~

“Brian? Allie? Can I come in?” asked Elizabeth Dawson, age 47, while lightly knocking on a bedroom door. On the other side, she could just barely hear a few hushed voices, along with a faint rustling noise. After a few moments, the rustling stopped and a voice called out to her.

“Yes, come in!” came the response, to which Elizabeth let out a small sigh and opened the door. Inside, she found that the curtains were drawn, and the overhead light was set to a dim brightness. It was a relatively empty room, all things considered, with very few personal items. The only item of note was what looked like a small pet carrier, which was perched on the nightstand next to the bed. A bed, by the way, that looked completely undone, and served as the only trace of messiness in the otherwise spotless bedroom. Elizabeth took note of this with a slightly raised eyebrow, before turning her attention to the woman standing next to it.

There, looking somewhat frazzled, was Allison Starr, age 23. Her medium-long auburn hair was hanging freely, with quite a few strays jutting out. Her face carried a neutral expression, but her dark brown eyes held a spark of nervous energy, indicating that there was something else going on beneath the surface. She was wearing a simple gray shirt, along with a pair of jeans - both of which looked wrinkled and uneven, as if hastily thrown on. Elizabeth began to question her strange behavior, but she was abruptly stopped.

“Don’t talk too loudly, Brian’s resting,” Allison said softly, pointing to the pet carrier. On closer inspection, Elizabeth noticed that there was a small blanket draped over it, not allowing any visibility into the inside. Elizabeth lowered her tone.

“Is he okay?” she asked concernedly, causing Allison to nod reassuringly.

“Small headache, but it’s getting better. He just needs to lie in the dark for a little while longer,” she answered, adopting a small smile. Elizabeth lightly frowned in response, before remembering what she was there to talk about.

“I see,” she murmured, narrowing her eyes slightly. “Listen, though, I just got an update. Senator Day is going to show up at six, so we have four hours. However, her security is going to arrive half an hour prior to ‘secure the area’ or whatever, so we need to be ready for them. Got it?”

Allison nodded, before her expression slightly darkened.

“They’re not, um… they’re not gonna want to mess with Brian, are they?” she asked nervously.

“No no no, honey, I made sure of that. Cassandra assured me that they’re simply going to inspect the house and the surrounding area, not any of us,” Elizabeth replied reassuringly. Allison let out a small sigh of relief.

“Good, good,” she breathed, before realizing something. “Cassandra, huh? You’re on a first-name basis with a senator?”

Elizabeth adopted a sly grin.

“Friends in high places, Allie, friends in high places,” she replied teasingly. “Seriously, though, we have become a little familiar over the past month. Despite how she appears on TV, she’s actually pretty friendly.”

Allison nodded appreciatively, unable to prevent a small swirling in her stomach due to the fact that they would be dining with such an important person.

“Also, she won’t tell me what, but apparently she’s bringing something very expensive for dinner,” Elizabeth continued, just a little nervously. Allison immediately perked up in response.

“What, like… lobster, or something?” she asked, to which Elizabeth shrugged.

“Beats me, Allie. Something tells me, though, that if a senator calls it extremely expensive, then it’s probably going to be something insane. I tried to tell her that it wasn’t necessary, but she said it was the least she could do after what happened to Brian. We’d best prepare ourselves,” she answered, causing Allison to lightly gulp.

“I-I see…” she muttered. “Well, I’ll try not to embarrass mySELF!”

Suddenly, she let out a small yelp as what looked like an enormous shiver radiated throughout her body. She quickly bit her tongue and returned to her original posture, although now with red cheeks. 

“Everything okay?” Elizabeth asked, with a raised eyebrow.

“Y-Yep, fine! Just a weird cramp!” she hurriedly replied, before lowering her voice again.

“A-Anyway, I’m sure Brian heard all of that, but I’ll make sure that we’re ready. We should just let him rest for now,” she continued. Elizabeth let an awkward silence hang in the air for a moment, before letting out a small sigh.

“Sounds good,” she said, casting one more suspicious glance at Allison before finally exiting the room and closing the door. Allison heard the rhythmic thumping of Elizabeth descending the stairs, and she let out an enormous sigh of relief. After a moment, her expression hardened as she roughly cast her shirt off and into a corner. Now clad in just her bra, she began to pull her breasts away from each other. Doing so eventually revealed something very peculiar that was wedged in-between them:

A tiny person.

A one-inch tall person, to be precise. A one-inch tall person that was completely naked, showing off his toned and muscular physique, with his arms crossed. Most importantly, a one-inch tall person with messy black hair and striking green eyes - eyes that were showing an extremely smug expression. This was Brian Bentley, age 21, and Allison was very mad at him.

“You little asshole!” she hissed. “Why would you do that in the middle of a sentence?! Are you trying to get us found out?!”

“Allie, please,” Brian soothed, reaching over and lightly patting her skin a few times. “Elizabeth is smarter than either of us, she probably knew the moment she opened the door.”

Allison huffed in annoyance.

“I mean, yeah, but it was still extremely embarrassing! You’re just asking to be smushed, you squirt,” she said, briefly pressing her breasts together for good measure. Once he was exposed again, Brian let out an evil chuckle.

“Everything according to plan,” he replied slyly. “Like a moth to the-”

Suddenly, he yelped in surprise as Allison pushed him deeper into her cleavage with her index finger, cutting off his mischievous machinations.

“Shut it,” she said playfully, finally dropping her annoyed persona as her arousal returned. She then removed her pants and crawled back into bed, ready to continue playing with her tiny boyfriend.

~

Some time had passed, and they were resting on the bed while Brian recovered from their previous activity. He was panting heavily, and Allison was gazing at him tenderly. As she had learned over the previous few days, her favorite part of their sexual escapades was simply watching him catch his breath afterwards, as he basked in the post-orgasm endorphins. She herself had not experienced one, so her satisfaction was purely fueled by the knowledge that she had once again blown her boyfriend’s mind with an entirely new experience.

“Have fun?” she asked smugly, knowing full well what the answer was.

“That was absolutely insane,” Brian replied, still somewhat winded. “Keep this up, and I’m not going to want to return to normal size.”

“Sounds about right,” Allison sighed contentedly, before leaning in to give him a big kiss. “You know, I’m starting to worry that you might be enjoying this a bit too much,” she continued. “I mean, you couldn’t even wait until tonight to try that out.”

Brian shot her a skeptical look.

“I don’t think you have anyone to blame for that but yourself, lady,” he said. “I was perfectly fine with going about the rest of my life thinking I was asexual, but you just had to go and awaken my sexuality, didn’t you?”

“I suppose…” Allison grumbled.

“Have you ever heard the expression ‘you break it, you buy it?’”

“I get your point!”

“There is one thing I’m worried about, though,” Brian said, turning on his side to face her more fully.

“What is it?” she asked.

“Well… everything we’ve done so far has been purely for my benefit. I feel like I haven’t done anything for you yet,” he elaborated, adopting a somewhat guilty expression. Allison narrowed her eyes.

“Are you kidding me? I’ve been getting all the enjoyment in the world out of this, Brian. I absolutely love that I’m the one who gets to introduce you to all this. And besides, I’ve always loved spoiling you,” she replied, reaching out and gently stroking his cheek with her finger. He smiled in response, although his face was still troubled.

“I’m glad to hear that, but still. Can’t we do something that you enjoy, too?” he asked. 

“Like what?” Allison replied, not quite sure what he was getting at.

“Well, uh… remember how, on my ‘birthday,’ you told me about some of the stuff that turns you on? What if we did something related to that?” he asked nervously. Allison’s eyes widened as the memory flashed through her mind, and she instantly turned beet-red.

“Are you crazy?!” she exclaimed, before quickly lowering her voice. “Sorry. Seriously, though, no way! Right after I told you those things, you had a nervous breakdown!”

“I did? I have no memory of that…” Brian replied, jokingly putting one finger on his chin.

“Don’t joke about that, doofus!” Allison chided, reaching up and gently jostling him around with her finger. “There’s no way we’re doing that kind of play after what happened to you in prison. Not being in control is obviously an issue for you, so I’m not about to trigger something again just so I can have some fun.”

“Allie, there’s a big difference between not being in control and not consenting. If I had control issues, I wouldn’t be able to stand being small. What happened then was just me remembering what happened all at once, so I’m not worried about something like that happening again as long as we’re careful. If that’s what turns you on, then there’s nothing wrong with that, and I’d be willing to give it a try,” he explained. Allison’s eyes softened at his kind words, and her heart melted. Brian wasn’t done, though.

“Also, think about it this way,” he said. “I’m a blank canvas right now, sexually. Since every experience is my first, and I never developed any preferences or kinks when I was younger, you could probably give me any kink you wanted right now.”

Allison giggled.

“Is that how that works?” she asked, with a big smile. Brian shrugged.

“I dunno, you’re the college graduate,” he replied. “If you got me off every day while wearing nothing but bunny ears, though, I think it’s pretty likely that I’d eventually develop an attraction to bunny girls.”

He paused for a moment.

“…please don’t give me a bunny girl kink,” he said sheepishly, causing Allison to giggle once more.

“What’s wrong with bunny girls?” she asked teasingly. “I think I might have to stop by the costume shop pretty soon.”

Brian groaned in frustration, holding his head in his hands.

“Let’s put all that aside for a moment,” Allison continued, thoroughly enjoying his reactions. “Thank you for being such a sweetheart, but can’t we just focus on you for a little while? This is only your third day of being sexual, baby. Wouldn’t you prefer to just spend some time exploring, and discover those preferences naturally? You really don’t need to worry about me, I’m having a lot of fun with this.”

Brian stared at her for a few moments, before closing his eyes and sighing in defeat.

“Fine…” he grumbled. Allison smiled victoriously, before leaning in to give him another kiss.

“We should probably head downstairs and talk to Elizabeth,” she said softly, after a minute of peaceful silence. “Now that your ‘headache’ is gone, of course.”

Brian snickered at their deviousness, despite knowing that Elizabeth probably hadn’t fallen for it.

“You don’t actually have a headache, right? Have those been any better?” she asked concernedly. Indeed, Brian had been grappling with chronic headaches over the previous month.

“I don’t have one now, but they’re still pretty frequent. Maybe one every couple days or so,” he answered, causing his girlfriend to frown sympathetically.

“Damn,” she muttered, “I was hoping those would go away after we got back together.”

“Me too, but I don’t think it works that way,” Brian sighed. “The nightmares seem to be getting better, though. I haven’t had one in three days.”

“Now that I am definitely happy to hear,” Allison replied, perking up a bit. “I’ll take every win we can get. Anyway, let’s get your clothes back on, mister.”

With that, they started to make themselves presentable. It was time to prepare for the arrival of their very special guest.

~

Peering out the window next to the front door, Elizabeth saw a few black vans pull up to her house. Despite herself, her heart quickened a bit in nervousness.

“Alright, I think her secret service is here. There’s nothing to worry about, we just have to stay out of their way and let them do what they have to do,” she said, trying to reassure Allison and Brian. Turning around, she saw that Allison was visibly frightened, so she shot her a comforting smile. Her smile vanished when she glanced down at Brian, though.

He was sitting in Allison’s palm, with his arms draped over her thumb. What concerned Elizabeth, however, was his expression. Or rather, his lack of one. His face was eerily neutral, which she had learned was an indication of his stress level. The more robotic he looked, the greater amount of stress. Judging by his face at that moment, then, he was very stressed. Elizabeth motioned for Allison to look down at him, and she quickly gained the same concerns.

“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” Elizabeth asked kindly. “Like I said, they’re not going to bother you. They just need to look around.”

Her voice snapped Brian out of it, and he started to explain himself.

“Sorry, it’s just, um… for some reason, the thought of being in a crowded room is really stressing me out,” he said. Allison thought for a moment, before she realized something.

“Do you… do you think…?”

“Allison,” Elizabeth scolded, before lightly shaking her head. They had both come to the same conclusion - it was because of Brian’s assault in prison. However, Elizabeth knew that it was not the right time to bring it up. Allison quickly realized her mistake, and changed her tune.

“Don’t worry, Brian, I can keep you covered in my hand the whole time. You won’t see them,” she assured. Brian fidgeted, and reached up to scratch his neck.

“I guess,” he muttered, obviously not satisfied with that solution. After another moment of consideration, Allison came up with a better idea.

“Say… how would you like to come outside with me?” she asked, causing both Brian and Elizabeth’s eyes to dart towards her in surprise.

“Outside?” Brian repeated, to which Allison softly nodded.

“Yeah, we can wait outside while they look around. Maybe we can go check out Elizabeth’s garden. That sounds nice, right?” she elaborated, looking down at him with a gentle smile. Elizabeth smiled widely at her kind idea, thoroughly impressed. 

“That sounds lovely, Allie,” she praised. “My flowers are blooming right now, so you both can go take a look and see what a great gardener I am. I’ll come out and let you know when they’re done.”

Brian’s heart softened at their suggestion, as he came to the saddening realization that he hadn’t seen a single flower in over three years. Trying not to get emotional, he simply nodded and smiled. Allison beamed, and carefully moved her free hand over her other one, completely concealing her tiny boyfriend within a curtain of her fingers. With that, she began to move outside. Elizabeth came with her, and explained to the approaching men what they were going to do. Allison walked around the side of the house to Elizabeth’s flower garden, and carefully knelt down in front of it. Once she was secure, and she checked which direction the wind was blowing from, she finally exposed Brian to the outside world. 

After wincing from the sudden brightness, Brian took in the sweet, crisp, early evening air. The last few times he had been outside were when he was being secretly transported, first away from the Silver Strip and then to Elizabeth’s house, so he hadn’t been able to appreciate the experience. Now, though, he was able to soak it all in. The fresh air wrapped around him like a refreshing blanket, and the sound of leaves rustling and birds chirping was like music to his ears. Most notable of all, though, was the smell of flowers. Finally turning to look at the source, Brian’s heart was instantly flooded with pure emotion.

As Elizabeth had said, her flowers were in full bloom. Brian was able to take in every small detail of the enormous flowers in front of him, and his consciousness was overtaken by the vibrant mix of reds, blues, yellows, and whites that made up Elizabeth’s flower garden. It was as if he was seeing color again for the first time, as he had seen nothing but a depressing collection of grays, blacks, and oranges for three years straight. It brought to the forefront just how bleak his life had been for so long, and the simple beauty of flowers was all it took to make him emotional. Allison noticed this, and softly smiled at his reaction.

“They’re pretty, aren’t they?” she asked quietly.  Unable to speak just yet, Brian simply nodded.

“Try looking at the sky, baby,” she suggested,  turning her gaze upwards. Brian did the same, and was once again blown away. Although he had certainly spent time outside while in prison, he realized that he had not once attempted to look at the sky. His eyes were always turned downwards, trying to just avoid any and all attention. Now, though, he was able to see once again just how blue the sky was, and just how eternal.

“You know what I like about the sky?” Allison asked, somewhat entranced. “No matter who you are - no matter how big, or how small - the sky is equally massive.”

She reached upwards to the sky with her free arm, as if to grab it.

“It’s always outside our reach, and it always reminds us that there’s something out there that’s beyond us. Isn’t it beautiful?”

Brian’s eyes drifted away from the sky, and towards Allison.

“Yeah,” he whispered. 

“Beautiful.”

~

“Alright, she’s here,” Elizabeth declared, causing Allison and Brian to straighten their posture in preparation. In light of the fact that they were dining with a senator, both Allison and Elizabeth were dressed in formal attire. Allison was wearing a slightly short-cut navy dress, while Elizabeth was wearing a white blouse along with black dress pants. Brian had made sure to inform both ladies of how lovely they looked, especially as it was his first time seeing Allison in a dress. Brian, lacking anything that could be called “formal,” had simply opted to go for an all-black ensemble of clothing. He was currently standing in Allison’s palm, doing his best to make himself look respectable. Allison was doing the same, and their efforts only increased once Elizabeth opened the door to greet their visitor.

Before Elizabeth could say a word, she was suddenly thrusted a carrying box of some sort.

“Would you mind taking that, Lizzy? I’ve kinda got my hands full, here,” came an unseen voice from outside the door. Elizabeth received the box, just a little stunned, and backed up a bit to make room for their guest. Allison and Brian exchanged a confused glance.

“Lizzy?” he mouthed, to which Allison shrugged.

“Thanks a bunch. Now, where are they?” the voice continued, before the figure it belonged to came flying into the house. With virtually no fanfare, they were suddenly faced with Senator Cassandra Day, age 56.

As they had seen on TV, she had short-cut brown hair and vibrant blue eyes, which always seemed to be in some variant of a furrowed position. Her wrinkled skin was a clear indication of her age, but she otherwise looked quite youthful. Her short stature, along with her slightly heavyset frame, gave her the appearance of a busy-beaver as she hurried inside the room with a determined look on her face. Compared to the stern, no-nonsense persona she adopted in public, this was quite a surprise to all three of them. This was further accentuated by her surprisingly casual choice of clothing - a plain sweater and jeans. She was holding a bottle of wine, along with what looked like a collection of files, which she promptly set on a nearby table before scanning the room. Once she caught sight of Allison, along with the one-inch man she was holding, her face lit up.

“There they are,” she gushed, before drawing closer. Quickly remembering that this was indeed a senator, Allison and Brian adopted a formal smile as they stood up straight.

“Allison Starr, I take it?” Cassandra asked, extending one hand towards her.

“Y-Yes, ma’am, it’s very nice to meet you,” Allison replied stiffly, reaching forward to shake her hand. Cassandra nodded with a bright smile, before turning her attention to the tiny man in her hand.

“Brian Bentley,” she said, her face not betraying even a hint of astonishment at his size.

“What gave it away?” Brian replied, his own face not betraying even a hint of nervousness at the giant woman in front of him. Cassandra held one hand to her chest as she let out a hearty chuckle.

“Your dashing good looks, of course,” she answered, causing Brian to smile slightly wider. Allison was once again impressed by Brian’s ability to stay calm during stressful situations, while Elizabeth let out a small, exasperated sigh at their banter.

“It is very, very nice to meet you, Brian,” Cassandra continued. “I can’t even begin to tell you how happy I was to learn that you were alive, even if I learned it a little later than I would have preferred,”

“Yes, and I apologize for that,” Brian replied, lowering his head slightly. “I hope you can forgive me for being overly-cautious.”

“Of course I can, after what you’ve been through,” she responded, her face darkening immensely. “Please, allow me to offer my sincerest apologies over everything that has happened to you. I can’t even… I can’t even begin to imagine…”

“Please, Senator Day, that isn’t necessary,” Brian interjected softly. “After everything you’ve done for me, there’s no need to apologize. I don’t even know how to start thanking you for working so hard on my behalf, not even knowing that I was alive. My name is cleared because of you, and I am so unbelievably grateful. Thank you.”

Cassandra beamed at his kind words.

“I was only doing what was right, darling,” she replied. “But listen, I’ll stop apologizing and you can stop thanking me - on one condition.”

“What is it?” Brian questioned.

“You call me ‘Cassandra,’” she answered with a wink, to which Brian smiled once again.

“Sure thing, Cassandra,” Brian replied.

“I would also accept ‘Auntie Cass,’” she continued, holding one hand to her cheek as she blushed. Elizabeth, still in the background, rolled her eyes. Allison, on the other hand, was simply in awe at their fast-paced conversation. She hadn’t been able to get a single word in.

“On that note, perhaps we should get dinner started,” Elizabeth said, finally stepping forward. “Seeing as how we’ve breezed right over the ‘introductions’ and ‘small-talk’ phases of the evening.”

“Quite so, quite so!” Cassandra replied chipperly, before slightly frowning. “By the way, I seem to be slightly underdressed.”

“Well, that’s because we thought we were having dinner with a senator,” Elizabeth said quietly, to which Cassandra waved her hand dismissively.

“Oh please, Lizzy, lighten up,” she scolded. “There’s no need to stress the poor kids, we’re just having a nice meal together.”

“Speaking of which, what’s this expensive item that you were so excited about?” Elizabeth asked.

“Ah, yes! It’s in that carrier you’re holding,” Cassandra answered, which drew all the eyes in the room towards it. “That, my friends, is dry-aged, A5 Wagyu beef. In other words, some of the greatest steaks you will ever taste.”

Allison’s eyes widened in overwhelming shock, while Elizabeth stared at her in disbelief. Brian, on the other hand, had no clue what she was talking about.

“Dear lord,” Elizabeth sighed. “Do I even want to know how much these steaks cost?”

“Nope!” Cassandra replied jovially. “Anyway, let’s get them going. If you ladies are too scared, I can cook a mean steak. Brian, darling, how do you like your meat?”

“Uh… cooked?” he answered unsuredly, which drew three sets of questioning eyes.

“What? My mom never let us eat expensive stuff,” he muttered, looking down at Allison’s palm. Cassandra’s eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

“I swear, that woman is losing more and more points with me every single day,” she huffed. “Alright, then, it’ll be fine. Believe me, it’s impossible to make this meat taste bad. Let’s eat first, and then we can talk about the serious stuff.”

With that, they all began to move towards the kitchen. At one point, Brian quietly asked Allison to look up the price of the steaks, and he nearly had a stroke. Suffice it to say, it was one of the greatest meals of their lives.

~

“So, how did my video do?” asked Brian, referring to his video from the day prior in which he announced to the world that he was not only alive, but one-inch tall.

“Oh, it was perfect. You hit on all the right points, and it generated the exact kind of reactions that I was hoping for. Spectacular job,” Cassandra praised.

“Although the improvised quip about your clothes at the end was a little unexpected…” Elizabeth muttered, to which Brian shrugged.

“Come on, it was funny,” he replied. “Besides, I wanted to show the people that I’m in good spirits about the whole thing.”

“And that’s a good strategy, but be sure not to overdo it,” Cassandra interjected. “Don’t forget that we need peoples’ sympathy, so we need to occasionally remind them how hard this has been for you.”

“Roger. As long as I don’t have to get too ‘woe is me’ about the whole thing, then I’ll be fine,” Brian replied firmly. “So, what’s the next step? Should I make another video soon, or what?”

“Well, let’s let your first video sit for another few days or so, and let people have a chance to process the information. We want to spread out any and all developments in your case, so as to maintain a constant level of public interest. If we throw it all out there at once, people will stop caring more quickly,” she explained. “After that, we can either do another video or a televised interview. We’ll see what happens.”

“Man… this is like a weird, intense game of chess,” Allison sighed, appreciating just how deliberate and calculated their moves had to be. Even Brian’s persona had to be carefully crafted.

“That’s politics, my dear,” Cassandra replied. “Are you okay with an interview at some point, Brian?”

“I think so, as long as Allie is with me,” he answered, causing his girlfriend to smile widely. “What’s our long-term goal, though? How do we take down the SP?”

“That’s the important question, isn’t it?” Cassandra responded. “Since the SP was adopted nationally, this means that we have to go through the legislature to get rid of it. In general, a law is repealed by introducing a new law.”

“As the only person in this room who was not a political science major, can someone explain to me how that works?” Brian sheepishly asked, causing all three women to giggle.

“Basically, someone in either house of Congress introduces a bill. In this case, that person would be Cassandra,” Elizabeth explained. “After her bill goes to a committee, the Senate will then debate and vote on it. If a majority votes for it, the bill moves over to the House of Representatives for the same thing. If it gets a majority in both houses, it finally goes to the president, who could choose to veto it.”

“Uh-huh. Do we know if the president is on board with this?” Brian asked, turning to Cassandra.

“Oh, he’s definitely on our side here. You might actually be getting a call from him pretty soon,” she said with a wink. Brian and Allison’s hearts skipped a beat.

“S-Seriously?” Brian stammered. “Alright then… one more thing, I suppose.”

“I love your attitude, darling,” Cassandra said chipperly. “Anyway, that’s the process. Hopefully, the public will be able to pressure the necessary people into voting in our favor. They were certainly able to pressure them into convicting you, after all. If it all goes our way, then no more Shrink Penalty.”

Brian let out an enormous sigh.

“Easy as one, two, three,” he mumbled. Cassandra chuckled, before turning serious.

“Now, Lizzy seems to have let slip the fact that the shrinking isn’t permanent,” she said, her tone suddenly as cold as ice. “Which is a state secret, might I add.”

She shot a stern glance at Elizabeth, who averted her eyes.

“You all could get in serious trouble if you tell that to anybody else, so listen to me when I tell you to keep it to yourselves. Am I clear?” she continued. All of a sudden, they were faced with Senator Day, the stern figure who they were used to seeing on television. In the face of her intense gaze, they all deflated.

“Yes, ma’am.” 

“Good. Now, there’s a lot of political nonsense surrounding why we keep it a secret, but a big part of it has to do with the SP. If we repeal it, then there’s a good chance that we can then reveal the truth. And hence, restore Brian to normal,” she continued, returning to her normal tone. At that, everybody in the room perked up.

“Boy, that would be swell,” Brian said dryly. “How long do you think it would be before that could hypothetically happen?”

Cassandra’s face darkened slightly.

“Well, here’s the bad news. I honestly have no idea. Brian, it will take time to repeal the SP. That’s why we need to space out any new videos or interviews, to keep interest high throughout the process. I can certainly try to rush the votes, but we could easily be looking at a month or two before something happens. After that, we’re in uncharted waters. We need to be patient, okay?” she said softly. Brian slightly deflated in disappointment, but quickly got himself together.

“Got it. I was under the impression that I was never going to return to normal, anyway, so I can wait. Thanks to Allie and Elizabeth, being small isn’t so bad,” he replied. Both Allison and Elizabeth’s hearts melted at his kind words, and Cassandra smiled adoringly.

“I can tell. You’re very lucky to have them in your life. And of course, we wouldn’t even be here right now if it wasn’t for Allison,” she replied. Allison suddenly grew incredibly nervous as the focus of the conversation abruptly shifted to her.

“You did an incredibly brave thing, young lady,” Cassandra praised.

“O-Oh, no, it was just the right thing to do,” she said, awkwardly trying to deflect the compliment.

“No no no, I can safely say that you are one of the bravest people I have ever met. I can’t even begin to imagine the level of courage it must have taken to do what you did, and your decision has led to all of this. Well done,” she continued, not letting Allison off so easy.

“Yep, she’s pretty amazing,” Brian cut in.

“That’s for sure,” Elizabeth added. “I couldn’t be more proud of her.”

Facing three sets of adoring eyes, Allison turned beet-red. Unable to handle the onslaught of praise, her brain imploded.

“Thank you…” she mumbled, causing all three of them to crack up.

“Anyway, I think that about covers everything I wanted to say. To recap, let’s let people sit with your video for a little while longer, and I’ll contact you in a few days to go over our next move. Sound good?” Cassandra asked, getting back on track. Allison, Elizabeth, and Brian all nodded in unison, and just like that had a plan for the future. The campaign to take down the Shrink Penalty had officially begun.

~

Some time had passed, and all four of them had simply been chatting for a while. Cassandra was eager to learn any and all details about Brian’s time with Allison and Elizabeth, and they in turn wanted to know about what had happened when Brian’s case was reopened.

“Don’t worry, Brian, we’re going to find out who was behind your conviction. However, it embarasses me to admit that a majority of what happened to you was most likely fueled by public outrage,” Cassandra said sheepishly. “After it was reported that you were arrested, people immediately started directing their rage towards you. The only person who saw what truly happened was the officer that arrested you, and he was clearly too blinded by his anger to care.”

Her face darkened in anger as the footage of Brian being brutally assaulted replayed in her mind. 

“Two days was not enough time to go about investigating your case properly, and it would have been too embarrassing for the people spearheading the campaign against you to admit that they were wrong. As for who those people were, I promise that we’ll find them.”

“So, you’re saying that the conspiracy against me was created just so a couple politicians wouldn’t face a PR disaster?” Brian asked incredulously. Cassandra deflated in shame.

“There’s a lot wrong with our criminal justice system, Brian,” she said quietly. “People are so comfortable with cruelty, and the people in charge care less about justice and more so with marketability. It didn’t get this way overnight, but it is where we are. I’m hoping that we can use what happened to you as a catalyst for some real, positive change. I hope I can count on your support.”

Brian let out a deep sigh, while Allison and Elizabeth looked on concernedly.

“I’ll be honest,” he started. “I really don’t care about any of that.”

All three women were slightly taken aback.

“As far as I’m concerned, the world abandoned me. They all can go to hell. What I want is to return to normal, and live my life with the people I care about. If it takes me being a political prop to get there, then fine. I’ll do whatever I need to do. I just want to live in peace,” he continued. Allison’s eyes softened, and she began to tenderly stroke his back with her finger. Cassandra nodded.

“You’ve earned that desire,” she said. “If you work with me, then I’ll do everything in my power to get you there. Deal?”

Brian extended his fist outwards.

“Deal,” he said. Cassandra reached out with her finger, and tapped his fist. Just like that, an alliance was formed. 

“Speaking of the people you care about, there was one thing I wanted to ask you about, Brian,” Cassandra said, to which Brian made a questioning noise.

“I know it’s not exactly my business, but are you planning on reaching out to your sister soon?” she continued, adopting a gentle tone. The room went silent, and Allison and Elizabeth nervously turned their eyes towards him. They saw that he had an extremely troubled look on his face.

“…did you call her yesterday, like I asked?” he asked quietly, turning his eyes downwards.

“I did, but I’m sure she would have preferred to hear from you instead,” Cassandra replied softly.

“How did she sound?” Brian asked, ignoring her comment.

“To be frank, horrible,” she answered. “She was as quiet as a mouse, and she hardly even reacted when I told her who I was. She’s really going through a tough time.”

Brian sighed deeply, burying his face in his hands.

“I just wanted to make sure she didn’t miss it…” came his slightly muffled voice.

“When do you think you’ll want to reach out to her, sweetie?” Elizabeth asked gently. This was something both she and Allison had been wondering, but were too afraid to ask.

“I understand why you haven’t yet, since we’ve been so busy with the video and everything, but now might be a good time,” Cassandra added.

“Can’t we… can’t we wait until I’m normal-sized?” Brian asked quietly. “It would be embarrassing for her to see me like this…”

Allison raised an eyebrow.

“You’ve never been embarrassed about your size before,” she said. Brian looked up at her.

“That’s because none of you knew me before I was shrunken. Jen has an expectation of me, and I feel like I would let her down,” he explained. 

“I don’t know, Brian, I think she would just be overjoyed to see her big brother again,” Allison replied.

“Indeed. Also, like I said, it could be months before a chance for you to become normal again appears. Even then, it really isn’t guaranteed. I hate to say it, but you need to be prepared for the possibility that you will never regain your size,” Cassandra added.

“You should at least call her, honey. You can work up to an in-person visit, if that’s what you want, but it wouldn’t be fair to completely leave her in the dark. Not after what she said in her video,” Elizabeth said. Surrounded on all fronts, Brian sighed in resignation.

“Fine. I’ll call her tomorrow,” he said, causing all three women to smile widely.

“That’s a good choice, darling. I bet she’s dying to hear from you,” Cassandra replied. “On that note, I should probably take my leave. It sounds like tomorrow is going to be a big day for you, so you need to get your rest.”

With that, they all rose and prepared to make their goodbyes. Cassandra once again reiterated how nice it was to meet them, and promised to do everything in her power to see justice done. After a few hugs, and another finger-fistbump, she was gone. Team Bentley had gained another ally, and they had successfully created a plan for the future.

Next on the agenda: a sibling reunion.