The next day started rather uneventful. Lio got woken up by Rachel going about the house, setting everything up to make sure her brother would be fine while she went to work. Not wanting to bother her, he stayed in his admittedly ridiculously oversized bed. When it was about 9am, he finally decided to get up, using a makeshift ladder to safely out of bed. Weirdly enough, he didn't feel any smaller than yesterday, a nice change of pace. Lio didn't think anything of it. Rachel wasn't around for measuring, but he assumed he simply shrunk a little bit.

Wandering around the house had felt weird for the last few weeks. Ever since he got below a plausible height for adults, things seemed both alien and familiar. He used to be able to go through even if he was blindfolded, but his changed "dimensions" had completely thrown off his instincts.  At least Rachel was kind enough to open every door he could possibly need, and recently set up a few ways to got onto chairs, tables, counters, etc. Sometimes it was actual steps, other times some stacked pillows, and even an old bean bag got put to use one last time.

First, Lio went and changed into one of the outfits he had bought with Ava. It was the same as yesterday, but it stil fit. Then, he took a walk towards the kitchen. It took way longer than he cared to admit, but such was the life of someone in the shrinking phase. Once there, he climbed up onto the counter. Up there, both water and bread were waiting for him... Lio really had to thank his sister when she came home.

The next few hours were rather uneventful. Lio went to the couch like he had done so often for the past weeks, using his old phone to watch stuff online. Operating the damn thing was becoming hard... now it was essentially a massive touchscreen television. But he mananged well enough. Around noon, he went back to the kitchen for some more grub. His meal consisted of more breadcrumbs, but also one massive grape... He didn't even need to drink much after that huge, juicy piece of fruit. He also took the opportunity to go Number Two in a makeshift "toilet"... He really couldn't wait to have a properly scaled bathroom again.

On his way back to the couch, Lio began to feel a little dizzy. He figured the grape had simply been a little too much too eat, and that it would be fine once he laid down. But it kept getting worse and worse, and eventually he decided to just sit down and rest for a while. That seemed to help a ton, but he still felt immensely tired. Lio decided it wouldn't hurt to lay down and rest for a minute until his body felt alright. He laid down on the tiled floor (smooth, light brown/beige tiles of about 50×50cm) and closed his eyes.

When Lio woke up, it was about 3 in the afternoon. He was groggy for a bit, but his headache had subsided. The first thing he noticed was that he didn't feel like he was laying on tiling anymore, but rather a carpet. Opening his eyes, he found himself nearly fainting. Looking around, he saw his previous outfit all around him like a small field of fabric. In the distance, the rest of the living room towered like far-off mountain ranges. Everything was gargantuan... and Lio quickly realised he had endured a flash-shrink.... An absolutely insane one at that, for Lio had the sinking feeling he had all the way down to his fated height of 0.85 millimeters...

Looking at his "huge" clothing, Lio realised he was naked now. The next 10 minutes were spent freaking out, as one might expect. Sure, he knew this was his fate but there is a big difference between knowing and experiencing. The shirt felt weird beneath him, able to make out individual threads as if they were somewhat thick ropes creating a field. At one point, he considered leaving his current position. But he decided against it for several reasons. One, it would take him at least an hour to reach anywhere better than where he was now. Two, while it was still a warm summer day, he didn't know if walking naked on tiling would be a bit chilly or not. Three: "Even someone without augmented senses would know what discarded clothing around dollsize means.", as Rachel had said a few times prior.

Rachel.

Lio hadn't even thought about her yet. His poor sister would come home from work to find her brother the size of a mite. She already felt guilty enough for going at all.... He'd have to figure out a way to make sure she didn't blame herself...

The next two hours were exactly that, thinking of ways to approach his next conversation with his older sister. He wasn't sure whether to imagine her size or not, not knowing if it made him feel prepared or even more anxious. Therefore, he didn't, moreso focusing on making sure to remind her that he was fine, both physically and... mostly mentally. He would drop the mostly, probably, didn't want him to worry. His mind also wandered a bit. For once, Lio was incredibly glad Ava would be stuck and work and not appear in the room out of nowhere. Yes, she was his best friend and yes, she was theoretically more qualified to deal with Micros. But right now, he needed his sister, more than ever.

And around 5 in the afternoon, he heard the garage open, Rachel's car pulling in. At this point, Lio was seated at the edge of the fabric-field, but he instantly shot up onto the tiled floor when he heard the familiar noise. Not long after, he heard the door connecting the garage with the rest of the house. Moments later, he heard a voice louder than any he had ever heard before. It was booming and all-encompassing... yet somehow didn't hurt his ears.

"Lio, I'm home. Today wasn't as bad as yesterday, thank god. How's my little brother do-."

While she was speaking, Rachel walked into the living room. She was utterly gargantuan, a living mountain in the shape of a human woman. She was still wearing one of her work outfits, water-resistant dark blue shorts and shirt. Her shoes had come off, as per her own house-rule. The only way Lio could see all of this at once was because she was on the other side of the room... And that still required looking up.... Directly in front of him were his sister's bare feet, the same he had massaged less than 24 hours ago....

Rachel had stopped mid-sentence because her eyes fell on a pile of discarded, doll-sized clothing in the middle of the floor. Her eyes widened and her entire body tensed up. All except her hands, which came to her face to cover up a loud gasp. Carefully, they slid back back as Rachel called out very softly, although her voice was still booming.

"L-Lio? Are you still there little bro? It's okay, you can call up, I should be able to hear something from this far if you yell...."

The worry in her voice was so obvious anyone would have noticed it.

And as he usually did, Lio obeyed his elder sibling. "Rachel! I'm here! Don't worry! I'm fine! I'm next to the shirt!"

Instantly, a massive amount of worry faded from the titaness bodylanguage. She muttered "Oh thank god" under her breath, then focused back on her brother. "Hold on, I'm coming over."

Such a simple statement for such a simple thing. At least, that was the case on Rachel's level. To Lio, it was unfathomably intimidating. Feet the length of over 5 football fields swinging through the air towards his position. And that is disregarding the literal landscape that those appendages are attached too. Lio could feel the earth shake, literally. He knew Rachel was being slow and careful, and that he would get used to it. But for now, his brain was screaming at him that things so large should NOT move so damn fast.

Rachel walked over until she was about 55 centimeters away from her speck-sized brother. When she got close enough, she could see him rather clearly. And she promptly decided to pretend he wasn't naked. It wasn't his fault, and they were siblings.

When Rachel got closer, she turned from a distant mountain to a looming monolith. Conflicting feelings were raging through Lio's head. Sister. Mountain. Massive. Gorgeous. Divine..... No. Sister, she's his sister, not some massively divine being come to grace him with her presence. "Hi Rachel....."

"Hi Lio...." Rachel's voice came from far above. Moments after she spoke, she realised how impossible it must be for her brother to look up at her face... over 3200 meters in the air. Well, on his scale. So, she got down onto her haunches, making things way more manageable. She was still over a kilometer tall in that position. Even her toes and feet were now literal foothills... Lio was now able to see his sister's face, by straining his neck a little. But what he saw was enough to immediately start talking.

Rachel's eyes were turning a little watery.....

"Hey! Big sis! Don't you dare cry! I'm fine, we always knew this was bound to happen. The timing was just a little weird, being today, but that's not your fault! You're a responsible adult, of course you need to go to work and keep things rolling!"

Rachel sniffled a little, extinguishing her watery eyes before any true tears could flow. So gargantuan, and yet arguably more distressed than the speck before her.

"Sorry... It's just... actually seeing my little brother as a Micro. But you're right.... It's just so unfair..."

"Rachel. Listen to me. It is what it is. I've known this my entire life. And as far as I know, I'm in the best scenario a Micro can be. Family willing to take care of me, and friends to support however they can. Don't feel bad for me, feel bad for all those without anyone that shrink down and fall into horrible situations."

"I.... Well yeah. But you know how it is, I'll always worry more about my own brother than anyone else. What happens to some Micros is downright horrifying. And yet, that's why I wanna keep you safe. Who knows what would happen if I set you loose "out there"..."

Lio still tried to keep the mood lighthearted to distract his mountainous sister. "Well, for one, Ava would come over and personally destroy you. Then she'd spend days looking for me where you said you left me. And then I'd be at her mercy."

"So, the same end-result but no protective big sis to keep her in check a little?"

"Basically, yes.... Uhm, Rachel, can we maybe move? I'm still quite naked and my neck is gonna hurt enough already."

"Oh. Of course! I've got everything ready! Your house and all its stuff is still in my room for now. We'll move it to your room later. Now, hop on little brother, let's get you back to being a perfectly equal member of this household."

Rachel's hand descended down from the heavens, laying palm-up on the floor. Near him was Rachel's index finger. Even that miniscule part of her body was utterly enormous. In fact, he would have to climb it to even get onto Rachel's hand. Lio approached the gigantic finger, noticing Rachel's nails were freshly cut. He also noticed a mere fingernail was now a huge keratin plate almost half as thick as he was tall.... That did have its benefits, it was a perfect stepping stone to try and get hold of the many ridges that littered anyone's finger. It was a weird thing, he was on the edge of microscopic, and yet the bodies of a titaness like Rachel provided so many imperfections (invisible on their scale) that were perfect for helping Micros. Same with the SDV giving them far greater senses, it was like a big universal joke.

A little later, Lio found himself in the middle of his sister's index fingertip, its unique lines surrounding him. Rachel had asked if he wanted to get to her palm, for safety, but Lio had said it already took long enough to get here... and that he trusted her with his entire being.

The tall brunette would slowly stand up straight. And while Lio experienced some vertigo from rising 3 kilometers in a matter of seconds, it was way less than it should have been. Humans weren't made for a size like this, but the SDV altered enough that survival was possible if the titans around a Micro had good wills.

Part of Lio wanted to look around the house as Rachel walked towards her bedroom. But his focus was fixated on the gorgeous face above him. Those lake-sized, piercing green eyes shifted back and forth every few seconds to make sure her Micro-brother was where she'd left him.

Everything would be fine as long as they remembered their bond.