly calling.

"No, I just remembered you had mentioned you were having Thanksgiving there and asked if I wanted to at least come by for a visit. I know I declined, but I happen to be heading down I-75 now. If it is not too late, I could stop to see them at the tram station," the Captain said in a matter-of-fact way.

"Oh, actually that works out great. We were just about to head to the tram to leave. We'll meet you there," Sanders said glancing at Aviel. Her face had darkened again and did not look at all pleased with this news. Flonne, however, looked rather excited as well as Abigal.

"Alright, I will see you there," she said before hanging up. Sanders had to wonder why the Captain was heading down I-75, but figured it must not have been too important if she didn't say.

"Was that your giantess leader, Isabella?" Abigal asked.

"Yeah it was. She is heading down I-75 and is willing to stop to meet us on the tram for a bit," Sanders said with a smile. Abigal seemed more excited by the news and put away her camera in her pocketbook. Aviel, however, looked confused and gave a "what the-" look at Sanders. Sander just shrugged in response.

"Good, good. I have been wanting to meet her. Come on, lets get in and head there," she urged. Sanders and Aviel, with a bit of reluctance from the latter, got into the much roomier car and the group began to head for the tram. Flonne took off into the air and followed them.

The ride to the tram was a lot quicker without having John and Aviel constantly mocking Sanders AND not being packed in like a sardine. Abigal parked the car at the tram station and the three of them climbed up to the station proper. The station was nearly abandoned save for one or two other people who looked to just be visiting like they had been. Flonne was nowhere to be seen, but Sanders figured she was probably up above the station looking for Isabella's car to appear.

While they waited, Sanders headed over to an emergency station and used his ID to open a giantess communicator locker. Usually, these were only to be used in case emergency personal needed to communicate with giantesses for disaster relief and that sort of thing, but Sanders figured no one would mind them borrowing them for a bit.

He got two out, he knew Aviel wouldn't want to talk, and gave one to his mom while he put the other one on. A few minutes later the bright headlights of a jeep coming down the highway could be seen and it slowly stopped a fair distance away from the tram station. The Captain climbed out as Flonne floated down to her. The two talked as they came closer to the tram, Isabella's massive feet beginning to cause the entire station to shake. Thankfully, the Captain still had her headset on so they could talk without having to yell.

The Captain had to practically lay down to be face to face with them on the, comparatively, tiny tram station. Flonne, however, only had to bend down a bit. To say it was a bit intimidating see a face that was larger than the tram station beside a fairy that was, also, bigger than it would be a titanic understatement. Sanders was able to keep calm thanks to knowing both of the giantesses, but Abigal and the other people in the station were not so calm. She tried to back away from Isabella's sheer size, but Sanders stopped her with a comforting grip on her shoulder. Aviel looked uninterested and keep her distance.

"Mom, this is my Commander, Isabella Raim. Isabella, this is my mother," Sanders said. Abigal didn't say anything at first as she just stared.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Cutter. Your son is a fine scout and a good man. You raised him well," Isabella whispered, though it was still loud enough to boom a bit. Abigal cringed at the volume of her voice, but seemed to finally snap out of her horror at the Captain's talking. She took a moment to compose herself before she answered.

"Th...Thank you, Commander Raim. It's nice to meet you too. Sanders talks quite a bit about you and I am glad to hear you treat him so well. Thank you for keeping him safe," Abigal said having composed herself completely.

"You don't need to thank me, Mrs. Cutter. Keeping him safe is as much a part of my job as anything else. If anyone should be thanking someone it is me for the very kind treatment you gave Flonne," the Captain said as she looked over to the fairy with a warm smile.

"She barely let me get out before she was talking all about being treated just like a part of your family. Truly, thank you so much for that," the Captain said with the brightest smile Sanders had ever seen her with. Even Aviel looked a bit surprised by her smile.

"Now its my turn to insist you don't thank me. We just treated her like anyone else. Just because she looks a little different doesn't mean she deserves to be treated differently," Abigal said returning the Captain's smile.

"Indeed it does. I wish there were more people like you, Mrs. Cutter. And that I had more time to talk with you, but I must return to base and..." she paused for a moment, "meet others on the base for a late celebration." Aviel's eyes narrowed at that and even Sanders found that a bit...hard to swallow. The Captain had never been very much into the celebrations things even when Gabby was the one who invited her.

Abigal, however, accepted it right away, but quickly said, "Oh wait, could you do something real quick before you go?" The Captain nodded as Abigal fished out her camera.

"I wanted to get a picture on my son's squad to put in my scrap book," she said. Sanders groaned again while Aviel gave him a wicked grin. The Captain looked a bit confused by the request at first, but smiled and nodded as she tried to position herself to fit in the picture.

"OK, Sanders move to your left...No now I can't see Flonne. Mov-, no Aviel stay still. Ms. Raim could you slid back a- no that won't wok..." Abigal said as she tried to get them all into the shot. It was proving nigh impossible from the station, though.

"I have an idea," the Captain said before standing up and kneeling back down to put her hands next the station. "Mrs. Cutter, get on my left hand. Sanders, Aviel, get on my right," she instructed them. Abigal looked less than thrilled with the idea, but seeing Sanders and Aviel climbing on without missing a beat got her to move on. Sanders keep a close eye on his mom as the Captain picked them up. Thankfully, Flonne headed up with the Captain's left hand and made sure Mrs. Cutter keep her balance. The Captain raised both hands to about level with her face.

"Let's see if this will work, Flonne could you get on my shoulder once I am finished moving Mrs. Cutter?" Isabella asked. Flonne nodded as the Captain moved her left hand further away from herself. She then put her right hand in front of her face as well, but not as far as her left. Sanders now figured out what Isabella had wanted to do. With them closer, it would give the illusion of them being bigger, thus getting him and Aviel in the shot while giving the Captain and Flonne room to get in as well.

"Oh, this will work perfectly. Thank you, Ms. Raim. Say cheese now," Abigal said. Aviel had to nudge Sanders to get him to smile and he whipped his arm around her shoulder at the last minute in revenge. She eyed him, but didn't move away as they both smiled along with the Captain and Flonne for their first ever squad photo.

Article on Giantess activities in city limits:

Most giantess activity is off-limits inside Atlanta city limits. By simply walking they can cause a great deal of destruction and the potential death toll they could cause is reason enough for the city council to ban them from entering.The only times this restriction is lifted is during disasters of a scope too large for the city alone to handle. As of this articles writing only five such incidents have occurred.

The first was the massive tornado of 2014, followed by a chemical explosion caused by the old sewage system in 2016, which was followed by the flood in 2019. The last two disasters, however, were not caused by nature but from outside forces.
The first was in 2018 when a massive bomb was set off in a scientists', named Professor Martin, lab. The bomb was found to be of Resistance origin and a panic of multiple such bombs sweep through the city. Thankfully, the bomb was the only bomb set that day, but the panic still caused the council to call in giantess support to scour the city.

The latest indecent was in 2020. A feral catgirl managed to sneak into the Atlanta area and began to cause of string of grisly murders. Unaware of the origin of the murders, the Atlanta SWAT moved into the warehouse it had made its home. Of that squad, only one survived the fight and only thanks to the intervention of a giantess.

When giantesses are given permission to enter, they are mainly used for clean-up and search and rescue operations. Those that do enter the city are trained heavily in walking as lightly as possible and to watch every movement they make, both to lessen damage and prevent harming anyone. While some find their appearance a welcome sight, other have voiced opposition to them entering the city. Such people are, however, in the vast minority.

Chapter: 14 Swords

December 1, 2023 3:36 PM

Aviel sighed to herself as she and Sanders moved through the leaf-less forest. Winter had fully gripped the area leaving only the evergreens to give any sort of green to the forest. Most of the animals were now hibernating through the cold winter leaving the only their crunching footsteps through the dead leafs and the whine of the wind through the trees for sounds.

"Don't know why they send us out during these winter months. The Resistance is too busy trying not to freeze and starve to do anything and the animals are the same way. Never anything out here, besides dead leafs and frozen trees," Aviel grumbled to herself as she kicked some of the dead foliage away from her feet.

"Yeah...too damn cold to do any fighting. The only good thing is we don't have to work to stay frosty," Sanders said, smiling to himself about his pun. Aviel groaned at the horrid pun and took a swipe at him, but he managed to dodge out of the way. She didn't bother going after him, she was too damn cold for that.

It was a week since Thanksgivings and the weather had only turned even colder. Both Sanders and Aviel were covered head to toe in some rather heavy winter gear to fend off the cold. Despite Atlanta being far to the South, this winter had been brutally cold. So cold it was supposed to snow sometime tonight, a rare thing this far South. Unfortunately, the snow wasn't here today and they were not able to get out of the last patrol. Which lead to them trudging through the dead forest looking for nothing in particular.

Isabella, who had been making a habit of going on patrols without them, had brought them out to the middle of fucking nowhere for this last patrol. Apparently, the higher ups wanted to do one last search around the outskirts of the city before the snow froze them in. Probably just to appease the growing majority of people who wanted to take the fight to the Resistance. Isabella hadn't been happy about it and Aviel, for once in a long while, agreed with her. Aviel would have liked nothing more than to fight the Resistance to be sure. But she also understood that the chances of them finding any Resistance at this time of year was basically zero.

No, all they would find out here was old bare trees and a cold. The Resistance was always inactive during the winter months, most likely being too busy just trying to survive out here. Command had to know that too which only made Aviel all the more annoyed. This was nothing more than busy work and she hated busy work. Dammit she could be home sipping some hot coco right now while watching TV, snug in her covers...

"How much further till we reach our search point?" Aviel asked, an edge of irritation in her voice. Sanders looked at his wrist unit and tapped a few times at its touch screen.

"Should be right over this ridge a fe-" he stopped as the ground barely trembled and a distant rumble came over the wind. He looked back down at his wrist screen as the rumble came again, this time slightly louder and stronger.

"That's not Isabella," Sanders said as the rumbling continued to grow louder and stronger. Both of them had felt giantess' footsteps enough to know it from an earthquake or explosion. Whoever it was was still a good distance away, but they couldn't see them thanks to the trees and rolling hills.

"Come on," Aviel said as she headed up the ridge to get a better look. Sanders followed her as she headed for the top of the ridge. They both slipped and slid on the loose earth and leaves as they tried to climb the steeper than it looked ridge. Finally, they managed to pull themselves up on top of the ridge and get a more clear look around.

The ridge rose high above the ground, probably a good 6-7 scale stories off the ground. It gave them a good view of the area and rose above most of the hills nearby. Off in the distance, four giantesses were heading nearly straight for them. All of them were in full combat gear: over-sized combat boots, leg flak armor going up to their knees, helmets with HUD visors, and even armored flak gloves. All of them had the crossed sword logo of the Swords on the shoulder of their unarmored shirts. Aviel didn't recognized most of them, but one made a chill run down her spine. Lutice was leading the group.

Sanders noticed her too and looked conflicted about what to do. Something about her always seemed to make him uncomfortable and confused. They had only half glimpsed Lutice a few more times since that day with Manchent, but Lutice had made it obvious she remembered her time in the brig. Those times they had Isabella with them to shield them from her, at least. This time, though, Isabella wasn't here and Aviel wouldn't put it past the bitch to use them to get payback on Isabella. How someone so childish had gotten into the Society was beyond Aviel...

Sanders quickly put away his rifle, hiding it in his large jacket, before moved to head back down the ridge. Aviel was about to follow him when Lutice turned to look almost directly at her. Surely it was just a freaky coincidence, there was no way Lutice could see her from that far awa-. Aviel's chill came back in full force as she remembered they both had their locator beacons on. She WAS looking right at them and would know exactly who she was looking at thanks to the damn beacon and Lutice's HUD visor.

Lutice got a smile that seemed anything but friendly as she pointed them out to the other three. Aviel could hear them talking even from this distance, but couldn't make out what they were saying. She thought of running, but knew it would be pointless now. Even if they did turn their locators off, the four giantesses might scour the area for them and find them or accidentally step on them. Worse, that would have given Lutice an excuse for why it happened. No, there was only two ways she saw out of this. And only one she could actually affect...

"Sanders, don't bother," Aviel said as she went to tapping on her wrist unit. Sanders stopped and turned to see the four Swords all coming straight at them AND looking at them now. He took a large gulp as he moved back over to stand next to Aviel. The rumbling had nearly tripled in intensity and Aviel had to concentrate to even use her wrist unit she was shaking so bad. The noise didn't help either as the soft rumbles were now more like distant explosions. Aviel finished her hail mary plan, finally, and hoped that Isabella or someone was in range.

The four giantesses moved up the surround the ridge. Most of them looked down at them with a smirk while Lutice placed her hands on her hips as she looked down at them. Despite the ridge being rather high up, it barely reached the giantesses' shins. Now that they had moved closer, Aviel could see that the Sword members had written things on their boots. Taunts like: "Tiny crusher", "Death from Above", "Foot of an Angry Goddess", "Beg and it will be quick", and other such slogans were all over their boots, likely to demoralize the Resistance fighting them. Some of them even had little marks in the shape of people as a kill count.

Aviel had to fight to keep her nervousness from showing, but Sanders was not doing quite so well. He was looking up at the giantesses staring down at their tiny forms with a look of barely contained terror and seemed to only be more nervous seeing their boots. His discomfort only increased as Lutice bent down at the waist. Her massive torso blocked out the sky as she smiled down at them in a way that made Aviel anything but comfortable. It was having the same effect on Sanders who was actually staring at Lutice's face rather than her chest.

"Well, if it isn't Isabella's tinies. What are you two doing out here all alone? Don't you know its dangerous out here? So many things that could hurt you," she said her booming voice not needing to use the radio. Her disturbing smile spread to the other three causing Aviel to curse inwardly. Seemed the three of them were more loyal to Lutice than the Society...damn bitches. Sanders managed a half-hearted smile of his own as he looked for somewhere to back up to, but found nowhere to go. Aviel held her ground and keep her face neutral, despite her anger at them abusing their position on fellow Society members.

 "We are on patrol looking for any threats before the snow sets in. If you don't mind, we would like to get back to it," Aviel said into her radio. Lutice's smile faded a bit at Aviel's words. Her smile almost vanished before Sanders jumped in.

"I-If that is alright with you, ma'am. Or if you need something we would be happy to help!" he stammered out. He gave a crisp salute as Aviel turned a glare at him. His sucking up made her sick even if her common sense was screaming at her that he might have just saved both of them. After all, she sure as hell wasn't going to swallow her pride for Lutice of all people, but dammit if they didn't need to.

Lutice's eyes turned to the placating Sanders and her smile slowly came back. She squatted down causing her combat pants to stretch over her vagina and create a giant camel toe nearly right above them. It was too good for Sanders to resist staring until Aviel elbowed him. Lutice didn't seem to mind him staring though, in fact her smile only seemed to get bigger.

"Well, well, it seems the newer scout has more sense than the older one. He knows how to show proper respect to rank and not to piss someone off who could squash him with a finger," Lutice said as she turned a bit of an annoyed look at Aviel. Aviel didn't back down in the slightest and only returned the glare. Lutice was not going to intimidate her.

"What's your name, tiny scout?" Lutice asked as she turned back to Sanders.

"Sanders Cutter, ma'am!" Sanders answered without letting any nervousness get through. Aviel was still disgusted with him, but was impressed he was keeping his fear somewhat hidden. And he was keeping Lutice talking rather than taking out her anger at Isabella on them.

"Sanders Cutter?" Lutice said before getting a pondering look, "Sanders...Sanders...that sounds familiar for some reason. And you look familiar too now that I think about it." Lutice bent down a bit lower as she squinted her eyes at Sanders.

"It...it's probably from three years ago when you saved me from a feral catgirl. I was still part of SWAT back then," Sanders said looking a bit unsure if he should have mentioned that. Aviel looked at him with shock at the revelation that Lutice had been the giantess who had saved him. She had heard the story before, but he had never said the giantess' name before saying the giantess as asked him not to share her name. But...but he had said the giantess had been the kindest person he had ever meet and had been an inspiration to him to join the Society. That sure as hell did not sound like the Lutice that was towering over them.

"Saved you from a feral," Lutice said before she paused as she tried to remember back. Aviel was sure she was not going to remember. She could not imagine Lutice rescuing anyone. It had to be a different Lutice or...or something.

"OH I do remember doing that a few years ago. Yes, I heard that a SWAT team had run into a feral so I came to help and only one of them managed to survive.  So you're that Sanders," Lutice said getting what almost looked like a genuine smile on her face. Aviel was dumbfounded and really had no idea how to react to this. Sanders, though, returned the smile and seemed to relax a great deal.

"I'm glad you remembered me, Lutice. If you hadn't shown up when you did I... I wouldn't be here now. And its because of what you told me that I was able to move on from it and keep going on. Thank you, Lutice. Really, thank you," Sanders said looking like he was on the verge of tears. Aviel looked up to Lutice and couldn't believe what she was seeing. Lutice actually looked touched by his words. She opened her mouth to say something before stopping and bending down a bit lower to get closer to Sanders.

"You...you really mean that? You think what I said helped you that much?" she asked looked conflicted about something. For some reason, Aviel was not feeling any more comfortable. Sanders, though, didn't seem to notice.

"Of course I do! You saved my life, Lutice. Twice in a way. I..I probably would have just given up on living without you talking to me and being so...supportive with me," he looked down as his face turned a bit red at having said that. Lutice stared at him with the same conflicted and seemingly unsure look that she had. Her hand began to move out as if to gently pick up Sanders when one of the Swords interrupted.

"Aww, isn't that cute, Lutice. He is so grateful to you and even got embarrassed admitting it. Hehe, maybe you should keep him. I think he would make a good little plaything," the Sword with black-hair suggested. The other two giggled too as Lutice's conflicted look seemed to fade away.

"Lutice did save his life, only right he repays her," another Sword, with blue-hair, suggested. Aviel had a very bad feeling about where this was going, but figured this was some kind of game. Surely they didn't meant that...right? Sanders seemed to have the same thoughts as blushing and backed up a bit.

"You'll have to take up me leaving the Shields with Matriarch Cathrine, I can't really just leave like that. But I'd be happy to help Lutice out with something. Like hunting down some Resistance or finding something she lost or-"

"Or being my slave for life?" Lutice interrupting getting a smile that was anything but warm and welcoming. Sanders' face suddenly lost color as he stumbled back even further. Aviel felt a wave panic hit her as she realized they were not joking. Sweet Jesus they were serious... She tried to think of something to do, but here mind came up blank. What COULD she do against four giantesses?

"T-That's a good joke, Lutice. Kinda had me going for a second. Y-You can't really mean that," Sanders said not sounding sure it was a joke himself. Lutice's smile only widened at his nervousness along with the other Sword giantesses. Realization of what Aviel already knew hit Sanders like a brick wall. They were not joking and there wasn't a damn thing either of them could do to stop them. He shook his head in disbelief as Lutice smile got just a bit more unsettling.

"I don't joke when it comes to repaying debts. Now come here," Lutice said before reaching her building sized hand out to grab Sanders.

"Sanders!" Aviel yelled as she tried to get to Sanders first, but couldn't out pace the massive hand. Sanders reached out to Aviel as Lutice's fingers smashed into the ground around him. Rather than try to pick him up carefully, Lutice just picked up him and the ground around him, her fingers acting like giant backhoes. Aviel watched in horror as Lutice picked up Sanders and the ground he had been standing on, leaving a massive hole where he had been.

Aviel could do nothing but watch as Lutice brought the ball of dirt up to her face. She turned her hand over and blew away some of the dirt off her hand. Aviel was terrifying she would see Sanders flying off Lutice's hand any second along with the dirt, but Lutice seemed to be taking care not to blow him off. Finally, Aviel could hear Sanders coughing over his radio, but couldn't see what was happening from way down on the ground.

"Aww, you got him all dirty, Lutice. He's not going to be a very good slave covered in dirt," the last Sword, this one with brown-hair, said with a mischievous grin.

"Hmm, you're right, Samantha. I guess I will have to give him a bath first," Lutice said with the same smile. She stood back up causing Sanders to cry out in panic at the sudden lurch upwards. She looked around halfheartedly and placed her free hand on her hip.

"Oh darn, I don't see a river or a lake to bath him in. Guess I will just have to bath him the old fashion way," Lutice said with a big grin on her face. Oh God she wouldn't, Aviel thought to herself, but she already knew the answer.

"W-What do you mean by...wait what the hell are you, oh fuck no! Please no!" Sanders said as Lutice brought her hand closer and closer to her mouth. Aviel felt a ping of panic hit her as she realized Lutice was going to "bathe" Sanders in her mouth and with Sanders phobia of being eaten after that feral catgirl incident... She had to stop them or Sanders would undoubtedly say or do something to get himself killed, and she had no doubt they would kill him. Suddenly, an idea hit her as Sanders panicked pleading began to hit a fevered pitch.

"Guess I shouldn't be surprised you Swords have no problem licking dirt off people. I'll be sure to tell Gabby about how you were nice enough to suck the dirt off a tiny," she said in a mocking tone. Just like she hoped, Lutice's hand stopped as she looked down at Aviel. Her smile lowered into a glare as she looked down at Aviel. Aviel had to fight back the urge to flee from the titanic, angry, visage glaring down at her.

"You really need to shut," Lutice started before raising her foot, "UP!" She brought her foot crashing down a few inches in front of Aviel with a force like that of a bomb. Aviel dived to the ground as the earth behind her exploded outwards from the impact. The massive explosive of sound nearly deafened her as a gigantic gust of dirt and debris went flying over her back as she covered her head with her arms. Bits of splintered trees, loose dirt, and pieces of rocks went flying away from Lutice's building sized boot as the earth rocked from her god-like power. Dammit, Aviel wanted it so bad, but not for this. Not to torture people from their own side!

"AVIEL! AVIEL!!!" Sanders yelled through the radio. Aviel groaned as she slowly picked herself up and turned around. The entire side of the ridge they had been on was completely gone, crushed by Lutice's boot. The trees near to it had been bent away from the impact by the sheer force of the impact and animals could still be seen running in absolute terror from her. All Lutice had to have done was move her foot forward two inches and Aviel would have simply ceased to be.

"I'm...I'm alive Sanders...just barely," Aviel answered as she staggered away from Lutice's foot. She glared up at Lutice in utter hate wishing there was something she could do to pay her back. But her weapons wouldn't even dent Lutice's heavily armored boots and she wouldn't be able to climb them since they had been designed to not be climbable. Dammit she HATED being this powerless.

"What the FUCK is wrong with you?! Do you know how close you were to killing Aviel, you psychotic bitch?!" Sanders yelled at Lutice. Lutice's eyes snapped back to Sanders as her face twisted into a look of sheer hatred. The other three giantesses looked just as angry as they all turned to look at the hand Lutice was holding him in. Aviel had no idea how Sanders was holding up being stared down by four titans, but could probably guess. She had to do something or Lutice was just going to crush him like a bug.

"Psychotic bitch....Psychotic BITCH?!?" Lutice boomed out at her hand. Even from the ground her voice was like a sonic boom of rage.

"How DARE you, you little piece of SHIT! Do you know how insignificant you are?! Do you know that I could kill you in more ways than you can count right now? You say you are grateful to me then call me a BITCH!?! I- no I am not even going to dirty my hand with your guts," Lutice said, her voice shaking with rage. Even from this distance, Aviel had to cover her ears from the noise, but managed to keep looking up to Lutice's hand.

She watched in horror as Lutice twisted her hand and a tiny form came tumbling down from her hand. The bitch was going to kill him just by dropping him. She ran forward toward where Sanders would fall, as if her catching him would help, before stopping. There was nothing she could do for him, not a damn thing. She watched him plummet to the ground, helpless to do anything to help her partner. Helpless to stop him from dieing right before her eyes like so many others...

Suddenly, a blur streaked through the air between the giantesses and straight past where Sanders had been falling. The giantesses looked confused as they turned to see a flying figure hovering just out of their reach. A figure Aviel recognized and caused her to nearly collapse from relief.

"I got you, Sanders. Those bad Swords won't hurt you up here," Flonne said as Sanders heavy breathing came through the radio.

"Holy...shit....that...was too....close," Sanders said through gasps of breath.

Aviel couldn't help but smile at the fairy's timely arrival. Her plan to keep her radio on the general channel had, partially, worked and at least brought Flonne to them. However, Aviel quickly realized she didn't have time to celebrate as she was still on the ground and all too vulnerable. She didn't say a word as she took off toward Lutice's foot hoping to have been forgotten and slip past the giantesses.

"I might not be able get to you two, but I can get to that little bitch!" Lutice yelled out. Aviel felt her blood run cold as she tried to turn off her locator beacon before Lutice saw her. She stopped as she looked up to see Lutice staring right at her.

Aviel took off running as fast as she could, despite knowing it was pointless. She had no place to hide and would never be able to run fast enough to get out from under Lutice's foot. The massive boot took off into the air, bits of earth and plants falling off it at it rose. A dark shadow came over the area as Lutice's foot began to fill the sky. Aviel couldn't contain her panic as she began to run like mad trying to get out from under the foot. Dammit this was not how it was supposed to end, she couldn't let it end like this!

So terrified by her approaching death, she barely even registered the ground suddenly beginning to shake and the growing rumble. Lutice's foot began to descend before it suddenly flew backwards away from Aviel. The noise of a gigantic crash of flesh on flesh came booming down like a blast of thunder causing Aviel to look up. Aviel stopped as Lutice's massive form went flying backward and crashed to the ground with a titanic explosion. Aviel was knocked off her feet from the shaking and another blast of air sent her hair flying backwards.

She scrambled back to her feet and looked to her left to see another massive foot near the ridge, only this one was housed in an unarmored shoe. She looked up to see another giantess had joined the group. A giantess that had a Shield patch on her shoulder. It was the first time in a long while Aviel could honestly say she was happy to see her.

"Get the hell away from my scout, Lutice, or I will break every limb you have and leave you here to be found by the Resistance," Isabella said, her voice barely above a whisper yet shaking with rage. Aviel had never seen Isabella so angry before. Her face looked passive, but Aviel had know Isabella long enough to see the rage lancing out of her eyes. It would have been terrifying, normally, but right now it was the most reassuring thing Aviel had seen all day.

A rumble came from Lutice's direction as the Sword member picked herself up. She spit a large wade of blood onto the ground, dying a small patch of woods red, before she spoke.

"You better have enjoyed that cheap shot. Its the only hit you're going to get. Its four against one and we won't leave anything for those Resistance nats to enjoy," Lutice said with a smug tone. The other three giantesses all began to shift and move into combat positions, causing the ground to shake and rumble even more. Aviel had to brace herself near a tree to keep from losing her footing as the five skyscraper-sized women got ready to fight. And she was right in the middle of it.

Isabella looked down at Aviel and motioned with her eyes to her left. Aviel got the message and took off to Isabella's left as fast as she could. Though there was a giantess directly that way, she trusted Isabella knew what she was doing. Aviel was still mad at her, but Isabella would do everything she could to keep her safe. Holding her back or not, Aviel knew she could count on Isabella when their lives were on the line.

Aviel tore through the damaged brush, hacking away at the fallen limbs and trunks in her way with her sword. She pushed her legs as fast as they could go as she scrambled away as fast as humanly possible. She needed to find an open area so Flonne could land and pick her up. The longer she stayed on the ground, the more likely she was going to get killed. And Isabella could only do so much to keep four giantesses away from her.

"You might outnumber me, but you are all used to fighting normal-sized people. I, however, have made sure to keep my hand-to-hand skills from becoming rusty. Allow me to show YOU," she explained in a calm manner before lunging at the giantess in Aviel's way.

Aviel could barely make out what was happening as she stole glances upwards, but managed to tell Isabella had slammed her elbow into the Sword. The Sword stumbled backwards and Isabella pursued, their titanic footfalls causing Aviel to stumble a bit. Aviel managed to keep her feet and keep running as Isabella's right foot stopped a few scale feet to her left. Aviel looked up and watched as Isabella grabbed the Sword by the collar and pulled her forward and to her left. Aviel wasn't able to keep her feet as the Sword's sudden stumbling forward caused a virtual earthquake and she stumbled to the ground. Aviel picked herself up just as the Sword member cried out a warning and both her and Lutice cursed under their breaths. Aviel already could guess what had happened and braced herself on the ground for the incoming earthquake. She didn't have long to wait.

The earthquake was massive causing Aviel to fall flat onto the ground despite her bracing. The explosion of sound completely deafened Aviel and caused everything to go silent save for a ringing in her ears. Trees nearby were shaken out of their roots and branches plummeted to the ground. Aviel had to roll out of the way of a larger one as it smashing into the ground barely scale inches from her. All this destruction and chaos caused by Isabella just throwing the Sword into Lutice and knocking them both down. If Aviel wasn't so consumed with the need to get away from the battle of virtual Goddesses she would be raging with jealousy.

Isabella's idea had worked well enough. She was now between the Swords and Aviel, making Aviel slightly safer. Aviel got back to her feet and began running through the even more twisting woods now that parts of it had been completely shaken apart. She headed straight where she thought the Sword Isabella had tossed was, hoping to find her foot print and the flattened ground it would have made.

"You fucking bitch, I am going to kill you right here and now!" Lutice bellowed from behind Aviel. Aviel didn't look back as she focused on running. She felt more earthquakes shake the ground as the five titaneses began to fight. Isabella's massive figure was still terrifyingly close. One good hit that knocked her off her feet and she would annihilate Aviel. Aviel had to get out of here.

"Aviel where ar-" Flonne began before Sanders cut her off.

"Flonne, shut up!" he whispered angrily into the radio. Aviel felt a bit of fear creep into her as she worried that Lutice or one of the other Swords might have heard that. If they had, it was only a matter of time before one of them came after her to get at Isabella. Worst of all, Isabella could only hold off so many of them at a time. Aviel's fears were made real all too soon.

"Her little speck is still on the ground. Keep Isabella busy while I get her. We can make her watch as we crush her scout," one of the Swords said. Isabella didn't give them any more time to plan, however, as she rushed toward them. Her running steps were enough to shake Aviel's feet out from under her and she tumbled to the dirt again.

Aviel picked herself up and glanced back, but couldn't see what was happening through the trees and rolling hills. She was somewhat glad as the massive earthquakes still crashing through the area and the deafening sounds was more than Aviel cared to experience. It was like listening to five armies try to tear each other apart, only these armies were all one person. Aviel was sure she did not want to see the brawl and have to truly face how powerless and helpless she was.

Aviel was about to run again when a loud rumble sounded off to her left. She looked over and saw a massive boot having crashed down onto a small hill nearby. She looked up and saw the black-haired Sword looking around the area for Aviel. Aviel quickly deactivated her beacon and then dived under some brush to hide. The giantess scanned the area, but passed over Aviel's hiding spot without showing any sign of seeing her. Rather than moving on, though, she squatted down to get a better look and began to look back to where Aviel was. Shit, had the Sword seen she was in the area thanks to her beacon?

Suddenly, a massive foot kicked the Sword square in the face and sent her crashing to the ground. Aviel had to grab hold of the ground as it shook like a boat in a storm from the impact of her body. She looked up to see Isabella standing over the fallen Sword before whipping around just in time to get smashed in the face by another Sword member. The impact boomed outwards with enough force to cause a gust of wind as Isabella stumbled back, but she recovered quickly. She ducked under the Sword's jab before punching the Sword straight into the stomach. The Sword doubled over and Isabella brought her hands up to smash her to the ground. Before she could, however, Lutice tackled her and they both crashed to the ground causing the entire area to be shaken so bad trees began to uproot.

Aviel was awestruck by the fight. The sheer power and immensity of it was...there were no words for it. Their blows were louder than any explosion and their bodies could cause shock-waves that would make most earthquakes jealous. Her fear and terror were forgotten for a brief moment as she watched Isabella toss off Lutice before jumping back to her feet. The two disappeared into the trees for a moment, but Aviel couldn't help but run forward to a nearby hill to continue watching. She watched in awe as the two giantesses brawled with each other, crushing entire sections of the forest under their feet while blasted the rest with the massive earthquakes they made. Aviel barely even registered that Isabella was beginning to retreat further and further from her while Lutice and two of the Swords advanced on her. All thoughts of how vulnerable she was were gone to be replaced with a need to see this fight's end, and a burning jealously that made her nearly quiver.

"Aviel?! AVIEL WHERE ARE YOU?!?!" Sanders yelled over the radio. Aviel snapped out of her awe-inspired trance as she remembered she was still in danger and so was Isabella. Isabella couldn't fight all out as long as she knew Aviel was still out here. Aviel looked toward the giantess Isabella had kicked to make sure she was down for the count and was glad to see her still sprawled out. She hadn't moved at all and looked to be unconscious judging by her slow breathing. Good, her footprint would be prefect for a place to meet.

Aviel took off straight toward the Sword moving through the even more badly mangled forest. Aviel was having to jump over fallen trees, crushed branches, and under half-fallen limbs as she made her way to her destination. All this devastation...and the giantesses had only fought a few seconds here. She exited the twisted forest and stepped into a newly created "clearing". The clearing was the shape of the Sword's boot and the ground was covered in broken tree bark, crushed leaves, and flattened branches. It was not the best material to be walking on, doubly so with the ground still shaking from the fight, but Aviel made her way to its middle without falling.

"Sanders, I am in the footprint of the giantess Isabella knocked out, hurry!" Aviel said hoping Flonne would be quicker than the still awake Swords.

"Dammit, one of you get back there and stop that fairy!" Lutice booming voice yelled from where the fight still raged. Aviel saw the brown-haired Sword try to break off and come at her, but Isabella managed to trip her and put herself in her way. Unfortunately, her focus on the brown-haired one gave the blue-haired one the opening she needed to zip past her. Aviel watched in horror as the massive woman neared her and looked around in panic for Flonne.

"Flonne, Sanders, where are you?!" she yelled as she started to back away. Some part of her knew it was pointless to run, but she found herself turning away from the colossal woman just the same. She took off running through the flattened brush, but the growing tremors and uneven ground sent her tumbling. She rolled around just in time to see the woman looming over her. She smirked down at Aviel before raising her foot. This time Aviel didn't bother to run, just stared in stunned shock as the mega-sized foot lifted off the ground and settled over her. She watched as it began to race downwards.

Just as it began to completely fill everything, the foot stopped as a loud grunt came out from behind Aviel. Aviel turned to see Flonne standing behind her, straining to hold the Sword's foot up. Her feet were sinking into the ground from the weight, but Flonne was keeping the foot from coming any further down. Her face was twisted into a grimace of effort before she gave Aviel a wary smile. Aviel looked in complete shock at Flonne as Sanders dashed up to her.

"Come on, Aviel, we got to get out of here!" Sanders said as he tried to pull her to her feet. Aviel snapped out of her shock as she realized this was their only chance of surviving. She jumped to her feet and double-timed it along with Sanders back to Flonne.

"What the hell?! You damn fairy, fine I'll crush all of you then!" the Sword said in anger. Flonne's grimace of effort turned into a cry of pain as the building-sized foot began to press down even harder. She sank to one, then two, knees as she tried to hold up the foot. Despite her best efforts, though, she was losing.

"R-Run...please..." Flonne whispered to them as her hands glowed green and a large gust of wind began to blast upward into the foot. Aviel, suddenly, felt very guilty for all the times she had tried to keep Flonne at arm length. She was going to die to protect them and...

Sanders looked about to say no, but Aviel didn't give him a chance as she grabbed him and took off toward the edge of the foot. There was nothing they could do to help Flonne and staying to argue would just get them all killed. She wasn't going to let Flonne's bravery be for nothing. It was the least she could do.

"We can't-"

"YES WE CAN AND WILL!" Aviel interrupted Sanders as she pulled him along. Sanders struggled for a second before turning forward and seeming to accept their powerlessness. They ran over the uneven ground as quick as they could and were just about out from under the building-sized foot when a shadow went flying over them. Aviel turned and looked up just in time to see something flying toward the Sword.

The object hit the Sword square in the face and caused her to stumble backwards, forcing her to bring her foot off Flonne to stop from falling. The object fell to the ground and crashed down a few inches from Flonne. It was a large boulder to Aviel, but only a medium-sized rock to the giantesses. Both Aviel and Sanders looked to try and see who had thrown the rock, but they couldn't see who it was thanks to the trees and hills.

"Oww! Who the- what are YOU doing here?" the blue-haired Sword said. While she was distracted by whoever had attacked her, Flonne staggered up to her feet and began to wobbly stumble toward Sanders and Aviel. She was sucking in big breaths of air and looked completely exhausted from her ordeal. Aviel turned off her radio and motioned for Sanders to do the same as Flonne stumbled up to them.

"Are you alright, Flonne?" Sander said with a worried look. She gave a halfhearted smile as she nodded in response before kneeling, though it turned into a practical flop, down to pick them up. Behind her, the Sword had gotten her balance back and looked down at them in anger.

"Where do you think you're going?!" she boomed out before raising her foot to smash them again. Flonne was quicker, however, and snatched up the Sanders and Aviel before leaping forward out of the way of the stomp. Her wings caught the rush of air coming from the impact and she began flying toward the person who had saved them. She pulled her hands inward and hugged Sanders and Aviel to her breasts.

Now that they were above the trees and hills, Aviel could see who had come to their rescue. She recognized the woman as one of Isabella's Ranger friends, Alice if she remembered right. Alice was still a long distance from them, but was running as fast as she could toward them. A few large boulders were in her hand, ready to be thrown again. Her face was dead set in a stern glare as she came rushing to their rescue.

Aviel had no idea why Alice was here and didn't care either. Her arrival meant the fight was now 2 against 4 rather than 1 against 4 and that meant their chances of escaping got a lot higher. Sanders saw her too and gave her a thumbs up. She smiled back as things finally looked to be going their way.

Suddenly, the world jerked downward and began to spin around as Flonne cried out in pain. Aviel had to grab hold of Flonne's coat as the fairy's hand slipped away for a brief second. Below her was a nearly fifty scale foot drop straight into the forest below. She clung to the fabric for dear life, as Flonne began to roll to her back, still crying in pain. Aviel risked a glance over toward Sanders and found him missing from where he had been. She looked down and saw him trying to keep a grip on Flonne's finger, his legs dangling above the fall.

"SANDERS! FLONNE GET SANDERS!" Aviel yelled at Flonne in panic, but her voice was lost in the wind. And then it was too late. Sanders slipped off Flonne's finger, a look of disbelief on his face.

"NOOOO!" Aviel screamed as she tried to do something for him, but there was nothing she could do. He fell away into the forest and disappeared from sight. Aviel didn't have time to scream out again as the sounds of snapping trees came from Flonne's back. Aviel pressed herself into Flonne and braced for impact.

Flonne slammed into the ground and cried out in pain again as she skidded along the ground a few feet. Aviel had to hold on for dear life as the impact smashed her face into Flonne's, thankfully yielding, breast. The impact left her ears ringing from the noise and her head reeling from the shock. It took her a minute to recover from the impact and push herself off Flonne's breast. Flonne was gasping in pain and crying in between each gasp. A large tree was laying across her, broken in two by her back along with a lot of other debris.

"Ahh, my wings.. my wings..." Flonne cried out in pain. Aviel looked back and saw a large scar dug out of the ground, trees and anything else having been crushed under Flonne. A normal person would have been in a bad way to land on their back like that, but Flonne's wings made the impact much worse for her. Aviel looked around, but Sanders was nowhere in sight. Worse, the giantess was glaring down at them, pulling her hand back from the slap she had landed.

"Flonne, get up. Flonne GET UP!" Aviel yelled at Flonne. Flonne cried and shook her head in pain, refusing to move.

"It hurts, Aviel. It hurts really bad. My wings...I think they're broke..." Flonne cried.

"FLONNE GET THE HELL UP OR WE ARE GOING TO DIE!" Aviel yelled. She looked back to see the Sword girl bearing down on them and moving up to stomp them into the ground. Flonne gasped in pain and looked up at the approaching Sword. Her look of pain was replaced by a mixture of determination and fear. She took hold of Aviel, pressing her back against her breast, and rolled onto her side with a gasp of pain. Her face was streaming with tears as she tried to stand, but staggered back down in pain.

"Come on Flonne, you can do it! Just ignore the pain!" Aviel urged her on. Aviel wished she could do more for the giant fairy, but she was too small to do anything. Just like she had been too small to- NO, she didn't have time to think about him, she had to save herself and Flonne first.

Flonne gritted her teeth as she staggered forward a step and then another. Aviel could feel the rumble of the giantess' footsteps getting closer, but couldn't see her pressed up against Flonne. Flonne looked back and whipped away her tears as her pace turned from a staggered walk to a staggered run. She began to simply smash right through any waist-high trees in her way rather than try to avoid them.

"That's it, Flonne, keep running!" Aviel said as their pace increased. The heavy rumbles of the giantess seemed to get a bit further away as Flonne went into a full out sprint. Aviel could feel and hear her heart beating away as Flonne pushed her already injured body to its limits. Aviel turned to look forward and saw Alice running full force toward them, as well. They just had to keep away from the Sword a few more seconds and then Alice would be able to save them.

The rumbles behind them, however, picked up in intensity and volume. The giantess was running after them now and there was no way the much smaller Flonne could outpace her. Aviel looked back and caught the briefest glimpse of the giantess' foot as it slammed down behind them, causing Flonne to nearly tumble. The giantess lifted her other foot to crush them and Aviel felt a spike of terror hit her. Suddenly, another rock went flying past them and hit the giantess again, this time in the chest. She stumbled back from the impact and cursed out loud, having been knocked off balance again.

Aviel looked back forward and saw Alice throwing rock after rock at the Sword after them as she keep running toward them. The rumbles behind them stopped as the Sword was forced to shield herself from the rocks raining down on her. Flonne made the most of the short window and keep her sprint going. The rocks bought them just enough time to run past Alice and to, relative, safety.

Flonne's pace slowed as she turned to look back at the two giantesses, gasping for breath. Alice ducked under a clumsy blow by the Sword before delivering a nasty uppercut to the Sword's jaw. The Sword stumbled back from the blow, but didn't back down as she charged back in, nearly tackling Alice to the ground.

"Run!" Alice ordered them with a harsh look. Flonne snapped out of her stupor and began to rush off before coming to a stop again. She looked at her empty hand and got a terrified look.

"SANDERS! NO I hav-"

"NO FLONNE, we can't go back!" Aviel yelled up at her.

"B-But Sanders!" Flonne said with a look of horror on her face. Her pain seemed to have been completely forgotten in favor of fear for Sanders safety.

"I know, but how do we find him? We can't go back for him, Flonne. We would be putting ourselves, Alice, and Isabella in danger if we do. And how do we escape again with you being unable to fly?" Aviel responded. Flonne looked at her with a pleading look, but Aviel did not waver. They couldn't go back for him, even if she wanted to do nothing else but go back for him. It was just too dangerous not just for them, but Alice and Isabella. They couldn't fight all out as long as their tiny charges were here.

Flonne began to cry again, but didn't argue. Instead, she slowly turned away from the fight and began to run again. Aviel had to fight back tears of her own as she knew she was probably dooming Sanders. But what choice did they have? All she could do, now, was make sure they were safe.

She turned to look forward and saw a large hill to their right. She pointed it out to Flonne and the still bawling fairy made her way to it. Aviel could still hear the massive footsteps of the giantesses. Aviel could just barely see the form of the Sword Isabella had knocked out slowly rising to rejoin the fight. She was even more sure now that running had been the right choice.

They made it to the top of the hill and then cast one last glance back toward the brawl. Isabella and Alice had joined together now and were fighting back to back against the four Swords. For now, they were holding their own, but it was still too chaotic to tell who was really winning. All the girls were bruised and bloodied from the brawl and looked to be wavering. Their movements and blows echoed out like thunder even from this distance. The area around them was completely destroyed and nothing save a few large rocks were still standing. And Sanders had fallen right into the middle of that...

"Let's go, Flonne. We need to hide in case one of the Swords decided to use us as hostages," she said. She didn't mention the possibility of Isabella and Alice losing, the fairy was distraught enough. Flonne nodded and headed down the hill, sniffing as her tears still came out. Aviel sighed to herself before wrapping her arms around two of Flonne's fingers in the closest thing to a hug she could give the giant fairy. Flonne looked down at Aviel in surprise at the gesture before giving a halfhearted smile. She gently wrapped her fingers around Aviel to "hug" her back as they headed down into the valley.

    Weather Report for December 3rd:

High: 34 degrees
Low: 25 degrees

WARNING: Winter advisory is in effect for all of Atlanta.

95% chance of snow. An inch or more expected. All citizens are advised to stay indoors and keep warm. Shelters to provide cover and heat are open, please see a Society representative for information and directions to nearest shelter.

Chapter 15: Sisters of Lose

December 1, 2023 7:26 PM

Flonne groaned in effort as she pushed open the unshrunk door leading into the abandoned wood shack. She managed to open it just enough for Aviel to slip in through the narrow crack between the door and its frame. Flonne watched Aviel disappear inside and waited for her to say she could enter. Aviel was worried the baddies or something else might be inside and didn't want to get into another fight. Flonne didn't either with her wings all messed up. They still hurt really bad, but she tried to ignore it for now.

Aviel reappeared a second later and motioned for Flonne to come in. Flonne grunted and pushed the door further open so she could get inside. The inside of the hou-, no shack. Aviel had said it was a shack, was pretty small compared to most unshrunk houses Flonne had been in. It was only a single room and a pretty tiny one at that. A small wooden table with a pair of chairs were set next to the left wall while a tiny moldy bed was on the opposite wall.  A strange pot-thing with a big metal pipe going up was set into the far wall beside a large stone fireplace. All of the furniture was rotting away from lack of upkeep and looked to be about to fall apart.  A large layer of dust was on everything.

Flonne slipped inside, being careful not to bump her wings, before turning and pushing the door back closed. She managed to close it after a few seconds of pushing and then went to shivering as she hugged her arms to her body.

"Its still really cold," Flonne said with a loud sniff. Her face was very red from the cold and wind they had fought through to reach this small shack. Her antennas were practically clamped against her head trying to stay warm and she could barely feel them. Aviel looked to be in a bit better shape having Flonne to act like a wind buffer and Flonne's body heat keeping her warmer. Flonne didn't feel jealous for her, though. Flonne was supposed to keep her and Sanders saf-...Flonne felt some tears beginning to form as she thought of Sanders.

"We need to get a fire going! Flonne, break that table and chairs apart and bring me the wood!" Aviel shouted up to Flonne. Aviel had decided not to use the radio anymore as she was worried of the mean Sword girls hearing their radio-things and coming to find them. Flonne nodded before heading over to the the large, to her, table and chairs. Flonne tried to summon up some of her magic, but nothing happened save for her head starting to hurt. She had used too much of it trying to escape from the bad ladies and would have to rest before she could use anymore. She groaned in annoyance before punching the chair. To her surprise, her fist easily splintered the rotten wooden and caused the chair to topple over. She smiled as she set about breaking off the legs and back rests of the chair to use for wood.

Flonne picked up the wood she had gathered and hauled it back toward the fireplace. She looked around her feet for Aviel before she noticed her waving from on top of the fireplace. Flonne could just barely make out a small rope going up the to the top of the fireplace's lip. The lip was made of stone as well and jutted out from the actual fireplace about half a foot and stood the same distance off the ground. It was so, what had Jr. said? Awesome? Yeah awesome, that Aviel had climbed up that huge, to Aviel, distance in so short a time. Flonne wished she was that awesome as she walked over toward Aviel with wood in tow.

"Put it in and I will light it!" Aviel yelled up to Flonne once she got close. Flonne nodded and placed the wood into the fireplace. She stepped back as Aviel moved up to the huge, to her, pile of wood in the fireplace. Flonne watched as Aviel took a lighter she carried in her pouch and quickly lit a small part of the wood on fire. She blew it a few times to start it spreading before retreating back toward Flonne.

By the time Aviel got back to the edge of the fireplace, most of the wood was either on fire or catching fire. A very welcome wave of heat came from it which both Aviel and Flonne basked in. Flonne's shivering began to die away as she warmed her hands near the fire.

"Ahh~! That feels so good," Flonne said as she sat down next to the fireplace. Her head and shoulders were high enough to still go over the lip and she laid her head down onto the warming fireplace. Aviel sat down as well and the two of them just enjoyed the warmth for a few minutes.

As Flonne enjoyed the warmth, she opened her eyes to look at Aviel. Aviel was looking away from Flonne and seemed to be going out of her way to not look at her. She looked over to the right half-expecting to see Sanders there. But he wasn't...and it was her fault. She hadn't keep hold of him, hadn't protected him, hadn't saved him... But maybe...

"Aviel?" Flonne asked having to fight to keep her voice from breaking.

"What?" Aviel said as she looked back at Flonne. She didn't look too happy being bothered, but Flonne had to ask her question.

"Sanders is alright, right? He's not..." Flonne asked before glancing down in shame. Aviel sighed as she turned away. For a moment she didn't say anything, her face completely neutral. Flonne worried that Aviel wasn't going to answer and just leave her to feel guilty. However, Aviel turned back to Flonne.

"He is fine, I'm sure of it. Idiots have a way of surviving despite being stupid," Aviel said  with a smile. Flonne giggled a bit at the joke and nodded in agreement. For a second, Flonne forgot that Sanders might be dead and remembered back to all the silly, or stupid as Aviel called them, things Sanders had done.

"Yeah. He is a dummy...like when he tried to pick up a penny cause it was supposed to be lucky and almost got squished by it," Flonne said with another soft giggle, her antennas bobbing with her chuckles. Aviel smirked as Flonne remembered back to Sanders trying to wiggle out from under the penny and saying he didn't need any help. Flonne had to pick it up off him, eventually, but not before he spent a good ten minutes trying to get out. Flonne, Aviel, and even Isabella nearly fainted from laughter watching him fight a losing battle with a penny.

"Or when he decided to try and help a stray puppy and its mother came and bit him in the ass?" Aviel said getting an even bigger smile. Flonne started to laugh, but stopped as she winced in pain. Her antennas shoot off her head and straight up as pain rocketed up her back and wings. Flonne wanted to heal her hurt wings so bad, but she had used too much of her magic up. Now trying to use just made her head hurt. She reached back to her wings and began to gasp in pain. Aviel stopped laughing as she looked to Flonne with concern.

"Are you alright, Flonne?" Aviel asked as she stood up. Flonne took a second to nod and give a halfhearted smile. She didn't want Aviel to worry about her. They had enough problems without adding her wounds to them. Aviel didn't look all that convinced by the smile, though.

"Let me see your wings, Flonne," Aviel said as she moved to get behind Flonne. Rather than move to let her look, Flonne moved to make sure Aviel couldn't see. She didn't want Aviel seeing her hurt like this. She would start to worry about her instead of worrying about herself and Sanders. Flonne was a big fairy, she could deal with pain.

"Flonne, turn around NOW!" Aviel said getting a harsher tone in her voice. Flonne winced back at the harsh words and stared at Aviel. Even though Aviel was small compared to Flonne, her glare sent a chill down Flonne's spine. Flonne looked down at her knees and felt a sad frown form on her face. Her antennas drooped too as she gave in and shifted around to let Aviel get a look at her wings. Aviel was, technically, her superior and Flonne had to obey, she lied to herself. She knew deep down it was because Aviel's glare was just too scary to disobey, small or not.

Aviel was silent as she looked over Flonne's back and wings. Flonne tried to turn her head to see what Aviel was doing, but only caught a glimpse of her on occasion. She was able to see the upper part of her wings, though. Her butterfly-like wings were badly mauled with a number of holes and rips in them. A few places were badly reddened and their usual transparency was gone in favor a dull redness. Just looking at them made them hurt all the more so she turned to face forward again. The room was silent for a moment longer save for the crackling fire.

"Keep still, Flonne, I want to get a good look," Aviel said. Flonne did as she was told and held still. Then a tiny shot of fresh new pain went into her back. Flonne twitched a bit at the pain and tried to look back at Aviel.

"Oww! What was that?" Flonne cried out as her antenna shot straight up. She reached back to rub the spot where the pain was and felt Aviel push away from her hand.

"I gave you a shot to help you heal faster," Aviel said matter of factly.

"A-A shot?! Why didn't you tell me?!" Flonne said in shock. She backed away from Aviel and whipped around to face her, with a hurt look. How could she just inject her with something and not tell her?! That wasn't nice at all!

"Because you would have freaked out, like you are doing now," Aviel said. Flonne opened her mouth to respond, but closed it before she said anything. Aviel wasn't...but she didn't... As much as she wanted to argue that point, she had to admit she had freaked out a bit. Instead of saying anything, she just pulled her knees into her chest and buried her head in her arms with only her antenna sticking out. Aviel didn't say anything either.

Why was she always so mean to Flonne? If she had done something like that to Sanders she would have been laughing at his reaction and making jokes. Instead, she just stayed silent and didn't seem to care in the least. She probably only wanted to heal her cause Flonne had wings and was her only way out of her. Flonne wanted to be mad at Aviel for treating her like that, but she just couldn't bring herself to. All she felt was sad that Aviel still didn't like her... didn't treat her like everyone else... and she wanted to know why.

"You don't like me do you?" Flonne said as she looked up from her arms. Aviel looked over at her in confusion, seemingly caught off-guard by the question.

"What? Why would you think I don't like you?" Aviel asked with a surprised look on her face.

"Because you are always mean to me. You only talk to me when you have to and you don't trust me. If you trusted me you would have told me when you gave me that shot," Flonne said looking away to her left. Aviel sighed to herself and was silent for a moment.

"I don't dislike you, Flonne. If I didn't like you I wouldn't work with you, alright?" Aviel said before rolling over as if to signal the conversation was over. But Flonne wasn't going to accept that, glares or not. She moved closer to the fireplace and looked down at the the small Aviel with pleading eyes.

"Then why do you act like you don't?!" Flonne asked more loudly this time, her antenna now fully straight out. Aviel sighed to herself as she rolled back over to look at the fairy.

"Why do you care so much?" Aviel asked with an annoyed look. Flonne's determination began to falter a bit looking Aviel in the eyes. It..it was embarrassing to say and she didn't want to just come out and SAY she hated being different. That all she really wanted was to just be normal and not treated like something else...to not have people be scared of her like Sanders was... or be seen as dirt like the bad ladies did...

"W-Well....I...You..." she tried to say, but couldn't get any real answers out. It was just too...

"See? You can't say. Sometimes there is just stuff we don't want to talk about and you should respect that. Unless you are willing to tell me why you want to know, you shouldn't expect me to say why I act the way I do," Aviel said with a harsh glare. Flonne backed off as Aviel rolled back over with an annoyed sigh. Flonne sat there in silence for a second. How could she expect Aviel to be truthful with her if she wasn't truthful to Aviel? How could she expect Aviel to have the courage to say what she meant if Flonne didn't either? It was a fair enough question, but Flonne wasn't going to back down. She wanted to know, HAD to know, why Aviel treated her differently. She tightened her grip and took a big gulp of air for courage.

"B-Because you are the only one w-who still treats me differently. Isabella is a-always so kind and gentle while being stern with all of us," Flonne started with some nerves in her voice, "Sanders treats me like I'm an adopted little sister and never comments on me being different. Even Sander's family treated me like just another person... You are the only one who doesn't act the same around me." Flonne finished with a sad tone, but her nervousness was gone. In fact, she felt a lot better just getting her question out rather than keeping it inside. She didn't even feel nervous about how Aviel would answer.

Aviel was silent for a moment before rolling back over. She looked at Flonne with the barest hint of a smirk as she sat up. Was Aviel impressed by Flonne's bravery?

"Well... guess I walked into this. Fair enough, but don't blame me if you don't like the answer," Aviel said with a sigh. Aviel took a deep breath and looked down. She looked back up without any emotion showing on her face before she answered.

"I treat you different because I am afraid," Aviel said with a stone-face.

"Afraid? Afraid of what?" Flonne asked leaning closer to Aviel. She couldn't imagine Aviel being scared of anything. She was always so tough and in control. Even when about to be crushed by the bad ladies, she looked completely calm and collected. What could possibly scare her?

"Of losing people I care about. Sanders wasn't my first partner. He w-," she stopped, "is my third partner. The other two all died...right when I started to like them too. I'd open up to them, get to liking them, and then they would be gone forever. So I stopped trying to care and instead tried to keep people away from me, especially people I worked with. And that includes you."

Flonne looked down and sniffed as some tears began to run down her face. Aviel...Aviel had never been treating her differently because she was a fairy. She was treating her differently because she was new! Just like she would have to anyone else, fairy or not! She...she had been treated like a normal person the entire time and just didn't realize it... Flonne tried to hold back her tears as a wave of guilt and happiness washed over her. She looked back up with red swollen eyes with a smile.

"You...you were treating me like everyone else then this whole time?" Flonne asked through her tears. Aviel stared at the crying fairy for a moment before chuckling to herself at some private joke.

"Guess I was. You being a fairy never did matter much to me. That you were a potential friend that I could lose mattered far more to me. So I tried to keep you away and not become friends, just like I did with Sanders," Aviel said as she closed her eyes. Aviel looked like she was fighting back tears too and Flonne knew why. She had made Aviel have to go back to all those painful memories for her own selfish reasons. Guilt only made her cry harder and wish there was something she could do for Aviel.

She reacted purely on instinct and snatched up the depressed Aviel in her hands. Aviel looked shocked by the sudden pick up and even more shocked when Flonne pressed her into her shoulder. Flonne didn't know what to say, but she could at least show Aviel she cared. Give her a shoulder to cry on.

"I...I'm so sorry Aviel. I didn't mean to make you have to remember that stuff. But thank you for telling me that you thought we could be friends. But you don't have to worry about me leaving. I'm a lot bigger and stronger than you or Sanders. I won't leave you like your other partners," Flonne said as she hugged Aviel closer. Aviel couldn't hold it back anymore as she started to cry and returned the hug.

"You...you got one thing wrong, though Flonne," Aviel said as she looked up at Flonne through her watery eyes. "I don't think we could be friends. I know we are." Flonne's features brightened as a big smile spread across her face. She hugged Aviel to her even tighter feeling so happy at being told she was friends with Aviel. Aviel returned the hug as best as she could as she dried her eyes on Flonne's jacket. They stayed embraced for a minute or two before Flonne spoke up.

 "Sanders is dead, isn't he?" Flonne asked in a neutral tone as she looked down at Aviel. Aviel nodded her head as more tears came to her eyes. Flonne's emotionless face fell away into one of complete sadness as the two of them tried to comfort the other about their lost friend.

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December 2, 2023 9:48 AM

The muffled sounds of crickets echoed into the room as she rested her head on the shoulder of her mother. Her mother slowly carried her toward her bed, her free head slowly petting her head. Her mother bent down and laid her in the warm bed of straw. She pulled the torn bit of fabric up to bundle her in the warmth and knelt down next to her.

"Can you sing, Mommy?" she asked. Her mother smiled and nodded and began to sing her lullaby in her soothing voice.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2xnPSRSSzU

She listened with a smile as her eyes got heavier and heavier until sleep finally took her...

Flonne's eyes fluttered open in confusion. She was cold and  she instinctively reached down to pull the covers tighter. Only there were no covers, just her jacket...why had she thought there had been covers? Flonne's head felt fuzzy and strange, like she was trying to remember something but...

She sat up and rubbed her head trying to get the feeling to go away. It helped a little as the fuzziness began to fade. Sunlight was dimly fluttering though the dirty windows. The old wooden shack looked the same as it had when Flonne had fallen asleep. She looked up and saw the fire in the fireplace had died almost completely away. She would have to get some more wood for it before it went out or Avi- AVIEL!!

Flonne began to look around trying to find any sign of Aviel while keeping as still as possible. She couldn't seem to remember anything that had happened after Aviel had admitted Sande-... Oh.... She had to find Aviel, she couldn't lose them both! Aviel was nowhere to be seen, but Flonne noticed that a small path looked to have been made through the dust leading toward the wall next to the fireplace.

She stood up and followed the path to the edge of the fireplace. As she walked she felt a little...off. It was like something was different but couldn't put her finger on it, like she was forgetting something... Right next to the fireplace was a small hole that looked to have been by some kind of animal from back before they were shrunk. Flonne knelt down and looked through the hole and could just barely see sunlight through the jumbled mess in the hole.

Flonne thought to yell through, but suddenly thought against it. They were still trying to hide from the mean women and yelling out might give them away. Instead, she tapped on the wall just loud enough to be heard outside. She waited a few seconds before a small figure appeared in the hole.

"Flonne, is that you?" Aviel said through the hole.

"Yeah, I was worried about where you went," Flonne answered. Aviel began to move through the hole and Flonne leaned back onto her shins to let her get out. A few seconds past before Aviel pulled herself out of the hole. Her clothing was covered in the white powder of snow and she shivered a bit as she started to knock it off her clothing.

"I was outside seeing how things were and if I saw anyone coming. Snow came down really heavy last night. Covered the whole area in nearly an inch of snow. Probably going to be stuck in here till it melts later today," Aviel said as she got the last of the snow off her. She was still shivering a bit and Flonne suddenly remember that the fire was almost dead a few seconds ago.

"Oh no, the fire. I need to go put more wood on it," Flonne said before standing up. She rushed over to the chair she had broken yesterday and broke off the last bits of it. She took the big pile of wood and put it into the fireplace. For a second, the fire didn't look to be catching, but a few soft wind gusts from Flonne got it to finally come back to life. Flonne smiled at having got the fire back going and then looked around for Aviel.

Flonne found Aviel about halfway between the hole and the fireplace's edge. She was still shivering from the cold and was having to push through the thick layer of dust like it was grey snow. Flonne moved over to Aviel and was about to pick her up when she realized that might a bit rude to just snatch her up. Instead, she lowered her hand to the ground in front of Aviel and offered her the ride.

"What? Oh, thanks," Aviel said surprised by the hand at first before getting what Flonne was offering. She climbed onto Flonne's hand and Flonne slowly lifted her up and onto the fireplace. Aviel climbed down and let out a sigh of relieve from the warmth of the fire. Flonne sat down nearby and enjoyed the warmth as well.

"At least we can enjoy the fire while we are stuck in here," Aviel said as she sat down. She looked up at the ceiling before she continued.  "Once the snow melts we should try to scout around a bit. See if we can hunt down some deer and some fruit to eat. Our rations are not going to last forever." She sighed to herself before turned to look at Flonne. She seemed to be looking at her wings rather than her, though.

"Too bad your wings haven't healed yet. We could try to get out of here and find Isabella if they were," Aviel said before laying down. Flonne couldn't help but feel a little guilty for being hurt and making them have to stay. But it shouldn't take too much longer consider her wings didn't even hurt now. In fact...maybe she didn't need to wait.

She summoned up her healing powers into her hands, the familiar strain from her head causing her to cringe a bit. The soft glow caused Aviel to look over just in time to watch Flonne move her hands to her wings. She softly touched them and felt the slight spike of pain as the magic went to work. Thankfully, the pain faded away rather quickly to be replaced with the soothing warmth as the magic began to mend the damage to her wings. Flonne felt the last of the pain and stiffness fade and smiled in joy as she managed to move them without any pain. She turned to look at Aviel and give her a big smile.

But she never got all the way turned as a sudden flare of pain erupted in her head. The pain was unbearable and she clutched at her head in agony. She just barely registered Aviel yelling her name, but it sounded so far away so dis-

Another peaceful day in her small village. She grabbed a small slice of bread her mother had made before heading out the wood door and into the town. The other kids were all playing and laughing in the town center. She ran toward them with a happy giggle as her mother called out to be ca-

-s on the ground. Aviel was beside her and was desperately saying something. She needed to get up for some reason. Resis? What was a Resis? Aviel was so insistent she move. Flonne tried to pick herself up, but her head hurt so so so bad. It was no use, she was in too much pain. She tried to tell Aviel she was sor-

They were all herded back as the booming became louder. The ground was beginning to shake now and she felt terror begin to creep up her body. She ran back to her house as her mother appeared at the door. She ran into her arms and buried herself in her warm embrace. The booming was getting so loud...so lou-

"-ell is wrong with this one?" one of the Resistance men said. Flonne wanted to fly away and get away from him and his friends, but her head...why did it hurt so much? And when did the Resistance get here? Where was Aviel? A woman walked up beside him and looked her over and motioned toward others. Another group of five Resistance members began to move toward her, all carrying strange objects that all looked scary and made to hurt. Flonne felt terror begin to rise in her stomach, but it faded as Aviel slowly rose out of the thick dust to move toward the back of the grou-

There was so much screaming as they attacked. She clung to her mother's hand in a death grip as they ran toward the edge of town as fast as they could. Behind them screams of terror, pain, and mercy echoed as their village was completely destroyed. She was tempted to look back, to look at the horror, but her mother told her not to look and to keep running. She listened to her mother and keep running toward the edge of the forest. A few people were ahead of them and had made it inside, but suddenly came running back out. Her mother stopped as another of the monsters appeared in front of th-

-viel plunged her sword into the Resistance member, a scary smile on her face. Another raised their gun to fire at her, but she turned his dead friend around to act like a meat shield for the bullet. She answered the bullet with her knife and it lodged into the man's head, killing him instantly. Aviel had killed all but one of the group she had followed, but the group closer to Flonne were raising their guns to fire. Flonne couldn't let them hurt Aviel, headache or not. she took in a deep breath and used her powers to send a massive gust of wind out from her mouth sending the Resistance tum-

She watched in horror as the monster lifted its foot to reveal the bloody stain that had been her mother. Nothing save the arm that had been gripping her remained and she gripped it in complete shock. The monster didn't even stop to finish her off...in fact it didn't seem to have noticed it had killed her mother at all. She laid there, simply holding the blood stump wishing that she would wake, that all this was just a dream, that she would hear her mother's song again and again and again... And then a smaller monster landed in front of her, the sun glinting off its wings. It smiled down at her before reaching ou-

-t but something was different. Suddenly, the monsters were not massive anymore. In fact...they were tiny now and SHE was massive. She didn't understand what had happened, but didn't care as she remembered her mother. Crushed, forgotten, ignored, dead... She felt her rage build up as she realized she would never see her, hear her, feel her again. And she was going to make sure those monster never felt, heard, and saw anything but terror again! She was the one with power and she was going to use it!

One of the small monsters looked back at her just in time to see her fist smash it into the ground. She crushed the monster as easily as she had crushed cockroaches and didn't flinch or feel pity as a sickening crunch came from its dead body. The other monsters turned toward her and screamed out a warning, but it was too late for them. She summoned up her power and sent a massive blast of wind to fling their weapons out of their hands as she slowly rose to her full height. Their tiny forms barely reached her ankles and she smiled down in vindictive glee at having the tables turned on these beasts. The monsters all took off running in terror, but it was useless as she easily keep pace with them.

She raised her foot and crushed one of them under foot, smiling at the feel of its bones snapping under her weight. Another turned and tried to run the other way, but she hoped over it and her foot smashed into the floor in front of it. It turned just in time for her other foot to splatter it to the ground. She turned and saw only two were left and she smiled in glee at still having more to punish. Suddenly, one of them stopped and started to beg for its life, whimpering and crying in terror. She raised her foot and was about to crush it, but...but something stopped her. Like...like someone else had been in this situation, someone she knew but... couldn't place. They...they had spared the monster and they were so...kind and funny and...and gone. No...they couldn't be...but...he was so nice... Instead of stepping on the monster, she simply thumped its head and knocked it out.

That left the last one who had almost made it to the door leading out. Someone else was yelling something at her, something about not letting it escape. It sounded like a friend she had once had...or still had...or... Hurry they yelled and she snapped back to seeing the monster close to escaping. She summoned her powers again and sent a blast of wind toward the monster. The air rushed forward before zipping under the monster and blasting it straight upward. She watched it fly high into the air, zooming above even her new towering height. She then sent another burst to send the monster rocketing downward. The monster splattered against the wood with enough force to send blood flying outward.

She wanted to smile after killing the monster, but all she felt was emptiness. She fell to her knees as the image of her mother's crushed form keep appearing over and over again in her head. Killing the monsters hadn't brought her back...and it didn't make the pain go away. She was about to cry when she saw the other person... a friend? moving toward the last monster. The person took out a weapon and raised it.

"NO!" she yelled before pushing the person away. She glared at the person for trying to kill the one she had spared. Suddenly, she remembered the person hated the monsters and would hurt it if she let her. No she couldn't let that happen, he had spared one so she had to too! She had to put the monster somewhere safe, somewhere. She realized where as she grabbed the monster. She pushed it into her place and couldn't help but gasp as it slipped in. It felt so good going in, deeper and deeper. She had to get it all the way in so the person couldn't get it. Had to... She cried out in pleasure as it finally slipped all the way in and fell back onto her back. She moaned as the pleasure slowly faded.

But as the pleasure faded, the memories came back. Her mother...her friends...her home... killing hadn't brought them back. The person was yelling at her, so angry, so...loud... She didn't want to be yelled at, she just wanted to go home. She began to cry as she thought of him too. Her head began to hurt more and more and more and more and-  And then everything went dark.

Chapter 16 Separation and Fear

December 1, 2023 3:46 PM

Sanders could feel his hands slipping on Flonne's fingers as they spun. He keep holding on with all his strength, yelling at himself to not let go. Despite his efforts, his hands keep slipping and he felt panic begin to set in, there was just nothing to get a good grip on. He had to hold on till Flonne rolled ove- his hand slipped off...

Aviel yelled down at him, but he barely heard her as he began to fall. The world seemed to slow as he began to tumble downward and into the trees. This was it, this was how he was going to die. He glanced down and saw the trees rushing towards him and braced himself.

The world snapped back to full speed as he crashed through the trees. A branch smashed into his chest before snapping under his weight. Two more cut into his armor leaving pieces of fabric dangling off. He spun around, slamming into more and more branches He raised his arms to shield his face and branch after branch smashed into him. For what seemed like an eternity, his world was nothing but falling, pain, and snapping wood.

Finally, he broke through the trees and saw nothing but ground beneath him. Instinctively, he tried to catch himself with his left arm, a huge mistake. He slammed down onto the arm and didn't need to hear the sickening crunch to know what he had done. Pain shot through his arm as his nerves screamed their fury at him having broken his arm. The rest of his body hit soon after and the pain in his arm was replaced by pain everywhere as the air was knocked out of him from the fall.

Sanders tried to screamed in agony from the pain, but only managed to gasp for air. He clutched at his broken arm as if holding it would help the pain as every nerve in his body screamed in agony. Tears threatened the stream down his face as the pain was almost unbearable and he felt shock beginning to take him. He keep his eyes tightly shut and writhed in agony until a loud rumble forced him to open his eyes.

His eyes shot open as he watched a massive boot come over him. He watched it sail past him and come crashing down a few scale feet over his head, causing the ground to rumble like a bomb had just hit. Dust and wind flew back at him and he was deafened by the massive boom of the foot hitting ground.

For a brief second, the pain was forgotten in favor of terror as he realized the situation he was in. Adrenaline and his survival instinct pushed the pain aside as he pushed himself to his feet with his still working right arm. His entire body screamed in agony at having to move after the horrid beating it had just taken, but he ignored its protests. He had to move or he was dead.

He had no idea where he was going, but picked a direction away from the massive boot. He looked back just in time to see it lift off into the air again moving away from him. Even still, he keep pushing through the forest in the direction he had picked. The boot could easily come back at any moment. Sanders gritted his teeth as the pain began to come back now that the adrenaline began to wear off and felt his pace beginning to slow.

Sanders thought about stopping just long enough to check his medical supplies for some morphine or anything to dull the pain. However, the sounds of loud booms coming from behind him keep him moving. He needed to get out of here. Find some open ground and hope Flonne could see him or just some place to hide, anything.

The rumbles behind him began again, the shaking knocking him off his feet and onto his hurt arm. He cried out in pain as the fall sent a spike of pain racing up his arm and this time he didn't even try to hold back the tears. He picked himself up as the rumbles got louder and closer. He looked back just in time to see the Sword stumbled backwards toward him.

Panic and fear gripped him as he saw her boot coming straight for him. He took off at a full sprint away from the approaching boot. He looked back at it to see the heel still coming directly at him. In a last ditch effort, he dived forward, making sure to land on his right arm. He tucked his legs into him just as the boot smashed into the ground barely inches from him.

The impact sent his entire body reeling from the impact. The wind blast sent him tumbling forward a few more inches and all sounds simply ceased as pain shot into his ears. Not that anyone could tell that from how fast he jumped to his feet. Sheer terror was now driving him forward as he sprinted at full speed away from the foot. He didn't know where he was going or why now, all he cared about was getting away and not even the rocketing pain of his broken arm slowed him.

Another earthquake nearly sent him sprawling, but he managed to keep his footing. He didn't dare look back as he just ran straight ahead, tearing through foliage and vegetation. Another earthquake got him to look to his right and he saw another giantess beginning to rise up. It was the same one Isabella had knocked out before, and she was really close.

Sanders keep moving as he keep an eye on the nearby Sword. The giantess rubbed her head and looked around in confusion as she sat up. Even just sitting, she rose high above the trees like a large office building. She looked over to where Alice and the other Sword was fighting and cursed in anger.

Sanders slowed to brace on a tree as the ground shook from the Sword getting back on her feet. No sooner had she rose back up to her full 78 scale story height did he get moving again. He had slowed down to a brisk run now as his terror began to subside. Unfortunately, the pain from his fall began to come back as well. His run slowed to a walk as the pain began to race all over his body. But the shaking ground was still far too close for his comfort.

The rumbles soon began to be reunited with their booms as his hearing slowly began to come back. He couldn't tell if his ears still hurt or not through the almost complete sea of just general pain. But he couldn't stop, not till he was far away from the giantesses.

He thought about trying to reach Aviel on the radio, but thought better of it. If he used the radio there was a chance one of the Swords would hear too and come looking for him. He was in no shape to avoid them and there was no way Aviel or Flonne would see him in this forest. He just had to keep moving, just keep going forward and get out of here. Run and life and ignore the pain and run and run!

A loud boom came from behind him and he looked back just in time to see one of the Swords stumbling backwards toward him. His eyes went wide as he realized she was not going to be able to keep her balance and began to fall back toward him. Once again, he took off at a full sprint as panic took over his body. His legs were screaming in exhaustion and pain, but he didn't dare stop. The area around him began to grow darker as the Sword's shadow began to cover the area. He looked back and saw her massive butt crash into the ground a few hundred scale yards away. The ground rocked like a boat in a storm, nearly causing him to trip. He keep his balance by bracing against a tree just as a massive blast of air nearly blew him from his feet. The sound deafened him again, but he didn't concern himself with it as he took off running again.

He looked up to see her back coming down towards him. If he wasn't completely consumed by panic he might have enjoyed the nice tone she had. It was coming straight down toward him and he was not moving nearly fast enough to get out from under her. He looked back forward, willing his legs to go faster. Some movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention, though. He looked over and saw her arm come down to catch herself. Both her elbows slammed into the ground causing another earthquake, though much smaller than the one caused by her ass. Sanders slowed as he looked up and saw her back stopping its descent. The Sword had caught herself and not fallen all the way down.

Sanders nearly collapsed there from exhaustion and relief. However, he refused to rest still being this close. As the Sword picked herself up to rejoin the fight, Sanders keep moving as fast as he could away from the titanic fight. His legs felt like jelly and his body was screaming for him to stop, but he dared not to, he had to keep moving.

Sanders lost track of time as he pushed onwards. Time seemed to run together as he stumbled through the woods, trying to keep his arm as still as possible. The earthquakes and booms, finally, began to lessen and grow distant. He looked back behind him and couldn't see any of the giantesses now. As long as none of them came in his direction, he should be safe.

He found a tree to lean on as he slid to the ground, pain and exhaustion nearly overtaking him. He forced them back as he took stock of his situation. He was separated from his squad, couldn't risk using his radio, badly hurt with a broken arm, oh AND it was fucking cold. He had almost forgotten about it in his mad dash out of the area, but now was all too aware of it as he shivered and blew out a gust of steam from his mouth. He knew staying here after dark with no fire was far too dangerous. Wolves and the freezing wind would claim him by morning if he did nothing.

He reached into one of his pockets and fished out his first aid kit. It was battered and bent from the fall, but the contents still looked intact. He took out some medicinal bandages and gathered up a fallen branch to make a splint for his arm. He cursed a few times putting the splint on as pain rocketed up his arm, but managed to get it on after a few minutes. He wrapped the bandages over his neck and let out a sigh of relief at finally not having to hold his arm up. With that done, he did his best to treat and bandage his other scrapes and cuts from the fall. It was easier said than done, though, with only one arm and exhaustion threatening him.

With first aid done, he took out a small syringe hidden in the very bottom of the kit. Thankfully, it had not broken in the fall and still held its contents in the tube. It looked to be just normal water, but the liquid was just for transportation. What was valuable was the invisible nano-bots inside the vial. Another marvel of Society technology.

Every ranger was given a dose of the nano-bots to use in extreme cases. They were programmed to speed up healing, dull pain, and give a shot of energy. They could make injuries that would have taken months to heal, only take a few days and let the person push through the pain and exhaustion to get help. However they did have their drawbacks. They put a nasty strain on the body making, them a poor choice for the sick, elderly, or young, and were still in the experimental stages. While all their side-effects had not been found, one that always hit had Sanders worried. They tended to knock whoever had used them out for ten or more  hours after three or four hours past injection. Sanders had to make sure he was set up before then.

Thankfully, the nano-bots were fast acting and he could feel the welcome suede numbness spreading. With his pain and exhaustion pushed down, he got back to his feet and began a slow walk forward. With his mind not muddled with pain and terror, he remembered he still had his wrist unit and it could tell him where he was. He looked over at it on his left arm and tapped the screen ever so lightly. It didn't react so he tried to tap it a bit harder. Still, nothing happened. He reached down to unstrap it, but stopped as he felt the side facing away from him. It had been smashed into by something, probably a tree branch, and a large hole had been caved into it. He reached in and could feel loose wires, broken pieces of plastic, and other clear signs it was ruined.

He swore under his breath as his last chance for figuring out where he was was now gone. Even worse, he couldn't turn on his locator beacon even if he wanted to. The chances of Isabella, Aviel, or Flonne finding him in the forest now were, basically, zero. He had to find open ground.

He turned around and thought of going back. That probably wouldn't be such a good idea, though. A fight between giantesses would have, undoubtedly, drawn attention from the Resistance and there was no way of knowing if Isabella and Alice won. He might just go walking right back into the Swords', and Lutice's, clutches. No, it was too dangerous as badly hurt as he was.

[i]Lutice...[/i] he thought to himself, confused and shocked by what had happened. What could have changed her so much? What had happened in the last three years? Sadly, he had no time to wonder about this. He had to focus on surviving for now and worry about that later.

The only big open area, other than the one the giantesses just made, he knew of was the highway. They had left the car going southwest so if he went northeast he should arrive back at it eventually. If he got there, he could just wait for a passing Ranger jeep and use his radio to get them to stop. It wasn't perfect, but it was his only chance.

He looked up at the sky and saw the sun was getting rather low on the horizon. Using it to point out west, he headed northeast at a quick pace and hoped to find a good place to camp. The going was tough with his wounded arm and without fear and terror driving him, but he made OK time. A few large cliffs and steep hills gave him some trouble. It was a good thing he had spent so much of his youth exploring forests like this near his family's farm otherwise he might not have made any progress at all.

He munched on some trail rations as he keep going for a few hours, getting back some energy. The sun was getting really low on the horizon and looked about to disappear over the horizon in a few minutes. He still had yet to find any decent camping area and was beginning to get desperate. He was about to just make due with a tiny clearing he might be able to fortify when a sound sent his blood running cold.

A low meow echoed through the forest, far too loudly to be a simple house cat. His heart began to race in terror and he snatched out his mace. He ducked behind a tree and stayed as low as possible as he prayed to anything that he had just been hearing this. It couldn't be one of them, it couldn't be one of them, the world could not be that cruel. Another low meow echoed through the forest and Sanders had to bite back a whimper as he realized he had not been hearing things. He was sharing this forest with a catgirl.

Fear threatened to take over his entire being as old memories of his last run in with a catgirl came unbidden.

They rushed back across a sea of crates. Tony fell a bit behind as he started gasping for air. Sanders turned to help him just as a massive hand came smashing through the crates to snatch him up. Tony screamed in terror for help as he was pulled out of sight. Sanders stopped for a brief second as Tony's screams suddenly ceased and was replaced with a loud stomach groan. Sanders was about to turn to run when the catgirl's face came around the sea of crates. Sanders could just barely make out two legs sticking out of her enormous mouth. The catgirl slurped them down and a small shape moved through her throat. She looked at him and licked her lips.

NO! No he couldn't think about that, he couldn't lose himself to terror. That was what got Mary, Rickens, and Stan killed and he wouldn't make their mistakes. He owed it to them to learn from their deaths, stay alive, and make sure he did something important to make their deaths meaningful.

He took a quivering deep breath as he tried to calm himself. It didn't help much, but it was all he could do. He glanced out from behind the tree and tried to spot the catgirl. The rolling hills and trees made it hard to see more than a few scale yards in front of him and he couldn't see any sign of the catgirl. Worse, he couldn't feel or hear its footsteps either. He had no idea where it was and that only made him even more terrified. He had to keep moving, though. If the nano-bots knocked him out with a catgirl around...

He slowly leaned out from behind the tree and began to make his way forward again. He keep low to the ground and tried to make as little noise as possible. The forest had gone deathly silent save for the rustle of the dead leaves from the wind.  A bit of rustling came from nearby and caused him to spin around to face the noise. Nothing was there save trees and dead grass. He waited a moment as nothing appeared before continuing.

He only went a few steps when the rustling came again. He spun around, quicker this time, and caught the barest hint of a black form darting back behind a small ridge. It was far too small to be a catgirl, which meant it had to be the other predator he didn't want to see. The low growl coming from behind the ridge confirmed his fear, wolves. And where there was one, there was always more.

Sanders cursed to himself and wondered why he could not catch a break today. Now he for sure could not stay here. He began moving away from the ridge where the wolf had vanished behind, keeping his mace ready in his still working hand. He heard more rustling and growls coming from behind him. He looked back to see black forms darting around behind him staying just out of sight. He quickened his pace a bit to try and stay ahead of them and to, hopefully, get them to give up on the chase.

Puffs of steam came out of his mouth as he pushed himself through the cold. The temperature was diving lower as the last few rays of sunlight began to vanish. The wolves were still hot on his trail, seemingly content to let himself run himself down. He knew he was just playing into their hand hurrying like this, but he wasn't sure how long before he passed out thanks to the nano-bots. Already he could feel the extra bit of energy they gave him wearing off. He pondered climbing a tree to keep away from them, but the cold wind would kill him in his sleep if he did. Maybe he should have just let himself get killed by the Swords, at least it would have been quick.

He came to another small hill leading up and sighed to himself. The wolves were still behind him, stalking but not attacking. He headed up the the hill, grunting and swearing at his exhaustion, and crested it to find the last thing he wanted to see. In front of him, in a large clearing made of crushed trees and mangled plants, was the massive, three actual feet form of a catgirl.

The massive figure was spread out on its chest and was looking slightly off to the side of Sanders. Its long blonde hair was draped out behind and above its head and a thin layer of blonde fur covered most of its body. Its face was the same as a human's save for some whiskers under its nose and two large cat ears. A long blonde tail was coiled up along one of its legs and slowly twitched.

It was all Sanders could do not to scream in terror and run the other way. He managed to fight down his panic and duck behind a tree before its green eyes, which had a vertical iris just like a cat's, turned to him. He gripped his mace as tight as he could as his breathing began to grow hectic. Fuck he was hyperventilating. He tried to calm himself, tried to get himself back under control, but wasn't given time to. He looked down in time to see the wolves charging up the hill toward him, apparently tired of the chase or sensing his moment of weakness. Sanders terror at the catgirl was forgotten for a moment as ten wolves came rushing up the hill.

He gripped his mace tight, ready to die fighting, only to watch them stop as a low howl came from his right. The wolves perked their ears before running off to the right toward the howl. He looked to his right and saw five more wolves moving through the trees up to the top of the hill. They were going toward the catgirl.

He looked out at the catgirl and saw it look at the wolves starting to come out of the woods. It gave a rather weak hiss at them, but made no attempts to attack them. This wasn't anything like the catgirl he had ran from back in his SWAT days. That one would have already snatched one up and swallowed it whole. What was stopping it from attacking? He looked back at it and actually looked it over a bit. Now that he had gotten a good look at the catgirl, it looked to be in worse shape than he was.

A lot of its fur had been stained red with dried blood and its face was beyond pale. Its eyes were having trouble focusing on anything longer than a few seconds and seemed far off and distant. Small, compared to it, bullet wounds and signs of explosives hitting it were all along its body. It must have been in a fight with the Resistance and came out of it worse for wear. In fact, it looked to be barely staying conscious and was losing that battle.

The wolves must have realized that too and decided that a snack that could fight back wasn't worth it when there was a feast that required no work at all. Once the catgirl passed out, the wolves would be set for days eating it and have no reason to bother with him. Both of his predator problems had been solved for him. The catgirl would be taken care of by the wolves and the wolves had no reason to bother with him.

He let out a sigh of relief at having caught a break and turned to leave. He stopped as the catgirl gave a soft meow as the wolves began to close in. The meow was nothing like the ones he had heard in his nightmares. In fact...it almost sounded like a plead for help. The same kind of plea his sisters would have made back when they got hurt in the woods. He turned back and saw the wolves moving toward the catgirl, but keeping a good bit of distance from it. It hissed again before letting out another sad meow.

Sanders suddenly felt a bit of pity beginning to form in his stomach as he watched the catgirl try to will death away. He tried to suppress it by thinking back to the horror, the terror, the anger he had felt back then. Back when another catgirl had eaten his friends alive and nearly did the same to him. But this wasn't that catgirl and his attempt to kindle his anger ended up backfiring. He looked back at the catgirl and saw it had a collar on, a well kept one too. She was not a feral if she was wearing a collar. But what really got to him was the fear in her eyes, the same fear that he had seen in his old comrades just before...

Sanders didn't even think twice as he rushed into the clearing, mace raised. He yelled out a battlecry as he rushed the closest wolf. The wolf barely had time to turn before Sanders smashed his mace onto its back, breaking its spine instantly. A number of the wolves scattered at Sanders suddenly attacking them, but three stayed including a much larger one, the alpha most likely.

The two smaller ones rushed at him and attempted to leap up onto him. He batted one away with his mace, sending it spinning backwards with a yelp of pain. The other wolf leap up and tried to knock him to the ground, but Sanders managed to keep his feet under him. The wolf latched onto his chest, its claws digging into his armor rather than his skin thankfully, and began to try and bite into his face. Sanders moved his head just enough to avoid getting bitten straight on the face, but the wolves' teeth still sliced into his temple.

"GET THE HELL OFF ME!" Sanders yelled as he brought his still working hand up and into the wolf's neck, still gripping his mace. He stumbled forward as he tried to force the wolf off, keeping its snapping jaws a few inches from his face. Finally after stumbling around blindly for a minute, he managed to overpower the wolf and sent it tumbling off his chest. He brought his leg up and kicked the wolf as it laid on the ground. It yelped in pain before rushing backward away from him. It turned to growl in rage and Sanders got ready for it to attack again.

It never got the chance as a huge gaping mouth came forward and latched onto its backside. The wolf yelped again in pain and terror as the catgirl closed her mouth around the wolf. The wolf trashed and attempted to free itself, but was no match for the far larger catgirl. The catgirl slurped up the wolf in less than a second before swallowing with a satisfied "ahhh."

Sanders stood there stunned by the catgirl's sudden activity and backed away from her numbly. Even on its side, her head was the size of large building and seeing it suddenly shoot forward like that was utterly terrifying. He stumbled over something on the ground and fell backwards, still staring in horror at the catgirl's mouth. What the fuck was he doing?! He was going to be next all because he had let his conscious get the better of him. He was going to die in her stomach, slowly digested, just like all his friends and...

His terror-fulled nightmare was interrupted as he heard something rushing toward him from behind. He didn't have time to react as something tried to bite into the back of his neck, but was stopped by the collar on his armor. His nightmare ended by his sudden need to survive, he swung his mace backwards and smashed it into the face of whatever was biting him. Another, oddly distorted, yelp came from behind him and the mouth around his armor's collar let go. He staggered away from it and spun around to see the wolf he had batted away running back into the woods trailing a good deal of blood.

Unfortunately, the other wolves that he had scattered in his first surprise attack were beginning to return and the large alpha did not seem at all intimidated by the catgirl or Sanders. Sanders got back to his feet as he saw a massive group of, at least, twenty wolves coming out of the woods, all growling and bearing their teeth. They began to circle around the catgirl's body creating a large semi-circle with her long strands of hair and her upper arm as the "walls".

Sanders swore under his breath as he realized not only was there no way he could take on that many, but that they had him corralled in. Seems they had changed their mind on letting him go now that he had attacked them. He glanced back and saw that he was a few scale feet from the catgirl's head, just out of reach of her. She was looking back and forth between him and the wolves with an, oddly, more focused look. Almost like she wa-

That was when Sanders remembered something he had heard, and saw, about catgirls. They could heal themselves by eating organic matter, something about using the biomass to replace their own or something like that. It had been one of the many reasons his SWAT team had been doomed from the start fighting that feral catgirl. Any damage they did do to the catgirl she just healed the moment she swallowed one of them. Which meant if he feed anymore wolves to this catgirl, she would begin to regain her strength. If she did that, the wolves would have to leave or risk being eaten...and then it might be him on the menu. Fuck. Even if the catgirl was trained not to eat Society personal, he did NOT trust it to actually follow through with that training. He couldn't fight all these wolves alone and he couldn't get the catgirl to help him without risking just being made a meal too. But, one was certain death and the other was likely death leaving him with only one real option.

"You better not eat me after I save you," Sanders said to the catgirl. She looked at him with a confused look before letting out a hiss. Three wolves came rushing toward Sanders from three different directions. Sanders couldn't hit all of them so he went for the one on his left. The left one rushed toward his broken arm, but meet the head of his mace before it could reach it. Its neck snapped like a twig as Sanders smashed his mace into its head. However, that left him open for the other two.

One jumped up and grabbed his arm in its jaw while the other latched onto his leg. He grunted in pain as their jaws pressed down onto his limbs. Thankfully, neither one managed to bite through the heavy kevlar of his armor but the pressure was enough to cause some mild pain. Sanders yelled in effort as he tossed his arm back behind him. The wolf tried to hold on, but was thrown off his arm and sent skidding back behind Sanders, bits of the kevlar still in its teeth. The wolf spit out the kevlar and got ready to charge again, but suddenly vanished as the catgirl struck. The catgirl snapped up the wolf and some of the ground under it with one big bite and swallowed it before it could even make a sound.

Sanders had to suppress a shudder at the sight, the wolf still clinging to his leg helped keep his mind from freaking out. He raised his mace again and brought it down on the wolf's neck, killing it instantly and stopping the first attack by the wolves. Three down, seventeen to go...

Sanders turned back to face the still alive wolves as he began to try and push the two dead wolves back toward the catgirl. The catgirl watched him intently as he moved the wolves back, but he was still out of her reach. The wolves keep back for the moment as the Alpha stared directly at him, steam bellowing out of its nostrils.

The cold was really starting to set in and Sanders was beginning to shiver a bit. Every so often, little snow flakes would drift down into his eyesight. Seems it really was going to snow. Even if he did somehow survive this, the chances him surviving the cold night were basically nil. He had no fire, not shelter, nothing. Any moment now, he would collapse from the nano-bots and that would be it. Ironic...getting killed because he rushed to save a catgirl of all things. He would probably laugh his ass off about it when he got to wherever he wound up at the end.

His short inner monologue ended as the Alpha seemed to give an unseen signal. Another wave of wolves charged him, only this time it was ten coming at him. He had no chance against ten wolves which left him with only one choice. He grabbed one of the dead wolves and began dragging it back toward the catgirl, hoping to get within her reach before the wolves got to him. The wolves began to run even faster, seemingly knowing what he was trying to do, but Sanders managed to outpace them. He watched as they slowed their pace and eventually stopped and just began to pace around the outside of the danger zone of the catgirl's mouth.

Sanders let out a sigh of relief before freezing as he felt a large puff of steam go past him. He slowly turned to see the catgirl's face barely inches from him staring at him in confusion. Sanders stumbled backwards and nearly lost control of his bowels, and his feet, as his terror came back in full. The catgirl looked even more confused  by his terror, but didn't make any attempt to swallow him. Instead, she turned to the dead wolf he had dragged back and scooped it up with her tongue before swallowing it whole.

Sanders felt his legs turning to jelly at the sight and fell to the ground. Nearly all of his nightmares and grisly deaths were all rushing to his mind as he stared slack jaw at the catgirl licking her lips. She looked back down at Sanders as she finished. Her eyes narrowed as if in anger as Sanders felt the ground begin to rumble. Sanders turned to see her arm rushing upward along the ground behind him, suddenly mostly free of large wounds. He turned just in time to see two wolves within a few scale feet of him rushing toward his back. He didn't have time to react as they leap toward his face and back. Only to stop as the catgirl's house-sized hand grabbed them from behind. A sickening crunch came from inside her hand as it clamped down onto the wolves. Sanders watched in muted horror as she brought her hand back to her mouth and stuffed whatever was left of them into her mouth, even going so far as to lick her hand.

The other wolves began to scatter now, seeing that their prey was now more than they could handle. The catgirl managed to snatch up two more before they could get out of her reach and she gulped them down just as greedily. Sanders sat there for a moment, dumbfounded by what was happening. The catgirl looked far better off than she did before with most of her bullet holes and open wounds either sealed or, at least, dried over. A lot of her color had returned and her eyes were more focused than ever. She pushed herself over and onto her back, causing a large earthquake to shake the area and revealing her rather nicely shaped B-cup breasts. She turned her head back to Sanders and licked her lips as she moved her hand toward him.

Sanders paralyzing terror was finally dispelled and he scrambled to his feet. Only to hit the ground again. Suddenly, his entire body felt exhausted and he could barely keep his eyes open, much less move. The side effect of the nano-bots had hit and at the worst possible time no less. He managed to force his hand forward a bit to try and crawl away, but couldn't get enough strength to drag himself forward. He felt the catgirl's large hand close around him and the ground was pulled away from him. He was flown through the air toward the catgirl's mouth, her eyes seemingly twinkling in delight. He guess he deserved this for saving a catgirl. He should have know, but let his need to be hero override his sense, like always. He drew closer and closer toward the catgirl's lips and decided he didn't want to be awake for this. He stopped fighting the exhaustion  and let sweet oblivion take him where it willed.

           Article on Catgirls:

Catgirls are the second most common monstergirl created by the Society and the combat-specialists of them. Much like fairies, catgirls are created from cloned people that are mutated and changed to be better capable of hunting down, and killing, Resistance fighters. The natural instincts and heightened senses of a cat give them an enormous advantage in finding hidden Resistance members and their huge size makes them all but unstoppable.  However, these same instincts tend to overpower the human part of the catgirls brain causing them to become little more than animals reacted on instinct.

While most catgirls are trained by the Society to only attack Resistance members, some have either escaped or simply been lost during missions. These lost catgirls will go "feral" after a short while and will attack anyone, Resistance or Society, in search of food. Such catgirls are EXTREMELY dangerous and should be avoided at all costs. Even fully equipped SWAT teams are no match for them and citizens are advised to seek hardened shelter immediately upon sighting.

Even trained catgirls can be dangerous to normal sized people. While all are trained NOT to consume Society members and citizens, the training does not always hold up. Doubly so if the catgirl is hungry or feels threatened by someone. To help avoid this problem, catgirls are only assigned to Sword missions and only deployed in missions far from any Society held areas.

ADVISORY: Any sighting of catgirls should be reported immediately to the nearest Society officer and the area evacuated. Even if the catgirl seems to be trained and  is not showing signs of being dangerous, citizens should keep well away from it and let Society personal handle the situation.

Chapter 17: Old Soldiers, New Dangers

December 2, 2023 7:45 AM

Morning had not come quick enough for Isabella. All she could think about as the night dragged on was that her scouts were out there. Somewhere they were battling to survive in a snow storm while she sat comfortably back at the base. Damn Alice for forcing her to come back.

In truth, however, she was grateful Alice had been there. Without her, Isabella would most certainly have been badly beaten, possibly killed, by Lutice's gang. Not that the way things turned out was any better. Neither side could get a good enough advantage to win the fight so they fought to exhaustion. Unable to keep the fight going, they were forced to call it a draw or risk being snowed in and trapped through the night. Lutice and her bitches had, of course, rushed back to base. Isabella had wanted to stay so badly, but Alice had convinced her that getting caught in the storm and possibly dying in it would not help Sanders, Aviel, or Flonne.

Damn did she hate that Alice had convinced her to leave...

Isabella had not slept at all through the night. She paced back and forth in front of her window, willing the snow to leave and the sun to rise. She couldn't bare to look at the tiny bed that was on her night stand or the picture on her working desk. Dammit, how could she have let this happen? How could she have failed them so badly?! How could she have LEFT THEM?!?!

Finally, after what seemed like an agonizing eternity, the first lights of morning began to shine. Heavy cloud cover ruled the skies allowing only the barest of hints of the sun to be seen. Snow still covered everything in its white clutches, but Isabella did not care. She could not bare to wait any longer. She was going to find her scouts and bring them back home.

Isabella turned from her window, still fully geared from her patrol yesterday, and opened her door. She stepped out and sighed to herself as she noticed two figures standing beside her door.

"Don't even start, Cap. We are coming and that is that. You can either just accept it and enjoy our company, or not like it and deal with our company," Gabriella said as she adjusted her gloves on her winter gear. Alice didn't add anything, but had positioned herself just right in the hallway to block Isabella from heading toward the vehicle depot. She, too, was already geared up in winter weather clothing.

"Fine, but only because I don't have time to argue with you two. Let's go," Isabella said as she moved toward the vehicle depot. Alice's mouth slightly moved up in the faintest hint of a smile as she stepped aside to let Isabella pass. She and Gabriella filed in behind Isabella and the three of them headed toward the vehicle depot.

The snow storm had left the entire depot blanketed in snow, save the roads. Thankfully, the snow was not very deep, only being little more than an inch. No real problem for any of them, but for her tiny scouts... She had to hurry, had to find them alive and well, just...she just had to hurry.

Isabella picked up her pace, nearly running into her assigned jeep. She took the driver's seat as Alice took shotgun and Gabriella piled into the back with a few curses of it being too small back there. Isabella ignored her complaining as she started the jeep and got it rolling. Thankfully, most of the roads were only damp from the snow rather than frozen, at least the roads near the base, anyway. Once they left them and got further out, well Isabella would just have to be careful.

There were only one or two other vehicles on the road along with the occasional member walking about. It was still too early for the morning shift to come in, but was close enough that the night shift were all dreaming of their bunks rather than working. No one would take any notice of their single jeep slipping out, uncleared. Well, save for the guard at the guardhouse. Of course, since she was a Shield and fell under Gabriella's command, she was suddenly very inattentive about who was coming and going. Getting clearance to go on the search mission and to take the jeep would simply have taken too long, doubly so with having to explain the fight between herself, Alice, and the Swords. That report, and the Sword bitches punishment for attacking fellow Society members, would have to wait. Her scouts were far more important.

Isabella gunned the jeep, despite the conditions as she raced down the highway toward where she had lost her scouts. Alice gripped the hand rail above her as she got a worried look, but stayed quiet. Gabriella, however, did the exact opposite of staying quiet.

"Cap, slow down. Cap... FUCK, Isabella, slow the hell down! These roads could be iced! Have you heard of black ice?! Do you want us to be dead before we even get there?!" she yelled from the back as she gripped her own hand rail in a death grip. Isabella sighed as she slowed the jeep down to a more reasonable speed. She wanted to hurry, but she wouldn't do her scouts any good if she wrecked.

"Thank you," Alice said as she released her grip on the handrail.

"Yeah now I can stop seeing my life flash before me," Gabriella said before releasing her grip as well. Her joke fell on uncaring ears, however, bringing a grumble from her.

The trip to their destination took far too long for Isabella's taste, despite having arrived in forty-five minutes when the trip should have taken an hour. Isabella brought the vehicle to a stop near the shoulder of the road. They all climbed out of the jeep and into the biting cold. The sun was still low in the sky and the heavy clouds still blocked most of its light. A dull wind blew through the area, dropping the already low temperature even further. Isabella, however, barely felt it as she started to head for where they had fought the Swords. She had to hurry, she had to get back there, had to find them, had too... She was stopped as Alice gripped her shoulder.

"Slow down," Alice said, but Isabella shook her hand off.

"I don't have time to slow down, my scouts are out there and need my help. Now either help or go back!" Isabella yelled at her before turning back. However, she was stopped again as Gabriella put herself in front of Isabella.

"Isabella, seriously, slow down. You are not going to do your scouts any good like this. I like being rash as much as anyone, but even I know there is a time and a place for it. This isn't it," Gabriella said making sure to keep her toned arms out to stop Isabella from trying to rush past. Isabella didn't want to hear it, but knew she couldn't force her way past Gabriella. She looked over to Alice who was giving her a hard glare.

"Fast, but smart. Think, then act," Alice lectured. Isabella cursed to herself as she realized she was going to have to at least put on a show of slowing down for her two friends to relent. She took a deep breath and tried to calm down as she thought of what they needed to do. She looked back toward the highway and, suddenly, was hit with something.

The highway... it was the perfect landmark for her scouts to head toward. No matter where they went, it would always be east of them and was open ground they could use to get noticed. Not only that, other patrols would be traveling along it as well meaning they could get picked up by another group. How had she not thought of that sooner? It seemed her friends were right, she did need to slow down.

"You are both right, I do need to slow down. I almost didn't realize we are already in the perfect spot to find them," Isabella said, getting a raised eyebrow from Gabriella. 

"The highway is the most obvious place for them to head to. Its open ground, directly to their east, and they don't have to find us to get out, just any passing patrol," Isabella explained getting a smirk from Gabriella.

"See? Now you are thinking rather than being rash. Which is good cause that is my job," Gabriella said as she patted Isabella on the shoulder, "Why don't I stay here and patrol the highway while you two go looking for them. I'm not as good with the whole watching where I step thing as you two." Alice nodded in agreement to that idea and Isabella thought it made sense too. In all honesty, she had been a bit worried taking Gabriella into the woods for that very reason.

"That sounds fine. Just keep an eye out where you are stepping...actually just stay off the shoulder just in case," Isabella said.

"Oh come on, I'm not  that bad," Gabriella said before walking forward. There was a soft crunch as she stepped on something and she cringed at the noise. She lifted her boot to reveal a flattened deer that had run out onto the highway. Isabella and Alice both gave her a "really" look.

"Okay, okay, stay off the shoulder. Jeez, this is why I don't work with tinies constantly having to watch my feet, can't take two steps without being yelled at, be a mass murderer just from tri-" she grumbled to herself as she headed down the highway to look for the scouts, keeping off the shoulder like she said she would. Alice shook her head at Gabriella before motioning toward the tiny forest out beyond the highway. Isabella nodded and the two of them headed into the forest, watching their steps very carefully.

The forest was, for all intents and purposes, just slightly tall grass to Alice and Isabella. Most of the barren trees barely reached their ankles with only the tallest actually reaching the bottoms of their shins. Just like at the base, snow covered everything in a sheet of white and their earthshaking footsteps caused loose snow to tumble down from the trees. While the trees, plants, and wildlife were miniscule compared to them, the rolling hills and rises were still just as tall and slopping as they had always been. Northwest Georgia was a hilly place and this area was no different. The hills, valleys, and ridges cut their field of vision down, preventing them from seeing miles away despite the lack of any vegetation on their scale.

After a few minutes of trudging through the tiny forest, they arrived at where they had fought Lutice and the other Swords. Isabella felt her heart sink as she saw the devastation their fighting had left in their wake. The entire area was completely destroyed with not a single tree left standing in about a yard radius. Impressions of fallen bodies and footsteps could still be seen smashed into the forest and entire clumps of the forest were just gone where they had picked up and tossed dirt at each other. To them, of course, it just looked like a small little area that had been smashed apart, but on her scouts scale... It was...chilling just how much power they had. An entire section of forest, gone in something as simple as a fight between six people...

Alice didn't seem to notice the destruction at all as she simply moved forward, keeping a close eye on where she stepped. She bent down and began to look over the area as if trying to find something.

"What are you doing?" Isabella asked as she too began to very carefully, move into the area.

"Flonne passed by during fight. Badly hurt wings, couldn't fly. Must have left a trail through forest. Find trail, find her, find scouts," Alice said as she continued to look over the area. Isabella's gloom vanished to be replaced with hope as she heard Flonne had escaped. The fairy would never have left without both Aviel and Sanders. She began to study the area closely as well, trying to find a path leading away from the fight that wasn't big enough for a giantess. They keep searching for a few minutes before finding a trail of bent, rather than crushed, trees leading away from the fight and toward a small rise. It had to be Flonne's trail.

The two Rangers followed the trail as best they could. They lost it more than once thanks to the snow and the apparent skill Flonne was using to move through the trees without breaking them, but managed to pick it up again each time. After going over a few hills, they came in sight of a unshrunken, old, wooden shack. The shack had seen better days, but was still holding up well enough. The trail seemed to be heading straight for it and Isabella could see the faintest hints of smoke coming out of its chimney.

Isabella's mood jumped from uncertain gloom to sheer joy. Inside the shack and with a fire going, her scouts would have survived the snow and could be just inside. She rushed forward toward the shack despite Alice trying to grab her and headed straight for the door. She stopped in front of it and slowly pushed it open, in case her scouts were near it, and looked inside. And her mood plummeted again.

Inside, a small unattended fire was slowly burning itself out in the fireplace. A rotted wooden table and chair sat near the wall, broken apart and most likely used as firewood. But it was what was in the middle of the floor that caught Isabella's eye. Dead bodies and blood was scattered over a  large part of the middle of the floor. Most of the bodies looked to have been killed by mundane means, but a few had been utterly crushed by an obviously much larger opponent. Isabella moved toward the sight to get a better look, hoping, praying she did not see Sanders or Aviel amon-

A soft crunch below her foot caused her to stop in her tracks. That soft crunch...the half felt resistance...it all came back to her... Her rampage through the small city. Her inability to not enjoy the sheer ease of which her and her fellow Swords were mopping up the Resistance town. Her moving toward a large number of Resistance soldiers trying to retreat. The soft crunch she noticed as she was moving forward. Her looking down in only half curiosity. And then her noticing the wagon...the all too familiar wagon... The chilling spike of terror that ran through her as she lifted her foot.....

Isabella didn't lift her foot as she stood there. Tears began to run down her cheek as she felt her legs go weak.

"No...please no...not again. Please not again...please..." she repeated as she sank to her knees, her mind beginning to fall into complete despair. Alice suddenly appeared beside her, saw the carnage and looked down to where Isabella's foot had been.

"Not scout. Isabella..." she started to say, but Isabella barely heard her. Alice reached down and got something of the ground and brought it up to Isabella. It was part of the smeared human, crushed utterly by Isabella's foot and fitting easily in Alice's hand. However, right near where the head had been, was a light yellow color... hair...blonde hair.

Isabella felt the despair beginning to recede as she absorbed that. Sanders had black hair and Aviel had red. If this person had blonde hair then...then it couldn't be them. In fact, she could still make out the tattered rags and patchwork stitching of the person's clothes. It was a Resistance member...she had just stepped on a Resistance member.

Isabella took a deep breath as her terror began to wane away. She whipped her eyes clear of her tears as she tried to get herself back under control. Alice put her hand on her shoulder, the one without the smear on it, and gave her the closest thing to a smile Alice ever managed. Isabella returned the smile.

"Thanks, Alice. Sorry about that I...it just brought back bad memories," Isabella said as she got back to her feet. Alice nodded and took a moment to make sure Isabella was alright before moving toward the miniature battle. Isabella sighed in relief before she followed after Alice.

Alice whipped the dead Resistance member off her hand and back onto the floor as she bent down to look at the fight. Isabella moved beside her and both of them scanned the scene with their zoomed in HUD patches. A large number of the dead bodies had large cuts and obvious sword wounds in them. Isabella recognized the style to be typical for Aviel. Oddly, there didn't seem to be any that had the crushed arms and chests that Sanders' brutal mace would have made. That was...worrying to say the least, though maybe he had stayed back to keep Flonne safe or been injured.

Then there were the two that had, obviously, been crushed by something far larger than themselves. If her scouts had been here she could only imagine that was Flonne. It was good to know the fairy was still with them, but she worried about how bad things must have gone for Flonne to kill so...brutally. Her worries stayed just worries, though, as she looked over all the dead bodies and didn't see Aviel or Sanders. Thank goodness for small mercies.

"Scouts not here. Were here, Resistance may have drove them mobile," Alice said as she stood back up. Isabella stood up as well and nodded in agreement.

"It looks like they fought off a recon squad. They probably decided staying and risking a larger force arriving was too big a danger and left. We should go out and see if we can pick up their trail again," Isabella said. Alice nodded and headed outside, but Isabella stayed inside for a moment. She looked around and stopped at the broken apart table and chair. Something about it looked a little odd and she moved over to get a better look. She moved over to stand above it and smiled to herself. If nothing else, at least her scouts had learned to be clever. In front of her the broken table and chair parts had been arranged to spell out a large E. From the ground it would be unrecognizable, but from the perspective of a giantess standing over it.

"I know where they went," Isabella yelled out to Alice as she headed for the door. Alice looked up from her inspection of the ground with a raised eyebrow.
"They headed east, got it spelled out with the parts of the table and chair in there," Isabella said unable to not smile in pride.

"Clever, but no sign of a trail," Alice said as she stood up.

"They might have made sure not to leave one in case the Resistance showed up. Or maybe Flonne healed her wings," Isabella said with a shrug. Alice raised an eyebrow at the first suggestion, but seemed more ready to accept the second. Whatever the reason, they had no trail to follow only the general direction.

They fell in together and headed East back toward the highway.  Isabella checked her HUD was still scanning for her scouts' locator beacons and sighed that it was still showing nothing. She supposed that wasn't too surprising considering what had happened yesterday. They were probably worried Lutice and the others might come back to finish the job, a fear that Isabella had as well. Her anger at Lutice came back white hot and she couldn't help but wish she would encounter her again out here. It wouldn't end in a draw if they did.

They walked on until they crested a hill and found themselves staring down into one of the old, abandoned towns that had lined I-75. Old crumbling buildings of varies types were littered about along old slowly eroding roads. Rusted street lamps stood vigil over the roads as traffic lights swung back and forth in the light wind. Everything had thin white carpet over it, save the roads, and gave the area a white glow. Isabella sighed as she looked at all the places they would have to search, but moved forward anyway. She WOULD find them, even if she had to turn this entire town upside down.

The two of them moved closer to the town and were about to enter it when both of them stopped. An odd feeling was creeping up her spine, a feeling of being watched by something, not someone, no, someTHING. Isabella glanced over at Alice and saw her entire body tense and her eyes wide. She had felt it too. They both backed away as slowly as possible as the feeling slowly dissipated. It wasn't until the feeling was gone completely that Isabella raced backwards away from the town, Alice right beside her. The two got a good few yards from the town before they slowed their run to a fast walk, but didn't stop till the town was out of sight behind the hill.

Isabella looked over to Alice, still breathing rather heavily from the brief contact with the area and saw Alice actually looking shaken by the contact with it as well. She knew there had been one in a town near here, but she hadn't realized it had been that town. At least they had noticed it before they had gotten fully inside otherwise... The two of them took a moment to calm themselves before either spoke.

"They can't be in there. They...they just can't be," Isabella said and Alice nodded in agreement.

"Check perimeter?" Alice suggested though there was the slight hint of fear in her eyes at the suggestion.

"No, Aviel and Sanders both know how dangerous those places are. If they ran into it they would have given it as wide a berth as possible... Which means," Isabella said before her shoulders sagged.

"Lost them," Alice finished for her.

    Classified Intel report 562246:
Investigation on [CLASSIFIED] Area, location [CLASSIFIED]:

We have finished studies on the...area in question. Two scouts were sent in but, did not return. Attempts to contact through radio proved ineffective and were answered only with garbled messages or screams of panic. Sending in a Full-sized Society member resulted in the same results. Whatever this is, it seems to affect shrunken and normal people alike. Much of the research team has been forced to rotate out after only a few days studying the area. Most complain of headaches, bad dreams, and general constant fear. The closer one stays to the...event horizon, the worst these symptoms become. Sadly, finding this horizon cost us the life of a researcher. We were trying to find the exact spot of which there was no turning back and [CLASSIFIED].

Studies have shown the area has [CLASSIFIED] signatures suggesting it is a [CLASSIFIED] event. This still leaves a great deal left unknown, however the [CLASSIFIED] event saw the destruction of the research base. Since then, Command has been less than thrilled with studying localized deathtraps and more concerned with their war. Orders are to avoid these... areas, as they call them, at all costs and simply leave them alone, for now. Perhaps once the war with the Resistance is over Command will allow further study. Personally, I eagerly await that day.

Chapter 18: Facing Fear

December 2, 2023 9:30 AM

He was cold. His arms refused to obey him. So cold...so very cold... He wanted to shiver, but his body refused. So so cold... Something was moving him. He didn't know what or care what. It pressed him into something fuzzy or furry. He tried to push back against it, until he felt the warmth seeping out of it. He stopping trying to push away, and instead tried to snuggle into it. So warm so so war-

Sanders' eyes fluttered open as he slowly awoke. He groaned a bit as he turned his head to the side to go back to sleep. He felt exhausted and was too tired to really care why. Probably stayed up too late again or something. He rolled over to snuggle into his pillow, only to find it oddly fuzzy...and warm, and far too big. He tried to reach with his left arm to find the other end, but felt a lance of pain shoot through him. Sanders eyes opened fully, after the pain dulled, as he tried to get his bearings and figure out why his arm was hurting so bad. He found himself staring at what looked to be blonde hair coming out from white skin. He looked at it in confusion as he tried to remember what had happened. And then it all came back.

His eyes shoot wide as he remembered he had been grabbed by the catgirl which meant- He glanced over to his left, hoping with all his might that he wouldn't see what he suspected. To his side was "valley" and a "hill" with yellow "grass" all over it. Only it wasn't a hill, or a valley, and the grass wasn't grass. It was a breast, a giant breast as big as a two story house with a layer of yellow fur covering it and a pink nipple sticking out of the fur. And the valley was the cleavage between the breast to his side and the one he was on.

Sanders fear skyrocketed as he felt his heart begin to pound. He didn't want to look up, but knew he had to. He had too at least look, see if it was watching, see his death coming. He slowly turned his head upward, his fear only increasing as his eyes looked up further and further.  Up the shoulders, past the thin neck, and beyond the terror-inducing lips. Sanders looked up straight to where the catgirls eyes were and saw that they were shut while her head was lulled off to one-side. And now that he was paying attention, he could feel himself rising up and down in a slow, rhythmic pattern. The catgirl was sleeping and Sanders felt relief wash over him like a tidal wave.

Sanders couldn't completely relax, though. He was still laying on her breast and she could wake at any moment. He had to get out of here before she did. Without even a second thought, he began to push himself lower on her breast to get down to her stomach. No sooner had his right hand sunk into her yielding breast, however, did he hear a low moan come from the catgirl. He froze as he looked back up. The catgirl was unmoving, but the moan sent a chill of dread down his spine. He had almost forgotten he was on her breast and too much movement was sure to cause her some...pleasure. Pleasure that might wake her.

He waited a few seconds before he tried to move again, this time much slower and with small, light as possible, pushes. This time, the catgirl didn't react and he slowly made his way down. He went for a few seconds like this, beginning to get the hang of it when he suddenly began to slip. He was confused for only a second before remembering he was on her breast and they stuck out ABOVE her stomach. With her sitting down like this, he had pushed himself right to the edge of her breast and was now slipping to a fall straight onto her stomach. Dammit, he had let his terror get the best of him and hadn't thought this through at all!

It was too late to do anything as he tried to get a handhold, but found now. Her fur slipped through his fingers as he slid off and he suddenly found himself falling away from her house-sized breast. He keep his mouth clenched shut to stop from yelling as he twisted to make sure he landing on his right side. He fell on his right shoulder, the catgirl's soft skin, thankfully, yielding to him. The skin pushed him off and he found himself tumbling down her somewhat toned stomach. The world spun as he tumbled down her stomach, landing on his broken arm more than once. He had to bite down on his lips to stop from crying out in pain as each hit made the pain more and more unbearable. Finally, his tumbling stopped as he came to rest on her lap.

He screaming, internally, in agony as he laid there, clutching his arm. The pain shooting through his arm was nearly unbearable and it was a fight just to stay conscious, much less not to scream. He tried to push the pain down as he crawled over to her waist. He stayed there a moment, laying on his stomach and waiting for the pain in his arm to diminish to a level where he could move. The pain slowly faded as he found himself enjoying the catgirl's welcoming lap more and more. He couldn't help but find the catgirl's soft skin and short fur to be a comfortable surface to lay on, almost like a fuzzy bed. The warmth coming off her and the, oddly, sweet smell she gave off made him want to fall back to sleep. Just lay back on her warm thighs and let sweet sleep take the pain away. He couldn't help as he nuzzled into her, unable to not enjoy the feel of her soft skin, short hair, and body heat on his face. It was like a giant, heated bed with the sweet scent of woman on it.

A rumbling meow came down from above him. Sanders eyes shoot back open as his pain and relaxation vanished in favor of compete terror. He rolled over to look back at the catgirl and found her eyes open and staring directly at him. For a brief moment Sanders just laid there staring back at the person-sized eyes of the catgirl. She returned the stare before meowing again and reaching down toward him. Sanders snapped out of his paralyzing fear as he jumped to his feet and took off down her leg. The catgirl's hand followed after him, gaining on him horrifying fast. He pushed his legs as hard as they could go, trying to reach her knees. If he could just get to them he could slip off and hide in the space between her knees. It would buy him time atlea-

His thoughts stopped as car-sized fingers appeared to his sides and began to close around him. His terror mounted to knew heights as the fingers wrapped around him and turned the world completely dark. He felt himself lifted into the air and he scrambled around for something ANYTHING to stop this. A tool or a w-HIS MACE! He reached for it and...and found it gone. He had dropped when he had collapsed back with the wolves. He cursed himself as he tried to think of something else, but his fear was getting in the way and he was moving so fast and started to feel sick and it was so dark and...

Light streamed back in as the fingers opened back up. Sanders turned around and found himself staring directly at the catgirl, barely inches away from her. He stumbled backward, falling onto the catgirl's nearly two-story long middle finger and scrambled backwards. The catgirl didn't seem deterred by this as she moved closer, her office-building face looming larger and larger. He moved back till his back pressed against her finger and he cursed his damn conscious for making him save her. Her giant mouth moved still closer, her warm breath now blasting into him. He shut his eyes tight as he hoped it was quick and...

Soft lips pushed into him as he felt his breath get caught inside him. The lips moved forward and pressed him against the catgirl's finger. He pushed against the massive lips with his still working arm, but all it did was sink in to the plush flesh. The lips moved forward, pressing all around him and seemingly making a perfect cast of his face and upper body. Their warmth spread through him like fire and any bit of cold lingering in his body was expelled. For a brief moment, he feared they would open and suck him in. But just as quickly as they had pressed into him, they suddenly retreated leaving him to gasp for breath. He fell back onto his knees as he caught his breath. He looked up to see the catgirl's face moving back, her lips still out-pressed as if...as if she had kissed something...

Sanders watched in stunned silence as the catgirl stopped at the edge of her hand and looked down at him with a...a smile. Sanders sat there still paralyzed with fear, though now with a bit of confusion thrown in. Did it...did it just KISS him? No that couldn't be right, but what else could it have done? Was it saving him? Saving him for a snack later or-

A loud rumble coming from below him answered that question. The catgirl looked downed at its stomach and its ears slumped a bit. Its smile faded and changed to a downcast look as it rubbed its stomach. Fuck it was hungry...and it STILL had not eaten him. What the fuck was going on?  It looked back up at him and as it did Sanders noticed something he had forgotten before. In his terror, he had forgotten the collar wrapped around its neck. A collar meant that it was a Society catgirl, not a feral one. Maybe it had been trained not to eat normal-sized people or only to kill Resistance members. His fear lowered as he got back to his feet.

The catgirl looked back at him and he felt his fear rise up again staring at her massive face. She didn't move, however, as she just looked at him as if waiting for something. He took a few deep breaths as he calmed himself and tried to think of what to do. The catgirl was waiting for him to do something, but Sanders wasn't sure what. It did have a collar which meant it was trained so maybe...maybe it was waiting for a command. Sanders decided to take a shot in the dark.

"P-Put me down," Sander sad trying to be as commanding sounding as he could, which wasn't very. The catgirl gave him a confused look and tilted her head, but didn't put him down.

"Ok that didn't work. Maybe...down?" he tried and got the same result. He sighed as he tried to think of something else.

"Drop?" he tried. The catgirl's eyes flashed with recognition and her hand began to move. Sanders stumbled and grabbed hold of her finger as he felt the "floor" start racing down to the ground. He let out a cry of alarm before the fall stopped and he thumped lightly into her hand. He pushed himself up and saw that the catgirl's hand was resting on the stone floor of...whatever he was in. Shit he had been so wrapped up in his terror he hadn't even looked around!

Sanders walked off the catgirl's hand as he took in his surroundings. They looked to be a in small cave the catgirl had found. Light was streaming in from a small opening at the top of a ramp. Water was running along it before pooling in a small "lake" beside where the catgirl was still sitting. What little light was coming through was being reflected by the water, making the cave rather bright despite the overcast skies outside. Sanders looked at the water and realized that he was, not only extremely thirsty, but extremely hungry as well. Those nano-bots he had injected himself with would do that... Normally, he would have balked at the idea of drinking unpurified water, but he was far too thirsty to give a crap right now. He rushed over to the water and began drinking his fill, despite its biting cold temperature.

He came up for air after a few seconds of chugging down water and gave a satisfied ahh. He stood up before he whipped his mouth to keep it from being frozen by the water. Sanders felt the floor shake and turned to see the catgirl leaning down to get a better look at him, her face dominating his view. His fear spiked again seeing its face coming toward him, but he managed to fight it down. It studied him for a few seconds, its head tilted, before Sanders' stomach decided it was time to complain. Sanders looked down as his stomach in annoyance at its timing before a much louder rumble from the catgirl's came as in in answer. The catgirl got a sad look and clutched its stomach in pain as it gave a soft low meow. But still, it made no moves to eat him.

Sanders fear backed down as he looked up at the catgirl's face in confusion. It seriously wasn't going to eat him. Did it know he had saved it? He didn't get anytime to wonder about that as his stomach seemed to knot in pain and hunger. He groaned as he realized he needed food, now. He was about to take out some of his rations when he remembered the catgirl. Eating in front of it when it had nothing to eat didn't just seem like a bad idea, but was also just plain cruel (and probably suicidal). He sighed to himself as he decided he needed to find some food for both of them. And that meant hunting down an animal.

He looked up at the catgirl and knew a single animal, even if it was a huge buck, was going to just be a snack to it. He could hunt down enough to feed himself, but finding enough to feed it. He didn't have that much ammo or time. But maybe it could hunt on its own. After all, it had to have SOME way of surviving on its own.

"Hunt," Sanders said getting a confused look from the catgirl.
"Food?" he tried gesturing out of the cave. Again, just confusion and a puzzled look. Did they seriously NOT train it to hunt its own food? No, he had to just not be saying the proper word. He didn't have time to stay here and play guess the word while they were both starving, though. He would just have to do his best and hope he got really lucky.

Of course, without a weapon that was goin- He almost slapped himself in the face as he suddenly remembered his gun. He had been so busy being in a panic he had completely forgotten about it. He took it out from his back and saw it was a bit beaten up from the fall, but looked functional. Using it one-handed was going to be...interesting, but he didn't have a choice.

He rested his rifle on his shoulder as he headed for the cave entrance. He got a few steps closer when he heard and felt a loud rumble. He turned to see the catgirl following him on her hands and knees. With it making so much noise, there was no way he could find a deer.

"Stay," Sanders said to it. This time it looked like it knew the command, but looked unwilling to follow it. It bent down so that its face was on the ground and gave him a sad look. Sander groaned as he actually felt a pang of compassion. He guess he could let her come if she was able to be as quiet as... as the one who had attacked him and his dead friends. He fought back the memories as he turned back to the catgirl.

"Look, just be really quiet. Shh, or whatever is the word," Sanders said and saw it react to one of the words. It crouched down lower and looked to be trying to be quiet. He turned back forward and headed toward the cave entrance. He expected to hear the catgirl moving after him or feel it, but he didn't hear or feel anything. He got a puzzled look before looking back to see the catgirl still right behind him. He felt a sudden pang of fear at remembered just how unnaturally quiet catgirls could be, but her happy smile helped calm it. He returned the smile, sorta, and then turned back to head out of the cave.

The cave had been cold, but it seemed downright pleasant compared to being outside. It was freezing cold out here and Sanders cursed the rips his jacket had gotten from the fall. He pulled down his hood to cover his face before moving to the snow wall that was piled up by the cave entrance. The snow was at least half an inch high, about 5ft in his terms. He managed to pull himself up onto it with his working arm and found it still able to hole his weight on it. The snow was beginning to melt, despite the cloud cover,but everything in the forest was still covered in the white stuff. It was a bit odd being about five feet higher off the ground than normal, but it only meant he passed more attached branches than fallen ones. The brightest part of the sky was still rather low on the horizon and Sanders had to guess it was only a few hours after dawn. Damn, getting breakfast was going to be unfun.

Sanders had to fight for every step and each one only made him more hungry and tired. What he wouldn't give for some snow shoes... He glanced back, and saw the catgirl's hands twisting between the trees with almost perfect precision. She only every bumped a few small branches and her hands landed so softly as to only make about as much noise as his snow-crunching footsteps made. He shook his head as he fully realized just how doomed he and his SWAT buddies had been that day, and how glad this one had decided to not turn on him yet.

He turned back forward and continued through the woods for a few minutes. He stomach pains were only getting worse and it was all he could do not to double over in pain from it. Finally, after what seemed like hours, he saw other tracks going through the snow. He moved up and was fairly sure they were deer tracks, he wasn't used to tracking in snow. He got his rifle ready and motioned for the catgirl to stay back, whether it worked or not he wasn't sure, as he moved after them. He followed them for a few minutes, making sure to stay downwind the entire time, before stopping as he caught a glimpse of something moving just ahead. He crouched deeper into the snow and peered through the scope as best he could. A few scale meters ahead was a large group of deer with a very large buck near the middle of it.

Sanders smiled as he gulped down a sudden wave of saliva. Dammit, he wan- no NEEDED that meat. He shifted around the area, being as quiet as possible to get a clear shot. He stopped as he got a bead on the buck and did his best to prop his rifle onto his broken arm, without hurting it. Firing was going to be painful, but he had to grit and bear it. He took aim, took in a big gulp of air and held it, and then fired. The shoot sent all the deer scattering in every direction, running as fast as they could. All save one. The buck flopped to the ground, dead, and Sanders half-smiled half-cursed as pain shoot through his arm. He took a moment to let his arm stop screaming in agony before moving forward toward the dead buck.

The buck was a monster of a deer. Sanders didn't waste any time cutting into it and taking out a large chunk of its side. He greedily bit into the piece of meat he had cut off and moaned in enjoyment as his stomach finally had food. He practically inhaled the rest of the meat he had cut out, completely oblivious to the rumbling that was going on around him. He snapped out of his euphoria at finally getting food as the catgirl approached the area from a different direction than he had come from, still on her hands and knees and her tail raised happily in the air. She pushed through the trees, not trying to be quiet, and then smiled down at him as if expecting praise. He looked at her puzzled till he saw the large amount of blood leaking out of one of her hands. He could just barely make out deer limbs poking out from her massive fingers.

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10:13 AM

Sanders rubbed his hands as he let the giant fire warm them. It had taken him a bit of work to get the catgirl to bring firewood, but it had been worth it. Of course, the catgirl's idea of firewood had been entire trees, but it was probably just as well. The raging inferno was keeping the cave nice and toasty not only for him, but the catgirl too. She was sitting nearby purring in enjoyment as she let her back be warmed by the fire. Her tail slowly sweep from side to side, seemingly with a mind of its own.

Sanders moved back to where had had rigged up a smaller cooking fire and checked on the large piece of deer meat he was cooking. It was almost done, but its smell was making the waiting nigh unbearable. Just past the skinned and cooking deer meat was the rest of the deers the catgirl had caught. Sanders hadn't bothered to count them all, but it was more than enough for him and, hopefully, enough for her. Oddly, though, she hadn't touched them. He shrugged that off, though, as just another odd thing about the catgirl.

He poked at the meat and was satisfied it was cooked enough. He used his knife to start cutting off pieces of it and gulping down the cooked meat. It was the best damn meat he had ever had, though he suspected anything would be the best whatever as hungry as he was. He was about to keep going when he remembered the catgirl. He tried yelling at her, but she didn't hear over the roar of the flames. He put down his knife and put his fingers in his mouth and let out a loud whistle. This time, the catgirl's ears twitched and she looked back toward him. He waved her over and her massive body came toward him. She laid down onto the ground so as to get her face as close to level with him as it could. He cut about a fourth of the meat off for himself and then pointed toward the other three fourths,  which was about half his size.

"That's your. Food?" he said but just got a confused look. Ugh...
"Come on, just eat it," he said, this time getting a happy, almost excited look from her. The catgirl reached forward to grab the meat and Sanders tired to warn her, but too late. She pulled her hand back in pain as the cooked meat burned her hand. She glared at the meat for a second before pulling herself forward to loom over it. She opened her mouth and leaned down til she got the meat pinched between her teeth. She lifted it up off the fire before her head leap forward and her mouth closed around the meat. If the heat bothered her at all, she didn't show it as she swallowed it whole.

Sanders felt old memories stir in his mind at seeing how easily she swallowed a piece of meat about half his size without even chewing. He knew full well she could swallow more than that too... He felt the old familiar fear starting to creep back. The catgirl waited a moment before letting out a very loud purr as her tongue ran along her lips. She turned toward the other dead deers and didn't waste a single second before grabbing up another. She stuffed it into her mouth and swallowed it down before grabbing another which followed the first. Sanders couldn't help but watch in half-awe, half-horror as the catgirl stuffed entire deer down her mouth like they were just candies. Why she hadn't started to eat them before, Sanders had no idea.

In less than thirty seconds, the entire pile of dead deer were gone, save one, and the catgirl was smiling in satisfaction. She was about to grab the last one when she stopped and looked at Sanders. Sanders couldn't help but feel a wave of terror wash through him and his hand drifted toward his rifle, for all the good it would do against a 40 story tall catgirl.

The catgirl looked at him and then pushed the dead deer toward him with a smile. Sanders looked at it in confusion before his fear turned into guilt. He had still suspected her of trying something even after all this and all she did was offer him up another meal. He relaxed and smiled back up at her. She seemed to like that, but moved off past him and toward the cave entrance. She stopped at it, sniffed the air, and then disappeared from sight. Sanders figured she must still be hungry...and still she offered him the last meal. He shook his head at the odd humor life had as he began to skin the deer.

Sanders wasn't sure how long the catgirl was gone, but the sky had become much brighter so he guessed it was around mid-day. He had been re-binding his arm when he heard and felt a rumble from the cave entrance. He looked up to see the catgirl at the entrance, moving down toward him. In her hand were three more deers she had caught, and then crushed, and she quickly popped one into her mouth as she sat down next to the fire. Sanders couldn't help feel his old fear creep up, but he did his best to fight it back. The catgirl looked down at him with a smile before laying one of the last two deers down next to him before dropping the other into her mouth and swallowing it. Sanders urped at the thought of eating anymore deer meat. He shook his head and waved it off.

"No thanks, you can have that," Sander said as the catgirl gave him a puzzled look again. Her inability to understand him was starting to get annoying. He sighed as he pushed the deer back toward her.

"I'm not hungry, you can eat it," he said pointing toward the deer. The catgirl seemed to understand that and got a big smile. She reached down to pick up the last deer. Or so he thought as her hand suddenly came for him instead.

"Wait... NOT ME!" he yelled as her fingers lightly gripped him and pulled him up into the air. He tried, in vain, to pull himself free for a second before her fingers let him go and he fell down. He landed on her other hand which was positioned right in front of her face. Sanders picked himself up and felt a wave of panic set into him again. He tried to keep it hidden as he stared back at the catgirl, but as her mouth moved toward him he couldn't help back away, at first. That was when he noticed her lips pushing outwards like...

Sanders remembered the last time he had been near her mouth. Could she be trying to kiss him again? Her lips pushed further outward looking even more like a kiss and Sanders fear began to die away. Instead, he stood his ground and let her lips push into him. He moved his head to the side to let himself breath as her full, soft, warm lips pressed into him. Unlike last time, he didn't have terror clouding his thoughts and he found himself pushing back into the catgirls lips. Her lips were just so soft and big, like giant heated pillows. He just wanted to hug them into him and fall asleep in their embra- holy shit what was he thinking!

Sanders pushed away from her lips with a start and the catgirl opened her large green eyes to stare at him in confusion. He backed away, his old terror coming back as the catgirl  stared at him. Her ears drooped and she got a hurt look before she looked down at the ground, like a scolded child.

[i]No, No, No, NO, DO NOT FEEL BAD! SHE IS A MONSTERGIRL NOT A PERSON! Just like Flon-[/i], he started to think to himself before catching himself. She wasn't like...but...it was...FUCK. Sanders suddenly felt an all too familiar wave of guilt hit him as he remembered doing this to another monstergirl. This catgirl hadn't done anything wrong to him, hell the only reason he was alive still might be thanks to her, and yet he was holding what a feral catgirl did against it. Oh dammit, damn his conscious and damn his own good nature and just....damn!

Sanders moved forward back toward the catgirl. She looked down at him in confusion for a second as Sanders old terror began to come back in full. Rather than let it stop him, though, he pushed it aside with his guilt's help and marched straight toward the catgirl. The catgirl eyes shot wide as Sanders strode straight up to her nose and planted a kiss right on its tip.

For a second, Sanders had no idea WHAT he was doing. He had been so busy trying to keep his fear suppressed that he never thought about what to do once he reached her. Once he got there, all he could think was to not freak out and the kiss he had gotten. Apparently his brain had decided to just go with kiss. He stood their, frozen in place, still kissing the catgirl's nose as she stared down at him. Then the world shifted nearly too fast for him to follow. 

Suddenly, the catgirl's nose had gone up and Sanders found himself falling forward with nothing to kiss. He didn't have long though as the catgirl's lips shot up to take her nose's place and smothered him in their warm embrace. For a moment, he wasn't afraid and instead felt...good about having her lips all around him. He, almost unconsciously, began to push himself deeper into her lips as he returned the off-proportion kiss. His pushing was meet by the catgirl's own and for a second he was in utter bliss, surrounded by warm, soft, lips.

However, her pushing began to get too strong. He felt his feet starting to slip and his old fear began to creep back in. He tried to push away from her lips, but she followed him easily and only pushed back harder. He keep his feet for a second or two longer before her lips became too much and he slipped down to fall flat onto her palm. He winced as he waited to feel her lips crushed him, but the weight never came. He opened his eyes just in time to see her picking at his pants with her other hand.

"WOAH WOAH! NO, that is no-" he started to say as her fingers began to try and pull his pants off. He kicked at her fingers, but she was not deterred. There was a hunger in her eyes now, a hunger that was obviously not for food. Whether that should make Sanders more or less worried, he didn't know. His kicking was about as effective as trying to kick a building, however, and her finger easily pushed toward his pants.

"NO, I WILL TAKE THEM OFF, OK, LET ME!" he yelled at her, trying to get her to stop. His screams got her to stop and look at him, briefly, and Sanders jumped at the chance. He quickly unbuttoned his flak pants and began to pull them off just as the catgirl turned back to them. She gripped the edge of his pants and easily pulled them off him to reveal his boxers and his hardness beneath. As scared as he was, he still couldn't help but be turned on by this scenario. The look of lust in her eyes and her low, rumbling purrs only made it all the harder. The catgirl dropped his pants to the ground far below, forgotten, as her face moved closer.

Sanders laid there as he watched her take up his entire view. Her mouth moved toward him and for a second he thought it was time for more kissing. He was proven wrong as her tongue came out of her mouth and toward him. His eyes opened wide in terror, but it was too late to run as it moved up to him.

Sanders couldn't help but quiver as he stifled a gasp of pleasure. He moved his hand up to try and push the catgirl away, but it was futile as her tongue slid up his waist. The rough tongue passed over his boxers and stiff rod, feeling like nothing Sanders had ever felt before. It was all he could do not to cum right then and there as the catgirl's person-sized tongue slid over his lower half. His mind nearly lost in the pleasure, he found himself pulling off his boxers to let the tongue go across his dick unobstructed. He got them pulled down just in time as the tongue came back across. Sanders gasped out as it slid over his entire dick like a giant, rough, wet blanket. The catgirl repeated her slow lickings a number of times. Each on brought Sanders closer and closer. The soft rumble of her purrs only added to the pleasure and her lust filled eyes stared down at him in eager anticipation. His arm that had been pushing her away grabbed onto her plush lips and held on as tight as he could. He would have grunted with effort if he had been able to do anything but gasp in pleasure as he was pulled upward. The catgirl lifted her head up to be parallel with the ground, her hand still hovering below him.

The catgirl's tongue went back into her mouth for a second as he hung from her lip. Sanders tried to look up at the catgirl, but couldn't see her eyes thanks to her lips and nose. She gave a low rumble that sounded almost like a giggle before her mouth opened again, her hot breath blasting him. Her massive tongue came out again and its tip slide right into his dick. Sanders grip tightened as the tongue began to go up and down his waist and legs. All fear and thought of anything save the pleasure was gone from Sanders mind. He began to thrust into the catgirl's tongue, trying to get it to cover more of him. The catgirl, however, pulled her tongue inward, almost taunting him to come further into her mouth. Some part of Sanders was screaming at him to stop, but its screams were drowned out by his need.

He keep a tight grip on the top part her lip with his hand as he tried to push himself deeper into her mouth. It was no use, though, he just couldn't seem to get far enough in to get at her tongue and the catgirl keep making that rumbling giggle. It was starting to irritate him and he could feel some of the pleasure buzz wearing off and...and...

JESUS FUCK WHAT WAS HE DOING?!?!

Sanders inner reason had gotten though, finally, and his terror came back almost triple fold. He pushed himself away from her mouth in terror and surprise before remembering he was suspended in the air. As he fell, the catgirl's eyes came into view. Her eyes had been half closed in pleasure, but flew open as she saw him falling. Sanders was about to scream in horror at him falling to his doom when his fall suddenly stopped. He cried out in pain as he landed on a relatively soft, warm surface. 

Sanders groaned as he looked around and saw he was back in the catgirl's hand. He looked up to see her bent down over him with scared look. She gave a soft meow as if in worry as her other hand's finger came toward him. Sanders tried to stagger to his feet, but only managed to stumble back down as the finger moved toward him and began to softly rub against him. It didn't exactly feel great, but the soft touch and worried look got him to remember all the times this catgirl could have killed/eaten him. If she wanted to hurt him there was nothing he could have done about it, but instead she had been doing everything to help him. Dammit, he had let his past cause him to freak out and hurt another monstergirl...

"I'm alright. Just...just-" he was about to say more when the catgirl's head suddenly jerked up. Her ears began to twitch and she looked around as if in search of something. Before Sanders could do anything, her hand closed around him. Sanders was in near pitch black as he felt the catgirl stand up and begin to move. He tried to find something to grab onto, but the catgirl's closed palm gave him nothing. He tumbled around, barely managing to keep from hitting his arm as the swaying, shifting, and rocking began to make him queasy. Sanders had to fight back the deer he had eaten as the movement only got worse and worse.

Sanders flopped to the "ground" and managed to press himself into the "bed" of the catgirl's knuckles. He had to brace himself with his working arm and legs to keep from moving and risk hitting his arm, but it did nothing to stop his motion sickness. His stomach was churning like mad and it was taking all his willpower not to give in to his sickness. Sanders had no idea how long he stayed like that, pinned between her finger, fighting off sickness with nothing but her booming footsteps as company. Finally, however, the catgirl stopped as he heard a voice echo from far away. He gasped out and groaned in agony at his stomach, but only for a second before the catgirl took off again, this time running. Sanders had to let got of her finger to cover his mouth as he felt the barf coming up. He managed to swallow it back down as the catgirl's pace slowed to a stop again.

"There you are, Pyrra. I have been looking all night for you, you bad cat!" a voice said, far too loud to be a normal-sized person. Sanders was both thankful and terrified by the voice. Thankful to have been found by a person, but terrified that it was likely a Sword. After all, they were the only ones who got catgirls assigned to them. Sanders tried to think of what to do, but his churning stomach was making it hard to focus.

The catgirl, apparently named Pyrra, gave a loud, happy, meow as she shifted a bit. Sanders had no idea what was going on outside, but could guess the Sword was petting Pyrra or perhaps wagging a finger at her.

"Hmm, looks like you got hurt pretty bad, but you healed most of it. Guess you've been eating good, lucky you," the giantess outside grumbled to herself. Sanders keep quiet, hoping the giantess would miss him. However, he felt the catgirl's hand shift a bit causing him to gulp.

"What's that? What do you have in your hand?" the giantess said as Pyrra's hand began to shift and move as if it was being fought over. Sanders tried to keep in his little bed, but his motion sickness came back full on. He clutched him mouth again as his legs tried to hold him in place, but the shaking was just too much. He slipped out and rolled up onto her finger, his broken arm first. Sanders tried to cry out in pain, but instead just cried out a gurgle as the pain pushed him over the edge. He barfed up part of his lunch, directly onto the catgirl's middle finger as he clutched his arm in pain.

He gasped in disgust and pain as his barfing ended and he rolled back to lay down where he hadn't lost his lunch. He opened his eyes to look up on a grey, overcast sky and what almost looked like brown hair right at the edge of his sight. He looked toward it and found himself staring back at a giantess' face. Around her neck was a strange whistle like object  that dangled down frighteningly close to him. But even the potential crushing death by whistle was comforting compared to what was on her shoulder patch, two crossed swords.

    Excerpt of Ranger Manual: Catgirls:

While Society catgirls are trained to not consume Society personal, all normal-sized members are advised to keep a safe distance from them for safety reasons. Unlike fairies, catgirls are not human-level intelligent, instead they tend to be slightly smarter than dogs and cats. This makes them far more unpredictable and thus of greater danger than even giantesses.

When interactions with catgirls are unavoidable, steps should be taken to minimize risks:

1) Make sure the Sword handler for the catgirl is watching and ready to assist. Her quick thinking and action could be the difference between you surviving and not.

2)Make sure the catgirl has been fully feed or has another source of food nearby. Catgirls, like most animals, will tend to consume the easier obtained and more filling food.

3)Put away any weapons and do not make any threatening movement. All catgirls are trained for combat against Resistance and may react violently if they feel provoked.

This three steps will help prevent accidental maiming and death, but are no guarantee. Keep on alert and be ready to react when dealing with catgirls.

Chapter 19: Perspective

December 2, 2023 10:04 AM

Flonne had collapsed after her crazed and terrifying killing spree. Aviel had watched in horror as the sweet, innocent fairy had shown just how much power she had at her fingertips. Even if she acted like a little girl, she was still a 12 scale story tall fairy that could crush a person without any effort, and that was without her magic. Seeing her easily overpower the squad of Resistance who had been about to kill Aviel and slaughter them all, save one, like she was just kicking over a bunch of toys had been a cold slap of reality to Aviel. Whatever Flonne acted like, she was still a nigh-unstoppable juggernaut when it came down to it.

Flonne was still unconscious by the time Aviel had recovered her senses. Rather than just wait for Flonne to wake, Aviel searched the dead bodies of the Resistance for anything useful. She debated taking one of their guns, them being the most obvious tool they had. On one hand, they could be the difference between life and death. On the other, they were Resistance weapons...the same kind that had killed her mother, father, and two of her partners. But what better revenge then to kill them with their own tools? It was a good enough excuse, but Aviel knew deep down she needed ever advantage she could get right now and the guns were too valuable to pass up either way.

She took what looked to be a over-sized pistol and as much ammo as she could stuff into her pouches. She, also, found some dried trail jerky and a bunch of scrap paper all bound together with a bit of string. The first paper was badly damaged and looked to have been weathered badly from use. The second, however, had some writing on it much like a journal of some kind. She looked at it and then down at the person who had owned it, the first guy she had run through. He was about her age, maybe a bit older, with brown hair covered a hand-sewn wool cap. His lifeless green eyes stared upward, blankly, a look of fear and surprise forever locked in them. His clothes were all torn bits of fabric sewn together in a patchwork of styles, but all with a dark green color to them Over his ripped fabric was a large fur jacket that looked to have been made from a deer pelt. He reminded Aviel a bit of Sanders... though maybe that was just because she still felt his lose so keenly.

She looked at the journal and thought about just tossing it down. She didn't want to know about this guy, didn't want to know his reason or past, didn't want to make him a fellow human rather than just an enemy... She looked back at him and for a second she could have sworn he looked exactly like Sanders, laying there dead and forgotten. She shook off the sight and the man was back to normal, but the feeling of despair was still there. She sighed as she moved over and sat close to the still unconscious Flonne and turned to the second page of the journal.

August 19, 2023: At least I think its the 19th.

Was moving through one of the old towns today when we found some still usable paper in one of the trash cans. Thankfully, the thing was one of those wire ones with the big holes in it, otherwise we would never have been able to get into the bag. Took most of it back to use for messages, news, and that sort of thing, but I managed to keep a few hidden and used them to make this journal.

Feels good to be able to write again. Was beginning to think I had forgotten how to. Man, I didn't realize how much I missed writing in my journal till now. Funny how its these small things you wind up missing the most. Not the security, running water, or actual toilet paper. No its just the ability to write my own thoughts down. Maybe I am crazy like the other guys say, but then who wouldn't be in this world? Pretty much everyday someone dies or just vanishes. People don't even bat an eye now when someone just stops showing up for meetings and such. Fuck, what happened to us?

August 25, 2023

Thomas died today. We were trying to lure a giantess patrol away from one of our outposts and he got spotted. Didn't even get time to react just, one second he was there, and the next gone. Rest of us managed to scatter and get away, but we had to abandon the outpost. Scouts say a fairy is in the area now, watching to see if we come back. Going to be tough finding a better outpost than that one too. Can't really beat using an old billboard for watching the highway. Don't even need to go to the top, not that we could anyway, to see most of what is coming. Not to mention a few still have power which we can leech off of. And that one did too...

Oh well, nothing for it but to move on. Going on patrol with Douglas, Samantha, and Justin tomorrow to look for a new spot. Wish I could spend some time with Thomas' family, but I just don't have the time. Well, being the hero is never easy I guess.

August 27, 2023

Didn't find a place for a new outpost on patrol. Had a few close calls with Society combing the area and spent more time just dodging them than actually looking. Probably going to be sent out in September when the heat has died down and the bitches moved on.

Patrol wasn't a complete loss though. Me and Douglas managed to bag a big buck each on the way back. We already got plenty of food saved up for winter, but they were just too well set up to pass up. Got double rations for it which was nice. Course, since I already get more food than the non-fighters I gave my extra food to Thomas' family. Least I could do for them.

The rest of the entries were mostly the same. Just more patrols, deaths, and general happenings that Aviel didn't fully understand. Whoever wrote it, however, was careful not to give any specifics about location and such. It was always vague or just flat out missing. Apparently the boy wasn't a complete idiot.

She started just skimming most of the entries till she came to October. Manchent was captured in October... maybe there was something here about that. She looked through, but there was no real mention of it. It wasn't until a few days before Manchent's kidnapping that she found something interesting.

October 14, 2023

Something big is about to happen. Not sure what, though. Everyone who is involved is either being left in the dark or being really hush hush about it. Even Henderson won't say anything about it and he usually won't shut up. Said Derek would skin him alive if he said anything. Probably would too, guy scares the shit out of me.

Hate being out of the loop like this. A lot of my friends are being sent out to help with whatever is going on. I hate having to stay, but someone has to stay and guard everyone. Just got to trust they will come back... Dammit I wish I was going too.

The next few days were just normal stuff with nothing to note. It wasn't until a few days after Manchent's death that he was mentioned again.

October 25, 2023

The guys and girls from that mission came back today. Well...some of them anyway. It was hard to get them to talk about what happened, but I finally got Douglas to tell me. Apparently they had gone into Atlanta to liberate Doctor Manchent. Easy to see why they wanted to keep that quite now. Everything went according to plan up until they got to the suburbs.

They had been about to load up everyone and pull out on the tunnel train when a Society Ranger group found them. Giantess busted into the train depot, killed everyone guarding it, and nearly caught the train before it could leave. Unfortunately, two Society traitors and a fairy attacked the train. They killed everyone on board, save for Ollie and Derek. Both of them got thrown off the train and had to hobble back to the destroyed outpost where the troops who that had been on watch had gotten back together once the giantess left. Douglas was lucky he was in one of the watch groups, unlike poor Justin and Samantha.

We, also, have been hearing rumors that the Society announced that Manchent is dead. Those damn monsters probably killed him to keep him from helping us. Morale in the town is lower than low now. We lost a lot of good people AND the tunnel train for nothing. Even been some rumblings of replacing Darius. Nothing will come of it, though. Nothing ever does. No one is willing to take his job, I know I sure as hell wouldn't.

Aviel was about to skip to the latest entries when she heard a loud groan come from Flonne's direction. She looked back at the fairy and saw her eyes slowly fluttering open. She groaned again as she rubbed her head with one of her hands.

"What....what happened? Ow, my head...why does it hurt so bad?" she said as she glanced around in confusion. Her eyes settled on Aviel and the dead bodies near her. Flonne eyes opened wider as she looked around at the dead people in the area.

"When...wait, I...I remember. I tried to heal my wings, but then my head and..." she trailed off as she looked off as if lost in thought. Aviel moved toward her and waited a few moments before shouting up at her.

"Flonne!" she yelled to make sure the fairy heard her. Flonne snapped out of her thoughts and looked down at Aviel.

"Huh? Oh, Aviel. I'm so sorry for making us have to fight these Resistance. You weren't hurt, right?" Flonne asked as she leaned down to hear Aviel better. She had a worried and sad look on her face.

"Its alright, Flonne, and I am fine. I should be asking if you are alright, passing out like that. What happened?" Aviel said as she smiled up at the fairy. Flonne looked to the side as if debating something before answering. She opened her mouth to say something, but closed it as she reconsidered.

"If you don't want to tell me, its fine. We can save it for later when we get back to Atlanta," Aviel suggested. She didn't want to force Flonne to do anything that might bother her or, worse, make her pass out again. Flonne got a worried look, but nodded after a minute of silence.

"Alright, let's just focus on the problem we got. We can't stay here, more Resistance might show up looking for these guys or a way to get warm. We need to get moving," Aviel said. She paused a moment to think about where TO head. Heading back to the battle site was too risky. Isabella would go back to it to try and pick up their trail, but Slutice and her fuckbuddies might do the same and there was no telling who would be there and when, too dangerous. They could just head straight for Atlanta and try to make it back that way, but they would have to go through a lot of Resistance held area's and have to spend lots of nights in them too. They had already had one close call, Aviel didn't feel like risking another. That left only one real choice left. I-75, the highway they had used to get out here.

"Once you feel up to it, we need to head east and try to find the highway. If we can find it, we can follow it back or wait for a non-Sword vehicle to come by and hitch a ride," Aviel explained as she looked up at Flonne. Flonne, however, wasn't paying attention and, instead, was doing something with her stomach. It looked like she was stroking the slight bulge in her abdomen with an almost motherly smile on her face. Aviel remembered, now, what was in there... That would have to be dealt with too.

"BEFORE THAT," Aviel yelled to get Flonne's attention, "we will have to deal with him." Flonne snapped out of her stroking and turned to Aviel as she nodded toward her stomach. Flonne looked at it and frowned like a child being told they had to get rid of a puppy they found.

"But...but he can't hurt us inside me. And you will kill him if I do let him out!" Flonne said in an accusing tone.

"Of course I will! He is the enemy!" Aviel yelled.

"NO!" Flonne yelled loud enough to cause Aviel to wince a bit.  Her face took on a hard and angry visage. "Sanders wouldn't kill someone who wasn't a threat and I won't either!"

"Sanders is..." she stopped as she saw Flonne's look start to change. The anger began to fade to be replaced with sadness as her eyes began to redden and mist. What was she doing? That...bastard in Flonne wasn't worth this. Wasn't worth spitting on Sanders' memory and hurting Flonne like this.

"Fine, fine. I won't kill him, but you can't keep him inside you," Aviel said, trying to come to a compromise.

"Yes I can, I can kee-"

"NO, you can't," Aviel interrupted, not wanting to hear anymore information about Flonne's lower regions.
"I won't kill him, but I still want to ask him some questions. He might know something about what happened the Doctor Manchent, alright?" Aviel asked, hoping Manchents mention would get Flonne to coincide. Flonne stared at Aviel for a moment, hands still over her stomach, before she looked down and sighed.

"Alright..." she said in a sad tone before laying back down. A low gurgle came from her stomach as she began to breath a bit heavier. Aviel looked away, having no wish to watch, and waited for Flonne to finish. Flonne's breathing soon turned to gasps as the gurgles turned into rumbles then back again. Flonne gave a loud cry of effort and pleasure as a loud slurp came from behind Aviel followed by the sounds of something wet landing on the ground.

Aviel turned to see the Resistance member laying on the ground, covered in Flonne's juices. His black hair clung to him in a matted clump and his ragged fur clothing was all soaked through. Aviel wasted no time as she drew her sword and moved toward him. She glanced at Flonne and saw her head lulling to the side. She was completely out of it after rebirthing the Resistance scum and would not be able to stop her. She looked down at the scum and saw he was in no better shape. His eyes were barely opening and he looked like he was beyond out of it. It would be so easy, just lift him up and make it sound like he tried to fight back, Flonne would never know. The thought was so tempting, so easy...

Aviel cursed herself as she used her free hand to take out some wire from one of her pouches. She rolled the bastard over with her foot and pulled his arms behind him. She quickly tied the wire around his wrists and then tightened them as tight as they would go, uncaring if they hurt. The pain got a cry of alarm and shock from the asshole and he snapped back awake.

"OWW! What the hell?" he said as he tried to look back at Aviel. "Who the hell are yo- OWW!" Aviel tightened the wire a notch too much and then slammed his arms back down. She walked to stand in front of him and then hauled the dirty scum to his feet, her sword still in her hand.

"I ask the questions, not you. You will keep quiet unless I ask you something and if you piss me off, I will hack off your fingers. Understand?" she said into the scum's face. He looked at her with confusion till he looked at her shoulder and her Shield patch. No sooner had he seen it did his face completely change. His shock gave way to utter hate as he reared back to try and headbutt her. Aviel was quicker, though, and raised the pommel of her sword in front of her. The idiot slammed his head right into the metal and cried out as he stumbled back. Aviel let him go as he fell on his ass, his eyes blinking in pain and confusion.

She let him lay there for a second before she kicked him in the neck, slamming him down to the ground with her boot cutting off his air.

"Let's try this again, do you understand NOW!" she said as she pressed down on his neck. He gasped and then made no sound at all as his air was completely cut off. Aviel smirked down at his thrashing and debated on leaving him like that till he turned blue. She decided not to, figuring the idiot would have learned his lesson by now. And if not, well he wouldn't be using a gun ever again then.

She got off his neck and stepped back as he gasped for breath and coughed as he fought to refill his lungs. He rolled over and groaned in pain, but remained silent. Aviel hauled him back onto is feet, him staggering, before walking over to Flonne's face. Flonne was still recovering, but looked at least somewhat coherent now.

"Here, he is your problem while we get out of here. I'll question him once we find someplace safe to rest," Aviel said as she pushed the scum onto Flonne's cheek. Flonne looked at him and the scum got a look of fear on his face as he backed away from her. He didn't get very far before he bumped back into Aviel who shoved him forward again. This time he stopped before bumping straight into Flonne and turned back to Aviel with that hate-filled look again.

"You won't find any place safe out here. The rest of the Phoenixes will track you down and kill you for this, you damn traitorous bit-" was as far as he got before Aviel smacked him across the head with the flat of her sword. He  spun around and slammed into Flonne's cheek before falling to the ground, unconscious. Flonne's eyes widened at the sight as she recovered from her birthing.

"Aviel! You promised!" she said slowly getting back into a sitting position and gently picking up the scum.

"I promised not to kill him. I never said anything about not hurting him, doubly so when he calls me a bitch," Aviel said glaring at the unconscious bastard. He was lucky she hadn't loped his head off for calling her that. Flonne gave her an annoyed look, but let it slide as she used her magic to heal the slowly appearing bruise  on the scum's head.

Aviel turned away and fumed to herself. Damn idiot thought his people could track them. With Flonne being able to fly there would be nothing to track. They would never find them....and neither would Isabella. Shit. Aviel hadn't even thought of that problem. Flonne had walked to this shack so Isabella might be able to follow their trail here, but once they left she would have no idea where they went. She looked around for something to leave a message on. It had to be something Isabella would see or understand, but the Resistance wouldn't. There wasn't much to work with though, just the bed, ruined table and chairs, and the fireplace. Ruined table and chairs....   Aviel smiled to herself as she got an idea.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

10:34 AM

The idiot was  back awake now, thanks to Flonne's magic, but at least he was too shocked to say anything. He clutched at Flonne's hand so tight that Flonne was actually wincing whenever he shifted. His eyes were as big as saucers as he stared down at the ground far below them. Aviel rolled her eyes at him as she rested easily in Flonne's other hand.

Flonne was flying high through the air, holding both of them in her hands. Far below them, the sea of white with wave like hills raced past. The wind was biting cold up here and, even with Flonne's hand providing some warmth, Aviel found herself shivering. Flonne wasn't doing much better, trying to keep her arms close in to her chest while keeping her hands still. Worse, Flonne couldn't go her full speed lest they risk hypothermia from the wind. The trip was going to be a long and cold one to be sure.

For a few minutes, the group was silent. Flonne focused on flying and trying to keep warm while Aviel debated on whether to risk turning on her tracker or not. The Resistance scum keep quiet as he tried to stare at anything but the ground. He was shaking and breathing rather heavily as he tried to keep some level of calmness, and failing utterly. He was worse than Sanders ever was, the wimp. Damn him....even after promising...DAMN HIM...

Aviel turned away from her tracker and looked down at the ground. She looked over the rolling sea of slowly receding white snow, broken up by small tufts of trees, until she spotted a small open area that looked to have been a dirt road at some point, though it was now well overgrown by shrunken plants.

"Flonne, lets land at that clearing and take a moment to get warm!" Aviel yelled up to the fairy, leaving out that she was going to question their...guest as well. Flonne nodded and slowly descended down to the open area. As they came down, the prisoner seemed to get calmer and relax more at the prospect of being on the ground.

Flonne landed and put them both on the ground. The prisoner practically fell to the ground in joy as his feet touched solid ground. Flonne pulled her jacket around her tighter but stopped shivering now that the higher wind wasn't biting into her. A bit of sun was peeking through the clouds now, warming the area, and Aviel welcomed the slight increase in temperature. Most of the snow in the clearing was either melted or starting to melt.

Aviel looked up at Flonne and motioned for her to come closer. Flonne knelt down to hear her as Aviel keep a close eye on the Resistance scum in case he tried something.

"Do you mind seeing if there is a stream near here? My water has ran out. You don't have to fly just walk around and see if there is one," Aviel asked.

"No, I don't mind. I'll be right back," Flonne said with a smile before walking off and into the forest. Aviel waited till she was out of sight before moving straight toward the prisoner, her dagger drawn. He looked up at her and started to stumble back, but stopped as he tried to put on a brave face. Aviel wasn't fooled for a second, however, and pulled him slightly down to her face.

"Now, its time you answered my questions. Try to lie and you WILL regret it, understand?" Aviel said. The scum looked about to say something stupid but a quick poke in the stomach from her dagger got him to swallow his words. Instead he just nodded, still trying to look defient, but Aviel could see he was terrified. Good.

"What do you know about Manchent's death?" Aviel asked, watching his face for any sign of deception.

"That you, Society slaves, killed him," he said with an angry look. He stared directly at her without any side glances or anything. While it wasn't true, he sure thought it was. At least he hadn't lied.

"I meant about the operation your people did to save him. Details, how they did it, that sort of thing," she said glaring at him. He gulped but keep quiet. Aviel gave him an angry look before spinning him around and grabbing his hand. She pressed her dagger against one of his fingers, blood already leaking where it had cut him just by its touch.

"Alright, alright!" the scum said as he tensed up with fear. Aviel let her dagger move away, but keep it ready to move up again.

"I...I don't know a whole lot. D-" he stopped and reconsidered, "They wouldn't let me go on the mission. All I know is that they were going to pull the Doctor out of Atlanta using some kind of jammer Ollie made. Everything went fine up until one of your Ranger groups found the train and killed nearly everyone and recaptured Manchent." Aviel listened intently to the scum's voice. She didn't detect any signs of lying in his voice and he seemed to scared to really think of a good lie anyway. His sudden stop was odd, but she forgot it in favor of the jammer.

She remembered that their signals had been jammed during their fight on the train. She had figured they had just brought it in case of the worse, but this guy made it sound like they needed the jammer just to get Manchent. Sure the added advantage of no one being able to call for help would be a good idea, but required?

"Why did they need the jammer?" she asked keeping her voice even and without emotion. She didn't need him figuring out what she wanted.

"I don't know," he said a bit too quickly. Aviel moved the dagger back up and his eyes went wide in fright.
"I'm serious! I have no idea why! I tried asking but they never told me, hell they almost kicked my ass for asking! All I know is they tested it a lot and made sure it worked before they took it, I swear!" the panicking idiot said. Aviel lowered the dagger as she went back to thinking.  This still didn't make sense. Why was that jammer so important? And if it was so important, why was it so short range? It only effected her and Sanders' radios when they boarded the train. That wasn't a big enough area to really help against pursuit in the city and if they only needed it for that one potential problem why test it so much? She was missing something...

"What about the bomb collar? Know anything about that?" Aviel asked.

"Bomb collar? What does that have to do with Manchent?" the scum asked in genuine confusion. She poked him in the side with her dagger, though not hard enough to break skin.

"I'm asking the questions, now what do you know?" she growled out.

"Oww, nothing. I never heard anything about a bomb collar, just the jammer," the prisoner said. She didn't want to believe him, she wanted him to know the pieces she was missing. But she could tell he didn't. She had known the moment he had gotten so confused when she had asked him about the collar. Would make sense that the Resistance keep THAT tidbit on need-to-know basis, though. Doubly so if they did get it from a Society traitor. She doubted he knew anything else useful about Manchent so she decided to switch topics.

"Alright, then what were you doing out here?" Aviel asked. It wasn't typical for Resistance members to be out and about during winter, doubly so with a snow storm hitting. He sighed as he seemed to cave into himself.

"Trying to warn a village nearby of the storm. Some of the people that ar-...were in my squad had family there," he paused as he closed his eyes, "They just wanted to be left alone... Just wanted to stop having to fight and hide and constantly be terrified. They didn't even have anti-giantess weapons." He stopped as he turned his head around to look back at Aviel. His face was a twisted mass of hate and anger.

"But you....monsters didn't care. No your giant bitches just marched on in and started killing everyone! Didn't even ASK if they were Resistance, didn't look to see for weapons, didn't do ANYTHING BUT START KILLING EVERYONE! WOMEN, CHILDREN, DIDN'T FUCKING MATTER, YOU GODDAMN MURDEROUS MONSTERS!" he yelled before turning away in disgust. Aviel let him vent without a word. He was telling her everything she wanted to know, after all.

"Guessing you were stupid enough to try and stop our giantesses?" Aviel asked in a mocking tone. The prisoner looked back at her, rage in his eyes.

"We tried to SAVE PEOPLE! Something you fucking psychopaths would never understand! We couldn't kill them, but we tried to at least lure the giantesses away. Thought a few rockets would get their attention, but all they did was sick their damn cat-freak on us and go right back to massacring the townspeople. Never even bat an eye at us. At the damn catgirl..." he looked down at the ground and closed his eyes tightly. "Killed everyone...Just started grabbing up everyone in her path and crushing those she couldn't stuff down her throat. Had to split up... She went after the other group...you.....DAMN MONSTERS!" he suddenly yelled before trying to headbutt Aviel's face with the back of his head. Aviel dodged it and stabbed her dagger into his hand. He cried out in pain and swore as he tried to slump down to his knees, but Aviel keep him on his feet. Tears were beginning to run down his face as he cursed to himself. Pathetic...

Aviel didn't believe him for a second that the village was innocent. Undoubtedly it would have become a Resistance base and been used to stage more attacks on Atlanta. And why should she care that the Swords killed kids? The Resistance had killed kids, burning entire border villages to the ground, and stole EVERYTHING from her. As far as Aviel was concerned, they deserved every bit of what they got. Even if they got it from Lutice.

She was about to ask him about what he knew about any Society traitors, but stopped when she heard and felt Flonne coming back. She pushed him away and he stumbled forward but keep his feet. She slid her weapons away and moved away from the scum before Flonne's face appeared over the trees. Aviel made it look like she had simply been waiting rather than interrogating the scumbag. It seemed to work as Flonne was all smiles as she came back over and knelt down to Aviel.

"There is a small stream a bit that way," she reported, pointing off behind her. She then glanced over at the prisoner and saw his cut hand. She frowned at Aviel before reaching down and healing the cut with her powers. Aviel ignored her frown, she didn't really care if the fairy disapproved or not.

"Alright, lets head there and get some water," Aviel said. Flonne picked her and the scum up and after a short walk were at the small stream Flonne had found. It was indeed small, even to Aviel, but was more than enough to fill Aviel's canteen. She drank some while the scum drank it straight from the stream. He throw her glare after glare as he drank, but Aviel ignored them. He was no threat, just a stupid whiny kid who got his people killed. With them all refreshed, Flonne took off back into the air and headed east again.

They soared for a few minutes before an unshrunken town came into view ahead of them. Aviel told Flonne to head for the town, thinking they could at least get some shelter in the buildings if the highway was still too far away. Flonne did as she was told and landed in the street of the small, abandoned town. Once again, the prisoner fell to his knees and had to recover from the flight.

Flonne placed them on the ground as Aviel looked at the buildings. Oddly, they didn't seem to have been ransacked or been disturbed at all. That was...odd to say the least. The Resistance and even the Society tended to strip buildings of their supplies and such. This town was way too close to I-75 to not have been found. And then there was the silence. The only noises were their own breathing and Flonne's slight rumble as she shifted. Something...something wasn't right here, she was getting a bad feeling about this place.

"Flonne, do you feel that?" Aviel asked as her hand drifted down to her sword. Her eyes moved over the dark windows and open doorways. She could almost swear something was watching them...waiting for something.

"Feel what?" Flonne asked as she looked around without her usual innocent smile. She either wasn't getting the same feeling or just hadn't noticed it yet. However, the prisoner looked up and got a puzzled look. He looked over to a nearby street sign and his eyes shot wide at seeing it.

"We need to leave, we need to leave NOW!" he hissed out at Aviel. Aviel was about to tell him to shut up when the feeling seem to get worse. This time, Flonne seemed to sense it too as she inhaled sharply and started to look around in fear. Suddenly, Aviel knew what that feeling was and her fear only quadrupled in intensity. Of all the places to wind up...dammit they needed to leave right NOW.

"Flonne, pick us up nice and slowly. Once you get a good grip on us...fly away from here as fast as you can," Aviel ordered as she suddenly found her hand gripping the hilt of her sword in a death grip. The prisoner was struggling in his binds to reach a handgun he didn't have, but didn't seem to realize it at all. Flonne gulped and nodded as she knelt down to them. She keep looking out into the town for something that didn't seem to be there and Aviel had to fight from doing the same. Slowly, Flonne's very welcome fingers wrapped around her and got a good grip on her. No sooner had Flonne gotten a good grip, did she leap off the ground and take off at full speed away from the town.

The feeling of discomfort suddenly exploded to turn into a feeling of pure terror as something came after them. Aviel had no idea how she knew something was after them, all she could see was Flonne's breasts and hands, but she knew, she knew with every part of her being. Both Flonne and the prisoner felt it too. The prisoner began to yell for Flonne to go faster and to hurry up while Flonne began to whimper and cry and beg Sanders or Isabella to help her. Aviel tried to fight off the feeling, but it was just too strong. She gripped Flonne tighter and tighter and found herself yelling for Flonne to hurry right along with the prisoner. Her eyes were leaking like crazy as the fear got worse and worse as it got closer and closer. She begged someone anyone to help here, to make it stop, to make it go away, to not let it catch her, to oh god it was RIGHT THERE! SANDERS, ISABELLA, MOM, DAD, SOMEONE SAVE ME!!!!!

Flonne gave one last cry of terror before her hands glowed green and they suddenly shot forward as a huge gust of wind caught them. The feeling began to lessen as they rocketed away from the area. Aviel began to cry now in relief right along with the prisoner, but Flonne didn't seem to realize it at all. She screamed and screamed in terror as they keep racing forward until she took in a sudden inhalation of breath. Aviel felt Flonne jerk as if she had hit something and her hands suddenly shot out away from her chest, as if to try and keep her balance.

Aviel saw Flonne tripping over trees and trying to keep her balance as her eyes and nose ran like waterfalls. Her feet got tangled in the wildlife and she cried out as she feel forward. Aviel felt the air being sucked out of her as Flonne's hand plummeted toward the ground along with the rest of her. At the last second, Flonne managed to lift her hands up to avoid them smashing into the ground and instead got them to come down slowly. Flonne hit the ground with a monstrous crash, sending snow flying away from her. Aviel gasped for breath to get back the air the G-forces had sucked out of her as Flonne laid there, still whimpering and crying from the ordeal.

Aviel looked around to see they had landed in just another part of the woods. She had no idea what direction Flonne had gone when she had fled and thus had no idea where they were. The snow here had mostly melted by now with only a few bits of it lingering under the trees. The prisoner was losing his last meal onto Flonne's hand as he cried in relief at the same time. Aviel whipped her eyes, angrily, and cursed their damn luck and her tears. Of all the places they could have picked, they picked one of THOSE areas. Dammit, she should have realized it the moment she saw the buildings untouched.

Aviel patted Flonne's hand to try and get her to let go, but Flonne only tightened the grip rather than loosen it. The fairy looked up at Aviel with her still crying face and pulled Aviel closer.

"Aviel, it almost got me...it almost got me... I could feel it..." she sobbed out as she began to shake and whimper in terror. Aviel thought about hugged the fairy, but she was a bit loathe to do that. She wasn't the touchy-feely type or...well...anyway she wanted to comfort Flonne, but Isabella was better at that kind of thing. Aviel wasn't sure what to do.

"Its...its alright that thing is gone and we won't be seeing it again," Aviel said trying to sound comforting. It didn't seem to work all that well as Flonne didn't stop crying. Aviel sighed to herself as she tried to think of what Isabella or San-...

"Come on, Flonne stop that crying. Its gone and we still need to find Isabella and Sanders, right?" Aviel asked having to fight her own tears back at mentioning Sanders. Flonne stopped whimpering and looked at Aviel for a second before sniffing and using her forearm to rub the tears away, the prisoner groaning at the sudden movement. Flonne tried to put on a brave face as she nodded.

"Yeah, we need to find them. Need to make sure they are save," she said more to herself as she began to stand up. She had gotten to her knees when a rocket suddenly flew out and impacted right on her thigh. The rocket blew a chunk of flesh off Flonne's leg, sending flesh and blood flying outwards. Flonne cried out in pain as she fell forward onto all fours. A second rocket came flying out straight for her head, but Flonne saw it in time to use her wind to blow it off course.

"FLONNE LET ME GO!" Aviel yelled and Flonne did as she was told. Aviel rushed forward and took out both her weapons just in time to see ten Resistance soldiers come out of the trees, guns all trained on her. Hidden in the trees, she could see at least three more with rocket launchers pointed at Flonne, and those were just the ones she saw. She glanced back to see more coming out on either side of Flonne and could guess some were behind them as well. Fuck, they were surrounded.

The Resistance soldier held their fire and Aviel's mind raced to think of someway out of this. Flonne could take a lot of punishment, but couldn't dodge or deflect all their rockets, not when she was already hurt. And Aviel would get shot to pieces before she even took a step. Fuck fuck fuck FUCK!

A rustle from the trees in front of her got her attention back to her front. Out of the trees came a monster of a man, a monster who looked all too familiar. In his hands was a massive laser cannon and he wore a huge fur clock over his patchwork clothing. It was the man from the train, the one that had nearly killed both her and Sanders. He glared at her in utter hate and recognition.

"Manchent is going to get his due today and your fairy isn't going to save you. Throw down the weapons and release your prisoner and I will make it quick. More than you deserve," he growled out like a rock-crusher as his laser cannon slowly hummed to life.

Article on Resistance propaganda:
The Resistance is quite versed in using, not just dirt tactics to fight our brave soldiers, but also lies and twisted facts to make them seem better. These lies are nothing more than propaganda aimed at trying to turn you against the Society and thus unraveling the very fabrics that keep us safe. To help fight against this propaganda we have listed the most common used messages in their lies and provided proof they are nothing but false.

 Many Resistance claim that Society soldiers attack and destroy any and all villages outside of Atlanta. This is completely untrue as Sword and Shield troops are educated in detecting Resistance forces. The only "villages' destroyed by the Society are those that side with the Resistance, either openly or secretly. Those very few that are neutral and, universally, burned to the ground by the Resistance for daring not to join them.

Other claim that we are, in fact, slaves to the Society. Such accusation are, of course, laughable. Our government is run by elected officials voted for, and given office by, the people of Atlanta. And the United States government is still run as it always has by representatives voted for by each city. The Society works alongside, not over, out government and must abide by laws set forth by our government while on our shores. To suggest we are slaves, is to suggest our government has no real power.

Finally, many claim that our media is nothing but a propaganda machine for the Society. Obviously, any opinion that is not theirs must be propaganda. This is perhaps their weakest argument by far as our media is concerned only with the truth and not what is popular or approved by the Society. In fact, the Society has no influence in anyway with our media outlets.

Chapter 20: Horrors of War

December 2, 2023 10:43 AM

Isabella cursed as she looked back at the cursed town. Even from here, about two hundred yards away, she could still feel its effects. That tingling sensation of fear, dread, and utter revulsion. However, her fear was being pushed down in favor of rage at the moment. It just HAD to sit right in the path she, and thus her scouts, had taken. A path that was now lost.

Isabella and Alice had debated on what to do after that. Alice suggested splitting up and one taking one side of the town while the other searched the other. Isabella was loathe to split up, however, for fear of Lutice showing up again or them missing something important.  Two sets of eyes were far better than one. Alice had relented and now they were going down the southern side of the town's edge looking for...something, anything.

The seconds seemed to drag on into minutes and the minutes to hours as her fear for her scouts only got worse. Every second they didn't find them only increased the likely hood of them being- no no she wouldn't think like that. They were still out here and still alive, she knew it. She wouldn't accept any other possibility, she couldn't accept any other.

Isabella looked up as Alice came into view over a small ridge. She waved Isabella over and Isabella's heart leaped up. Did she find them? Did she find a clue? Oh please PLEASE let her have found something!

Isabella hurried up the ridge, still being careful to watch each and every footstep till she reached the top to stand next to Alice.

"Did you find them?!" she asked almost having grabbed Alice in desperation for her to say yes. But Alice shook her head and then pointed off in the distance. Isabella's heart fell as she looked over to where Alice was pointing. Smoke was rising from over a hill about five hundred yards off to the south. The smoke was thin and wispy, but there was still no mistaking it.

"That fire is far too big to be made by the Resistance," Isabella said as her heart lightened again.

"But not for a fairy," Alice finished for her as Isabella smiled to herself. She tried not to get her hopes up too high, it was just smoke after all, but she wanted to believe so badly.

"Come on," she said to Alice as she began to make her way toward the smoke. Alice followed behind her without another word. Whether she was getting her hopes up or not, Isabella could not guess. Her face was as impassive as it always was.

It took them a few minutes to reach the hill and another few to climb up the still mostly snow-covered hill. Both of them slipped a number of times on the snowy forest, sending entire clumps of trees and snow tumbling down the side of the hill. Isabella stopped once to look at the mass of trees that her hands pulled up when she had put them down to steady her steps. Sometimes she couldn't imagine how anyone could become so crazy as to act like Lutice...and yet when she looked at the ten or so trees she held easily in her hand. When she easily crushed them like they were nothing more than rotten sticks and when she looked down to see the virtual avalanches just them moving up this hill was causing... How could one not go a little crazy with this much power?

By losing something they can never get back and learning just how helpless and weak they really are, she told herself. A lesson she may have to lea- NO no she...she wouldn't think like that. They were waiting for her just above this hill, they had to be!

Finally, Alice and Isabella crested the hill. Both were breathing a bit heavier than before and both had some dirt and snow clinging to their shoes and pants. Isabella looked down to where the smoke was coming from and felt her heart drop out of her chest. Below them was not a clearing with massive fire built, a fairy and two small scouts huddled around it for warmth like she had hoped. No, what was below them was...ruin, death, and the slowly burning remains of war.

An old abandoned garage lay at the bottom of the hill. The garage looked to have been made in secret and probably was hidden by trees and greenery in the area before. With the shrink disaster, however, its rusty metal siding and slowly rotting wood were clear to see, its roof covered by slowly melting snow. Inside the garage was what caught her eye, however. Inside was the crushed and slowly burning remains of a miniature town.

The building of the town were all either flattened or slowly burning away to nothing. The charred grass and dirt was covered in dried blood and boot prints of the attackers. Isabella was sure there were smushed figures amongst the wreckage, though they were too far away to make them out. This must have been what brought the Swords to this area, destroying this Resistance town.

"Nothing here, move on," Alice said as turned to leave. Isabella caught her by the shoulder and stopped her.

"No...I want to see," Isabella said as she began to head down the hill. Alice looked after her with a confused look, but followed nonetheless. Isabella knew she should get back to looking for her scouts and yet... And yet she couldn't stop seeing the last time she had been part of an attack like this. When she had felt that crunch and looked down...when everything had fallen apart.

She moved down the hill and stopped at the edge of the town. Up close, the devastation was even worse than she had thought. They area had been torn apart by stomping feet and bodies were littered everywhere. Isabella bent down to see better and gasped as she saw women and children among the dead. In fact...most of the dead were just that, kids, women, old men. Most were crushed into paste, their terror-filled looks stamped into the earth along with their bodies. Others had parts of their body crushed and looked to have either died from shock or simply bled to death. But what stood out most was the lack of weapons. Only three or four even had weapons near them and those weapons were just rifles and pistols, nothing that was dangerous to a giantess. These people were no threat to the Society, they didn't deserve to be butchered like this. There was no telling how the fire had started, but Isabella had a sick feeling it wasn't the Resistance...

"This was just plan butchery. These people barely had enough weapons to defend from shrunken people, much less full-sized people," Isabella said as he hand tightened into a fist. Killing Resistance members who might pose a threat to Atlanta was one thing, but to kill children...

"War is hell and demons reign," Alice said simply as she turned away from the sight, her face showing a hint of her own disgust. Isabella was about to stand and leave the ruin behind when movement caught her eye. A small piece of wood was still moving in the rubble of one of the wood houses. Isabella reached for the debris, but reconsidered when she realized her pinky finger was bigger than the pile. Trying to move it by hand would likely just crush whoever was under there. Instead, she lowered her head to the ground and drew in a breath. Her light blowing sent the debris flying back an inch or two, enough for the man underneath to crawl out and lay on the ground in relief.

The man was dressed in typical Resistance clothing of tattered cloth and fabric stitched together. However, he had no patch or any sigil on his clothing anywhere. He looked up as he whipped some blood out of his brown hair. He froze as he noticed her towering face sitting before him. Isabella was about to tell him to be calm, but never got the chance as he jumped to his feet. He grabbed a piece of wood and ran straight to her chin.

"MY DAUGHTER, GIVE BACK MY DAUGHTER! YOUR DAMN WINGED FREAK ISN'T TAKING MY DAUGHTER! YOU ALREADY TOOK MY WIFE WHY DO YOU WANT HER TOO?!?!" he screamed as he began to strike her with the piece of wood, though Isabella barely felt each impact. Isabella sat up a bit to get out of his reach and he tossed the piece of wood up at her, missing as she went to towering over him even on just her hands and knees. He cursed and swore at her for another second until he began to look around him. He scanned the area and the desolation like a man suddenly finding himself in a nightmare. The man shook his head in disbelief before falling to his knees.

"No...no no no no..." he began to say, too quite for Isabella to hear, but his lips made it obvious what he was saying.  He hung his head down to the ground and tears began to run down his cheek. Isabella looked away and tried to say something, but couldn't find the words. Instead she began to reach toward him. He noticed her hand moving and looked back up at her. His eyes were full of tears as he shook his head, a look of complete despair on his face.

His hands gripped a handgun that hung from his belt. He began to raise it up and Isabella let him. Let him get out his anger on her shield, it would not hurt her and he had every right to be angry. But the pistol didn't stop at her, it keeping going till it was pointed...

"NO!" Isabella yelled as her hand shot forward, but too late. The man fell back onto the ground, another corpse added to the mass all around him.  Isabella slammed her fist into the ground as she cursed herself. She should have realized what he was doing, should have stopped him, should have...

She stopped as a hand touched her shoulder. Alice was standing beside her and looked to have seen the whole thing.

"I know, Alice, he would have found another way even if I had stopped him," Isabella said. Alice nodded before offering a hand to Isabella. She took it and got back to her feet. The small town was now, well and truly, dead and there was nothing anyone could do for the dead. Isabella gave one last look over the sight before shaking her head in despair and heading back up the hill, Alice leading the way.

Isabella reached the top of the hill and was about to tell Alice that they should keep looking when a bit of static came in over her radio. She looked at Alice and saw her put a finger to her ear. She was hearing it too. Isabella quickly brought her wrist computer up and began to try and narrow down the signal. She didn't bother, however, as her wrist computer suddenly showed a locator beacon had been activated nearby, Aviel's locator beacon. She quickly pulled up where it was and looked around for it with her patch-HUD. She saw the indicator point to the North, past the... tainted unshrunken town. Isabella swore under her breath at having picked to go South around it.

"Aviel's locator beacon just went active, come on!' Isabella yelled as she took off running to go back around the area. As worried as she was, she knew trying to run straight through one of those areas was beyond suicidal. They had to go around it and quickly! If Aviel had risked turning her beacon on she had to be in real danger. And that meant Flonne and Sanders were too. Isabella didn't even look back to see if Alice was following as she put all her energy into moving as fast as possible.

She wasn't sure how long it took for her to reach the edge of the town, but she skirted it as close as she dared. She could feel the fear starting to come through her punishing pace and she moved away from the edge of the area. She couldn't afford to be affected by it now. The radio's static began to give way to voices, though too faint and distorted to make out. She pushed her legs even harder despite them screaming in protest. The cold air was burning her lungs and her face felt nearly frozen, but should would NOT stop. Not when she had finally found them!

Finally, the northern edge of the town came into view and Isabella flew past it and took off straight toward where the locator was coming from. The radio's distorted voices began to become understandable as she got closer.

"-ame thing stopping you from just blasting Flonne's face off when I drop my dagger," Aviel said to someone. Isabella didn't know what was happening, but that sounded bad. Really bad. She had to hurry, had to get there in time! Isabella wanted to tell her she was coming, but she didn't dare risk it. Her saying anything might cause Aviel more trouble than it solved.

 There was a long pause of silence over the radio as if someone was considering what Aviel said. Isabella didn't know whether she should hope whoever it was agreed with her or not.

"Fine, do it," a gravely, male voice said. The voice sounded as if coming from a good distance away from Aviel's radio. It was not Sanders voice or any voice Isabella recognized. It had to be a Resistance member, but what was he agreeing to let Aviel do? Dammit, if only she could ask Aviel...

The radio went silent for a second again before it suddenly exploded with the noise of rushing air. Isabella looked at her wrist unit and saw she was still a good 300 yards from where they were, but the beacon had moved upward. She cursed as she tried to go faster, but her legs refused to go any faster.

"FLONNE!" Aviel yelled in panic as another sudden gust of wind erupted in the radio. Dammit what was happening wh- Isabella's thoughts were interrupted as her HUD patch flashed a warning. She glanced over where its warning was and could just barely make out tiny red streaks flying up over a nearby hill. Rockets, Resistance rockets and they were coming from the same direction as Aviel's beacon! They were trying to escape from the Resistance!

Isabella rushed up the hill, her eyes locked onto the beacon on her patch. She crested the rise just in time to see a winged form dive down behind another hill a few yards in front of her. Another pair of rockets came flying past them, missing their mark. Isabella glanced over at where the rockets had come from and saw a small clearing that looked to have been made by something crushing the trees and brush there. The Resistance were still there, but she had more important matters than putting them down. Her scouts and fairy came first.

Isabella ran down the side of the hill, avoiding the clearing, and took off over the hill Flonne had vanished behind. She reached the top just in time to see Flonne still flying at top speed away from the clearing.

"FLONNE...STOP!" Isabella yelled through gasps for breath as she rushed after the fairy. She had pushed through her tiredness and pain, but it was becoming too great to simply ignore now. Flonne must not have heard as the fairy didn't slow. Isabella turned her radio on and tried that.

"Aviel..., tell Flonne.... to stop!" she ordered into the radio as she began to slow from exhaustion. There was silence on the radio for a second, save the wind, before Aviel spoke up.

"Flonne! FLONNE STOP! Isabella is here!" she yelled and Flonne slowed her flight to a hover. Flonne turned around and looked back at Isabella with a look of disbelief and relief on her face. Isabella slowed to a stop and nearly collapsed to the ground, completely out of breath, but keep her feet as she smiled at the fairy. Flonne's eyes misted over as she came flying back toward Isabella.

"ISABELLA!" she yelled as she approached. Flonne didn't stop till she had, practically, crashed into Isabella's cheek. The tiny fairy wrapped one of her arms partly around Isabella's face and buried her face into Isabella's cheek. Isabella reached up with her hand and hugged the fairy back as gently as she could as her eyes began to mist in joy and relief. She had found them and they were all save, thank God...

Isabella let Flonne cry into her cheek for a second before wrapping her fingers around her and pulling the still crying fairy away. Isabella looked down at the arm Flonne hadn't wrapped around her and saw the even tinier Aviel in Flonne's hand. Surprisingly, Aviel was smiling and looked just as happy to see Isabella as Flonne. It seemed, for now, her anger at not being allowed to advance was forgotten. Yet another thing to be grateful for.

That just left Sanders who was in Flonne's other hand. Only... that hand was empty... Isabella got a puzzled look.

"Where is Sanders?" she asked in confusion. Flonne's and Aviel's smiles faded almost immediately and with it all the joy Isabella had felt. No...no it couldn't...he couldn't...she wanted to deny it, but their faces said enough. No...

"He...when Flonne got hit by the Sword back during the fight he...he fell... right down into the middle of the fight..." Aviel answered before closing her eyes to fight back the tears. He was... he was gone... Sanders was gone... She had told his mother she would take care of him and now... She wanted to fall to her knees to just collapse in despair and... Flonne began to cry again, though not in joy this time.

"I'm so sorry, Isabella. I was supposed to protect him, but I lost my grip on him. Its...its my fault...I should have held him, I..." she tried to say more before breaking down into tears. Isabella looked down at Flonne and then Aviel. Aviel wasn't crying, but it was obvious she was on the verge of it. She...she couldn't break down, not when they needed her. She...she had to stay strong for those that were still here. Sanders wouldn't want her to break anyway, no he would have wanted her to keep going.

"Its not your fault Flonne. You did everything you could. Look at me, Flonne," she ordered as she lifted Flonne's head up to look at her, "This is not your fault. Sanders death was not and will never be your fault. The only people responsible for his death is Lutice and those other Swords, understand?" As Isabella said it, her anger began to flare, though she tried to hide it. Lutice.... Flonne sniffed and nodded half heartily. Aviel, however, tightened her fists and got a look of rage on her face.

"Those damn monsters. Those damn, murderous, psychotic FUCKERS! They don't deserve to wear that badge or any badge. All they deserve is a painful death! How...HOW DID THEY GET TO BE SWORDS AND I AM NOT?! DAMMIT!" she yelled in fury as she slammed her fists down on Flonne's finger. If it bothered Flonne to be hit, she didn't show it and, instead, just stared at Aviel.

Isabella felt the same rage beginning to come over her as well. She had tried to keep it down, but hearing Aviel had caused it to bubble over. It had been bad enough that Lutice had tried to hurt her scouts over some petty slight, but now...now she was responsible for the death of one of her scouts. Over nothing than her own damn ego! The bitch...The damn bitch..the damn DEAD BITCH!

Isabella let Flonne go as she heard Alice finally catch up with her. Alice was looking a bit out of breath, but was nowhere near as run down as Isabella had been. She stopped and got a confused look as she saw Isabella's look of rage.

"Sanders is dead," Isabella said flatly as her rage only got worse from saying it. Alice actually looked shocked for a brief second before it was replaced with a grim frown.

"Response?" Alice asked with a flat tone.

"Payback," Isabella said as she turned back to where the car was highlighted on her HUD patch. Neither Flonne or Aviel said anything as they began to trek back to the car. Isabella waited till they were within sight of the highway to try Gabriella on the radio.

"Gabriella, are you there?" she asked. There was a pause of silence for a second before her radio crackled back.

"Yeah, I'm here. You find them yet?" she asked.

"Yes. We found Flonne and Aviel. Sanders...Sanders is dead," she said causing her blood to boil again. She had to take a deep breath to keep from crying, but her rage seemed to be melting the tears before they reached her eyes.

"D-Dead?" Gabriella stammered out. The radio was silent for a long while before Isabella decided to break the silence.

"Gabriella, come back to the jeep. We are going back to base and having...words with Lutice and the others," Isabella said almost in a growl. Again the radio was silent for a second before Gabby answers.

"Words? Going to have more than words for them. I'll be there in five," Gabby answered, her rage obvious through her voice.

After a few more minutes of silent walking, Isabella and the rest arrived back at the jeep. Gabby was running down the highway only a few yards away as Isabella and Alice piled in. Alice took hold of Flonne who keep hold of Aviel as Gabby jumped into the back. None of them said a word as Isabella speed the jeep back to Atlanta.

Chapter 21: Presumed Dead

December 2, 2023 10:55 AM

Sanders froze as he saw the brown hair and the Sword patch. Had he wound up right back with Lutice despite everything that happened? Would she still be this new, psychotic monster she had become, or would the old her be there, smiling down in worry. Sanders gulped as he moved his eyes to look at the giant face of the girl staring at him. 

He didn't get the chance to look, though as the world suddenly tipped and he found himself sliding into a larger palm, his unhurt arm leading the way thankfully. He cried out in panic before landing onto the hand and groaning as his stomach began to churn even more. He flopped onto his stomach before rolling over and groaning to himself. He opened his eyes and took in a sharp intake of breath as twin, giant green eyes stared down at him.

The girl's brown hair hung down past her face and her gigantic green eyes stared down at him. She had raised her hand within a few inches of her face, making it so Sanders entire view was dominated by her face, and only her face. She was staring at him with a mixture of wonder and shock as she looked him up and down. But, most importantly, she was not Lutice. In fact, she didn't look like any of the Swords that had attacked them. Sanders thanked whoever for that small mercy.

"Uh...hi?" he said giving a half-hearted wave to her. She snapped out of whatever she was doing as she moved back a bit.

"Oh...uh...hi," she said as she keep staring. Sanders felt a bit uncomfortable with how she was staring at him. Normally he wouldn't mind a girl starring in wonder at him, but when her face was bigger than a house...

"Wow...you're so....small. I mean, I knew getting back to normal would make people smaller, but... wow...and seeing it up close..." she said in utter amazement. Sanders couldn't help but a feel a bit angry at being studied so this girl could get her fist "holy shit I'm huge" shock over with. At least now he knew she wasn't with Lutice back when she attacked them. None of them seemed fascinated with their size difference. The girl studied for a few more seconds before blinking and seeming to remember something. She got a sort of angry face on, though it seemed more pouty than mad, and "glared" down at him. If she was trying to scare him it was not working, in fact it was just making her look cuter.

"I mean, who are you? Are you a Resistance member?" she demanded as her voice blasted him. Sanders winced at the noise, but the hot breath actually felt good compared to the cold.

"What?! NO! I am a Shield member, se-" he stopped as a realized she wasn't wearing a visor or a patch. Which meant no she COULDN'T see the tiny patch on his jacket.
"Why don't you have a HUD on?!" he yelled in confusion, suddenly realizing she was probably having a tough time hearing him without a radio. Her glare vanished to be replaced with an embarrassed look as her face turned a bit red.

"Oh..right...," she said before reaching down with her other hand to grab something on her belt. Her hand came back with a HUD patch like Isabella's and she hooked it to her ear. It lit up as she looked him over again.

"Oh you do have a Shield patch and Shield gear too...and no pants," she said as her eyes went wide and her face turned red. Shit, Sanders had completely forgotten that Pyrra had ripped them off him during their...encounter. No wonder it had been so chilly. Worse, she had tossed them to the ground in a random cave he was likely to never find again. Dammit, those pants had been given to him by Isabella and part of his flak suit...

Admitting he had been getting head from a catgirl was rather embarrassing and he had enough of that just by being in his boxers. He needed to come up with a believable excuse for why he would be running around pants-less in the snow. Pity the wolves hadn't-...

"Some wolves I fought tore them off me! Counted myself lucky to have keep my calves and let them have my pants!" Sanders lied, hoping the Sword girl would believe that.

"Oh...wait wolves?!" she yelled in surprise, causing Sanders to cover his ears in pain. The girl winced as she whispered out, "Sorry...still not used to this."

"Its alright," Sanders said.

"What?" the girl asked.

"I...I SAID IT WAS ALRIGHT!" Sanders yelled so that she could hear him. She looked a bit embarrassed at having to be yelled at, but her eyes lit up with an idea.

"Oh yeah!" she said as she reached down again. She fished through her pockets till she got what she was looking for and brought it to her hand. A large, to Sanders, box was between her fingers and she set it down onto her palm.

"I forgot, they...they gave me spare radios and other stuff in case we, uhh, ran into normal members we needed to talk to. There should be a radio in there... maybe some spare pants too," she said with a nervous smile. Sanders nodded and moved to the box. He opened it up and rummaged through it with his good arm. Most of it was just normal gear and stuff he already had/didn't need. After a few seconds rummaging, though, he found a working radio to replace his busted one. Sadly a change of clothes was apparently not important enough to warrant room in the box...

Sanders put on the radio and it automatically set to the Sword's frequency. He closed to box as he got the headset into position.

"Can you hear me?" he asked into the radio. The Sword nodded before picking up the box and putting it back.

"No pants?" she asked.

"No," Sanders said shivering a bit in the cold. The Sword girl gave him a worried look before grabbing a piece of her jacket. She tugged on it a few times before, finally, getting a piece of it to rip off. She moved the couch sized piece of cloth over to Sanders and laid it on her hand.

"Will... will that help?" she asked as Sanders nearly dived into the welcome warmth of the cloth. He bundled himself into it like a baby in its blanket and, actually, felt slightly warm. Even better, the girl's smell was still lingering on it, giving it a sweet, perfume smell.

"Oh that helps a lot. Actually feel warm now, thanks," Sanders said with a warm smile he actually felt. The girl smiled back down at him.

"Good, I...I didn't want you to get cold or..." she paused as she blushed before moving along, "Oh.. I guess I should tell you who I am heh...he... Uhh.. My name is Morgan, I'm a newly promoted member of the Swords, C-Rank and a... a catgirl handler. Umm... w-who are you and, uhh, why were you with Pyrra?" Sanders was a bit worried this might come up. This Sword  girl seemed to be actually helpful and nice rather than crazy, but he wasn't so sure telling her that he was out here after being attacked BY Swords was the best idea. Best to leave that part out. And the part of him getting licked by Pyrra, of course.

"Well, I'm Sanders, part of the Shield Rangers, D-Rank," Sanders started before getting to the story. He told her the sorta true story of how he wound up like this. Though rather them being attacked by Lutice and her crazed Swords, they were attacked by Resistance and separated that way. He told her the whole truth of his first encounter with Pyrra, finding her badly hurt and "feeding" her. He added the part of one of the wolves getting a grip on his pants and ripping them off, but other than that, changed nothing. Same for when he awoke in the cave.

He was telling her how he had remained in the cave while Pyrra had gone off again when the Sword girl decided she had enough standing and sat down. Sanders gripped her finger tightly as she shifted, but she didn't notice his fear till after she sat.

"Oh... I'm sorry. My legs were just getting ti-" Morgan didn't get to finish as suddenly something huge, to Sanders, leap up onto her crossed legs and lunged for her hand. Sanders turned just in time to see another huge hand, though smaller than Morgan's, make a grab for him. Sanders ducked down as it barely missed him and watched as the figure was thrown back by Morgan.

"PYRRA NO! BAD CAT!" Morgan yelled, causing pain to stab into Sanders ears. He looked up and saw Pyrra moving back toward Morgan's hand, her eyes fixed on him. She made to go for Sanders again, but Morgan keep her back with her free hand.

"Pyrra! Stop! You better not claw me or I swear, no!" Morgan said as she keep pushing Pyrra away from her hand. Finally, Morgan had had enough and got back to her feet. Sanders risked a look down to see Pyrra getting a sad look on her face before sitting down like a rejected child.

"What has gotten into her? She has never tried to grab anything out of my hand before..." Morgan said with a frustrated look at Pyrra. She turned back to Sanders and shook her head. "I'm so sorry about that, your...your OK right?"

"Yeah. So what are you two doing out here?" Sanders asked. He hoped she was just out on patrol or something and was about to head back to Atlanta. If so, he could get a ride back with her. He wanted to go looking for Flonne and Aviel, of course, but he couldn't ask Morgan to help him with that. Not to mention, Sanders knew he was in no shape for such a search. And there was the risk of them meeting Lutice...

"Huh? Oh, we..." she trailed off as if in thought, "we... were sent out to attack a Resistance base along with four other Swords. I fought Resistance before, sort of...I was never a Ranger, but I fought them...but it was never so...horrid..." she stopped as she looked away. Sanders could tell the memory was painful for her, but he wanted to know what had happened. After all, those four other Swords had to be Lutice and the other three that had attacked them.

"What was horrid? What happened?" he asked her. Morgan closed her eyes and Sanders thought he saw a tear roll down her eye.

"It was a... slaughter...they didn't...most of them didn't even try to fight back, just ran away from us. But the others they...they just laughed like it was some kind of game. Even keep count how many they each had crushed. I...I didn't want to do it...I didn't want to join in, but they...they...."  Morgan trailed off again as this time she really did begin to cry. Sanders suddenly regretted pushing her to go back to the memory.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" he started but was stopped as Morgan shook her head.

"No, no...Its fine. It was...it was just hard, knowing that those little dots were people. That they couldn't fight back at all and just..." she paused as she rubbed her eyes with her other hand, "Lutice....Lutice said I shouldn't feel bad for them. That...that they were just the enemy and would have killed me... but I don't see how. Those people in that base were no threat and even...even the group that attacked us halfway through the attack couldn't get through our shields. All it took was Pyrra attacking to drive them off... so then...why... Why do we have to be so brutal? Why couldn't we just make them surrender? Why...Why did we have to crush all of them?!" she asked her eyes watering again. Sanders wished he had an answer to that, but he really didn't. In fact, it was a question he had found himself asking more and more.

There was a moment of silence between the two of them as they lost themselves in their own thoughts and doubts. It broke just as quickly as it came, though, as Morgan cried out in surprise. Sanders looked up as Pyrra began to clamber up Morgan's side, her claws digging into her heavy clothing. Sanders tried to keep his feet as Morgan began to stumble from the sudden extra weight, her hand no longer stable. He yelled out in panic as he began to slide down her palm and toward the yawning expanse of air. Morgan didn't seem to hear, though, as she was busy trying to get Pyrra off her.

Sanders was about to fly off when Morgan moved her hand the other way. Sanders sighed in relieve and then cursed as he began to slide the other direction and toward her thumb, head first no less. Sanders' fingers in his working hand dug into Morgan's hand, trying to get a grip to stop, but he couldn't get a grip through his gloves.

"FUCK!" he yelled as he was about to hit her thumb when a massive shape appeared above him. Sanders looked up to see a mouth moving toward him, its fang-like teeth out and ready to bite. Sanders screamed in complete terror and shut his eyes before something grabbed the front of his jacket. Sanders felt himself pulled into the air before bumping into something soft and moist. Something familiar...

Sanders opened his eyes to see a mass of pink flesh in front of him, his jacket disappearing into a space between it and another mass of pink. He tired to look around, but there was nothing to see but fleshy walls. He felt himself suddenly falling and grabbed hold of the soft flesh in panic before a loud boom signaled they had hit the ground. Sanders bounced a bit, bu the fleshy walls were practically airbags to him and their yielding softness keep him from being hurt. He gripped the flesh for a second before the walls parted and he found himself falling again. The fall was, thankfully, short and Sanders grunted as he landed on another palm, this one much smaller. He looked up and found himself being stared down on by Pyrra. The catgirl smiled down at him as Morgan loomed over her. As big as Pyrra was to Sanders, Morgan was far bigger, towering over them both and looking none too happy.

"You bad catgirl! You cut into my coat an- OH GOD SANDERS!! SANDERS!!" Morgan yelled as she noticed her empty palm and began to look around the ground in terror.

"Morgan, I'm down here, in Pyrra's han-ohhhhh shit," Sanders started to say before Pyrra picked up where they had been interrupted. The catgirl rough tongue was going over his body again and causing Sanders dick to respond in kind. The "blanket" Morgan had given him wasn't helping reduce the incredible feeling either, in fact the warmth it gave only made it better.

"Pyrra! Why ar-....woah..." Morgan said as she bent down over Pyrra and noticed what she was doing.
"I've...never heard of catgirls doing that...she really REALLY likes you...amazing."

"Really I haaAAAHHH dn't notice- AHHH" Sanders said as he tried to push Pyrra away with no success. He might as well have been trying to push a wall away. The catgirl even began to lick his broken arm, but with such gentleness it didn't hurt at all, in fact it felt kinda good. The catgirl continued her slow licking only stopping to look at him with lust-filled eyes.

"Uhh, little help?" Sanders asked between licks. Morgan, giggled and shook her head, though.

"Are you sure you need it? You kinda look like your enjoying it," she said with another giggle. Sanders was going to disagree, but Pyrra picked that exact moment to begin licking again. Instead, all Sanders got out was suppressed moan. Another round of giggling followed along with some of the best head Sanders had gotten in his life. Sanders was having to fight not to blow his load, an embarrassing sight he didn't care for Morgan to see. But Pyrra's tongue was relentless and so damn goooood. Fuck he wasn't going to be able to hold out much longer...

"Alright, that's enough Pyrra. Give him back," Morgan said reaching out for Sanders. Pyrra's look changed almost immediately as she jerked her hand, and Sanders, away from Morgan's hand. Sanders cried out in panic as he was nearly tossed off her hand by the momentum, though his sexual needs WERE tossed off. He managed to stop thanks to his legs and keep from bumping his broken arm. Pyrra let out a loud hiss of anger as she swatted at Morgan's hand with her free hand.

"OWW!" Morgan yelled as Pyrra's nails cut into her hand. "That is it!" Morgan said as she grabbed the whistle hanging from her neck. She sucked in a lung full of air and blew into it. Nothing came out, that Sanders could hear, but Pyrra reacted almost instantly. Her face scrunched up into a look of pain as her free hand tried to block out the noise. She began to meow in pain as Morgan reached down and put her hand next to Pyrra's. Pyrra seemed to understand and tipped her hand to slide Sanders into Morgan's hand. Sanders stumbled to his knees as he hit Morgan's palm, but let out a of breath of relief being back in a human's hand. Morgan stopped blowing as she stood up, keeping an eye on Pyrra.

"Sorry about that. I-" Morgan was interrupted as Pyrra began to meow. Morgan looked down and Sanders moved, well crawled, over to the edge of her palm to look as well. Pyrra was looking up at the palm Morgan held him in and was pacing back and forth. She meowed again, sounding sad and dejected as she looked about to jump up onto Morgan again.

"Oh no you don't," Morgan said before putting her free hand between her and the catgirl. Pyrra meowed again as she tried to get around, but Morgan keep her at bay. Sanders sighed to himself as he felt that damn pang of guilt and compassion in his chest. He was going to hate himself for this, but...

"Just give me back to her... She is just going to keep jumping onto you to get me back otherwise," Sanders said getting a raised eyebrow from Morgan.

"Are...are you sure? I mean...I doubt she would hurt you knowingly considering, but still..." Morgan asked looking a bit uncertain.

"Yeah...I am sure. Best thing for both of us," Sanders said, resigned himself to his fate...or embracing it, he wasn't sure which yet.

"Well...OK, but lets put you somewhere safer than her hand. Somewhere she won't drop you...ummm...maybe her head?" Morgan said as she knelt back down to Pyrra. Pyrra's tails and ear both went up in excitement as Sanders came back into view and she was about to grab him when Morgan stopped her. She raised Sanders up to Pyrra's forehead and let Sanders scramble off and onto her head.

"Alright, I'm on," Sanders said as Morgan moved her hand away. As she did, Pyrra cocked her head in confusion before starting to look up.

"Stop that, Pyrra! Stop moving! OH SHIT!" Sanders yelled before sliding down her head. He managed to grab one of her ears as Morgan stopped Pyrra from moving her head with her hand and lowered it back down. Sanders got back onto his feet as he keep a tight grip on her ear, his stomach already churning a bit.

"Hold still, Pyrra. St-...maybe I am going to have to hold you...," Morgan said as Sanders could feel Pyrra trying to worm out of Morgan's grip. Sanders sighed to himself before remembering how he used to calm down his sisters' old cat. He bent down and began to rub his hand right behind Pyrra's ear. The catgirl didn't seem to notice, though so Sanders, quickly, took off his boots and used his socks to rub into her.

That seemed to do the trick as he felt Pyrra beginning to stop trying to pull against Morgan. Soon, she stopped altogether before beginning to purr, her ears dipping down as she relaxed. Morgan let go of her head and Pyrra made no moves to look up, instead simply purring and slowly moving her head back and forth.

"That's a good girl. Don't look around too much or you are going to make me sick and that will be no fun for either of us. Just be nice and calm," Sanders said as he began to slowly stop rubbing Pyrra. The catgirl's purring began to lessen, but Pyrra didn't make any more attempts to look up at him. Instead, she just knelt down and gave a happy meow, purring again when Sanders gave her ear a soft rub.

"Wow...maybe you should be a catgirl handler," Morgan said as she rubbed Pyrra under the chin. Pyrra purred a bit at the rubbing, but didn't seem to enjoy it half as much as Sanders' rub behind her ears.

"I...really don't think that would work out well," Sanders said. The idea of him having to deal with catgirls everyday left him with a cold feeling in his chest. Just because he was OK around Pyrra didn't mean he was fine with all catgirls... far from it...

"Yeah.. I guess most would try to eat you...umm I mean...oh...," Morgan said with a blush, not making Sanders feel ANY better. She plowed forward though,
"B-B-But at least Pyrra seems happy enough. Hehe, so... lets get back to my jeep and then to Atlanta. Hopefully your squad made it back...unless...unless you want to look for them," Morgan suggested. Sanders would have liked nothing better, but had already decided doing such would be a bad idea. Too many ways that could go wrong.

"No, I'm," Sanders paused to think of an excuse, "already in a bad way from all this. I'd probably just slow you down and if I got lost again...well. Better if I get back so my squad leader KNOWS I am safe then wondering out here and making her worry. Besides, she might have found the others already." Sanders dearly hoped that was true. That Isabella, Aviel, and Flonne would be waiting for him back at the base. But he also hated that image too. Of them sitting their wondering if he was alive or dead. He needed to hurry back.

"Yeah... that's true. Alright, we'll head for my jeep. Pyrra, come!" Morgan said as she began to walk off. Pyrra got back to her feet and began to walk after her, the trees barely coming up the catgirl's knees. Morgan's heavy footsteps mixed with Pyrra's walking to make one hell of an unfun ride for Sanders. More than once, he was sure he was going to lose it as he held onto Pyrra's blonde hair. But he managed to hold it in, despite his churning stomach. Dammit, of all the things to be, motion sick was the worst with this damn shrinking...At least he had remembered to put his boots back on...

After what seemed like a hour of walking and bumping and rocking and - URP, Morgan stopped as they crested a hill to look down on the interstate highway. I-75 was in usable condition, though only just barely. A number of old wrecks and rusted vehicles lined the outside of the highway and the road itself had a number of cracks and potholes scattered about it. Considering its condition, Sanders could tell they were still a long way from Atlanta. The highway was in better condition and the wrecks gone for either salvage or refitting the closer you got. Here, though, it didn't look like the highway had been touched since the shrink disaster, save for the occasional passing car.

"How far is your jeep?" Sanders asked as he tried to wrap his "blanket" tighter around himself. Pyrra's hair was cutting off some of the wind, but it was still really cold, though Pyrra didn't seem to mind it at all. He nuzzled up closer to her furry ear and got a soft purr from her along with some more warmth. Morgan looked around with her HUD patch as she rubbed her arms together for warmth. She stopped as she looked down the left part of the highway before turning back to him.

"Oh..uhh, not far. Maybe half a mile? I..I can run if you want us to hurry," Morgan asked, looking a bit inclined toward the idea.

"NO! No, no, that's...that's fine. Walking is fine," Sanders answered back, his stomach already feeling queasy just thinking about how bad running would be. Morgan looked a bit confused by Sanders reaction, but didn't press him. She headed down to the highway with Pyrra following behind, walking thankfully.

As they walked, Pyrra's ears began to twitch and shift. She gave a soft meow, as if confused, as she began to move her head side to side. Sanders felt his stomach only getting worse and had to kneel down, but as he did he began to hear something. It was hard to hear at first but slowly it became more clear. An engine, a car engine.

Morgan noticed it too and turned to look behind them. Pyrra turned and Sanders could see another Society Jeep heading towards them, a very welcome shield logo on it. Morgan waved toward them and switched her radio to the general frequency.

"Umm..ex-excuse me! Can...Can you give us a ride back to my jeep? Its really cold out here and we could really use a heater, please?" she asked as the jeep began to approach. However, the jeep showed no signs of slowing and, if anything, began to speed up.

"No," a voice that sounded kinda familiar said as the jeep sped past them, too quick for Sanders to see anyone inside. Morgan slowly lowered her hand as it raced off and slumped with a sigh.

"Oh...OK..." she said sounding rather depressed as she began to walk again. Sanders couldn't help but feel sorry for her. Seemed even giantesses could be ignored and walked all over... He might have tried to say something comforting if he wasn't afraid of opening his mouth and things other that words coming out.

Thankfully, it was only another short bend before Morgan's jeep came into sight. Morgan gave a sigh of relieve before running toward it. Pyrra, unfortunately, took too running as well and Sanders doubled over as his sickness began to turn him green. He managed to hold onto her hair and not go flying off, but he was sure he was about to lose what little of his lunch was left. Thankfully, Pyrra stopped before that happened and he managed to pull himself back up with his unbroken arm. He looked up to see Morgan opening the jeep and felt Pyrra beginning to crouch down as if to- oh fuck.

Sanders wrapped his arm around her hair as tight as he could as Pyrra got ready to launch herself up onto the seat. Thankfully, Morgan's hand came up to block her before she did.

"No, Pyrra. Let me get Sanders first," Morgan said before reaching down with her hand to let Sanders get on. Sanders wasted no time in climbing off Pyrra's hand and onto Morgan's hand, though the absence of wind-breaking hair was missed. Sanders shivered a bit as Morgan let Pyrra climb in. No sooner had she gotten in, though, did Pyrra began to meow and shuffle around as she noticed Sanders was with Morgan.

"Ummm...Sanders?" Morgan asked looked down at him. Sanders sighed as he just nodded and tried to look on the positive side. At least Pyrra was warm...
"Sorry..." Morgan said before moving her hand back to Pyrra. Pyrra accepted Sanders gladly and gave a happy meow at him. Sanders was a bit worried/excited about the prospect of her going back to the licking, but Pyrra had other plans. She laid down in the seat and wrapped herself into a tight bundle. She keep her hand with Sanders in it, out of the bundle and sat the hand beside her face. She purred a bit before giving him one last lick, on the whole body this time, and then closed her eyes. By the time Morgan got in on her side, Pyrra seemed to be fast asleep.

"She sure can fall asleep fast," Sanders said as he moved a bit closer to Pyrra's cheek. The inside of the jeep was just as cold as the outside and Pyrra's body heat was very much welcome.

"Yeah...they all can. They...they are a lot like normal cats...in activity and sleeping...not in...well..." Morgan drifted off before just turning back to the wheel and starting the jeep. Pyrra's eyes opened a crack as the jeep started up, but closed again as she nuzzled up to Sanders' back. Sanders didn't mind, though, enjoying her warm, soft cheek as a nice back rest.

Morgan got the jeep into gear and began to drive back to the base. For a few minutes, they sat in silence. Sanders let his stomach slowly deknot and found Morgan's slow and careful driving very much to his liking. However, Pyrra' soft breathing wasn't really filling in the rather obvious silence in the jeep. Sanders figured he might as well try to fill that it himself.

"So, Morgan, what did you do before becoming...big,"Sanders said regretting putting it like that right after he said it. If Morgan was offended by it, though, she showed no sign of it.

"Hmm? Oh..I was a researcher...kinda, well...yeah researcher," Morgan answered keeping her eyes on the road. She seemed kinda nervous about answering that, though Sanders wasn't really sure why. He was starting to get the feeling she just sounded nervous all the time.

"Sounds pretty cool. What did you research?" he asking trying to keep the conversation going. Morgan blushed a bit at the question and looked like she was debating how to answer.

"Well...its kinda...I'm...I'm not sure I should tell you. They... they always made it sound like it should be a secret..."she paused as she thought a moment, "I...I studied catgirls, I think saying that is fine..."

"Ahh, guessing you can't tell me what or why or any of that," Sanders said. Morgan blushed a bit more and nodded. Welp, that was a dead-end, but he still had a few topics to go for.

"Well, could you tell me about when you fought Resistance people? You said you had fought them before," Sanders said, hoping maybe they could trade stories about that.

"Fighting...fighting might be a strong word. I was mostly just hiding and letting...letting the Rangers and giantesses do the fighting...But...well...yeah I...I guess that would be OK. They...they let me go along with a catgirl training trip to, uhh, to see the catgirls be trained in person. It was good for my...my research. They sent along a Ranger group just to be safe and we...uhh...we were about halfway through the training when a group of Resistance showed up. It...it kinda gets all jumbled up after that. Yells, screams, gunfire, hisses, and the rumbling..." she stopped as she seemed to gulp down a lump in her throat.
"When...when it was over the Resistance were all...all dead along with two of the ...Rangers and one of the catgirls. I...I didn't see any of the fighting, though, I...I was too busy hiding and...well just hiding," she admitted looked a bit ashamed of herself. Sanders got a little annoyed at that.

"Why do you look upset at that? You were a researcher, not a soldier! No one expected you to fight, heck, you did what you should have done and stayed out of the way. I would say you did a better job than most people thrust into those situation by hiding and NOT trying to be a hero or just running around like an idiot," Sanders said, trying to cheer Morgan up. It looked to work as she smiled.

"R-Really? I..I did what I should have?" she asked risking a glance over to him. Sanders felt a bit of stirring in his "blanket" at seeing her face lit up with that hopeful smile. Sadly, he could only guess at her body thanks to her heavy winter gear covering it all up in thick layers, but that smile... He probably hadn't noticed it yet due to his stomach, the cold, Pyrra, and...fuck just everything.

"That you did. Hiding was the best thing you could have done in that situation. Getting killed would have just meant your research might have died with you. I'm sure your research was important enough to warrant protecting, too," Sanders said hoping to get Morgan's face to brighten even more. He got his wish as she blushed and smiled at the same time. The look almost made him feel warm by itself.

"I..I don't know if its that...well...maybe...maybe I could tell you and... You are part of the Society...I'm sure its fine. Just...just don't tell anyone else, OK?" Morgan said and Sanders found himself nodding without really thinking.

"I'm...I'm researching ways to make catgirls smart again. And...and Pyrra is my first prototype."

    Article of Society Research

Like its namesake, the Advanced Science Society has always been trying to advance science and knowledge to better our lives and safety. Such advancements, of course, require tireless research and experimentation. However, the Society has so many things TO research that they have found it more productive to split their research into two major divisions. Civilian and Military.

Civilian research deals with any issues that involve public health, safety, transportation, infrastructure, works, etc... Any issue that has it roots in making the public safer, more productive, or just better are placed under the Civilian division. Because their research is, usually, benign in nature, most projects being studied are well documented and widely available for study or assistance. Non-Society citizens are welcomed to aid such endeavors and many normal-sized people assist with these experiments, an idea pioneered by the late Gregor Manchent and proven highly effective. It should be noted, however, that the assumption that only the Shields run such projects is flatly false. Swords have, and still do, run Civilian research projects and assist in them at times.

Military research deals with issues involving Resistance weapons and tactics along with better weapons to fight Resistance, bred better monstergirls, etc... Any issue with combat against the Resistance at its core is a Military division issue. Unlike the Civilian division, the Military division is very heavily classified and ALL its projects under strict information lockdown. While some normal-sized people do assist such experiments, nearly all are keep on base and those few who are not are often guarded around the clock. This is partially to prevent information leaks, but also to keep these people save. The Resistance would like nothing more than to learn what sorts of new weapons and tactics the Society is developing. It should be noted, again, that both Swords and Shields run Military Division research teams.

Chapter 22: Old and New

December 2, 2023 11:00 AM

Flonne was having to fight to keep from crying as they continued home. Sanders was gone...dead, killed because she couldn't keep him safe. Dead because she had lost her grip on him. Isabella and Aviel had said it wasn't her fault, but...but it felt like it was. Even if they were right, Sanders was still gone. Sanders who had, after their first meeting, treated her just like a normal person. Sanders who had let her meet her family. Sanders who's family had welcomed her with open arms. She hadn't just failed Sanders, she had failed them. Flonne felt the tears coming on again and she tried to sniff and whimper as quietly as she could.

Aviel, who she was holding up against her chest, looked back at her. Aviel was hiding it much better than Flonne, but her red eyes gave away that she had been crying as well. She wiggled around so that was facing Flonne before doing her best to hug Flonne. Her small arms got nowhere near wrapped around her, but the thought was what counted. Flonne forced a smile onto her face as she gently "hugged" Aviel back with her hand. At least...at least she still had Aviel and Isabella.

Isabella, however, was not much comfort at the moment. She was in the driver seat of the jeep, focused completely on the drive. Her face was locked into a scowl of rage and she didn't spare a single glance down at Aviel or Flonne. Alice was no better. While she was making sure they didn't go anywhere in her lap, there was no real warmth or anything from her. Flonne wasn't mad about that, though. She knew they were focused on getting revenge, something Flonne couldn't get against the bad women.

Flonne spent another few minutes trying to hide her tears while embracing Aviel before the jeep began to slow. It came to a stop at the gate into the base, but Isabella rolled past the waiting security women and stopped once the back window was lined up with her. Flonne couldn't see thanks to Alice taking up most of her view backwards, but she did hear the window come down.

"This vehicle wasn't authorized to leave. Stat- Gabriella?" a woman said from outside.

"Get that gate open, forget you saw this... NOW YOU DUMBASS!" Gabriella yelled in barely contained fury at the woman. There was a sound of someone running away before Flonne saw the open to let them in. Isabella drove the jeep into the base before bringing it to another stop inside a hanger. Alice and the rest opened their doors and Alice let Flonne take off into the air with Aviel before getting out.

Isabella practically stormed away from the jeep with Gabriella and Alice in tow. Flonne had to fly faster than she would have liked to keep up, but didn't dare voice a complaint. All three were beginning to scare her and she was worried they might turn their anger onto her. Aviel, however, didn't seem to have that concern.

"So what now? Your not just going to storm into the base and run around till you find Lutice, right?" Aviel asked getting Isabella and the rest to stop. Isabella took a deep breath and shook her head.

"No..no. Let's...let's go back to my room. Aviel and Flonne will be safe there and we can discuss what to do there," Isabella said in a calm voice, though her face looked anything but.

"Isn't anything TO discuss," Gabriella said before hitting her fist into her palm, "Their going to pay and that's that."

"Dangerous. Safer for smaller people to wait," Alice said in her usual nearly monotone voice. Gabriella sighed but nodded in agreement.

"Fair enough. Lost enough pip-...people today," Gabriella said already looking ready to rip someone's head off just for saying it. Isabella nodded in agreement and turned back toward the barracks. Flonne followed behind them, thankful she wasn't going to have to fight again. She was tired of fighting and wished the others were too...

Isabella let them into her room. Flonne flew to her small bed on the bed-side dresser and landed there with Aviel. Isabella and Alice remained standing while Gabriella sat down in Isabella's desk chair.

"Well, their safe. Now what?" Gabriella asked as she tapped her foot impatiently.

"Now we find Lutice and and the other Swords that were with her. And then we make sure they regret ever being grown back to normal," Isabella said as she looked at the picture on her desk. Flonne looked at it and felt tears beginning to run down her face again. Sanders was right there, his arm wrapped around Alice with Flonne and Isabella behind him...oh Sanders...

"How?" Alice asked crossing her arms under her small breasts. Isabella looked at her wrist computer before looking back up.

"Because we know where they will be. Its a little past noon. Lunch is being served in the mess hall and with most people off-duty from the weather," Isabella said letting someone else finish.

"They'll be in there. Good, then let's go. Those bitches are going to be pulling tables out of their asses when I am done with them," Gabriella said as she slammed her fists together and stormed out. Alice followed behind without a word, leaving Isabella alone with them. She sighed and her shoulders slumped as she looked down at them.

"Don't leave here or open the door for anyone until I or the others get back. I won't let them get away with what they did, I promise," Isabella said before following after the others. Flonne wanted to say she didn't have to. That if she wanted to make up for it, she would stay and just hug her or or...SOMETHING just...just don't go out to fight more. But her words caught in her mouth and Aviel only nodded. By the time the lump was gone, Isabella had already closed and locked the door. Her footsteps faded away leaving Flonne and Aviel alone in the room. Each fading step caused Flonne's antenna to dip lower and lower.

Flonne bit her lower lip, regretting not speaking up. Even worse, she might not get the chance to talk to Isabella about those...things she saw. She was about to flop onto her bed when Aviel called out to her.

"Flonne!" Aviel yelled, snapping Flonne out her thoughts. Flonne looked down at Aviel and squatted down to hear better.

"What is it Aviel?" Flonne asked.

"Do you mind if I sit on your bed while we wait?"

"Oh, of course not," Flonne answered. Flonne reached down and picked Aviel up before setting her on her bed. Aviel could have climbed up onto it via the covers, but Flonne was too nice to let her. Aviel didn't mind and she nodded a thanks before taking out a large amount of scrap paper all bundled together. Aviel began to read through the papers leaving Flonne to her thoughts.

Her thoughts were anything but welcome, however, as she went back to the strange dreams? Visions? Or...or were they memories? But she didn't have a mom or a dad. But they had seemed so real and the feelings and...and the fear. Her antennas twitched and shivered as she struggled to come to terms with these things.

Flonne had to talk to someone about this. Ask them what it meant and why she was so confused and why her head hurt and why she couldn't get her mom, NO not mom just a lady, out of her head and...

"Aviel?" Flonne heard herself say as her mind calmed down. She regretted saying it at once. Aviel wasn't who she really wanted to talk to and Flonne found her kinda scary. Not as scary as before, but still talking to her about this was... It was too late, though, as Aviel looked up from her book to Flonne.

"Uhh... nothing, I was...uhh...just..." Flonne said trying to think of an excuse on the fly but her brain seemed to go completely blank. Nothing was coming to her at all and she found herself just sitting there in silence. Aviel put the batch of paper she had aside before giving Flonne a knowing smile.

'What is bothering you, Flonne?" Aviel asked causing Flonne's face to flush and her antennas to shoot up.

"N-Nothing! I'm...I just...uhh.." Flonne sputtered out, her mind even more blank than before. Aviel's smile didn't fade though as she stood up and moved closer to Flonne, bouncing a bit from the bed.

"Flonne, I understand. Killing people is never easy. I know I make it look like that and sometimes act like I enjoy it and maybe...maybe I do a bit, but there is nothing wrong with feeling bad about it. Its a good thing that you feel bad. If you didn't, well you would be no better than Slutice and her bitch friends," Aviel said putting a small, but reassuring, hand on Flonne's hand. Flonne opened her mouth, but nothing came out. That...that wasn't what she wanted to talk about, but now... Now it was all she could see. Her killing those Resistance members. She crushed them like it...like it was nothing and worst of all she, she might HAVE enjoyed it. No, no, that was only because she thought they were those monsters that took her mo- NO NOT HER MOM! What...What was wrong with her?!

"That's not what I meant. I mean...yes I felt bad about killing them once I realized they were not monsters, I mean I knew they weren't but...the dream or," she stopped as her head began to hurt again. She clutched it and shut her eyes tight as the visions started to replay in her head. They were so...so real, but they COULDN'T BE!

"Flonne! FLONNE!" Aviel yelled at her. Flonne opened her eyes and looked down at Aviel. She had climbed onto Flonne's lap thanks to her pants and was standing on her thigh.

"Look at me Flonne. Look, don't think about whatever is happening, just look at me and calm down," Aviel said slowly and calmly. Flonne tried to, but the pain wouldn't stop and neither would her head. UGH she couldn't concentrate and things were running so fast and...

"FLONNE! FLONNE HELP!" Aviel yelled causing Flonne's eyes to shoot wide. Aviel was slipping off her thigh and looked about to fall to the nightstand below. It wasn't far to Flonne, but it was far enough to hurt the smaller Aviel. All the confusion and racing visions vanished as Flonne felt fear rush through her.

"AVIEL!" Flonne yelled before shooting her hand out to catch her. Flonne got her hand under Aviel before she slipped completely off. Gently, she pushed Aviel back up onto her thigh.

"Are you alright, Aviel?" Flonne asked bending down to get a better look at Aviel. It wasn't like her to slip like that, doubly so on pants. Aviel was smiling to herself as she turned back to face Flonne.

"Now, tell me what is bothering you, and DON'T think about it, just tell me," Aviel said in a calm voice. Flonne was confused at first, but then she realized Aviel had slipped. She had nearly fallen on purpose to snap Flonne out of her panic. She felt a bit angry at being tricked, but did as Aviel said.

"Okay. Back in the cabin, after I healed my wings my head started to hurt really bad, I... I saw things..." Flonne began before telling Aviel the whole story. Of seemingly being in two places at once. One where she was Flonne and another where she was someone else it seemed, with a mother and a house and friends and being small like Aviel. Of how something had attacked the town, something huge, and killed this other person's mother, and then...then...

"Then...something showed up. Something big with wings, but not as big as the monsters. It reached out to me and then I woke up. Only I...I didn't. I was still that other person and I saw the Resistance people as the monsters so I, I mean she...killed them," Flonne finished as her head began to hurt again. It wasn't as bad as last time, but it still made her cringe a bit. Aviel had been silent through the whole thing and just stared at her. She turned away and looked at the ground in thought

"This thing that showed up with the wings. What were they like?" Aviel asked as she looked back at her. Flonne tried to think about, but it was...hard.

"I...I don't know," she admitted.

"What did they look like?"

"I don't know."

"Were they made of feathers?"

"I don't know!"

"This is important Flonne, think! What were they?"

"I DON'T KNOW! I WAS SCARED, OK?! MY MOM WAS DEAD AND THAT GIANT THING BENT DOWN TOWARD ME AND ALL I COULD THINK WAS HOW PRETTY HER WINGS LOOKED WITH THE LIGHT SHINING THROUGH THEM!" Flonne yelled as tears began to form in her eyes. But she stopped as she opened her eyes wide at what she had just said. She...she could see it now...the giant monster wasn't a mon-...it was...

"No...no..." Flonne said as she suddenly felt very dizzy. Her head began to swim and Aviel was calling her name, but it sounded far off. Her breathing was getting ragged and fast, she couldn't seem to get any air and her heart was starting to pound and...

Flonne slowly opened her eyes. She groaned as she rubbed her head, a dull pain going through it. She glanced around and saw she was lying on her bed. When did that happen? She was...was...what had she been doing?

"Flonne?" Aviel said. Flonne looked down onto her chest to see Aviel standing between her small breasts. Aviel had a mix of worry and relief on her face as she moved a bit closer.

"What...what happened?" Flonne said looked around in confusion. Everything looked the same other than that she was laying down.

"You passed out after you..." Aviel stopped before looking away. Her face suddenly turned stoic and Flonne couldn't tell anything from her face. After she had, what? She was telling Aviel about her dream and the- oh...oh no...

"It was a fairy," Flonne said feeling a bit lightheaded again, though not nearly as badly. Aviel turned back to Flonne and moved up to her face.

"It might not be true, Flonne, it might just be a... a lingering memory from whoever they cloned you from. Don't freak out about this, OK?" Aviel said as she hugged herself to Flonne's cheek. Flonne's fear and panic lowered a bit feeling Aviel hugging her and she lifted her hand up to return the hug.

"Isabella will come back soon and she will know what to do. She'll be back having gotten revenge on that bitch and then we can find out what happened to you. Everything is going to be fine," Aviel said as she comforted Flonne. Flonne sniffed as she felt her eyes starting to tear up. Revenge...revenge for Sanders...she wished...she wished Sanders was here...and revenge wasn't going to make that happen.

"I...I don't want revenge. I just want Sanders," Flonne said as she began to cry. Aviel patted her check, but didn't say anything. Whatever she was feeling or thinking she keep to herself.

Flonne cried and held Aviel to her cheek for a second or two before a sudden knock on the door jarred them both out of their hug. Aviel put her finger to her lips and Flonne nodded before she whipped her nose on her sleeve rather than sniff the snot back in. They laid there in silence before a second, slightly, louder knock came.

"I...I don't think she is here," a woman said from outside, her voice muffled by the door. Flonne didn't hear anyone response, but the girl spoke up like someone had.

"B-Break in?! I..I can't do that! Its...Its wrong even if you are one of her scouts!" Both Aviel's and Flonne's eyes shot wide at that and Flonne nearly leap out of the bed. She was about to yell, but Aviel was waving her arms and shaking her head like crazy. Flonne closed her mouth and keep quiet, despite wanting nothing more to open the door. She must have made some noise though as a muffled meow came from outside. Aviel's eyes narrowed as she reached for her sword and Flonne suddenly felt a wave of fear hit her. Catgirls couldn't swallow fairies whole, but that didn't mean they couldn't claw them to shreds.

Flonne looked to the window and saw it was closed. She might be able to open it and escape that way. She motioned toward it and Aviel nodded her approval. Flonne fluttered up to it as another muffled meow came from outside.

"I..I think she hears something...Huh? Oh...yeah I can try, umm...OK I think its on their channel now," the woman's voice said. Flonne ignored it as she pushed the window latch to unlock the window. All she had to do was open it now and they could escape. She fluttered down to the bottom of the window and was about to start pushing when her radio crackled to life.

"Flonne, Aviel, you two in there?" an all too familiar voice said through the radio. Flonne stopped dead in her tracks and nearly fell as her wings stopped as well. She caught herself as she turned back to the door, her mouth gaping in disbelief.

"S-Sanders?" Flonne said as she looked over the see Aviel looking just a stunned as she was.

"Of course, who else would it be? Could you unlock the door for us?" Sanders said through the radio bringing tears of joy and relief to Flonne's eyes. He was alive...Sanders WAS ALIVE!! Flonne flew toward the door as fast as she could and quickly unlocked the door. She tried to open it herself, but couldn't get a good grip on the door handle she was so excited. Finally, it opened as the woman on the other side opened it for her.

Flonne fluttered away from the door to see a giantess come in with shoulder-length brown hair. Her green eyes looked around before settling for a second on Flonne before they quickly jerked away. She blushed a bit before looking everywhere but at Flonne. She looked nice enou- Flonne noticed she had a Swords patch. Flonne felt a spike of fear go through her that only got worse as a blonde haired catgirl slipped in between the giantess' legs. The catgirl looked up at Flonne and gave her a puzzled look, but her tail seemed to twitch as if in anticipation for something. Flonne fluttered a bit higher as she started to regret opened the door. She was about to rush toward the window when something caught her eye on top of the catgirl's head.

"Flonne, down here!" Sanders said as the thing on the catgirl's head started to wave. Flonne looked down at it more closely and realized what it was. It was Sanders! All fear and worry vanished from Flonne as she dived down toward the catgirl. The catgirl's eyes opened wide in surprise and tried to move out of the way, but Flonne was faster as she snatched Sanders from its head. She flew up into the air out of its reach as she hugged Sanders to her check, tears streaming down her face.

"Sanders, Sanders, SANDERS! I thought you were d...d...deaAHHHHHH!" Flonne said before bursting out in a full cry. She was so happy she didn't know what else to do but cry. She could feel Sanders pushing against her and thought she might have heard him trying to say something, but she was too relieved and happy to hear. Finally, she remembered Aviel was back on the nightstand and flew him down to her bed. Aviel was there and was whipping her eyes clear of tears. Flonne pulled Sanders off her cheek causing him to gasp for air. Maybe she had overdone it a bit.

"Sorry, Sanders," she said suddenly feeling bad.

"I...Its fine...ugh....It...its nice to know...know I was missed..." Sanders said through gasps from breaths. Flonne set him down on her bed near Aviel to let her welcome him back. Flonne noticed one of Sanders' arms was in a splint and felt even worse for her rough hugging. She hoped she had not hurt him anymore than he was. She, also, noticed he was missing his pants... Aviel didn't seem to notice, or just didn't care as she wrapped her arms around him and brought him into a hug.

"Dammit you bastard. Don't ever make me think you broke that promise again," Aviel said as she squeezed him tighter. Sanders groaned a bit but returned the hug with his working arm.

"Sorry. If its any consultation, I have had the shittest two days of my life because of almost breaking it," Sanders said as they pulled apart.

"Good, make sure you remember it the next time you almost break," Aviel said before whipping away some more tears. Sanders whipped away a few of his own as they both laughed.
"And make sure you are wearing pants next time we hug," Aviel added causing Sanders to blush a bit.

"Oh right, forgot about that. There were some wolves an-" Sanders was cut off as the giantess yelled out.

"Pyrra! No!" she yelled causing Flonne to look over just in time to see a massive form leap up onto the nightstand, sending the lamp and a few other nick-knacks tumbling off it. The catgirl loomed over Flonne giving an angry and low growl. Even squatting down, Flonne barely reached its bare breasts and Flonne backed away from it before bumping into her bed. She stared up at its face, nearly three-times as big as hers, and cringed as it made a loud hiss. Flonne was so scared she didn't even register it grabbing Sanders till it had turned and leap down from the table.

"Sanders!" she yelled in panic, suddenly remembering catgirls EAT normal-sized people. She jumped down after the catgirl and blasted its back with her magic to get its attention. The catgirl stumbled from the wind hitting her and she whipped around to face Flonne. The catgirl stood up on her two legs, her full three foot tall self towering over Flonne's only one foot form. Flonne gulped her fear down as she remembered how she had failed Sanders once and summoned her magic again. She wasn't going to fail twice!

The catgirl looked about to pounce when she was stopped by her collar. The catgirl gagged as the collar dug into her and she jerked around it trying to get free. Flonne looked up and saw the giantess towering over even the catgirl, holding its collar.

"Bad cat! No! Give me Sanders!" she demanded before holding her free hand in front of the catgirl. The catgirl simply keep trashing a bit till the giantess blew into a whistle that was hanging from her neck. Flonne's antenna began to twitch as a strange noise came from it, an unpleasent noise. While it was only mildly annoying for Flonne, the catgirl seemed to HATE it and her ears and tail went down in pain. Her face cringed and twisted until she finally lifted up her right hand and dropped a tiny form into the giantess' hand.

The giantess keep a hold of the catgirl's collar, but stopped blowing into the whistle. Flonne sighed as the noise stopped and rubbed her antennas to get the lingering pain out.

"Thanks, Morgan. Guess Pyrra got a little jealous," Sanders said sounding not at all distressed about what had just happened. That was odd...wasn't Sanders terrified of catgirls? Maybe she was thinking of something else...

"I'm sorry, I...I should have keep a better...better eye on her. She didn't hurt you, right?" Morgan asked as she brought Sanders up to her face. Flonne took off into the air and grabbed Aviel as she headed up to the giantess', Morgan's, face.

"Its fine and yeah I'm alright. Bumped my arm once, but that's all," Sanders said before turning to look at Flonne and Aviel as they came up to his level.

"That's all?! You almost got eaten by a catgirl! What the hell happened to you while you were gone?!" Aviel asked voicing the same confusion Flonne felt. Sanders chuckled and shook his head.

"Naw, Pyrra wouldn't eat me. Lick me to death, maybe, but not eat me. As for what happened...that...is a long story. Suffice to say, I made a new friend and she is the reason I am still here and meet Morgan," Sanders said with a smile. He then slapped his forehead before turning back to Morgan.

"Oh right, never introduced you guys. Aviel, Flonne, this is Morgan. She's a newly promoted Swords member and gave me a ride back to the base. I'd be stuck out there freezing if it wasn't for her. Morgan, these are my squad-mates, Aviel and Flonne," Sanders said. Morgan blushed a bit at the introduction and looked away.

"I..I really didn't do...Pyrra was the one who found you and me, I just drove us back," she said before looked back up for a second, "It...it is nice to meet you both. I...I haven't seen a fairy up close when they are sm-...I mean when I'm nor-...like this." She looked away again looking more embarrassed than before. Flonne giggled at her having so much trouble with what to say.

"Its fine, I don't care if you call me small. Aviel and Sanders might, though, cause if I'm small they are tiny," Flonne said getting a dirty look from Aviel and an annoyed look from Sanders. Morgan chuckled at the joke before jerking forward a bit. She looked down at Pyrra who was starting to wiggle around again.

"Stop it, Pyrra!" she yelled down causing the catgirl to meow sadly, though she did as she was told.

"Don't be too hard on her, Morgan. She was probably just freaked out that I vanished with some people she didn't know. I could introduce you guys to her, though I think we should wait till Isabella is here for that," Sanders said before looking around, "Speaking of her, where is Isabella?"

Flonne had been so wrapped up in Sanders being alive she had completely forgotten about Isabella. Aviel looked to have done the same as she cursed under her breath. Flonne bit her lower lip as she realized Isabella was going to get revenge for Sanders who didn't need it. Sanders looked between them with a confused face.

"What? What happened?" he asked getting more serious.

"Isabella...Isabella, Gabby, and Alice all think you're dead. They are going to find Lutice and the rest of the Swords who attacked us and get revenge, by killing them," Aviel answered. Both Sanders' and Morgan's eyes widened in shock.

    Rules and Regulations for Advanced Science Society members:
Article three section five: Fighting:

Fighting between members of the Society is strictly forbidden. Any member caught fighting for any reason will face no less than suspension from activity duty and may be terminated from Society ranks. All parties involved in fighting, unless sufficient proof is presented to show the party took no hostile action, while punished to the degree the Matriarchs deem suitable.

Special note: Fighting between Swords and Shields members are frowned upon most of all. These fights cause rifts to develop between the two branches and are to be held in particularly high contempt. Such fights shall be punished more severely than fights between parties in the same branch.

Chapter 23: Revenge

December 2, 2023 11:15 AM

Isabella barely even felt the cold as she headed out of the barracks and toward the mess hall. The mess hall had been remodeled from terminal B of the old airport and was not too far away. Her, Alice, and Gabby all headed into the main building which connected to all the old terminals. The old lobby had been completely remodeled and looked nothing like it had before. Instead, it was a security checkpoint and behind the checkpoint were a number of rooms holding different offices and other things. Even the Society had bureaucratic red tape at times and needed offices to run said tape. What had been the main lobby and check-in of the airport were now offices and meeting rooms where the day to day activities were logged and filed.

The three passed through security and down the many halls of the office part of the building. A few of the doors had warnings signs hanging on them with giant and normal people on them, warning of normal-sized people working inside along with giantesses. Isabella ignored them and made a beeline for the mess hall.

They arrived at the entrance to the old B terminal and Isabella stopped them from going in. Gabby look none to pleased with that as she glared at Isabella.

"We might miss them if we go in from the same direction. Me and Alice will go in this way. Gabby, since you can handle them all alone if needed, you go around to the other side. We will meet in the middle at the food line," Isabella instructed. Alice nodded in understanding and Gabby grinned to herself.

"They better hope I am not the one who finds them first," she said before cracking her knuckles and going down another hall to swing around to the back. With Gabby gone, Isabella opened the door into the mess hall.

The mess hall was a large open area with windows lining its left wall and a wall separating it from the kitchen on the right. At the back was another entrance, the entrance Gabby would come from.  Tables and chairs were scattered about everywhere and groups of women were scattered amongst them. At one point, the tables had a "proper" layout, but trying to keep them there was all but impossible. Now, pretty much everyone just let the tables and chairs wind up where they did and only bothered the move them when the mess hall was cleaned.

Isabella looked through the women there, but didnt' see Lutice or her friends yet. Isabella sighed as she forced her face into her usual slight smile and headed in. She didn't want Lutice seeing that something might be wrong if she saw her first. Alice didn't look like she had to try at all as her face remained completely impassive.

They moved into the mess hall and the dull roar of people talking filled their ears. The welcome smell of food greeted them right along with a few other Shields. Isabella waved and gave them usual pleasantries while Alice just nodded back to them. They moved past the group and headed for the food pick up area in the middle of the right wall.

Isabella passed a number of groups of both Swords and Shields, including a few that were made up of both members. A few nodded or waved to Isabella or Alice and both returned the greetings. Lutice and her friends, however, were nowhere to be seen. Perhaps they had skipped lunch today or they got here too late. Isabella was just starting to get worried when she spied a girl with short brown hair moving away from the tray return. Three girls were with her, a blue haired one, a brown haired one, and a black haired one. Isabella squinted her eyes and recognized them all once they turned around. Lutice, Monet with her blue hair, Tracy with her brown hair, and Susan with her black hair...the four bitches who had attacked her scouts and killed one. The four bitches who were dead women walking...

Isabella had to fight to keep her face from twisting from the anger that flared in her. She speed up her walking as Alice noticed them too and fell in beside her. The Swords turned from the counter and began to head for the back entrance. Isabella cursed as she didn't see Gabby waiting for them there. Where the hell had she gone? No matter, she would rather fight them outside the mess hall anyway to prevent anyone from trying to stop them.

Isabella and Alice moved after the talking and laughing murderers and tried to stay out of sight. The group didn't seem to notice them as they headed out of the mess hall. Isabella and Alice stormed after them and Isabella throw open the door leading out. The bitches turned toward the flying open door and saw Isabella and Alice enter into the hallway. The door closed behind them as Isabella stared down at the slightly shorter Lutice. Lutice smirked at Isabella and shook her head.

"What is this? Didn't have enough last time? Want a rematch to pay us back for having some fun with your tinies? Please, don't you Shields have better things to do than worry about specks?" she said as the other three laughed. Isabella's rage flared white hot as her fists tightened.

"Sanders was no speck, he was a person! A person, YOU killed! He is dead because of you and your childish, wounded ego, you self-centered monster!" Isabella said her anger only getting worse as she talked. Monet, Susan, and Tracy all glared back at Isabella and began to get ready to fight, but Lutice's look of anger vanished at the mention of Sanders being dead.

"D-Dead? That's...you're lying. Sanders can't, oh god..." Lutice said looked away as if she had just been struck. Isabella was taken back by the reaction as was everyone else. Even Alice had a look of confusion on her face as Lutice looked on the verge of tears. But as quickly as it came, the look vanished as she began to softly chuckle.

"I..I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I..I did try to drop him from my hand and that far of a fall...hehe, and then nearly killed his friend...hehehehe," Lutice said before looking back at Isabella with a look that sent chills down her spine, "Oh well, guess I won't be getting repaid for saving his life and will just have to make do with a new kill mark for my shoe, hahaHAHAHAHA!"

"Crazy," Alice said as she crouched down to get ready to fight. Isabella nodded in agreement as she raised her arms to get ready as well.  Lutice only laughed again at them getting ready before raising her own fists. The other three didn't seem disturbed by Lutice's obvious madness at all. In fact, they looked more comfortable with it than they did when she looked regretful.

"Crazy? HA, that is just your opinion. In mine, you are the crazy ones. Trying to treat little specks like they're people when we tower over them like living mountains. How can you not use that power to your advantage? How can you not abuse them and treat them like playthings? How can you consider them human when they are smaller than your pinkie toe?!" Lutice said as the group began to move toward them. Isabella frowned as she realized they were outnumbered 2 to 1 again, but it turned to a smile a second later.

"By not being a psychopathic monster!" a voice said from behind the group. They turned around just in time for Gabby to reel back her right hand. She yelled in effort as she throw her whole body into a punch that smashed straight into the stunned Monet's jaw. The punch causing a sickened crack to come from Monet's jaw as it broke and sent the Sword flying back onto the ground. Monet hit with a loud smack and skidded a few feet before stopping, her jaw out of place and blood leaking from her mouth. Monet gave a groan of pain before slumping to the ground, unconscious.

Gabby didn't smile at her OHKO, instead she simply took up her combat stance. She glared at the three remaining Swords and cracked her knuckles and neck.

"And I am going to beat that monster out of you or kill you trying!" Gabby added before rushing the group. Tracy was the closet to her and barely ducked to avoid the straight punch Gabby let fly at her face. Tracy began to stumble and looked about to fall. Lutice cursed and kicked out at Gabby, forcing her back as Tracy regained her balance. Isabella moved forward, not going to let Gabby fight three to one, and made a beeline for Lutice. She was going to pay for killing her scout, for taking another person away from her! And Isabella was going to make her last moments pure agony! Alice joined the fight as well and headed for Susan.

"Turn around, Lutice. I want to see your face when I kill you!" Isabella said, getting Lutice to turn as she swung a right hook at her face. Lutice dodged back a second too late as Isabella's fist clipped her check. Lutice growled in anger as she swung a wild counter-punch at Isabella's side. Isabella blocked the punch with her arm, the impact nearly leaving her arm numb. She had forgotten how strong Lutice was despite her appearance. Isabella fired back hammering her free hand into Lutice's side. Lutice took the blow surprisingly well and, rather than double over, simply cursed at the hit.

Lutice didn't counterattack immediately from the blow. Instead, she backed off a bit and made a bring it motion. Isabella charged after her, her rage blinding her to the obvious trap. Lutice ducked down and sweep her leg under Isabella's. Isabella stumbled forward, off balance, and Lutice raised her arms to grab Isabella as she fell. She smirked as she grabbed Isabella's uniform before flinging Isabella over her head.

The world went upside down as Isabella went sailing through the air. She was about to raise her arms to protect her head when her back smashed into something and the air was knocked out of her. Isabella gasped in pain as she slid down toward the ground. She managed to get her arms up just in time to stop from landing on her head. Instead, she flopped to the ground in a heap in front of the wall Lutice had thrown her into.

Isabella struggled to pick herself up, the lose of oxygen making it hard to move, and looked up just in time for Lutice to kick her right in the forehead. Isabella's head flew back before slamming into the wall and her world was sent spinning in pain and stars. She heard Lutice laugh, but it sounded far away and muted as the pain nearly blinded her to all else. Isabella tried to push the pain down, but the searing pain in her skull would not fade. She opened her eyes to see Lutice rearing back for another kick when, suddenly, Susan stumbled into her.

Lutice cursed and barely keep her balance as Alice followed Susan, still on the attack. Susan lashed out with a quick kick to try and stop Alice's assault. Alice was quicker, however. She leap over the kick and delivered a drop kick straight into Susan's chest, sending her and Lutice sprawling to the ground. Alice leap back to her feet before turning to Isabella and offering her a hand, which Isabella gladly took.

Alice pulled Isabella to her feet as the pain in her head dimmed enough to function and stars stopped invading her eyesight. Lutice shoved Susan off her with a yell of anger before they both got back to their feet. Isabella could hear Gabby and Tracy fighting behind her and from the sounds of Gabby's taunt she was dominating the Sword.

Alice motioned toward Lutice and Isabella shook her head in response. Lutice was her's and she was going to be the one to send the killer to hell. BUT...but...but she couldn't let her rage blind her. She had nearly paid for that once. Lutice was a killer and no pushover in a fight. She would have to fight smart, not angry. She took a deep breath as the four of them stared each other down, waiting for an opening and daring the others to make the first move.

Alice was the first to dare and made to be going for Lutice. Lutice raised her arms to defend only for Alice to shift toward Susan and lash out with a kick to her shin. Susan managed to move back, barely, to avoid it, but Lutice was not as quick. Isabella used the distraction to rush Lutice and deliver a kick to her knee. Lutice cried out in pain as she fell to her knees just in time for Isabella to smash her fist into her face. Lutice managed to keep her knees and growled in rage before diving for Isabella's legs. Isabella tried to jump out of the way, but Lutice grabbed her foot before she could get away. Lutice chuckled as she jerked Isabella back, causing her to fall on her back. Stars flashed in Isabella's head again as her head hit the ground. Lutice's laugh died as Isabella lashed out with her unheld leg and struck Lutice in the neck. Lutice gasped from the hit and let go before stumbling back to catch her breath. Isabella scrambled back to her feet as well.

The two eyed each other as they waited for the other to make their move. Lutice broke the stare as she let out a yell of rage before charging Isabella. Isabella deflected Lutice's first punch and fired back with her own. Lutice saw it coming and managed to shift out of the way before swinging back with a nasty upward blow. Isabella ducked back, barely avoiding the blow, and managed two quick hits to Lutice's sides. Lutice grunted from the blows before backhanding Isabella across the face. The blow nearly sent Isabella spinning, but she managed to avoid that and just stumble back. She shook off the confusion from the hit just in time to see Lutice rushing her again, her arms outstretched to grab her neck.

Isabella reacted on pure instinct and let herself fall back. Lutice followed her down as Isabella brought her legs up to catch Lutice. Lutice's face of anger turned into worry as she landed right on Isabella's feet. Isabella smirked at her before letting Lutice's and her own momentum carry Lutice over her body. Once Lutice passed her head, Isabella kicked out with both of her legs and sent Lutice flying back behind herself, back toward the door to the mess hall.

Isabella got back to her feet just in time to see Lutice go flying through the doors into the mess hall. Isabella rushed after her, ignoring Gabby and Tracy's one-sided battle, and burst through the doors.

Lutice was lying in a heap on the steps groaning in pain as she struggled back to her feet. Isabella didn't give her a chance as she kicked Lutice in the stomach, forcing the air back out of her. Lutice gasped and tried to get up again, but Isabella was already on her by then. She sat down on Lutice's back and wrapped her arm around Lutice's neck and began to squeeze. Lutice gasps were cut off as her arms began to flail for air trying to force Isabella to let go. Isabella held on despite the struggles of Lutice, she was not going to be denied! She was going to straggle the life out of her just like she had taken the life of Sanders! She tightened her grip on Lutice completely oblivious of where she was and who was watching.

Suddenly, Isabella felt arms grabbing her from behind and trying to pull her off Lutice.

"LET ME GO! STOP!" she screamed in rage as the arms began to loosen her grip on Lutice. Lutice managed a gasp for air as the mass of arms pulled her off. Isabella yelled in rage and tried to lash out at the people holding her, but there were too many people gripping her now. She struggled to get free, but there were at least five people holding her while two others, a Shield and a Sword, checked on Lutice.

"Out...fighting..." Lutice stammered through gasps pointing toward the door. Ten more girls rushed out the doors and Isabella could hear shouts and curses coming from outside now that the mess hall's usual din had mostly vanished. One of the girls who had gone out, a Sword Isabella didn't know, came flying back into the hall.

"TRY TOUCHING ME AGAIN, BITCH!" Gabby yelled from outside as another girl, this one a Shield, came running back in looking terrified. More yells, curses, and sounds of fighting came from the hallway before it suddenly fell silent. Those in the mess hall looked around between themselves before the mess hall door opened.

Matriarch Cathrine stood in the doorway and glared down at Isabella with a look that sent chills down her spine. She turned her glare to Lutice before turning back into the hallway.

"Bring Isabella and Lutice. Make sure they are cuffed so they don't try anything else stupid," she said as four security guards came into the hall. They paired off and headed for both as the other Society members backed off. Isabella was tempted to lunge at Lutice again once freed, but knew all she would get is a beating for her trouble. She didn't resist as she was cuffed and pulled to her feet. At least Lutice was getting the same treatment.

They were escorted back out in the hallway where Alice, Susan, and Gabby were all cuffed and being watched over by two guards each. Tracy was in a corner being patched up by a medic, but was not cuffed yet. Monet was being loading onto a stretcher while two medics began to reset her jaw. Three other people were on the ground looking roughed up as well, most likely Gabby's work.

Cathrine stood in the middle of the room glaring at everyone involved like she wanted to rip them apart. She whispered a few things to one of the guards, a Shield, before turning back to them. The guard took off down a hallway, though Isabella couldn't say where she was going.

"Take them to the prison. Put them all in separate cells well apart from each other. Make sure everyone else gets treated and then start getting reports on what happened," Cathrine ordered, her anger obvious in her voice.

The guards nodded before beginning to escort them away. Isabella cursed in her head at not having been quicker or not realized what would happen if she had thrown Lutice into the mess hall. Dammit, stupid stupid STUPID! She probably wouldn't have even noticed Flonne appearing if Alice hadn't spoken up.

"Flonne?" Alice said in confusion getting Isabella to look back. Isabella could just barely make out Flonne flying about the area before Cathrine came over and started to speak with her. She tried to turn back, but the guards stopped her and pushed her forward. She cursed as she faced forward again as they turned the corner.

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December 4, 2023 1:34 PM

It had been two days since the fight and a day since she had told Matriarchies Cathrine and Angela what had happened. Neither had shown even a hint of how they had taken her story or whether they believed her. Angela had just worn her usual soft smile while Cathrine had glared at her the entire time. Once she had finished, they had sent her back to her cell and left her to stew on doubt and worry. But mostly, she just worried. About Aviel, Flonne, Alice, and Gabby. This wasn't what she had intended to happen...but what else did she think would happen? What did she think would come out of trying to murder a fellow Society member?

Isabella sighed as she leaned against the wall of her cell. She was such a fool. Letting her anger get the best of her and striking out like that. Why had she not just reported it? Why had she dragged Gabby and Alice into her own mess? Of course, some part of her  knew why. Because she had been so angry, so furious, so confused by the lose of Sanders that she hadn't thought at all. Just rushed straight ahead with nothing more than revenge on her mind. And now...now she and her friends were paying for it. Dammit...DAMMIT!

Isabella was shaken out of her thoughts as she heard footsteps coming down the hallway. She waited till the footsteps had arrived at her cell door to bother looking up. A security guard was there and opened the door to her cell.

"Matriarch Cathrine wants to see you," she said as she stepped aside from the door. Isabella sighed as she stood up and stepped out of the cell. The guard motioned her forward and Isabella headed back up the hallway to leave this prison hall. Only one or two other women were in the cells and didn't pay them any mind. Isabella didn't know any of them so she keep going.

The guard signaled a camera above the prison door and Isabella heard its latch unlock. Isabella pushed it open and the guard followed behind before closing it.

"She is in interview room 3," the guard said before pointing the room out to Isabella. Isabella nodded and headed inside.

Cathrine was sitting on the far side of the room at the interview table. Her hands were steepled in front of her and her eyes glared out at Isabella. Alice sat on the right side of the table and nodded to her. Gabby was busy pacing about near the one-sided mirror on the left side of the room. She stopped as Isabella stepped in. She looked about to say something when Cathrine gave her a look that stopped her.

Isabella moved to the table and was about to sit in the chair opposite Cathrine when she noticed two tiny figures on the table. Two very familiar figures...but... there should only be...

"Sanders?!" Isabella said in complete shock as she recognized the tiny form of Sanders standing next to Aviel.

"Hi, Captain. I...I'm sorry for making you worry and...just sorry, I ...I guess This is kinda my fault in a way...," Sanders said, his voice coming through the speakers built into the walls. Isabella shook her head at his apologies and had to stop herself from snatching him up to embrace him.

"No, no. Don't apologize just....just being alive is more than enough. You had nothing to do with this," she said as tears began to form in her eyes. She so wanted to hug him or kiss him or just...just ANYTHING to show how glad she was he was not dead, but...but anything she could do would put him in danger. Isabella had never hated being like this more than now, save for...for that other time...

Sanders nodded and made to hid his tears. The moment was broken, however, as Cathrine cleared her throat. Her face had not softened at all and she pointed to the table as she looked between Isabella and Gabby. Both got the message and sat.

"As much as I would like to give you time to catch up, Isabella, we have more pressing matters at hand. Your reunion will have to wait. Myself and Angela have made our decision on how to handle your...incidents with Lutice," Cathrine said, keeping her fingers steepled in front of her. Isabella whipped her eyes clear as her relief was replaced by worry. She didn't like the sound of this...

"When are those bitches getting shrunk?" Gabby asked, completely oblivious to the undertones Cathrine was giving. Cathrine's eyes turned to her and seemed to flare a bit at the question.

"They are not," she said simply.

"WHAT?!" Aviel yelled as she moved toward Cathrine. "How can they not be getting shrunk?! They nearly killed me, Sanders, AND Flonne! They attack fellow Society members in c-" She was cut off as Cathrine slammed her fist onto the table knocking her and Sander to the ground.

"I KNOW THAT! Do you think this is the first time those four have pulled something like this? They are loose cannons, constantly instigating fights, putting scouts in danger, AND have been involved in a number of normal-sized people's disappearance. I have wanted them gone for MONTHS now. This was the one, ONE TIME, I had proof of their involvement in something like this and WHAT do you do?!" she yelled pointing at Isabella. Her face had changed from a glare to complete and utter rage causing Isabella to instinctively lean back in fear. None of them even noticed how the yelling was causing both Aviel and Sanders to cringe in pain.

"You go off, half-cocked and ATTACK them! And right outside the damn mess hall! Hell, you even throw Lutice into the hall, which was full of witnesses, and then tried to straggle her to death!" Cathrine yelled before slamming her fist on the table again, "DAMMIT! You couldn't have ruined your credibility any worse if you had nailed a signed paper saying you were lying to your forehead!"

"Wait, how does us attacking Slutice and her fuckbuddies ruin or credibility? We attacked them because they attacked us, why else would we?" Gabby asked, the only one in the room not looking terrified or cringing from the noise. Cathrine took a deep breath as she tried to calm down, having remembered Aviel and Sanders were in the room.

"Because, what sort of relationship did all of you have with Lutice and her friends BEFORE this incident?" Cathrine asked. Isabella took a moment to recover from being on the receiving end of Cathrine's wraith and tried to think. It was bad, and that was no secret...it was not secret...oh no...

"Hostile, implications of potential motive for lying. Use attack as excuse," Alice said letting out a soft sigh. Cathrine nodded as Gabby muttered a curse under her breath.

"That explains them, but what about us? Why would we lie?" Sanders asked as he got back onto his feet. He rubbed his ears a bit as if to get the pain out of them.

"You are Isabella's scouts. And since Isabella lead this...attack it is not unthinkable she convinced or forced you to go along with it," Cathrine stated.

"That's ridiculous! Isabella would never force us to do something!" Sanders shoot back. Cathrine didn't seem to mind, though, and keep her cool.

"You know that, I know that, but High Command wouldn't see it like that. And that, ultimately, is our problem. In these kinds of situations, High Command is generally the arbiter of such conflicts. The member High Command would send would know nothing about anyone here and would be instructed to only go by the facts presented to her. Simple conjecture that it is out of character for Isabella to force you to obey her would not stop them from considering it. And that is ignoring the fact that you and Aviel might be lying simply because Isabella convinced you to or out of loyalty to her. Put simply, everyone's reports in this room would be considered, at best, hearsay and ignored," Cathrine stating causing everyone to go silent. Isabella couldn't believe this... Five people would say Lutice and her friends nearly killed people, only to have their testimonies struck out because of her mistake.... How could she have been so stupid?!

"That... how could they just ignore this?! I mean, they have to see there is SOME grain of truth to what we are saying! How could we tell the same story even when apart then?" Aviel demanded. Cathrine sighed as she looked down at Sanders.

"They would believe that you were separated and barely survived, however... Sanders gave them to perfect grain of truth to gleam when he told that Sword girl he had been separated from all of you by Resistance forces. They would consider that to be the truth and ignore the rest," Cathrine said as she glared down at the tiny Sanders. Sanders shook his head and tried to stammer something out as Aviel whirled on him. Aviel began to stalk toward him rage.

"I...What was I supposed to tell Morgan? "Help me I was nearly killed by your friends?!" I had no idea who she was o-or if she was as crazy. If I told her I was attacked by Lutice and the rest she might have taken me to them or just killed me outright, so I lied!" Sanders said backing away from Aviel. Aviel's features softened before she slumped a bit. She cursed under her breath as she fell to the ground. Isabella couldn't fault Sanders for what he did, even if it had made them all look like liars.

"Don't blame yourself, pipsqueak. No way you could have known that would come back to bite us in the ass. Besides, better you didn't take the risk and suffer the consequences," Gabby said trying to reassure Sanders. Sanders didn't look too reassured though as he covered his head with his hand and slumped to the ground too.

"Yes, unfortunate as it was, it was the proper course to take in the situation. However, it does mean that your suggestions that Lutice and the rest nearly killed your scouts would be dismissed and ignored in favor of the Resistance causing the separation. Which would only leave the fact that you three attacked, with the intent to kill, Lutice, Monet, Susan, and Tracy. With the witnesses in the mess hall and the wounds you all suffered from the fight, there would be more than enough evidence to see all of you judged guilty. And...and there would only be one punishment fit for that crime, discharge and shrinking," Cathrine said, her glare fading to be replaced with a sad look.

Fear cut through Isabella, though whether it was from shrinking or being kicked out of the Rangers, she could not say. The shrinking surgery was dangerous and a number of people had not survived it. Removing the shrink immunity gene was a complicated and delicate operation, but it was the only way for a restored person to be reshrunk. Usually, it was only administered by chose, those who wanted to get back to a normal life or to start a family...like she had planned too... But, but sometimes it was used as punishment for particularly heinous crimes. Like the one they were accused of.

The group was silent as they digested the information. Gabby actually looked worried as she rubbed her hand through her hair. Alice's face was unreadable, but Isabella got the feeling there was fear in her eyes. It was Aviel who finally broke the silence.

"Would Lutice even be punished?" she asked getting a strange look in her eye. A look Isabella didn't like at all.

"There would be enough outside testimony to prove she, at least, instigated you all to this end. She and the others would, likely, be suspended from active duty for a few weeks and separated into different units so as to try and stop them from repeating this. A slap on the wrist considering what they did," Cathrine answered, her hands tightening on each other in anger. Aviel looked as if about to get angry, but it suddenly faded as she simply slumped back down.

"So...so what do we do? Is this...is this it?" Sanders asked looking worriedly between them all. Cathrine shook her head.

"No. That would be the end of this IF we tried to solve this through High Command. Luckily, neither I nor Angela want that outcome. I would lose you three, infuriating as you all are, and Angela would have one of her best hunter-killer squads broken up and their members side-lined for a few months. Its a lose-lose scenario," Cathrine said getting Isabella to look up and feel a bit of hope coming back. The others must have felt it too as they all looked up.

"Instead, we are going to handle this ourselves and have agreed to the terms of your punishments. Do not ask what punishments Lutice and the other have. Part of the agreement was neither side would know what the other got. I can say, though, that they will have no contact with any ti- normal people anytime soon," Cathrine said catching herself at the last second. That didn't make Isabella feel any better about how this was ending, but she guessed it was something. Aviel, however, didn't look pleased with it in anyway and smacked away a comforting hand from Sanders. Cathrine ignored them.

"As for the rest of you. Sanders, Aviel, and Flonne are clear of any punishment. They did not take part in the attack and have no part in its punishments," Cathrine said before turning to look at Alice. Apparently their survival out alone was not worth praise or mention... Aviel looked none to happy with that and glared up at Cathrine.

"Alice, you are to be sent on a recon mission to patrol the highways between here and Savannah. You are to travel down them, document any potential problems, report them to the Matriarchs in Savannah, assist them with any pressing matters, and then return. You are to leave tomorrow at first light," Cathrine said making it sound like a mission. Isabella and Alice were not fooled though as Alice actually frowned at the "mission".

The highways between Savannah and Atlanta had been cleared a number of months ago and shipments between the two cities were sent out about every month. It was busy work, busy work that would take a month or more thanks to the Savannah Matriarchs being notorious for finding "other things" for visiting Society members to do. Things that were usually their job, but they were too lazy to do. The last member who was sent down there was only sent back when Cathrine herself went down to demand her return. Such a move was unlikely to repeat in this situation...

"Gabriella, you are relieved as Security Chief and are to be assigned to one of the new outlying farms. You will remain there for two months at which point you may return, if you wish. However, you will be demoted back down to Security Guard if you do," Cathrine said getting a look of utter shock and disbelief from Gabby.

"Wha-...relieved?! You can't-... a FUCKING FARM?! And who the hell is going to replace me?!" Gabby said looking ready to kill someone. Cathrine pressed on as if she hadn't said anything at all.

"That is none of your concern. I will give you directions to the farm tomorrow and you are to leave once you have them. Refuse or cause trouble and I WILL see you sent to a desk job and have you chained to said desk, understand?" Cathrine said getting a glare that made even Gabby calm down and nod. Gabby was still fuming, but knew better than to voice it. That left Isabella....

"Isabella, for being the ringleader of this, you are to be suspended from active duty immediately. Your squad is hereby disbanded, you are demoted to C-Rank, and you are removed from the Rangers Division. Your suspension is to last for two weeks, in which you are not allowed to leave this base. At the end of the two weeks, you may decide to join the Shield Research Division or our Communications Division. All other divisions, including the Rangers, are barred to you till such a time that I and Angela decide they are not. Your scouts will be reassigned to new squads ASAP and your fairy will be reassigned as well," Cathrine said, each sentence feeling like a hammer blow to Isabella. Isabella sat there in stunned silence as everything she had worked for began to fall away. They were taking everything from her...her squad, her rank, Flonne, even her job... She tried to say something, but nothing came out. She was...at a lost.

The others all stared at Cathrine in disbelief at what she had just said to Isabella. Gabby and Sanders looked about to protest when Cathrine held up her hand.

"Your other choice is for me to report to High Command and all of you to face shrinking. You know just as well as I do this is a better option. If you want to be angry with someone, be angry at your own stupidity for attacking those Swords. Sanders, Aviel, you are dismissed and on a week vacation starting tomorrow. I will send your new assigned squads next week. Alice, Gabriella, return to your rooms and begin to pack. Isabella, go back to your room and stay there," Cathrine said before standing up. The group was still in stunned silence as Cathrine walked past them, opened the door, and left them to process what had just happened.



                     Article of ReShrinking:

While rare in the Society, reshrinking of a giantess is not unheard of. Originally discovered by Society scientist some seven years ago, the process itself is classified information, but the basic knowledge is somewhat known. From what has been leaked, the process involves causing the shrink immunity gene to go back to a "dormant" state thus making a person affected by the shrinking wave again. The person reshrinks to their mini-size and can go back to living with normal people.

There have been a few scientific minds who find this idea completely ridiculous, however, and demand the process unclassified. Professor Stephen Martin was one of the more outspoken opponents to this theory, stating that it made no sense genetically. He tried to start a campaign to get the information, but it died along with him. It should be noted, as well, that Martin was a Professor of History so his opinions on the matter were most likely false. His death five years ago at the hands of one of the first Resistance bombings ended his calls for better explanations and only a few other people still keep up his call.

Whatever the truth, the process seems to be rather dangerous. Many people who have tried the process have died during it and those few who do survive say that is quite painful. Those that do return to normal size are, also, unable to return to their giantess-size. For some, however, the ability to be with people again is worth that sacrifice.

Chapter 24: Fairies and Choices

December 4, 2023 2:12PM

The group was completely silent as Isabella carried them back to her room. Isabella had offered to take them to the tram but neither her nor Sanders wanted to. They both knew the moment they stepped on that tram, the chances of either of them seeing Isabella or Flonne again were slim. There was a chance Flonne would be given to another Ranger squad, perhaps even one they would wind up in, but there was no guarantees and Aviel at least wanted to say good-bye.

For once, Sander didn't grip Isabella's finger in a death grip as they traveled. Instead, he sat in the center of her palm, staring off in thought. Isabella was doing much the same as her immense, comparatively, strides brought them closer to her room. And closer to having to break the news to Flonne...

It made Aviel want to puke thinking about how crushed Flonne was going to be. How could the Matriarchs do this and call it justice?! How could they break up THEIR squad simply because Slutice and her worthless, scumbag friends attacked THEM?!?! It wasn't fair! It wasn't...it wasn't right. And yet...and yet it was in a sense.

Aviel wanted to be angry. She wanted to feel her blood boil and to be stomping around Isabella's hand fuming and spouting off obscenities. And yet, she just couldn't do it. Because some part of her knew they had brought this on themselves. She should have stopped Isabella or at least said something. But no, she had wanted them to attack the Swords just as much as they had wanted to. She couldn't be angry, because she didn't want to be angry with herself...

Instead, she just sat in Isabella's hand wondering what tomorrow held for them. Would she still be in a squad with Sanders? Would she be in a new one? Would her new giantess commander hold her back or just give her the go ahead to be grown? Did she even WANT to be grown? That last one was really hard to answer after what had just happened.

Her questions were pushed aside as Isabella approached her room. She opened the door and stepped inside. Flonne was sitting on her bed and leap to her feet when Isabella came in. She flew up, all smiles and happiness, and hugged herself to Isabella's check.

"Isabella! I was really starting to miss you. So did they punish those bad ladies and let you go?" Flonne asked, though she already sounded sure of the answer. Aviel felt a pang of sadness hit her as she thought about what they were going to have to tell her. It was going to crush the poor fairy and Aviel couldn't think of anything she wanted to do less than crush her happy mood.

Isabella gave Flonne a half-hearted smile as she brought her free hand up to hug the fairy back. She looked down and her smile faded a bit as Flonne asked her question, but the fairy was too busy hugging her to notice. Isabella was silent a moment before she answered.

"Y-yes, yes they are being punished and they let me go," Isabella said glancing down at Sanders and Aviel. Aviel got what was happening immediately. Isabella was lying to prevent having to hurt Flonne. It was pointless and would only delay the inevitable, but Aviel figured a day of blissful ignorance was better for her in the long run. Sanders looked confused for a second before ohing and figuring out what was going on.

"Good, so what is going to happen to them?" Flonne asked as she let go of Isabella. Isabella opened her mouth, but looked to be drawing a blank on what to say. Aviel realized she needed to get the conversation on something else or they were going to have to make their lie grow exponentially. And she had the perfect distraction too.

"That can wait. You need to tell Isabella about what happened when you and I were alone. The visions and such," Aviel said. Flonne blushed a bit at her, incident, being brought up but nodded all the same. Isabella and Sanders both got mixtures of concern and confusion on their faces.

"Visions? What happened, Flonne?" Isabella asked motioning her toward Isabella's bed. Flonne fluttered over toward her own bed and sat down as Isabella sat down on hers.

"It was when we were in the cabin we found in the woods. I tried to heal my wings and it worked really well, but my head started to feel funny. I got dizzy and passed out and then I...I saw things," Flonne said looking away from Isabella. Isabella opened her mouth to say something, but Aviel interrupted her.

"I should mention that I had given Flonne a shot of the experimental nano-bots the night before. I thought they might help heal her wings quicker and give us a way to flee if need be. I don't know if that has anything to do with this, but just in case," Aviel said getting a nod from Isabella. Sanders, however, wheeled on Aviel with an angry look.

"Wait, you gave her the nano-bots? Those things are experimental and are only meant for nor-," Sanders caught himself but keep an angry look, "humans. What if they had reacted badly to her or if...hell any number of things had happened?!" Aviel glared back at Sanders, mad at him for implying she hadn't thought things through. Her lingering anger at what had happened in the jail made her far angrier than she would have been and she lashed out in rage.

"And what would I have done if Lutice and her bitches found us, huh? I could have hidden from them, but what would Flonne do? Without her wings she would have been at their mercy. Is that what you would have wanted? And if they didn't find us how were we to get back to Atlanta if Isabella didn't find us either? Walk? I used the nano-bots and risked something going wrong because I thought it was our best chance to survive and I DON'T appreciate you thinking otherwise!" Flonne shot back at Sanders. Sanders look of anger slowly faded as Aviel laid into him. By the end he was looking rather pathetic and downtrodden. Aviel felt a little bad about going off on him like that, but it was mostly drowned out by her anger.

"Stop it, Aviel. Sanders didn't mean it like that and you know it," Isabella said, looking down at her with a disapproving stare. Aviel glared up at Isabella, but calmed down enough to know she was right. Sanders didn't deserve her anger... no the person who deserved it was off getting "punished." Dammit...

"Sorry Sanders, I jus-" she started to say before Sanders interrupted.

"No, its fine. I shouldn't have made it sound like I didn't think you had thought it through. Let's...let's just get back to Flonne's visions," Sanders said rubbing the back of his neck. He looked back up to Flonne and tried to get things back on track and away from potentially having to reveal what Aviel was really angry about.

"So you saw things after you passed out, right?" Sanders asked. Flonne was looking between them with a confused look, but nodded at Sanders question. She looked a bit annoyed she was being left out of something, but told her story nonetheless. Aviel added a few parts here and there of what Flonne was doing while she was having the visions. Between them both, Sanders and Isabella heard the full story of Flonne's...oddity, including her conversation with Aviel just before Sanders had arrived.

"That's...if what she is seeing is true," was all Sanders said as he leaned back against Isabella's hand.

"It could be just a memory from the original person Flonne was cloned from," Aviel suggested hoping to stop Sanders from jumping to any conclusions.

"And that makes it better?! Fuck, if any of that is true."

"What if it is? That town could have been a Resistance base in disguise and that little girl wouldn't have known," Aviel said trying to defend the Society. She didn't...she didn't want this to be true. It just...there HAD to be some explanation for why they would do that there...there just had to be.

"Even if that is true, how do you justify them taking a little girl and using her as a science experiment to make clones of her?" Sanders said sitting back up. Aviel simply looked down at Isabella's palm at that question. There was was no justifying that and she knew it. And hated it, however...

"Maybe it was someone like Lutice who ordered her taken. Could have not told anyone she was a-" Aviel started to say, but was stopped as Isabella's voice came booming down.

"Enough! All of that doesn't matter right now. We can worry about the why's and rightness of this after we make sure Flonne is alright," Isabella scolded them. Her slight raising of her voice was enough to make both Aviel and Sanders wince. Aviel felt angry with herself for forgetting this was about Flonne and not the Society. She and Sanders could debate the ramifications later.

"Right, sorry. So what are we going to do about this? I mean, Flonne looks fine," Sanders said looked back at Flonne.

"I feel fine too. Well, except for my head. It still feels kinda...fuzzy and weird," Flonne admitted rubbing her head as her antenna twitched a bit. Isabella thought for a moment before looking back up.

"There is someone we could take her to, though I would rather no one know why we visited her. If the research division found out about this they might decide to experiment with Flonne. Best we keep this between us for now," Isabella said. Sanders nodded in agreement and Aviel did as well. Normally Aviel would be against hiding things from the Society, normally, but this wasn't a normal situation.

Isabella didn't say it out load, for Flonne's sake, but the Research Division would probably wind up dissecting Flonne at some point if they found out about this. Horrid as it was, Flonne WAS just a clone, to them, and thus was considering expendable. A few months ago Aviel might have agreed, but now she knew that was a narrow and horrid mind set. Flonne no more deserved to be someone's science experiment as anyone else, even if she, technically, was one already.

Flonne tried to hide her fear at hearing about them experimenting on her, but didn't hide it well enough. Aviel didn't blame her for being scared.

"How are we going to do that? People are going to wonder why Flonne needed to be checked out by someone you trust and...well," Aviel asked, not saying the fact she was supposed to be suspended. Isabella paused a moment to think as Flonne began to look more and more worried. Sanders moved to the edge of Isabella's hand and waved Flonne over.

"Hey, Flonne, you mind taking me down to the lobby area so I can get something to eat? There's a normal-sized snack machine down there, right?" Sanders asked Flonne and Isabella. Isabella looked up from thinking and nodded, giving Sanders a confused look. Aviel was equally confused as Flonne answered.

"Huh? Oh, yeah I can. But umm..." she said looking between Aviel and Isabella.

"Come on, I am starving here. I'll get you something too," Sanders said, getting Flonne's eyes to brighten up a bit. She nodded and lowered her hand to pick up Sanders before heading for the door.

 Sanders gave Aviel a wink as Flonne flew to the door and headed out. Aviel was still confused until a second later she got what he was doing. He was getting Flonne out to let them talk without having to hide things from her or making her more worried.

"Damn I am glad he is still alive..." Aviel heard herself saying. She blushed a bit after saying it, but Isabella only smiled at the comment and nodded her agreement. Her smile vanished as she stood up and carried Aviel to her dresser. She set her down on it before opening a few of her drawers, slowly so as not to cause an earthquake for Aviel.

"We need to figure out what to do while Sanders is keeping Flonne busy. Having these kinds of talks in front of her is just going to make her worry," Isabella said as she began to go through some of her clothing.

"Yeah. I take it you have an idea and are not just changing clothes," Aviel said as she moved away from the edge, a bit worried about getting swatted by a piece of clothing or just slipping. A dresser being a potential death sentence...dammit Aviel hated being this small.

"Yes, partly. If I can find some baggy clothing, I might be able to smuggle Flonne in without anyone knowing I have her. These things do give me a lot of room to work with," Isabella said gesturing to her chest. Aviel was glad Sanders was not around to ogle them so she could focus on the task at hand and not him starting to drool.

"That still, however, leaves the problem of WHY I would go see Valery at her work station. Not exactly usual to go and bug the Head Researcher of the Shields..." Isabella trailed off, with a sigh. Aviel had figured that was who Isabella had meant and had been thinking on that too. She thought a few minutes, her thoughts still troubled by what happened back in the jail. Back in the jail... Aviel smiled as she realized how obvious the answer was.

"Because you just got kicked out of the Rangers," Aviel said getting a confused look from Isabella as she was inspecting a large purple sweater. "You are going to see her because you just got kicked out of the Rangers and need to find a new position once your suspension is over," Aviel explained fully. This time, Isabella eyes light up with understanding and she smiled as well.

"That is perfect. Good thinking Aviel," Isabella said causing a swell of pride to fill Aviel, though she tried not to show it. She wanted to help for Flonne's sake not Isabella's praise. Doubly so since she was still angry with her over holding her back.

Isabella pulled out a sweater that looked a bit too big for her as Aviel snapped out of her thoughts. Isabella smiled at it as she studied it. The sweater had a few old stains on it around the collar and Aviel had a feeling it was a sweater Gabriella had left here. The woman didn't eat so much as throw food at her face and hope some got in her mouth. While her table manners were lacking, she was not in sheer size. The sweater looked at least two sizes too big for Isabella, but that also made it perfect for what they needed.

"This will work. I can hide Flonne in here while she holds onto you two. Once we get into Valery's office, we should be safe to talk," Isabella said as she stepped back from the dresser. She took off her long sleeve shirt and quickly put the sweater on. It looked a bit odd on Isabella, but no one would really delve too much in her odd fashion choice. Best of all, her large breasts gave the perfect area for Flonne to hide under. This could really work, though Aviel was less than pleased with the idea of being shoved up under Isabella's breasts. Doubly so with Sanders too... This was going to be a long trip.

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December 4, 2023 2:32 PM

Aviel had been right, she had not been pleased to be stuffed up under Isabella's breasts. Their plan was working, for now, but it was not comfortable for anyone involved. Including Sanders to a bit joy from Aviel. Aviel was holding onto Flonne's shirt and trying to keep herself from slipping off her shoulder. A few cables were tied to Flonne's shirt and to Aviel's waist to make sure Aviel didn't fall to her death, but Aviel was not eager to be swinging from them as Isabella walked. Sanders was on Flonne's other shoulder doing the same along with trying not to lose the snack he just ate.

Flonne could do little for either of them, though, as she was busy holding on to the winching cables withe her arms and legs. Flonne hadn't been big enough to wrap her arms, or her legs, all the way around Isabella and having her try to hold on with them only halfway around proved too difficult for her. Sanders, however, had come up with an ingenious idea of having her use the transport cages cables to hold on. While neither could hold her completely, together they were able to hold her weight. Sadly, the cages had crumbled apart when she had tried to use them as foot holds forcing her to use the cable itself. It was not comfortable at all considering the look on Flonne's face.

Aviel could only guess it wasn't comfortable for Isabella either. They had to remove the padding to keep the cables from making too large of a profile on her shoulder. Without the padding, no one could see them through her sweater, but there was nothing keeping the metal devices from digging into Isabella's shoulders. Not to mention Flonne' occasionally bumping into her breasts as Isabella's strides rocked them, causing Sanders to urp and gag each time.

The trip seemed to take forever as they all suffering privetly, though Aviel had a feeling Sanders suffered far worse than the rest of them. Finally, they heard the muffled sounds of Isabella opening a door followed by the beeping of machines and bubbling of chemicals. There were some muffled voices, too dimmed to understand that greeted them just past the door.

"I am looking for Valery, is she here?" Isabella asked, her voice still coming in mostly clear. Again more muffled voices to which Isabella thanked and started to move again. Sanders nearly gagged again, but bite it back as the rocking started again. Aviel felt sorry for him and wondered why he hadn't just stayed behind. They stopped after only a few seconds as a new muffled voice came from outside. This one sounded friendly and welcoming, though still was too distorted to understand.

"Its good to see you too, Valery. I wish I was just stopping by, but I am here for a specific  reason a....well," Isabella trailed off. Whether she was faking not wanting to talk about being kicked out of the Rangers or not, Aviel couldn't say. The voice came back, but this time was just barely loud enough for Aviel to catch a few things.

"Ahh yes, ...ard about that. I..so sorry, Is..... But le.....talk about th.... here.... into my off... and w....alk in pri.... You, three! Keep working on this I will only be a few minutes!" was all Aviel understood. Sanders groaned as Isabella started to move again, though this trip was even shorter than the last. They heard the muffled sounds of a door open then close which brought a sigh of relieve, turned gag from Sanders.

"So, what was so important that you needed to talk in private about it?" Valery asked as Isabella hands appeared from the bottom of her sweater. She waved to them and Flonne let go of the cables while Isabella held her sweater out to give her room to get out. Sanders and Aviel held on as Flonne flew out of Isabella's sweater and into the freedom of the room.

Now out of Isabella's sweater, Aviel could get a good look around the room. The room was rather spacious, or it would have have been if it was not covered in books, desks, computers, and a number of other scientific instruments Aviel couldn't identify. Most of the equipment looked to be in use or was doing something, though what Aviel had no idea. Only a few of the instruments she recognized from school while most looked like something out of a science fiction novel. Advanced Science indeed...

The only clear area of the room looked to be where they were standing, a small section of the room with a desk which looked starkly clean and tidy. A single computer and book rested on the desk and nothing else. Valery was standing in front of it looking between Flonne and Isabella in confusion.

"I assume your...issue involves your fairy," she said before her green eyes noticed Aviel and Sanders tiny forms on Flonne's shoulders. She began to stroke her brown ponytail, which she had draped over her shoulder, as her eyes narrowed.
"And your scouts as well."

"Yes, though Flonne and Aviel would be better at telling it. Flonne had an...issue and I wanted you to hear it and see what you thought about it," Isabella said. Valery nodded as she went back to her desk for something. She dug through a drawer until she came back with two devices she plugged into her ears and a noetpad with a pen.

"New invention I made a few days ago. Works like an ear-aid only its tuned to specifically pick up voices and magnify them. Should allow me to hear your scouts without the use of the radio or going deaf if you talk. Speaking of, turn them Aviel and...new scout. Someone might pick up their transmissions, otherwise, and I assume you want this keep on a need to know basis considering you smuggled yourselves into my office," Valery said as she flipped the notepad to a random page and leaned back against her desk.

Sanders looked around Flonne's neck at Aviel and gave her a "what the fuck" look. Aviel smirked at him before mouthing that he would get used to this. She turned off her radio as Sanders leaned back around and, hopefully, did the same. Flonne seemed a bit nervous in starting, but a reassuring smile from Isabella got her to start.

Flonne retold the story of what happened, with Aviel adding here and there again. Valery, at first, looked rather bored and seemed to at times be barely listening. That changed with Flonne began to talk of the visions. Valery look was dead serious and her eyes were either locked onto Flonne or her notepad. She paid the same level of attention to Aviel when she added things after that point as well. Any signs of boredom or inattentiveness were gone. She wrote down a number of things on the pad, evidently filling up two pages worth of notes. Finally, Flonne wrapped up the story with what had happened when her and Aviel were alone in Isabella's room.

Valery was silent as she turned back to her notes. She looked through the again before moving past Flonne and Isabella toward her equipment in the other part of the room. She began to mumble a few things to herself, but looked to have completely forgotten they were there. Instead, she began to pick up random books and thumb through them.

"Isa-" Sanders caught himself, "Flonne, ask Isabella if this is usual." Apparently Sanders had turned off his radio and had nearly forgotten. Flonne nodded and flew closer to Isabella. Aviel would have answered herself, but Flonne's voice was too loud to yell over.


"Isabella? Sanders wanted to know if this is usual," Flonne asked getting a slight chuckle from Isabella.

"Yes and its a good sign. Valery tends to be...obsessive when something gets her attention. She'll figure this out even if it takes her weeks to do," Isabella said as she looked down at Sanders. She turned back to Valery as she suddenly stopped mumbling and, instead, took a deep breathe. She sighed and stroked her ponytail again and seemed torn on something.

"What is it, Valery?" Isabella asked. Valery turned away and muttered something under her breath as she keep stroking her ponytail.
"Valery, tell me," Isabella said this time more forceful. Valery turned back and looked at Isabella's face before sighing and slumping a bit.

"Very well, but you will not like it," Valery said before moving back to her desk.

"First and foremost, I will have to admit to not being an expert on Monstergirls. Very few outside the Swords have intricate knowledge of them. Those outside of them, which includes myself, only know the bare bones, so my theories must be taken with that in account. However, the nano-bots themselves I AM well versed in having been one of the main designers of them. I can say they were never intended for use in Monstergirls, but I doubt they would have caused any harm to Flonne. They are programmed to detect if they are causing unneeded stress on the host and to cease function if they do. And while Flonne is not 100% human, she is close enough that the nano-bots should have affected her much the same as a human.

"However, that does not account for her strange visions and headaches. In that, I believe that may have been a side-effect caused by Flonne using her healing psychic powers," Valery said barely stopping for breath.

"Psychic healing? Don't you mean magic?" Sanders asked in confusion. Aviel was just as confused as he was. She had never heard of fairies magic being referred to as psychic powers. Valery turned an angry glare at Sanders.

"No, I mean psychic. There is no such thing as magic, despite what High Command seems obsessed with having normal people think. Useless idiots, what does it matter if they think its magic or psychic power?!" Valery said looking frustrated and about to continue with her rant. Isabella cur her off, though.

"Valery, that is supp-... let's focus on Flonne. You said Flonne's psychic healing caused the visions, what do you mean?" Isabella asked in a calming tone. Isabella stopped herself, but Aviel could guess what she had been about to say. Why would that have been a secret? She didn't have much time to think on that, though as Valery bite back her rant and sighed as she went back to explaining.

"Right, of course. Let me explain. The healing physic power causes the body's own natural healing to go into overdrive. This allows a person to heal from wounds at incredible rates and even heal wounds that would normally be fatal. However, this is much the same as what the nano-bots do as well though they do it by accelerating it themselves, rather than with outside force. This it stands to reason that having both affect her may have caused a doubling up of its affects. Normally, that would just mean Flonne would have healed completely in a matter of seconds rather than minutes or hours rather than days, however..." Valery paused her and seemed to debate again on whether to talk. She glanced up at Isabella again and sighed before continuing.

"However it could also allow a person to heal from injuries that normally would be permanent such as lost limbs, eyesight damage, or....or brain damage... Like what might be caused from a person who has had memory restructuring surgery," Valery said as Aviel felt her eyes go wide. Isabella reacted the same way before moving toward Valery.

"WHAT?! Are you...but she is a clone. Why would they do that to her?!" Isabella demanded to which Valery sighed even further.

"Because she is not a clone. If Flonne were a clone, their would have been no memory to recover. I am not an expert in Monstergirls, but I do know that clones retain none of the original memories. If Flonne was a clone, she would not be having strange visions of her past, as she would not HAVE a past to remember. Its the only explanation possible. Flonne is not a clone, but a person who has been mutated into a fairy," Valery said as she went back to stroking her ponytail. Isabella froze on the spot and stared at Valery with a face Aviel could not read. She turned away and began to rub her forehead in thought.

"That's...but then someone did..." Sanders said from around Flonne's throat. Flonne drifted down to the ground and flopped to the ground. She stayed there just staring straight ahead, her eyes seemingly staring off into another time and place.

Aviel couldn't believe it. There...there had to be some mistake. The Society COULDN'T have done this. Maybe it...maybe Flonne was a fluke or maybe... maybe...DAMMIT, THERE HAD TO BE A REASON, THERE HAD TO BE! She couldn't...if the Society was evil and the Resistance was evil too then what the hell was she supposed to do?! Who was she supposed to fight for? What was her point in living if the very people she needed to get revenge were just as evil as the people she wanted revenge against?! What-

Her thoughts were interrupted as Sanders spoke up.

"Fuck...if every monstergirl is like Flonne....fuck they are all PEOPLE! People they have used like experiments! And if High Command is lying about that and the magic stuff, what else are they lying to us about?" Sanders said in shock. It was more than Aviel could stand.

"Shut up, Sanders! We don't know if all of them are like Flonne or not. For all we know, Flonne is just a fluke maybe done by someone like Lutice. We can't condemn the entire Society on just this one instance and two lies they told us," Aviel said. She just couldn't accept they were bad. They couldn't be not after...

Sanders was about to fire back when Valery spoke up.

"Aviel has a point. Flonne might be a fluke, a captured child taken in either by a Sword who thought it would be funny or one who wanted to give her some form of mercy. With her Mother dead and the village she was in destroyed, her chances of survival would have been near zero. And since taking anyone from the outside into Atlanta is forbidden, maybe they decided turning her into a fairy would have been better. Or I may be wrong with how Monstergirls work and maybe they DO retain some memories. There are many possibilities and not all of them are condemning of the Society as a whole. We do have our good and bad eggs like all organizations," Valery stated without any hint of emotion.

"I...yeah...yeah you are right. Sorry, just...after being attacked by Swords and then this I...I guess I just wanted to believe they were evil in some way..." Sander said before swearing under his breath. Aviel stayed quiet letting Sanders stay to his own thoughts as she turned back to Isabella. Isabella turned back to Valery and looked to have made a decision.

"Valery, can you keep Flonne hidden here and get Sanders and Aviel to the tram? I need to go check on something," Isabella asked. Valery's eyebrow raised as she slowly nodded.

"Yyyyeeesss, though I have to wonder what you are checking on," Valery said eyeing Isabella. Isabella simply nodded and moved to the door without a word.

"One condition," Valery added quickly before Isabella could leave. Isabella stopped and turned back.
"Where are you going?"

"Outside Atlanta."

Chapter 25: Mystery Solved

December 4, 2023 3:25 PM

Isabella left Valery's office and headed back toward the barracks. As much as she wanted to leave right away, she knew she would never be able to. Cathrine would have people watching for her to try anything like that along with a few following her. No, if she wanted to leave the base and Atlanta, she would need some help. Luckily, she knew exactly who to talk to.

She headed into the barracks and easily managed to bring a few tears to her eyes. She made it look as if she was heading for her room before turning away and heading, instead, for Gabby's. By the time she reached her room, she had faked cried a bit but wiped the tears away. She knocked on the door and Gabby answered it a moment later.

"Yeah wa- Isabella?" Gabby said, her annoyed look changing to concern. Isabella's eyes were still red and swollen from her tears and Isabella sniffed a bit to sell the facade.

"I'm...sorry for bothering you Gabby, I just... Well this might be last time we see each other for a while so...I..." Isabella said trying to sound as sad and depressed as possible. Gabby smiled at her and stepped aside. Gabby's room was much like Isabella's in decor. The main difference was the amount of trash just laying around and a number of bags that were half-packed. Though packed might be the wrong word as they looked more like Gabby had just piled things into them and forced them to close.

"No need to explain. Come on in. I got a bottle of brandy with our names on it," she said heading for her kitchen as Isabella shut the door. Isabella shut it and smiled at her own acting skills. Anyone who had heard or watched that would assume she and Gabby were having one last horrah before they were separated. A night of drinking and enjoying themselves.

Gabby came back into the bedroom with the brandy and two glasses. She noticed Isabella's sudden change in look and smirked at it.

"Oh good, I was getting worried that you might actually have been serious for a second there. Still drinking this, though. Like hell I am leaving it for someone else," Gabby said before taking the stopper in her teeth and pulling it out of the bottle. She spit the stopper onto the ground before setting the glasses down and pouring a shot into both.

Isabella took her glass and smirked back at Gabby. She took her first shot as she explained what she wanted help with.

"I need to get off the base. I'm suspended from active duty so I can't get out through normal channels. And I am sure Cathrine has people watching me to make sure I don't try anything," Isabella said as Gabby took a seat and her own shot.

"And you want me to help you slip out since I am leaving tomorrow. Should I even bother asking why you need to get off the base?" Gabby said as she refilled their glasses.

"I would... rather keep that to myself," Isabella admitted feeling a bit ashamed for not telling Gabby. She wanted to tell her, wanted to confine in her her fears, but she knew better. Gabby was not the sort to keep something bottled up. Isabella had no doubt if she told her fears to her friend, Gabby would go off the handle and start beating answers out of people. They were all on thin ice as it was, so Isabella couldn't let her friend do that doubly so if her fears were true.

Gabby shook her head and took another shot, but didn't look surprised or angry.

"Trying to protect everyone around you like this is going to get you killed one of these days. Going to have to learn to trust us at least a little and stop trying to face all the danger yourself," Gabby said with a worried look on her face. Isabella sighed knowing her friend was right, but also knowing she couldn't, wouldn't stop. She cared too much for them to put them in danger again, doubly so with how badly the last time she brought them in had backfired on all of them. It was her fault Gabby was being sent off to some backwater and Alice to Savannah. She didn't have to right to ask for their help again.

Gabby didn't press the subject any further as she poured another shot for herself. Instead she smirked a bit and tried to change the subject to something less sombre.

"Besides, getting to see Lutice's face when you tossed her through the mess hall doors was more than worth getting sent to a backwater farm outpost. Breaking Monet's jaw was just icing on the cake as far as I am concerned," she said with a chuckle. Isabella smiled too as she drained her cup and refilled it. She could keep worrying and beating herself up, but that wouldn't change what had happened. Instead, for now, she let the alcohol take away her worries and just enjoyed one last night with her friend. There was no telling how long it would be before they would have another.

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December 5, 2023 7:20 AM

Morning came and with it the preparation for Isabella's plan. Their late night drinking had left Isabella with a mild headache, but nothing bad enough to impair her. It was hard to say if the drinking was affected Gabby or not thanks to her being anything but a morning person. Whether she had a hangover or not, she was going to be grumpy. The only responses she gave were grunts, groans, and sweares as she moved about the place.

Gabby had brought a large luggage cart up to her room to help haul all of her things to the jeep she was going to be using. It was a bit too big for all of Gabby's things, but that worked perfectly for Isabella's idea. Isabella sat in the cart, Gabby's old dress uniform's clothing bag nearly zipped up over her. Isabella sucked in a big breath as she wrapped her breasts up to make them less noticeable and felt her lungs being compressed. At the same time,  Gabby began to pile things around her to make it harder to get a good look at the bag she was in. It was going to be a cramped and bumpy trip to the jeep, but it was the best way to sneak out.

No one who wanted to keep their bones intact were going to make any demands of Gabby while she was in her morning mood so there was no real danger of being questioned on the way there. Even better, anyone watching her would figure she was still asleep in the room, sleeping off her night of drinking. To better sell that idea, Isabella had recorded her sleeping and had a radio set to replay it. By the time anyone got suspicious, Gabby and Isabella would be long gone.

After a few minutes of stacking and piling, the clothing bag Isabella was in was mostly hidden. Isabella took one last big breath before wrapping her breasts completely up. She cursed as her breaths came more raggedly and the compression was nearly unbearable. But this was the only way she was getting out.

"Try...hurry," Isabella stammered out as Gabby grunted in response and zipped up the rest of the clothing bag. Isabella was thrust into darkness as the bag cut off her view. Another bag was put on her face causing her to grunt a bit. She turned her head and already began to find the slowly heating air annoying. She had to put up with it, though.

The cart shifted as Gabby opened the door and pushed it out. The bump over the door nearly caused Isabella to grunt, but she held it in, knowing any noise might give her away. Gabby closed the door behind her and locked it before pushing the cart down the hall and to the elevator. Another bump on the elevator got a silent curse from Isabella as her fight for air started to become a lost one.

The elevator ride seemed to take forever in Isabella's black world. Her air problem seemed to increase exponentially with each second, but she forced herself to remain calm. Freaking out would only make it far worse and, mostly likely, get her caught. Finally, the muffled ding of the elevator singled the rides end and Isabella felt the cart moving again, along with another infuriating bump.

A few agonizing minutes passed as Gabby exited the barracks and headed for the vehicle hanger. Even in the bag and under all the baggage, Isabella could feel the cold air and had to stifle back a shiver. Sadly, it didn't help her breathing problem which was only getting worse by the second. She could feel herself starting to get less and less air which each breath and it was only her military training keeping her from freaking out.

Outside, the sounds of powered wrenches, metal on metal, and other typical auto-shop sounds began to grow louder. Isabella gave a silent pray of thanks as they were nearly toward the vehicle hanger. Once they passed the motorpool, they would be at the hanger and she could get out of this damn thing. Gabby stopped for a second, however, and Isabella heard someone walking towards them. The boots stopped near her head and Isabella heard the muffled talk of the guard.

"Papers?" she said in a bored tone. It looked like either Cathrine or Angela had posted someone to watch the hanger after their "borrowing" of a vehicle. Isabella had a feeling which... Isabella guessed Gabby handed the papers over as the guard was silent for a moment.

"Alright, sorry about what happened Gabriella. Personally, I think those assholes had it coming," the guard said to which Gabby grunted in something that might have been approval. The cart got moving again and the noises of the motorpool died down to just background noises. Gabby stopped the cart and Isabella heard her open the trunk of the jeep. Isabella waited as Gabby picked up a few of her belongings off Isabella and loaded them into the jeep. For a half second, Gabby stopped and Isabella held her breath. Gabby unzipped the top part of the clothes bag, letting cold but so very welcome fresh air in. The hole was just big enough for Isabella to see through.

"Get inside!" Gabby whispered as she moved to make it look like she was loading the bag in. Isabella got up and shuffled to the trunk. The trunk already had a number of supplies, equipment, and other things Gabby would need inside, but still had enough room for Isabella. Her arms were useless in the bag so she had to half throw herself in. Gabby pushed her the rest of the way in and quickly began to pile up baggage around her again. It was a tense couple of seconds as Gabby loaded all her stuff in, but no one came to check on them. Finally, everything was loaded and Gabby closed the trunk. She came around to the front seat, got the jeep started and began to drive them away from the base.

Isabella knew not to relax yet, though, as they still had to pass through gate security. She stayed quite as the jeep rolled along before stopping at the gate. Isabella heard the window come down.

"Open the gate so I can get going," Gabby demanded from the guard.

"Not until we check your stuff. Matriarchs orders," the guard said getting a wave of panic from Isabella. The panic vanished though as she heard the guard cry out in surprise before something thumped against the side of the jeep. There was another cry of alarm as the door opened and Isabella sighed to herself. Gabby was a good friend, but had a bad habit of seeing every problem as a nail. And her fists were the hammers...

The door reopened before the jeep accelerated rather quickly and rocketed out of the base. Gabby didn't slow the jeep at all as Isabella began to unzip herself from the clothes-bag. She unwrapped her breasts and gasped in relief as the pressure on her chest was released and her breathing became much easier.

"You could have just let them look. They might have missed me," Isabella said to which Gabby just shrugged.

"More fun this way," she said with a slight smirk as they turned onto the interstate. There was going to be hell to pay for both of them, but there was no use worrying about that now. For now, Isabella needed to focus on her real objective. She wasn't going back till she found what Manchent had tried to help them find.  Flonne being an innocent person, seeing the devastation the Sword had done, hearing that that Lutice and the rest had done such things before and gotten away with it, Isabella was beginning to question just what the Society stood for and who was really in charge.

And maybe...just maybe Manchent had the answers she sought.

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10:18 AM

A few hours passed as Gabby drove them further and further north along I-75. By then, Isabella had changed into winter clothing and got her breath back. The two of them were mostly quiet on the way there, both seemingly lost in thought. It was going to be a long walk to Lindale, and even longer walk back to Atlanta, but Isabella had no choice. Gabby needed the jeep to get her to her new assignment, a farm a few miles west of Calhoun.

Calhoun was, mostly, abandoned and Resistance activity there was rather low. It was a few miles north of Rome and most of the people who had lived there had either vanished or moved to Rome. The occasional raid ever so often hit the farms there, but nothing well organized or major. For the most part, the farm duty was quiet, easy, and out of the way. Everything Gabby hated with a passion, even if the farms were vital for the Society's survival.

Eventually, they came to where I-75 split off into 411, which lead to Rome. They would have to go their own ways here. Isabella on the long road to Lindale and Gabby up further North to Calhoun.

Gabby stopped the jeep and sighed to herself. She looked down before looking back at Isabella.

"Still not going to tell me what this is about?" she asked, though her look made it obvious she already knew the answer. Isabella turned to look out the window and slowly shook her head.

"No...I'm not," she said simply. Gabby was silent at that before her door opened all of the sudden. Isabella turned just in time for Gabby to close the door and start toward the back. Isabella climbed out in confusion and meet Gabby in the back, the trunk already open.

"What are you doing?" Isabella asked as Gabby grabbed two of the bags she had brought.

"What's it look like? Getting the stuff I will need. Got about a two day walk ahead of me to Calhoun and I am going to need some stuff," Gabby said as she slung both bags over her shoulder and picked up a third.

"You can't carry all this by yourself, and I am the one walking here!" Isabella said getting Gabby to stop. There were, at least, five more bags inside the trunk and a many of them were not small by any means.

"First off, no you're not. Second, half the crap I packed I didn't want. I just packed it cause we needed it to keep you hidden," as if to proof her point she unzipped one bag to show it was a hairdryer, "The fuck do I need a hairdryer for? Don't worry, I packed all the important stuff and supplies in these three bags."

Isabella was flabbergasted at this development and was silent for a moment as Gabby got the three bags situated on herself and looked about to leave. Isabella shook out of her stunned stupor and moved to stop Gabby.

"Gabby, I can't let you go walking through here with no vehicle. Its too dangerous and-" she was stopped mid-sentence by Gabby laughing.

"Dangerous? Ha! Because of what? Wolves? Bears? Come on, their not even as big as my pinky toe now. I could squish them with my fingers! And the Resistance? I got a shield projector on along with a few motion detectors I can set up at night. Those little bastard won't bother me if they know what is good for them," Gabby said with a cocky smirk. She was right, of course. Wildlife was definitely not going to be a problem for Gabby and the Resistance would regret ticking her off.

Still, Isabella didn't feel right taking Gabby's vehicle and forcing her into a two+ day walk. Doubly so when she was the one who got Gabby demoted to the farm.

"Gabby, I....I don't feel comfortable taking your vehicle. Considering I was the one who got you demoted in the f-" she stopped as Gabby's entire posture changed. She went from calm and cocky, to angry and intimidating. She glowered down at Isabella in anger.

"Don't you fucking say that again, Isabella. Don't ever FUCKING say that again. You didn't get me demoted, I did. I choose to go kick Lutice and her gang's asses and I would do it again in a heartbeat. You had nothing to do with me getting demoted so don't EVER think you did, you understand me?!" Gabby growled out. Isabella stared at Gabby after her rant and felt a laugh slowly start to spill out. Gabby raised an eyebrow in confusion as Isabella began to laugh.

"S-Sorry. Just...you always fall back on trying to be a drill sergeant even when you are trying to be inspirational. Almost like I was back in the military for a second," Isabella said as she chuckled a bit. Gabby's angry look turned to confusion before she looked around and realized what she was doing. She slumped a bit and shook her head before chuckling a bit to herself as well.

"Yeah...I guess I do. Heh, old habits and all that," she said before looking back at Isabella. Isabella stopped laughing and sighed to herself. She still didn't want to take the vehicle, but also knew it was pointless to argue with Gabby. Either Isabella was going to take it or no one was going to take it.

"You really don't want the vehicle?" Isabella asked, wanting to make sure. Gabby stopped chuckling and shook her head.

"No, I don't. I mean, all it will do is get me to that damn farm quicker. Why the hell would I want to do that? No, I would rather just walk there and enjoy my time of freedom a bit longer, thank you very much," Gabby said. Isabella smiled and understood. She didn't feel bad about taking it now as she was sure Gabby would have left it even if Isabella hadn't tagged along. Isabella nodded and felt a good bit better.

"Alright, I'll take the jeep. Take care of yourself, Gabby," Isabella said with a smile Gabby returned full force.

"You too, Captain.  Oh and make sure you call me from the brig so I can tell you this was a stupid idea," Gabby said as she began to head off.

"Who is more stupid, the idiot or the idiot who went along with it," Isabella shot back to which Gabby just shrugged.

"Guess we will find out, won't we?" she said before turning back to the highway. Isabella laughed to herself a bit before climbing into the jeep and heading off down the road.

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11:23 AM

It was about an hour drive before Isabella arrived at the Lindale middle school. Nothing had changed from the last time she was here. The same rusted old cars, the same slowly crumbling walls, the same blood stains... Isabella tried to ignore the stains and focus on putting on her HUD patch and radio.

It had been two weeks since she had last come to see the mother and child. Last time it hadn't been for too long, just long enough to drop off some supplies and talk a bit. Hopefully those supplies would last a bit longer as Isabella hadn't brought any this trip. She was feeling more than guilty for that as she climbed out before noticing all the bags Gabby had left. It was a long shot, but there was no reason not to look.

Sadly, most of them were full of random junk or useless appliances. She was about to just give up when she remembered the bags that had already been in here. She moved the empty clothing bag she had been in and pulled out the two bags that had been inside before Gabby had gotten here. One was full on general giantess equipment, spare shield projectors, wrist units, locator beacons, that sort of thing. The other, however, was almost completely full of tiny equipment. Equipment that included a full on habitation center and enough rations to last for months. This stuff must have been meant for the farm and Gabby had just left it...typical. In fact, she didn't remember Gabby even LOOKING in these bags.

Well, Gabby's inattention had worked out well enough, though. The farm would have spares and could always get another supply run. The mother and child, on the other hand, had none of those things and needed these supplies far more. Zipping the bag back up, Isabella put the strap over her shoulder and headed into the middle school

Madysen and Christina were still on the plastic desk, their tent now put up. The water bottle she had left last time was starting to get low and most of the tiny rations she had left had been eaten. Another week and they might have starved... Thankfully, with these supplies, that wouldn't be a problem for a year or more.

As Isabella entered the room, she saw the tent flap move and could just barely see a small person running to the edge of the table. Isabella smiled as Christina began to wave up at her. She might have been trying to yell at her, but Isabella was too far away to hear her. Isabella smiled and waved back as she moved up to the plastic desk. Madysen wasn't long behind her daughter and put the headset Isabella had given them back when they first met onto her head.

"Hello Christina, hello Madysen," Isabella said as she lowered her pinky for Christina to hug. The little girl had taken a real shine to Isabella and seemed to think of her as some kind of female Santa Claus or something of that nature. Madysen moved up, but didn't throw herself at Isabella like her daughter.

"Hello, Isabella. I was starting to worry you might have forgotten us," she said, though whether it was a joke or not, Isabella wasn't sure. Madysen had been a bit... suspicious of Isabella off and on. She usually was somewhere between suspicious and cautiously trusting, but never flat out trusted Isabella. That was fine for Isabella, though. She didn't expect her to trust her completely, just enough to let her help.

"Of course I didn't. Things have just been...hectic recently," Isabella said as she began to lift Christina up and down on her pinky. Christina giggled and and laughed as she held on before Isabella stopped to let her off. Madysen didn't look thrilled with the ride, but had given up trying to enforce her dislike of it.

"Hectic? It...it wasn't because of the Resistance was it? You...you-" Madysen started but Isabella shook her head to stop her.

"No, no this problem was more..,internal. Disagreements on how things should be run and things like that," Isabella said, not wanting to go into too much detail. Madysen was still pro-Resistance it seemed, a fact that always confused Isabella a bit. It was the Resistance who had killed her husband and nearly killed them, but Isabella didn't want to press the issue. Or remind her of that terrible time...

"Oh, good. Well, not good, but...its good it is solved," Madysen said after thinking on how to put it. Isabella's smile faded as she was tempted to disagree with solved. No...nothing was solved...yet. But the time for that question would come later.

"Yeah.. I brought some more things for you. A lot more this time," Isabella said as she swung the bag around and unzipped it. Christina moved back to stand beside her mother and began to bounce up and down in excitement. Madysen, too, looked a bit surprised and excited by the prospect.

Isabella couldn't help but smile as she started to unload all the things inside the bag. Three gallons of water, enough food to feed the two of them for months, more clothing for winter and warmer weather, some farming equipment for smaller people(which was mostly useless here, but you never knew), three miniature heaters with enough gas to last them a few months, and a per-fabricated habitation center that had been stored in a large crate Isabella opened. All in all, the two people went from a tent with some water and food, to a fully equipped house with all the usual amenities, including heat, and enough food and water to last them for a year or more.

Christina was bounding through the house like it was the coolest thing she had ever seen and was yelling for her mother to come inside and look. Madysen, though, just stood there in stunned silence.

"This should keep you safe for a long time to come. Maybe, by then, I will have a permanent solution for the two of you," Isabella said as she took out the last of the food. Madysen slowed turned to face her and tears began to run down her face. She collapsed to the ground and sat there, too stunned to talk or move.

Christina came out and ran to her mom in worry. She was close enough to the headset for the mic to pick up her talking.

"Mommy? Mommy what's wrong?" she asked in confusion. Madysen looked at her before wrapping her into her arms, still crying.

"Nothing...nothing is wrong just...just mommy is so happy that she is crying. Because now...now we are, finally, safe," she said before giving a laughing cry. Christina buried her face in her mom's shoulder and the two sat there for a moment just enjoying the moment.

Isabella smiled and yet felt that same pang of jealously and sadness that plagued her. She would have given anything to be in Madysen shoes. To have little girl, or boy she wasn't picky, to hold and love and care for. But that...that dream had been crushed under her shoe...

Isabella felt tears beginning to well up in her own eyes and turned away from the mother and child. She took a deep breath as she tried to refocus on why she came here. She still had to find out what Manchent had meant by those numbers. She might not have true children, but Flonne and her scouts were her adapted ones. And their safety might depend on what Manchent was trying to tell them. If they Society really did make Flonne from an innocent child, who was to say they wouldn't do it again. And with one of her scouts too.

Isabella turned back to look at the two tiny people. Madysen patted Christina on the head and sent her running back into the house as she whipped her tears away. She stood up and turned to look at Isabella.

"I...I wan-....thank you. I...I wish I could do more, but all I can do is thank you," Madysen said as she looked to be tearing up again. Isabella's hint of jealously and sadness vanished as she smiled back down at the mother.

"There might be. I, I know I have asked this a lot, but the hectic things I mentioned ties into this. Please, if there is anything else you know about Manchent or just anything you can tell me," Isabella asked as she leaned down to look Madysen on the same level. Or as close as she could come being hundred times her size.

Madysen looked away and got a worried look. She opened her mouth to speak, but stopped as she looked toward the house, the food, all the other things Isabella had brought them. She closed her eyes and let out a deep sigh before nodding her head.

"There...there is something. My husband...he went to the old Mill a lot and seemed obsessed with something there. I..I don't know if its what you are looking for, but I...overheard him say something about having the lock but not the combination. That's...that's all I know. I...I was worried about telling you, but..." she trailed off as she looked at the house and Christina who was waved from one of the windows.

Isabella nodded in understanding.

"Its fine. I would have been uneasy telling me that if I was in your place. Thank you," she said before standing back up. She stood there a moment, thinking on what Madyson said. Found the lock...but not the combination. She turned to head back to the door, but stopped when Madysen called for her.

"Isabella," she said getting Isabella to stop and turn around. Isabella saw Christina run out of the house and take the headset from Madysen.

"Thank you, Aunt Isabella! Next time you come, can you stay longer to play?" Christina asked getting a slightly scolding look from Madysen. Isabella chuckled before bending down to eye level again.

"Your very welcome, Christina. And of course I will. Now you listen to your mom and be a good girl or I won't bring anything next time except food and water, OK?" she said getting a happy nod from Christina. Both of them waved as Isabella headed back out into the hallway.

Once she was out of sight, though, Isabella went straight back to pondering those words. She knew it had to be in the Mill, but that place was huge and she had no idea what she was looking for. Found the lock, but not the combination...combination...

Isabella stopped as she nearly ran into an open locker. She grumbled a bit as she moved around it and was about to head out when she stopped and looked at the locker. A combination locker.... Thirty-two, eighty-five, twelve....

Sudden realization hit Isabella like a bolt of lightning. COMBINATION! The first three numbers were the numbers on the locker and the other three were its combination! Manchent was trying to get them to find locker seven nighty-two and use the combination he gave them to open it! Isabella smiled as she took off at full speed down the hallway and toward her jeep. The answers were just down the road.

    Article of Farm Outposts

Farm Outposts have been set up in area's far away from large cities and known Resistance held locations. These outposts have been set up with two objectives in mind.

The first is rather obvious, to produce food. While the farms around most large cities are enough to feed the people in the city, the food is far too small for the giantess members of the Society. For this reason, the farms were set up to provide them with the massive amounts of food they require. The exact way this is done is a well guarded secret, but the most logical theory are plants that are given the same anti-shrink gene and are grown back to normal size. A few people even think animals may be grown this way, as well.

For now, however, these are simply theories as those who go to work at farms are swore to secrecy and their communications monitored in case of accidental, or purposeful, breaches of said secrecy. Despite these level of secrecy, those that work on farms are always pleased with their work and happy enough to stay and work.

The second objective for the farms is often forgotten and is credited with the main reason people stay. They are meant to make the foundations of a new Society city to begin the slow spread of civilization back to the wilds. While the process is extremely slow and painstaking, the rewards for being a, literally, founder of a city are enormous. Not to mention the simple draw of being a settler retaking the wilds.[

Chapter 26: Traitor

December 4, 2023 3:27 PM

Sanders found himself lost in thought as he and Alice walked back to the tram. Valery had let them use a, usually locked, entrance to the normal-sized hallway's in her office so they could sneak back out. Every so often the loud booming footfalls of the giantess' above them echoed down the hallway. Even though none of the normal hallways had ever crumbled or collapsed, just knowing that the giantess hallway was above them was terrifying in many ways. The sooner they were out the more comfortable Sanders would feel.

Sanders tried to keep his mind off those thoughts and focused on what had happened. Flonne is... was a human or possibly a human taken against her will and turned into a monster. Well, not a full monster and it wasn't like she WAS a monster j-...she had been turned into something not human against her will THERE. Ugh this was annoying...

Sanders had been having some real concern with the Society recently. Their refusal to allow them guns, Manchent's words and reaction, Lutice's sudden personality change, the Matriarch's harsh punishment for the Captain, Gabriella, and Alice, and now this. Sanders was beginning to wonder what else the Society was hiding from them. And whether Lutice and the rest had even BEEN punished. It was just too...convenient that the Matriarch's had refused to tell them.

He wanted to express these worries, to voice them and maybe discuss them. He didn't think the Society was evil or anything like that or that the Resistance was right. He was no traitor, after all. But...but any organization as large as the Society was bound to have some bad eggs and he was beginning to worry the bad ones were spoiling the rest. He just couldn't stop worrying that the Society was being corrupted, if it hadn't been already. Worst, he was starting to think it was high level people who had been corrupted.

Ideally, he could have talked to the Captain about these worries, but she was off doing...something, which only made him more worried. What did the Captain know that they didn't? What was worth risking the wraith of Cathrine to see or investigate? What was she trying to protect them from, and who was she protecting them from by leaving them in the dark?

Aviel was there, lost in her own thoughts, but he was...leery of bringing his concern to her attention. Aviel rarely took any of his concerns seriously and tended to just dismiss them. Still, maybe this time she would not be so quick to just ignore what had happened. After all, this time the concern involved Flonne and the two of them looked to have gotten a lot closer after the incident with Lutice.

"You do know that if Flonne is a human then its very possible other fairies are too. Maybe even...catgirls," Sanders said, realizing how horrid that would be. At least the fairies didn't lose their mind completely but the catgirls... Even Pyrrha was more animal than human now. Aviel was silent for a moment before she finally answer.

"It is. But that doesn't mean the Society is evil or corrupt or anything," she said with a slight bit of annoyance.

"I never said it was. But you would think SOMEONE would have caught that they were using people. I mean, its got to involve more than one person to make monstergirls and none of them talked? You know that doesn't bode well," Sanders said. Aviel sighed and looked away, but nodded all the same.

"No...no it does not. And yes, I am aware that it probably means someone near the top may be the one keeping people quite. But this has nothing to do with us. Best we just leave it alone," Aviel suggested completely devoid of emotion.

"Leave it alone?! They are taking people and turning them into monsters against their will! How can we just ignore that?!" Sanders said getting angry that Aviel would even suggest that. They were supposed to be PROTECTING people not using them as science experiments! Aviel stopped as she turned to Sanders.

"They are taking people outside Atlanta and using them as test subjects. You heard Flonne, she was in a small village and her old self sounded unfamiliar with giantesses and fairies. If she was from Atlanta she would have known about them and not thought they were monsters. And if their outside Atlanta, they are Resistance," Aviel finished before turning away and beginning to walk away. Sanders' glare hardened as he stared at the back of her head.

"So whoever mutated Flonne into a fairy, ripped her memories out, and made her forget she EVER had a family was justified because she happened to be outside Atlanta? Last I checked, Flonne didn't mention a damn thing about the Resistance or ANYONE fighting back in her vision. Seems rather strange if she was from a Resistance base," Sanders said. Aviel didn't stop and just keep walking without a word. Sanders started to go after her, still furious at her words.

"It's always the same with you. It can never be the Society's fault, never mean that something is rotten with them, ALWAYS the Resistance's fault. Well this time isn't one of those. Flonne was just an innocent little girl that someone in the Society ripped away from her family and then used as a fucking science experiment. And pretending like its OK simply because YOU are terrified the Society might not be a the bastion of purity you seem to want, hell NEED, it to be is only going to let more people to wind up like Flonne," Sanders said, his blood boiling over in anger. Aviel stopped and glared back at him. Normally, Sanders might have let it go with a look like that, but Sanders was far too angry to let sense get in the way.

"And you are jumping to conclusions like always. We don't know why Flonne was turned or whether that village was harboring Resistance or not. Flonne might not have known or the Resistance stayed out of sight. But you never think about those situations, just the situations that give you some reason to rebel against the Society. You go looking for reasons to speak out against them and assume the worst at every turn. There are times I think you ARE a Resistance member with the way you act toward the Society," Aviel growled out.

"Fuck you, Aviel. Just because I actually question my orders and try to remember the Society isn't perfect, doesn't mean I am a traitor. But your petty need for revenge has blinded you to anything else. Your so damn wrapped up in it that you don't WANT to even consider that they might not be that bad or that we are just as bad. I know you're smart enough to see the writing on the wall, Aviel. Something nasty is going on, but you are so damn busy being pissy about your damn pare-" Sanders' sentence was cut short as Aviel smashed her fist straight into Sanders face. Sanders was taken completely off-guard by the punch and was sent sprawling into the wall, pain shooting through his jaw. Aviel hadn't broken it, but had come damn close.

Sanders was stunned at being hit by Aviel and stood there holding his jaw in surprise. Aviel's look of anger faded and was replaced by a look of both guilty and simmering anger. She didn't say a word as she turned and took off running down the hallway away from him. Sanders didn't bother to follow as he stood there and rubbed his jaw. He sighed as he cursed himself under his breath.

"Nice Sanders, mention her dead parents and reopen that wound. Might as well through some salt in it too while I was at it...Fuck," Sanders said to himself before pushing off the wall and starting the long walk to the tram, alone. By the time he got there Aviel was long gone, having taken an earlier tram. Sanders sighed again as he sat on the bench feeling guilty and depressed.

Fuck, what had he been trying to prove? Sure Aviel was being foolish still putting the Society on a pedestal of always right, but going for her parents?! Dammit, that was...

Sanders didn't say a word to anyone as he boarded the tram. He toyed with the idea of going to Aviel's to try and apologize, but he knew it would be a wasted effort. She wouldn't want to see him, much less talk to him after that. Best to save it for when they were assigned to their new squads. Hopefully...hopefully he would get the chance before they were sent their separate ways. If not...well he would cross that if it came.

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December 6, 2023 6:25 AM

The next day didn't bring any relief to Sanders guilt. If anything, the off day left him with nothing to do BUT feel guilty. He sat in his apartment, trying to distract himself with TV, games, and pretty much anything else. He debating leaving, but just had no will to really get up. Instead he just laid there all day, depressed and beating himself senseless about his own stupidity. Thankfully, the message came that he was to be reassigned the next day so at least he would have that to distract him. There was no way to know if Aviel was getting reassigned the same day too and Sanders wasn't really sure if he wanted her to be or not.

Finally, the day ended and Sanders woke up bright and early for his reassignment. He was feeling a little better, but still not great. The lingering guilty and fear of Aviel being there was keeping him from being his usual bright self.

Sanders' trip to the main tram terminal was uneventful. It wasn't until he got off the tram that he started to worry. Would Aviel be here? Would she still be mad? Could he face her? He gulped down his worry and headed for the tram that would take him to the base. He didn't see Aviel anywhere in the terminal and he was starting to relax a bit as he boarded the tram.

A mixture of relief and terror came on him when he saw Aviel sitting in one of the seats. She glanced up at him, but turned away to face the window again. Her face was a mask showing no sign of any emotion or giving him a hint of what to expect. Sanders sighed as he moved into the tram and debated whether to sit next to her or not. He elected not to and sat across the aisle from her. Aviel didn't so much as look at him or say a word.

The ride to the base was agonizingly slow. Time seemed to stretch on and on as Sanders sat there, wondering what to do or say. Thankfully, the tram's soft hum and the low chatter of the other people on the tram keep it from being uncomfortably silent. He knew he should say something, but he just couldn't seem to find the right words. No.. no he shouldn't talk to her here. Here she would have to listen and he didn't want to force her to talk if she didn't want to. He would wait till their reached the terminal. Finally, the tram began to slow and the platform came into view outside the window.

Sanders waited till the tram had stopped to get up. Aviel had stood up before that and made a bee-line for the door, not even looking at Sanders. Sanders cursed under his breath as he headed after her. By the time he got through the crowd, Aviel was through the checkpoint and heading for the lift down to ground level. Sanders followed, but wasn't able to get through the checkpoint before Aviel had headed down on the tram along with a number of other people.

Sanders caught the next one and tried to see Aviel in the mass of people, but couldn't pick her out. He cursed his own cowardice at not talking to her own the tram and tried to will the lift to go faster. He pushed his way out of the lift, getting a few curses from the other passengers, and was one of the first people off it. He half walked half ran to the hallway that lead to the Scout equipment room and just barely caught sight of Aviel turning a corner at the end of the hallway.

"Aviel!" he called out as he ran after her, his plan to NOT make her talk to him forgotten.. The hallway was empty save for him and he made good time to the bend. He turned the corner and found her having already gone around another bend. He didn't bother calling out as he took off at a full run after her. He came around the next bend and saw her a few feet ahead of him.

"Aviel, stop!" Sanders said as he rushed to catch up with her. Aviel stopped, but didn't turn around as Sanders came to a stop behind her.

"I-...back-..." he started to say but seemed to be unable to find the words. Fuck it, go with the short and simple.

"Sorry," he said not able to find any other words. Aviel didn't turn around.

"Is that it?" she asked without a hint of emotion in her voice.

"Y-yeah, I mean, no I...fuck I don't know," Sanders admitted. Aviel shook her head and sighed before turning back to look at him.

"Guess I am sorry too," she said with a downcast look. Sanders didn't even try to hide his confusion.

"For-for what?" Sanders asked drawing a blank. Aviel looked up at him with slight irritation before seeing he was genuinely confused. She let out a slight laugh as she shook her head.

"You really don't remember me sucker punching you?" Aviel asked. Well, NOW he did and suddenly realized why she apologized.

"Oh right, that. To be fair I did kinda deserve it," Sanders admitted. Aviel smiled and nodded in agreement.

"Let's...let's just call it even then. Sound fair?," she asked. Sanders smirked and nodded before falling in beside her as they headed to the equipment room.

The rest of the trip was much better. Sanders had watched a long ass marathon of some old show the day before and started to tell Aviel all the best parts. Aviel seemed more interested in seeing Sanders try to act out what was happening than what the show was and both were in good spirits when they entered the equipment room.

Inside the room were Squads 2 and 4. They were waiting for their giantess leaders to finish getting suited up in their own rooms and were shooting the shit while they waited. Trent and Blanch were there and  both drifted toward Sanders. Aviel got to talking with Lizette, Laci, and Rena about something, though Sanders was too busy focusing on Trent's stupid stories to really listen.. By the time both were kitted out and ready, they had all but forgotten their fight.

Trent was just in the middle of telling a story of how Blanch had managed to get stuck in a drain, which Blanch swore happened to Trent and not him, when the giantess-sized door opened. The group looked up to see, not one of the Scout giantess, but a Shield security giantess. The group glanced around as she moved to the no crossing line and bent down to see them better.

"Something we can do for you, ma'am?!" Laci yelled up so that the giantess could hear. The security guard wasn't wearing a headset so their radios were useless.

"Yes, I need to see Sanders Cutter and Aviel Wolff," the security guard whispered out. Aviel and Sanders exchanged glances, but stepped forward.

"That's us. Did something happen?!" Sanders yelled up as the giantess turned her massive eyes to them. She didn't answer, but lowered her hand to them. Another exchanged look passed them, but both of them still climbed on. Sanders braced himself for a rough ride and thanked whoever that he had eaten a light breakfast as the giantess stood back up. Just like he feared, her steps were rough and the ride was a sickened, gut-wrenching affair.

As Sanders fought to keep what little breakfast he had, Aviel yelled up at the giantess.

"What is going on?! Where are you taking us?!" she yelled getting the giantess to glance down at them.

"Matriarch Cathrine ordered me to take you two into protective custody. I am placing you two in a secure room for the time being," the giantess said as she headed down a hallway Sanders was not familiar with. Even fighting back his sickness, Sanders quickly caught on what that meant. If they had sent a security guard to pick them up, they had to suspect a giantess-sized danger. Had Lutice escaped whatever punishment she had been given? Or had Isabella stumbled onto the traitor that had seen Manchent killed?

He didn't get time to ask as the giantess stopped at a door and used a keycard to open the door. The door lead into what looked to be a briefing room. A large table was set in the middle of the room along with a number of chairs around it. A large projector was in the middle of the table pointed at the far wall. The guard headed for the table and set the two of them down onto it.

"You will be safe in here. Stay on the table and keep quiet," she said before whipping around. Aviel tried to yell a question at her, but the giantess was gone before she could even get the sentence half formed. The lock on the door clicked over and the two of them were sealed into the room.

Sanders took a moment to let his sickness fade before he tried talking.

"What...what do you think is going on?" he asked looked over to Aviel. Aviel shook her head as she glared at the door as if in thought.

"Whatever it is, it probably involves whatever Isa-" her words were cut off as alarms began to blare out over the intercoms. Sanders could see red lights flashing from the edges of the door and the lights inside the room seemed to dim slightly.

"Warning, Resistance forces have breaching the perimeter. All combat personal, report to your designated defense zones. All non-combat personal, report to nearest shelter. Warning, Resistance for-..." the automated voice of the base alarm began to repeat. Sanders looked at Aviel in shock as Aviel looked back at him with the same look.

"What the fuck? The Resistance has never attacked the base," Sanders said, suddenly glad he had his gun hidden under his jacket.

"No, they have hit it before. But that was nearly four years ago. How the hell did they slip past all our patrols?" Aviel corrected him before looking down in thought. She shook her thoughts off before heading for the edge of the table.

"Aviel, what the hell are you doing?" Sanders said as he moved up after her.

"Getting into the fight. Like hell I am going to let the Resistance attack the base and NOT help defend it," she said before taking out some grapple lines from her own pack. The noise outside began to grow as the sounds of giantess' running to their positions could be heard.

"Are you crazy?! Do you hear all that noise outside? You'll just get squashed out there! Besides, we were told to stay here. Whatever they are trying to protect us from must be pretty bad if they didn't use a typical shelter," Sanders said as he moved to try and stop her. Aviel glared at him.

"That was before the Resistance attacked. I am going and that's that," she said before driving one of the grapple's hooks into the table. She throw the rope down and looked to be getting ready to jump down, but Sanders grabbed her hand.

"No you are not! I am not letting you go get yourself killed! We can kill Resistance some other day, dammit!" Sanders said as he tried to haul her back away from the edge. Aviel growled in rage as she tried to fight Sanders off and looked about to say something when the sound of the lock opening echoed through the room.

Sanders released Aviel as they both moved away from the edge of the table. If they had been in danger, the confusion caused by a Resistance attack would be the perfect chance to get rid of them. Sanders looked around, but there was nowhere to hide on the table. The projector was too far away to reach in time and it was the only thing on the table, besides them. Sanders cursed under his breath as he hand drifted toward his gun. He would go down fighting at least. Aviel got the same look in her eye and her hands drifted toward her sword and knife.

The door opened and Sanders fear turned into relief. The Captain stepped into the room and smiled down at the two of them in complete relief. She was breathing rather heavily and looked a little worse for wear. Oddly, she looked to be wearing her mission gear and looked to have just gotten back considering the level of dirt and dust on her clothing.

"Sanders, Aviel, thank goodness! Come on, we need to get out of here," the Captain said as she lowered her hand for them to get on. Sanders began to move toward it, but Aviel stayed where she was.

"Aviel? Come on we need to go," Sanders said moving back to take her arm. Aviel backed away, though and got an angry look.

"No. I am not running away. I can fight and I am going to," she said glaring between Sanders and the Captain. Sanders groaned in annoyance as the Captain scowled at her.

"We do not have time for this, Aviel. I need to get you two to safety before things get any worse. I can explain on the way, but I lear-" the Captain stopped as the door's lock clicked to unlock. She whirled around, the wind from her hand zipping away nearly knocking Sanders down, to face the opening door.

Sanders looked up and saw Matriarch Angela standing in the doorway. She had on full combat gear and her HUD visor was covered in information. She smiled at the Captain before raising a strange gun at her and firing. The Captain dodged to the left, just in time, to avoid a strange green beam of energy that came from the gun. Angela's smile didn't fade as she adjusted her aim and fired again. The Captain dodged back and ducked under the table to avoid the beam.

Sanders was in complete shock with what was happening. Sanders looked at Aviel and saw she was just as confused as he was. She looked up and her eyes widened causing Sanders to follow her gaze. Angela had adjusted her aim again. Only this time toward them.

"Guess I will just have to settle for your scouts then," Angela said with the same smile, giving a wink to him and Aviel. Sanders stumbled back, terrified with what the gun was supposed to do as her finger tightened around the trigger. Fuck they were going to get disintegrated, or turning into something or fuck knows what!

Suddenly, the Captain sprung out from around the table and leap over it to put herself in the way of the beam. A bright flash blinded Sanders for a brief second before he saw a strange green aura surround the Captain. He looked on in complete shock as she seemed to slowly be covered in her own clothing before vanishing into them. Her pants fell to the ground while her shirt and jacket flattened onto the table. Only a tiny little spot remained raised and began to thrash around as if something was trying to escape.

For a second Sanders stood there, looking at the thing shifting about in the Captain's clothing. He had seen that green aura once before. So many years ago, but it couldn't be it...it just couldn't. He shook off his thoughts as he remembered the Captain had vanished. He could worry about the light later, he needed to find her.

"Captain? Captain?! Isabella?!" he called out as he rushed toward her shirt. Angela moved toward the table, her smile not having changed at all, and picked up the shirt and jacket by the collar. As Angela raised it up, the moving thing in the Captain's shirt tumbled out onto the table and grunted as it hit the table. Sanders stopped dead in his tracks as he found himself staring at a completely naked Isabella. Only...only she was just as small as he was.

"That's....it can't....how..." Sanders began to say as he shook his head in disbelief. Shrinking technology was supposed to have been lost during the disaster and require a massive machine or giant beam like had been used on the world. But that gun Angela had was...was just a gun! How...what...

"Rangers Sanders and Aviel. You two have witnessed use of a weapon that has been Alpha-level classified. Telling anyone what you saw today will be tantamount to committing treason against the Society. I trust you both understand. Can't have the Resistance know we have such dangerous weapons," Angela said, smiling down to both of them. Sanders said nothing and simply stared at the weapon and then back at Isabella's tiny form. Aviel, however, spoke up as she seemed to, finally, snap out of her shock of what had just happened.

"You...you almost shot us," Aviel said as she got an accusatory look. Angela's smile did not fade at all as she looked at Aviel like a mother would a silly child.

"They shrink device would have done nothing to you. It was set to 1/100th size and since you are both already that size, it would have passed right through you. I was loathe to use such a tactic, but it was the quickest way to stop the fight," she said with the same smile before turning to Sanders,
"Now, Sanders. Please arrest your former commander, Isabella Raim for the act of treason and attempting to conspire with the Resistance," Angela said as if she had NOT just turned Sanders entire world upside down.

"Tr-Treason?!" Sanders exclaimed as he looked at Angela in utter confusion. First the shrink weapon and now Isabella was a traitor?! What they hell was going on?!

"Yes, the current Resistance attack was orchestrated and aided by Isabella. It was with her help that they managed to slip past our patrols and get past the perimeter. She was going to use the distraction to get you two out and then join the Resistance in full once she was sure you were safe," Angela said. Sanders turned to look at Isabella and saw her slowly sit up and cover herself as best she could. She looked up at Angela's massive face and down at her now tiny hands and seemed to darken completely. She slumped a bit as she shook her head and looked down at the table.

"Its...its not true right? Yo..You're not a traitor...right?" Sanders asked as he noticed Aviel moved up to stand beside him, looking equally as apprehensive about the answer. Isabella looked up from the table, glanced at Angela, and then turned back to them. She drew in a breath and her old self came back as she got a determined look on her face.

She was about to answer when the door lock clicked again. The door opened and Matriarch Cathrine walked in, also in full combat gear. She looked at Angela, a scowl on her face, before turning to look at Isabella's fallen clothes and, finally, Sanders and Aviel. Isabella's face brightened as she came into view and a slight bit of hope seemed to cross her face. Cathrine's scowl deepened as she turned to Angela.

"That shrink device is for use as a last resort and most certainly not in front of non-cleared personnel. Next time, call for backup rather than leaking classified intel. Now, why is the traitor not in custody yet?" Cathrine said scowling down at them all. Isabella's face suddenly turned to complete and utter despair. She shook her head in disbelief before slumping back onto the ground, a look of shock on her face. Sanders had never seen Isabella like this and...and he didn't like to see her like this. She looked completely and utterly beaten, like everything she had known was ripped out from under her. What was going on?

"Its...its true...isn't it? You are working with the Resistance," Aviel said as she stared at Isabella. Isabella looked at her and Sanders for a moment before closing her eyes as if deciding something.

"Its true," she said as she stood up, still covering herself with her hands, "I am a traitor to the Society. And I was going to join the Resistance." There was no hints of wavering or hidden messages, or lies in Isabella's eyes. She simply stared at both of them as if all she had said was what she had for breakfast. Sanders stood there in stunned silence as he shook his head in disbelief. Isabella...a traitor? It...no...had to...it couldn't be.

Aviel, however, got a disgusted look on her face. She scowled back at Isabella and her hand tightened around her sword.

"You...traitorous bitch. I trusted you, believed in you, fucking looked up to you... And you turn your back on us for...for the people who ruined my life?! I...I...AGH I'LL KILL YOU!" she yelled as she took out her sword. She looked about to charge Isabella, but Sanders grabbed her.

"S-Stop it, Aviel! Murdering Isabella isn't going to help anything. Let me handle this! AVIEL!" he yelled as she thrashed against his arms. She stopped after a second, still breathing hard and with a look of utter hate on her face. Sanders let her go and she sheathed her sword and turned away from Isabella. Her fists were clinched so hard on her weapons that they were shaking.

Sanders turned to Isabella and moved up to her. It was...and odd thing seeing Isabella at the same size as he was. He was used to having to crane his neck just to see her chest, much less her face. Now...now he was almost half a foot taller than her. He took out his spare jacket from his pack and offered it to her. The huge winter jacket more than covered her up and she nodded a thanks to Sanders. Traitor or not, she didn't deserve to go to whatever punishment she had waiting naked.

"Turn around, Isabella," he ordered and she did so. He took her arms and bound them with some cable and then turned her back around.

"Traitor secure, Matriarchs," Sanders reported as he keep a tight grip on Isabella's arm. He...he needed to just focus on his duty. He...he couldn't think on this if he thought then...then he would... He tried to keep the tears from coming, but felt them start to come down anyway. Dammit, what was happening? How did this happen? Why was it happening so fast?

"Good. Bring her to me," Angela said as she lowered her hand onto the table. Sanders, running more of auto-pilot than anything,  pushed Isabella toward Angela's massive hand and lead her onto it. He forced her to kneel in the middle of Angela's palm. Aviel came up to stand beside him, but keep her hands away from her weapons. Sanders keep an eye on her just the same.

Angela slowly lifted them up to chest level so that both her and Cathrine could see them better. The alarms and other alerts were dieing down and the activity outside seemed to be ebbing away. It sounded like the fight with the Resistance was coming to an end. Considering the alarms were now signaling all clears and stand down orders, they had won.

"Ex-Ranger Isabella Raim. You are accused of conspiring with the Resistance and betraying the Advanced Science Society to its enemies. How do you plead?" Angela asked, her voice booming out just loud enough to be uncomfortable. Isabella was silent for a second before she answered.

"Guilty," she said as her head dipped lower to the ground in defeat. Sanders felt the words like they were a spear and wanted to so bad to scream at her to change her plea, to fight this, to say it was bullshit, to...to.... But instead, all he did was stand there.

"Then your sentence is death and will be cared out immediately. Angela, I will let you handle the rest," Cathrine said as she moved to the door. Angela smirked and glanced at her.

"Don't want to stay and watch your old scout die?" Angela asked with a devilish smirk. Cathrine scowled at her and stopped at the door.

"If you would rather clean up the mess the Resistance made and do the paper work involved in reporting this issue, I will be glad to carry out the execution. Otherwise, shut up and do your job," she said before opening the door and slamming it shut. Angela shook her head and turned back to them.

"Always so testy. Now, Sanders turn Isabella the other way and then both of your stand back. Wouldn't want to accidentally get either of you," Angela instructed. Sanders eyes widened as he realized what she was doing. Fuck...he wasn't...he didn't want to see this. Not now...not again...not EVER. The catgirl had been bad enough, at least it was kinda inhuman, but to see one human EAT another... Sanders felt his body begin to shake as he thought about it.

A touch at his arm got him to nearly jump as Aviel motioned him back and did as Angela instructed. Angela raised an eyebrow at his reaction, but didn't comment on it. Sanders turned away and moved toward Angela's fingers as he tried to keep the shaking under control. It was well known that traitors got the worst death imaginable, eaten alive by a giantess, but he had never actually seen it. And had no want to see it. Not after that day...

He looked over to Aviel as she walked back to him. She gave him a don't worry about it look before turning back to watch. Sanders gulped and glanced back just in time to see Angela's massive mouth open, a bit of spit linking her two lips, and her tongue start to roll out toward Isabella. Sanders whipped back around and had too wrap his arms around himself to not freak out. Fuck why did it have to be that, why why why WHY?! And why did it have to be Isabella! She had never shown any hint of being a traitor, she was always middle of the road between him and Aviel and had fought Resistance just as hard as anyone else.

Why had she betrayed them? HOW could she have betrayed them? She was always risking herself rat-...rath....

Sanders' shaking stopped as he thought back to when this had all happened. Isabella had shielded them from the shrink ray, had come back for them, and had, somehow, found them. How had she found them unless...unless she had known where they were. He glanced at his wrist unit and found it off. A quick glance to Aviel would show hers was off too. Their beacons were not on...Someone had TOLD her where to find them.

Was it the guard? She had been a shield. Maybe she was one of Gabriella's friends and had helped Isabella. But then how had Angela found them so quick? And why take them to a meeting room and not a proper shelter? Unless...unless whoever told that guard to bring them there had told Angela too and picked this room specifically for this purpose. But who?

Isabella had lightened up when Cathrine had first come in like she was saved. And yet when Cathrine said she was a traitor it crushed her. In fact, she only admitted to being a traitor and part of the attack AFTER Cathrine had called her one. Always trying to protect them...always trying to keep them shielded...

Sanders eyes snapped completely wide open as it hit him. She had admitted to being part of the Resitance to SAVE them! Her leaving from Valery's office... she must have gone to Lindale and found whatever Manchent had left! And whatever that was was a secret the Matriarchs were willing to kill to keep. Which meant if she had told them the truth, Angela and Cathrine would have killed him and Aviel too.

Jesus Christ, the Society didn't have one corrupt Matriarchs, they were BOTH corrupt! Isabella had probably figured she could trust Cathrine and told her what she had found only to have, inadvertently, tipped off the very people she was fighting against! AND HE HAD BELIEVED THEM AND HAND DELIVERED HER TO THEM!!!

Sanders spun around and saw Angela's tongue pulling Isabella in. She didn't deserve this. She didn't deserve to die like that for trying to save them! SHE COULDN'T DIE LIKE THIS!!!

Sanders wanted to run and pull her out, but Angela's neck was already pulling back. She was too far and there was no time to reach her. He had to do something, had to stop this, had to show her he knew she was no traitor and had not sold them to the Resi- HIS GUN!

Sanders throw off his pack and his jacket that had been hiding his gun and brought it to his shoulder. Angela's eyes were closed as she slowly began to tip her head back, Isabella perched perilously on her tongue. It was only a matter of time before she fell into Angela's waiting mouth and to her doom. The bitch was PLAYING WITH HER!!!!

Sanders despised himself for letting it come to this. Hated that he had been such an idiot. Furious that he had let himself be fooled. He had always been the one to say not to trust the Society, and he had blindly trusted them. And now Isabella, the woman who had done so much to keep him safe, the woman who was almost like a second mother, the woman who had taken a stand against the Society, was going to die. And the only thing he could do for her was make it quick.

He aimed down the rifle, pointing the barrel at Isabella's head. Isabella glanced over and her eyes widened as she saw what he was doing. Her surprise faded as she gave soft smile. She mouthed something to him, "ladle madum?" Shit, he couldn't tell what it was... But her next word he did understand. It was two words, but they made pulling the trigger infinity harder and infinity easier.

"Thank you."

BANG

Chapter 27: All Have Our Choices to Make

December 6, 2023 7:45 AM

Sanders watched in muted despair as Isabella's head was blasted through. The shot had been a perfect shot, hitting her nearly dead center in the forehead. Her eyes were closed and her face had a serene acceptance to it as it slumped foward. Its calm, almost happy look only drove Sanders further into despair. What had he done?

Sanders let the rifle fall to Angela's palm as he followed it to his knees. He...he had killed her. It had been better than letting her be eaten, but he had killed her, he had given her to Angela, he had killed her...

Angela had heard the gunshot and stopped her sick torture. She opened her eyes and glanced down at Sanders. She brought in her tongue and looked to move it around for a second before turning her head to the side. Sanders breath caught in his throat as he watched Angela spit Isabella's corpse out like it was a just some used up gum. He watched her vanish from sight as she fell to the ground far below.

"It seems breaking the Society's laws runs in this Ranger group. I am sure you are aware guns are illegal, Sanders. And that disrupting a punishment decided on by the Matriarchs is frowned upon. I trust you have a good reason for killing that traitor," Angela said as she turned back to smile at him.

Sanders felt his depression slowly beginning to turn to rage. No...no he hadn't killed her. He had spared her a worse death, something she was thankful for. And she was no traitor. It was the Matriarchs who were the traitors. They had killed Isabella just to keep some secret hidden away. And who knew what else they had a hand in. Manchent's death, Flonne's mutating, letting Lutice off free, and who knew what else.

And Angela had the GALL to still call Isabella a traitor! To worry about the fact he had a damn gun! To suggest HE DESERVED TO BE PUNISHED!! Sanders saw red as he snatched up his rifle again and pointed it at Angela's face. Angela's smile faded as her eyebrow raised.

"You...you...MURDEROUS BITCH! YOU KILLED HER! YOU ARE THE ONE WHO FORCED ME TO KILL ISABELLA! ALL BECAUSE SHE FOUND SOMETHING THAT YOU DIDN'T WANT HER TO! IS THAT WHY YOU KILLED MANCHENT TOO?! IS THAT WHY YOU LET LUTICE OFF EASY?! YOU FUCKER, YOU AND CATHRINE! I'M...I'M GOING TO SEE YOU BOTH DEAD, YOU HEAR ME?! YOU ARE BOTH FUCKING DEAD!" Sanders yelled as he pulled the trigger on his gun. The gun roared out, but the bullet pinged off Angela's shield before hitting her.

Angela's face turned ice cold as she stared down at him. She seemed to rise up a bit higher, now looming over him like a building of woman.

"You dare to fire at ME?! Normally, I would just squash you with my thumb, but you deserve special punishment. I am going to make you BEG for death by the time I am finished with you, traitor," Angela said as she glared at him.

"Nothing you do could ever even come close to forcing me to kill, Isabella. So do your worst you MONSTER!" Sanders yelled as he aimed the rifle down at Angela's hand. He was about to pull the trigger when a sword came flying toward his rifle. The sword cut through a portion of the barrel of his rifle, making it useless, before flying back and coming straight toward his chest. Sanders barely managed to dodge back as the sword cut some of the fabric from his chest armor off, but missed hitting the flak part.

Sanders looked on in stunned silence as Aviel glared at him, sword drawn and ready to attack. She didn't give him a second to recover as she came forward again, feinting right before  bringing her sword to the left. Sanders managed to see through the feint and used his rifle to block the attack, but the sword nearly cut through the jury-rigged weapon. Sanders reacted on pure instinct as he batted Aviel's sword away. Aviel keep her balance, but was forced back as Sanders tossed the, now fully ruined, weapon at her.

Aviel dodged the thrown rifle, but was unable to take back the initiative quick enough to stop Sanders from taking out his own weapons. He snatched up his shield and mace and got into a combat position as he stared at her, still stunned by what was happening.

"Aviel...you can't... Tell me you are not actually siding with them?" Sanders said, his mind racing for an explanation. There had to be a reason for this, had to be something she was going for.

"Of course I am. I am a loyal soldier of the Society and you just admitted to being a traitor. Angela, please allow me to dispatch my ex-partner. I do not wish his...disloyalty to color your perceptions of me," Aviel said as she glared at him in pure hate. Fucking hell...was...was she serious?! No, no she couldn't be, there had to be- Of course, Angela.

As much as he hated to admit it, there wasn't much he could do to stop her from killing him. Oh sure he had talked big just a second ago, but now that his anger had simmered down he realized just what kind of situation he was in. Standing on her hand, no less, there wasn't much he could to stop her from doing whatever she wanted to him. But, if she thought Sanders and Aviel were fighting it might buy them time to think of a way out of here. He needed to play along if he wanted to survive.

"Oh? Interesting...Very well, Ranger Aviel. Prove your loyalty and execute your former partner in the most painful way you can. I might even let you join the Swords like you have wanted for so long," Angela said as her smile returned. Her hand opened up completely to give them more room to fight as she looked down on them like a giant Empress about to watch her gladiators. Damn bitch, he was going to make her pay for this...just wait.

"If you are going to spit on Isabella's memory just to work with these killers, then I will gladly put you down too!" Sanders said trying to sound convincing as he took the offensive. He needed to make this look good to keep Angela from figuring out this was fake or else she would kill them both. Sander swung a blow for Aviel's head, making sure to go just a bit slower than usual. Aviel, like he had hoped, easily dodged and brought her sword up to try and cut into his arm. Sanders was ready , though, and moved his hand just enough to have the sword glance off his flak armor.

Sanders was about to counter-attack, when Aviel spun with her attack and brought her leg up to kick at his face. Sanders just managed to get his shield in the way and grunted as the impact rang off his shield. Aviel had always been bad with holding back, but this was a bit much. Sanders swiped his mace at her head, aiming a bit too high. Aviel ducked under it before bringing her sword straight up to try and cut into his groin, like had had guessed. He got his shield up to protect his critical area only to be taking completely off-guard as he saw it was a feint. Holy shit she was going for his legs! His unarmored legs!

Sanders cursed as he barely managed to dodge back and avoid having his leg cut off. The quick dodge threw him completely off balance and Aviel gave him no chance to regain it. She leap after him and brought her sword down straight toward his head. Sanders blocked with his shield, grunting from the effort of stopping the double-handed swing. Aviel glared at him before kicking out his right leg and sending him tumbling to his knees. Sanders cursed under his breath as Aviel began to push his shield back and took a wild swing at her with his mace. Aviel dodged back to avoid the heavy weapon, but ran back into the fight, coming on Sanders right side to avoid his shield on his left arm.

Sanders cried out as he let himself fall to avoid her horizonal cut that was aimed right at his neck and rolled to avoid her down cut. Her sword passed by his head and sunk into Angela's palm, drawing blood.

"OWW! AVIEL, REMEMBER WHAT YOU ARE FIGHTING ON!" Angela roared out, causing both Sanders and Aviel to cringe in pain. He wanted to yell at her to, also, remember this was supposed to be fake, but keep quite as he got back his feet. Angela's roar of anger had bought Sanders some time, but fuck he still didn't see any hints of what Aviel was planning on her face. He had expected an eye twitch, a half smile, SOMETHING. But she just glared at him with that same look of hate and anger. She was really selling this.

"Sorry, Matriarch. He is not fighting me seriously and it is beginning to make me very angry. You had best start fighting for real, Sanders. I will not let your delusions about me still being on your side jeopardize my proof of loyalty," Aviel said as she got back into fighting stance. Sanders didn't see a hint of her lying about that. Fuck there really was nothing to show she was lying, but...but she HAD to be. How could she not see what had happened?

"Fine, let's fight for real then," Sanders said still debating whether she was serious or not. He came forward and made to shield bash her, but only hard enough to knock her back a bit. Aviel's glare hardened as she, easily, dodged the bash, spun around him, and sliced into his right thigh. Sanders cried out in pain as he staggered back and spun to stare at her. Aviel was already moving, though, and made to cut at his leg again. He jumped back, falling for her feint, and she leap after him before plunging her sword into his left shoulder. Sanders grunted in pain before swiping his mace at her, this time for real, and forcing her to dance backwards.

"What...what the hell are you doing, Aviel?" Sanders demanded.

"My job. You are a traitor and I am going to be assumed guilty by association unless I sever ties with you. Which is what I am going to do," she said as she glared at him. Shit...she wasn't lying...she was serious...

"You...How the hell can you side with them? They killed Isabella for fucks sake?!" Sanders yelled, desperate for her to see what she was doing. She couldn't side with them?! They had just murdered Isabella!!

Aviel didn't answer as she went back on the offensive. Sanders gritted his teeth as he brought his shield up, the wound in his shoulder making it painful to move his arm. Aviel's sword glanced past him and Sanders brought his mace up to try and smash it out of her hand. Aviel was quicker, though, and managed to pull it back.

"Think about it Aviel. Why would Isabella have been so depressed AFTER Cathrine came? Because she was counting on her!" Sanders said trying to get Aviel to see. Still, she said nothing as she attacked again. Sanders managed to fend her off as he keep trying to reason with her, he had to get through to her!

"I know you are smart enough to see it Aviel. Its obvious Isabella found something they didn't want found. Same as how they didn't want Manchent to escape! I beat they are the ones who put that collar on him in the first place. It all makes sense then!," Sanders said and again Aviel ignored him. Dammit, was she really that blinded?!

"Dammit, Aviel why?! Why the hell are you siding with them against me?! Why are you fighting against your friend and siding with fucking monsters?!" Sanders demanded of her, furious that she was not even answering him. Aviel stopped her assault as she looked down and gripped her sword tighter.

"Because I am sick of it... I am sick of meeting people, sick of getting to know them, sick of them becoming important, sick of them leaving me, and sick of being hurt over and over and over again BECAUSE EVERYONE I CARE FOR DIES!! I AM SICK OF IT ALL!" Aviel yelled out, tears starting to appear on her face. She quickly wiped them away as she went back to glaring at him.

"I am tired of caring only to get hurt. So I won't care anymore. The only thing I want now is revenge. THAT doesn't bring me pain. And the best way to get it is with power. The Society has the power I need to get my revenge and will praise me for getting and reward me with more power. What do you have to offer, death? What do you think you can do, Sanders. Look around, all it would take is Angela to tip her head to the side and we would both be dead. Against that  much power, what do you think you can do? Actually, don't answer that. I don't care. I don't care what you think, what you plan, or about you. All I want, is for you to die and to be the last person I feel ANY sort of pain for. Now," Aviel stopped as she took out her dagger from her belt and took up her double-blade stance, "go tell Isabella that her damn conscious broke me and I hope she enjoys HELL."

Sanders stood there in silence as Aviel gave her short speech. His breath caught in his throat as she took out her dagger. Fuck, she had NEVER fought him in practice with both her weapons. She...she was really serious...she...Aviel had... No...not her too...He...he had lost them both now. And all because she had lost too many people...no...

Sanders barely snapped out of his despair in time to block Aviel's lunge forward. Her sword glanced off his shield, but her dagger came flying in, barely missing puncturing his neck. Sanders moved back only for Aviel to follow him step for step. Her sword and dagger flew at him from every direction. Sanders tried to hold them back, but his wounded left shoulder was slowing his shield and his hurt leg was slowing all of him down. He managed to stop all her sword attacks, but her dagger was nigh impossible to stop, stabbing him practically everywhere. Thankfully, the blade was having trouble getting through his flak and he managed to keep her away from his legs. Dammit he had to get on the offensive!

Aviel raised her sword up for a downward cut and Sanders saw his chance to get off the defensive. Her gritted as he thrust his shield forward, smashing it into Aviel's chest. Aviel stumbled back from the hit and barely managed to deflect Sanders mace from hitting her shoulder. A head hit would kill her, but Sanders just couldn't bring himself to do it. Instead, he was aiming to disable her. She could heal from a broken shoulder, given enough time.

Aviel lashed out at Sanders with her dagger, trying to get back the offensive, but Sanders deflected it away with his shield before swinging his mace straight at her arm. Aviel danced back, but Sanders followed, going for a back-swing. This time, Aviel brought both her sword and dagger up and blocked the hit with a grunt of effort. Sanders didn't let them stay weapon locked as he smashed his shield into her again, forcing her back a step. He had a perfect chance to hit her, one good hit to the chest would finish this and he brought his mace back to strike.

But his hand seemed to freeze. It...It was still Aviel. They had been friends, partners. All the good times, all the adventures, all the...the...

"Does the kid need big sis to help?"
"You sure you just wanted to patch me up,"
"In fact, I would miss all of them. Once I got back my size I could never come back here. Never be able to take part of these nights again or get these kinds of drinks again,"
"It-...Its just I don't want to get too attached, alright?"

He...he couldn't, he wouldn't do this. He just wouldn't. Sanders was about to lower his mace when Aviel got her footing back and sprang forward, a look of pure murder in her eyes. Sanders cursed as he tried to shield himself, but too late as her dagger came up to his left hand and sliced into the back of his forearm. Sanders cried out in pain as blood came shooting out from the wound. He watched in horror as his shield came tumbling down, its straps cut as well. Sanders swung his mace forward, but Aviel parried the blow as her dagger went back and came forward again. She stabbed him in the side of his stomach, where two of the flak plates meet, and Sanders felt hot pain lace up his entire body.

Aviel stood there, staring at him as he barely keep a grip on his mace. Her sword was keeping it pinned down as she began to twist the knife.

"You always were an idiot, Sanders. Even after all this you STILL can't fight me? Its a wonder you survived this long. I'll be doing a lot of people a favor getting rid of you. Maybe then they won't be contaminated by your stupidity," Aviel said as she leaned a bit closer to him. Sanders might have enjoyed being this close to her under any other circumstances.

"I'll make double sure Flonne and your siblings are made into good Society-loving citizens. So don't worry about them as you go to the afterlife," Aviel said with a vicious smile. Sanders eyes opened wide at that and he felt a rage like he had never felt before hit him. This bitch was NOT going to do ANYTHING to Flonne or HIS siblings! And she sure as HELL WAS NOT GOING TO TURN THEM INTO SLAVES LIKE SHE WAS!!! He didn't care about the memories anymore, he didn't care about the good times, he didn't care about any of it. He only had one thing he wanted now, for Aviel to be dead! She was no longer his ex-partner, no that woman was dead. All she was, was just another monster wearing human skin that was not going anywhere near his family or adapted family!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjjWCCYcUZc

Sanders roared out as he slammed his head into Aviel's. Aviel reeled back giving Sanders an opening to rip his mace free of her sword. He grabbed her left arm with the dagger and held it as he brought his mace up.

"YOU ARE NOT TOUCHING MY SIBLINGS!" Sanders yelled as he slammed the mace down onto her arm, the crunch of bone and a yell of agony from Aviel making him smile. Aviel's arm had caved in from the blow and tears were streaming from her eyes from the pain. Even so, she brought her sword up and tried to slice into Sanders arm. Sanders let the sword cut into the flak on his arm, drawing a bit of blood, before pulling Aviel's dagger out of his side and throwing it back at her. Aviel cried in pain as the dagger slammed into her shoulder. Sanders raised his mace up again and with a yell brought it down toward Aviel. Aviel danced away, her arm flopping uselessly on her side.

Aviel snarled as she glared at Sanders with pure hate on her face. Sanders returned the look full force before charging her. He swung his mace for her head and cursed as she ducked under it. Aviel brought the sword up, trying to bisect him, but Sanders dodged back before throwing a punch straight for her face. Aviel staggered back from the blow and Sanders brought his mace around in a full force horizontal swing. Aviel raised her sword to block the hit, but the blow was too strong and sent her spinning to the ground and her sword flying off Angela's hand to the floor far below.

Sanders didn't even smile in satisfaction as he raised his mace to finish it. He brought it down, but Aviel snatched up his fallen shield and cowered under it to stop the blow. Sanders cursed out loud as he yelled in rage as he brought the mace down again and again and again and again and again. The shield began to dent, buckle, and looked about to give as he slammed it over and over again.

"Now go and beg Isabella for forgiveness, cause you are not getting it from me, Aviel!" Sanders said as he brought the mace up to finish it. Suddenly, the shield was sent flying up and smashed into Sander's face causing him to stagger back and his vision to fill with stars. Aviel sprang up onto his chest, the dagger he had thrown into her shoulder in her still working hand. She used her weight to force Sanders to the ground and slammed her dagger right into the fleshy part of his right elbow. Sanders cried out in pain as he tried to bring his arm up to smash his mace into her, but the arm refused to move with the dagger inside it. Aviel snatched the mace away from him and slammed her foot down onto his left arm to keep it pinned. Sanders tried to move, but Aviel smacked him upside the head with the hilt of his mace and sent his world spinning and bursting with stars.

As the world started to swim back into focus, Sanders could hear booming laughter coming from up above.

"HAHAHA, well done, Aviel. Very well done. I never thought to have tinies fight in my hand before, but I think it might be a new hobby of mine. Very entertaining. Now, kill him," Angela said as Sander's vision stopped swimming. He looked up to see Aviel still straddling him and looking down on him in disgust. Sanders returned the look.

"Do it, you bitch. At least I'll die happy knowing I stood by my friends and principals," Sanders growled out. He was trying not to show any fear, though it was certainly there. Once he was dead who was going to know what happened here? How would anyone discover the truth? There...was no real time to worry about that, though. All he could do was face his death bravely and not give Angela or Aviel the satisfaction of hearing him beg.

Aviel stared at him a moment before giving him an odd looking smile. Sanders raised an eyebrow at it as Aviel turned to look at Angela.

"Matriarch, might I make a suggestion?" she asked getting a slightly annoyed look from Angela.

"And what might that be? Do you think we should spare him?" she asked in a cold tone.

"Of course not. He is a traitor and deserves death. However, you ordered me to kill him in the most painful manner possible. I know of a particularity cruel way to do such. However, I would like something for this information," Aviel said with a cocky smile. This got Angela's attention as she studied Aviel.

"And what would you like in return for this information?" Angela said looking rather curious.

"To be accepted into the Swords and my natural size returned to me," Aviel said with a triumphant smile. She glanced down at Sanders and seemed to lord over him about what she was about to do. Dammit, was that all she ever cared about? About getting her damn size back and her revenge?! Angela gave a short laugh at that and her old smile returned to her face.

"Very well, Aviel. Consider yourself the newest member of the Swords of Atlanta. I can already tell I will greatly enjoy your services. Now, what is this secret?" Angela said looking eager to know. Aviel turned back to Sanders and smiled at him as she answered.

"Sanders here, is terrified of being eaten by catgirls," Aviel said with a smile that frozen Sanders blood. No...she...she didn't just...No..no nononononononoNONONONONO!

"NO, please no! Anything but that, please please PLEASE! Aviel you know how horrid that was for me, please just kill me, please not that please!" Sander heard himself say, fear overriding his thoughts. Angela only laughed at his pleading and nodded to Aviel. Aviel gave him one last smile before slamming the butt of his mace into his head.

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9:12 AM

Sanders groaned as consciousness began to slowly trickle back into him. A dull throbbing brought his hand up to his head and he felt a large knot where one had not been. Or he thought it hadn't been there. Wait...what had happened? He...ugh his head, where?

Sanders groaned again as he pushed down on the ground to sit up. Only it wasn't ground he was pushing against. He had been in enough massive females hands to know one by touching it. The soft skin and warmth were rather welcome and he wondered if he had taken a blow to the head and Isabella was worrying over him right now. He rubbed his head again before opening his eyes. Ahead of him was what he expected, four massive yet dainty fingers stretching up like strange curved trees. Oddly, though, they didn't look like Isabella's fingers...and he had a feeling like he was forgetting something.

"Ahh, good. You decided to wake up just in time," a familiar, but not Isabella's, voice said behind and above him. Sanders thought for a second before he recognized it as  Matriach-

It all came back in a massive rush. All of it. Sanders leap up onto his feet and went to grab his mace, but found it missing. His gun...was gone and ruined anyway. All he had on were his now torn and badly damaged flak chest and arms armor, his combat pants, and his radio headset. The rest of his gear was gone leaving Sanders with nothing to fight with save his bare hands. And using those against Angela would be like trying to punch out a skyscraper. Oddly, though, all his wounds looked to have been bandaged up and at least tended too, though they still hurt like hell.

Angela smiled at his obvious distress and chuckled a bit.

"I am afraid all your gear has been taken from you. They are Society property, though, so its only right. We did let you keep that armor, though, and your radio. I would hate for you not to be able to speak your mind or be without your late commander's gift. We even patched up your wounds. Be a shame to have you bleed out before your execution," Angela said her smile spreading a bit. The damn bitch had left him the radio AND healed him just hoping he would beg for mercy or something else. And fuck him he had given it to her just before Avie-...Aviel....

He looked around, but didn't see his old partner anywhere. In fact, this wasn't the same room as before. It looked to be some kind of security room with large security doors baring both exits. A large one-way window looked into the room, but Sanders could not see what was on the other side.

"Looking for your partner, or should I say ex-partner. Don't worry, she should be along any second now," Angela said with a sadistic smile. Sanders cursed his lack of a weapon and size. He would have liked nothing more than to wipe that smug look off her face.

"Must be easy to talk down to people when you have a hundred times their size on them. I would love to see you try to act so superior if we were at the same size," Sanders said glaring back at Angela. Angela's smirk didn't move an inch as she chuckled.

"I am sure you would. And I would enjoy stripping you of those delusions, but I am afraid I have no wish to return to your pathetic size simply to educate you. Far easier to just," she stopped as her middle finger curled up and came down toward him. Sanders cursed as ran out from under the finger and stopped a few scale feet from it. Angela chuckled and looked about to lower one of her other fingers when a loud hiss came from one of the security doors.

"Ahh, and here is Aviel now," Angela said as she opened her palm back up. Sanders turned to the door and watched in a mixture of horror and awe as Aviel stepped out into the security room, only this Aviel was far, far bigger. Aviel had been returned to her normal height and moved over to stand in front of Angela, now nearly a half a foot taller than the Matriarch. Sanders gulped down a bit of fear as he found himself staring up at a suddenly massive Aviel. Her left arm was in a large cast and she glared down at him. That glare had been scary when she was the same size of him. Now...now it was terrifying.

Sanders took a few steps backwards, shaking his head in disbelief. Some part of him had always wanted to see what Aviel would look like super-sized. Her toned arms and shoulders showed through her medical gown and her average breasts were now bigger than most houses. He would beat if she flexed, her bicep would dwarf most cars... Damn he would have like- STOP IT! Sanders tried to remember that she was evil, vile, and spit on him AND Isabella, but all he really could think of was a mixture of fear and arousal. Dammit, she was just so...huge. Seeing giantesses was one thing. Seeing someone who had been your size suddenly now a giantess was something else entirely.

"Would you like to see your old partner before we send him off?" Angela asked as she offered Sanders to Aviel. Aviel extended her working hand to take him and Sanders found himself sliding onto Aviel's hand as Angela tipped her hand up. Sanders grunted as he landed onto her hand and found Aviel's hand to be anything but dainty and soft. It was rough and callused from her sword use and looked a good bit larger than Angela's. Sanders gulped as he looked up to see the massive face of Aviel staring down at him.

"So this is what it is like to be the giantess," Aviel said before a slight smile crossed her face, "I think I could get used to this." Her fingers began to curl up and Sanders got to his feet as he tried to find someplace to go to avoid her closing hand. There was nowhere TO go, though, as her hand closed in around him, just barely stopping from closing completely and crushing him. Sanders cursed as he tried to force Aviel's hand to open, but it was like trying to move a cement wall. Only this wall was made of flesh and had once been his friend. And now...now it was his worst nightmare.

"I can barely even feel him in there... I could kill him just by squeezing a little harder. But that would be too quick," Aviel said as her hand opened and the welcome light flooded back in. Sanders cursed Aviel, cursed Angela, cursed the Society, and cursed the world for letting this happen. Now what the hell was he supposed to do? How was he supposed to stop them now?!

"If you are done marveling at your new found power, let us head to the catgirls' holding pens," Angela said bringing a freezing chill of terror to Sanders. He looked up at Aviel, pleading and begging her to stop this with his eyes. She couldn't have fallen so far to let this happen, she couldn't have! Please, at least kill him herself or SOMETHING!!!

But Aviel didn't even look at him as she nodded to Angela and began to walk. Sanders was thrown from his feet by her heavy footfalls and his panic was exchanged for sickness. Aviel had no sense of how to walk without causing tinies problems and Sanders found himself being thrown about her palm like clothes in a dryer. As he rolled and tumbled, Aviel deigned to look down at him.

"Throw up in my hand and I am breaking your leg," she said before turning back forward. Damn her...DAMN HER TO HELL! Sanders didn't care if she did break his leg, he was barfing in her hand if for nothing else than to spite her.

By the time the trip had ended, Sanders had thrown up twice in Aviel's hand. The first time had been on purpose, but the second came from her inability to not shake her hand like crazy. Sanders gasped in relief as they finally stopped and laid in Aviel's palm to rest. Meows and hissing filled the air and Sanders would have been panicking if he was not exhausted. He had just closed his eyes when pain shot through his leg. He looked up just in tme to see Aviel's finger pushing into his leg.

"I warned you, bastard," Aviel said before pushing down on his leg. Sanders cried out in pain as his leg snapped under the weight of her finger. He covered his mouth after the first cry and tried to hold in the cries of pain, knowing the two monsters wanted to hear him scream. He was not going to give them the satisfaction.

"How very cruel. And just before you feed him to a catgirl too. Oh well," Angela said with the same damn smile as she motioned for Aviel to move along. Sanders wanted to look, but he was in the middle of her palm and couldn't see past it. And moving was, now, out of the question. Aviel walked a few steps, the movement causing Sanders broken leg to scream in agony, and nearly causing him to. Finally, she stopped and bent down to one of the cages. The cage had a large hole with a chute in it that looked to be where they poured food in. They were just going to shove him down a food chute...

Aviel looked about to say something, but reconsidered as she moved her hand up to the chute. Sanders braced himself and tried to grab Aviel's hand as it began to tip. He tried to bury his fingers into the lines of her hands, but he couldn't get a good enough grip. With a cry of shook and anger, Sanders slipped off Aviel's hand and down the chute. Sanders tried to keep his leg from hitting the chute, but failed utterly. His leg hit the chute and pain shot through his body.

For a brief second everything went dark, but came back as he found himself laying on a fluffy carpet. He stopped as he worried he had landed right on the catgirl, but was relieved to find this carpet wasn't heated. Sanders rolled over and looked up into the rather dark cage and saw the chute he had come down on high above, too high for him to reach.

Sanders turned back forward and froze as he saw the massive form of a catgirl, with black hair, a few scale feet ahead of him. The catgirl was curled up into a ball and its side was slowly rising and falling. It was asleep, thank whoever, and Sanders let a sigh of relief escape him.

"Should we stay and watch? It can be rather entertaining to watch their last few moments," Angela suggested from outside the cage. Sanders could see their legs outside the cage door behind him, but nothing else.

"No. With a broken leg, it wouldn't be very interesting. Besides, Sanders would like nothing better than to put on a brave show so we can say how well he died. Let us leave the catgirls to be his only witnesses," Aviel suggested. Damn you, Aviel. DAMN YOU TO HELL! Next time...Next time he would NOT let her escape. Next time he WOULD kill her!  And he was NOT going to die in here!!

Angela chuckled at that suggestion and agreed. Sanders heard the door open and shut leaving him to his fate. Sanders could hear other catgirls in other cages; meowing and hissing and scratching and moving around. His earlier confidence was being worn down as he rolled onto his back and looked around for something to use as a crutch. He needed to get moving and find a way out of here before the catgirl in this cage woke up.

He looked around, but nothing looked useful for a crutch. Cursing his luck, Sanders was about to try and crawl around for a better look when the catgirl suddenly stirred. She stretched out a bit and gave a soft yawn as she rolled over to face him. Sanders held his breath as he watched her eyes, praying they did not open.

They opened.

Sanders felt terror grip him as the catgirl began to focus on him. She rolled onto her hands and knees and smiled as she began to inch closer and closer to him. Sanders pushed himself back, but quickly realized it was pointless. There was nowhere to go and he was not going to out run the catgirl like this. He stared at his approaching death before hanging his head in defeat.

No..No he wouldn't let it end like this. He wasn't going to just lay down and die. Sanders looked back up at the catgirl, now nearly on top of him and glared up at it.

"Come on, then. Come and get me! But I sure as hell am not going without a fight!" Sanders said as he pushed himself up onto his unbroken leg. He balanced on his one good leg as he raised his fists up. He stared the catgirl down as she licked her lips in anticipation, her head looming over him.

"COME AND GET ME SO I CAN GIVE YOU THE WORST INDIGESTION OF YOUR LIFE!!!"


    Ranger Report 87-1214-995
Report on Patrol 5

Ranger Commander Isabella "Captain" Raim:
Status=KIA
Cause of death: Resistance attack on Base. Killed attempting to save Scout Sanders Cutter. Cut down by Resistance missile barrage. Body too badly damage for burial, was incinerated.
Family status: Immediate Family: Lost in Shrink Disaster, presumed Dead.
Husband: Jeremy Raim: Dead.

Ranger Scout Sanders Cutter:
Status=KIA
Cause of death: Resistance attack on Base. Moved too far forward of position and was cut off. Body was no recovered, presumed to have been crushed during fighting.
Family status: Immediate Family: All alive. Family has been notified of death and commendations for his bravery sent to them.

Ranger Scount Aviel Wolff:
Status= Active, promoted to Swords Search and Destroy squad
Promotion due to exemplary performance in the line of duty. Height returned to normal.
Family Status: N/A (Family status for active members are only viewable by authorized personnal)


End Notes: Patrol 5 is hereby disbanded and the number retired in honor of Isabella Raim and Sanders Cutter. Memorial service for both are to be held on 12/15/2023 at the memorial plaza. Both are to receive commendations for their valor in protecting the Atlanta base from Resistance forces.

One of the catgirls seems to have escaped her cage. Security is currently on the look out for the escaped feline and all Ranger patrols are to remain on the look out. Catgirl is to be assumed dangerous.

Thanks for the nice comments guys. So its been almost a week since Act 1 ended so I guess its safe to assume anyone who was going to read it has read it.

So for those of you who have just like to ask a few questions and get some feedback and all that.

1)Do you like the little additions at the end of chapters that talk about the world in general? Should I keep doing those or just drop them?

2)Did you like the links to youtube? Were they just a distraction or did you enjoy the little interludes of music?

3)Should the characters from Shrink High be brought in sooner rather than later? Does it bother you they have yet to show up?

4)Is the general more realistic and less...goofy feel of the story better or worse than the feel of Shrink High?

Besides those four questions, just general reviews and such would be welcome. Also, don't worry about hurting my feelings or anything. Rather harsh, but true criticism than just general blind praise.

And apparently this has to 500+ words for me to be able to submit it sooo....

How about a very, VERY rough draft of another project I will probably start work on after... After Shrink High is done? Sound good? Good.

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Finally the day was here, Jonah's name day. In a few short hours, Jonah would, finally, be a man. He had been looking forward to this day for so many weeks now he could barely believe it was finally here. Soon, Pastor Michal would come for him, lead him out of the solitude of the cabin, to the church, and bless him with the Divine One's blessing.

Jonah paced about the cabin in eager anticipation. He was supposed to be sitting quietly at the alter of the Divine One, praying for guidance and such, but he was far too excited. Once he became a man he would be free to do anything he wanted. He could go wherever and do whatever he wanted without anyone's say so. Even his mom and dad could do nothing to stop him. For then...then he would be his own man and no one save himself would be his master.

Jonah sighed as he flopped onto the bed in the cabin. He had been locked in here for two days now. The only things in the cabin were a bed, the alter, a dresser, and a small stove. He hadn't bothered to use the stove, it was late spring so it was rather warm, and the dresser was full of crappy relgious garments.

He had never really been much into religion finding the old Pastor and his Divine One just a means to keep kids from doing things that annoyed the adults. His mom and dad would always try to get him to stop his troublemaking ways, but no divine punishment ever struke him down. Which meant it all had to be a bunch of hooweey.

He was about to try to take another nap when a noise got him to open his eyes. He glanced around, but did see anything. He shrugged and laid back when the noise came again. This time he sat up and began to look around the room.

He glanced over and just barely caught sight of the tail of a snake going behind the dresser. There was a sudden increase in noise before it suddenly stopped completely. Jonah eased out of his bed and lightly walked over to the dresser. He grabbed its edge before hauling it aside as fast as he dared to pull it.

Jonah's eyes widened as he looked down, not on a snake, but on a tiny naga. The naga turned to face him, a mouse tail still dangling out of her mouth. She looked up at him in a mix of surprise and terror before slurping up the tail. She couldn't have been more than half a foot long and was barely taller than his ankle.

Jonah shook himself out of his stunned stupor before he smirked down at her. Being made a man would be nice enough, but having caught a monstergirl on the same day would make him famous! How many other boys could claim to have captured a monstergirl on the very day of his ascesion to manhood? He would be guarenteed a spot in the Monster Guard then.

He bent down to grab the tiny naga, but jerked back when she hissed up at him, baring her large fangs. She tried to slither away, but Jonah managed to stomp his foot down in her path. She recoiled away from his boot and turned to try and get under the dresser. Jonah knocked it over to keep her from getting under it before going for the back of her tail. She stopped as the dresser fell to the ground with a crash. It was just long enough for him to grab her tail and pull her into the air.

The small naga began to thrash and hiss as it tried to free itself from his grasp. He swore as she got close to biting him more than once before he managed to grab her chest with his other hand. She looked about to try and bite him, but he squeezed her with his hand and her lunge forward became a gasp for breath.

"Bite me and see what happens," he siad as he glared at her. He softened his grip and the naga slumped forward, but didn't make any attempt to bite him. He had done it...he had captured a monstergirl! Granted she was a tiny thing, but it was still a real, honest to goodness, monstergril!

He smiled, infintely pleased with himself, as he looked over his prisoner. With his hand around her waist, she almost looked human. Her black hair hung down past her shoulders and covered a good portion of her face. Her face looked completely human save for her eyes with had a strange slit in them. With her mouth closed, you would never guess she had those fangs in them, though her split tongue would occasionally come out of her nice full lips. Her breasts were rather large on her tiny frame, though it was hard to say how big they would be on a normal girl. Either way, he found himself unable to resist rubbing them with his thumb. If the naga minded she didn't show it as she just stared up at him.

Damn, she...she was actually kind of hot. Jonah could feel his pants tightening a bit as his member reacted to being able to feel a sorta female body up. That was no good. He would be called sick and perverted if it came out that a monstergirl caused him to react. He needed to get this taken care of, but as long as he was holding this naga he knew it wouldn't go away.But...but maybe she could do something to make it go away.

Fucking monstergirls was one of the worst sins to the Divine One, but getting whacked off wasn't, techincally, fucking. And even if it was, who cared? Not long it was real or anything. It would be at least another two hours before the Pastor came and no one else was allowed to see or be anywhere near him before then. No one would know and then he wouldn't have to worry about having an embarassing reaction.

With his mind made up, Jonah began to take off his pants one handed. The naga seemed confused at first until Jonah started to slid off his under garments. She got a sickened look and looked very unenthusied, but Jonah couldn't careless. He got his hard member free and laid back onto the bed.

"Like I said before, you bite me, ESPECIALLY, here and you will regret it," Jonah said, trying to be intimidating. The naga, though, didn't look all that worried and just stared at him with a blank look. He lowered her down toward his dick, watching her to try lunging at it as if to bite. She made no such moves, however. Instead, she moved her tail toward his dick and began to wrap around it. He keep his hand around her waist as she wrapped the rest of herself around his member.

Her scales were rather cool, but still warm enough to be comfortable. She flushed a bit as she began to move her tail up and down over his member, slowly stroking it. Jonah had to fight back a groan of pleasure as the naga began to move up and down his dick, tightening and untightening at just the right time. He moved his hand closer to his dick and shuddered a bit as the naga grabbed the tip of his penis. For a brief second he panicked that she was going to bite him, but she let her tongue come out and began to lick the top of his dick.

"Oh shit," Jonah stammered out as her tongue began to slither and worm its way all over the tip of his penis, sending little waves of pleasure all through it. Her tail began to increase in pace as she worked and Jonah could feel himself already reaching his limit. Fuck it had only been maybe five seconds and he was about to blow!

As if knowing exactly how close he was, the naga speed up her stroking and wrapped her arms around his tip. She pressed her small breasts into his penis as her tongue began to slid all over him. Jonah gritted his teeth, trying to hold it back for a second longer, but it was no good and he ahhed in relief as he released his seed. The naga girl stopped her work as he came and seemed disguisted with his cum. She started to whip it off and looked about to slither away while Jonah was recovering when she suddenly stopped.

She seemed to sniff some of his cum on her hand before licking it off. She swallowed it down before licking her lips and licking it off her other hand. Within a few seconds she had licked herself mostly clean and had turned back to Jonah's dick to get the rest that was on it. Jonah shivered a bit as he tongue and hands worked their way over his dick getting every drop of cum off him.

The naga was still licking her fingers when Jonah had recovered enough to sit up. He looked at the tiny little naga and smirked down at her.

"You...You are really good at that for a tiny little thing. I...I kinda don't want to turn you in now. Maybe I should just keep you instead," he said debating it in his head. The naga glanced up at him and returned his smirk. She looked about to say something before her eyes widened a bit. Her smirk came back twice as big as her stomach rumbled a bit and Jonah heard  a strange groan come from her body.

His eyebrow raised as the naga got a look of pure bliss as her form..began to grow. Jonah's eyes widened right along with the naga as her body began to grow, and grow, and grow. He watched as she slithered closer to him, her still tiny form barely reaching the top of his dick. She reached up to it and began to rub herself against it as her body continued to expand. Jonah gasped out in a mix of pleasure and terror as he felt her body growing into and around his dick. Within a  few short second, her head was above his dick and still going up. Her hand, now big enough to wrap around his dick, began to slowly rub it, covering more and more of it with each pump. He looked on in disbelief as her face rose higher and higher and higher, her breasts pushing further and further into his own chest.

She stopped rubbing him and wrapped her arms around his neck as she gave one last gasp of pleasure. She expanded again, blowing up in his arms till she was looking him right in the eye.

Jonah stared into her now fully-human sized eyes and tried to stammer something out. She placed her finger over his mouth and shook her head.

"No words, Chosen Male, just more," she said as her tail began to wrap around him. Soon enough Jonah wouldn't be able to move, but he didn't care in the least. His arms pulled the naga close as he kissed her with now human sized lips. They felt wonderful on his mouth and her tongue was like nothing he had ever felt before. Fuck the Pastor and fuck the Divine One. He was going to fuck this naga's brains out. He didn't care that she had just grown to human size and he didn't care that she might get even bigger. All he cared about, was satsifying his sudden unquenchable need for her.

And need that only seemed to grow.