CyberTek Industries was a small upstart on the outskirts of Minitropolis. Not fairly well known but they produced some decent quality stuff, mostly using sheet metal, iron and quartz crystals. They hadn't even technically gone public yet, having just opened a facility about a year ago with plans to expand in the near future.
It seems, therefore, that somebody had been doing their research, for they knew exactly where to hit the nearly abandoned warehouse down on the pier, stealing only a handful of things but they were fairly pricey gadgets at that. As singular items, the stolen loot seemed worthless, consisting of mainly transistors, some fairly basic smart watches and some motion sensing lights, but as a collection, there had been some things of value smuggled in there as well.
The culprit of such a caper? None other than Roxanne Wright who sped into the night sky with a mighty howl of her motorcycle as the sound pierced the twilight.
She'd get her cell phone, resting it atop the space between the handlebars on her bike as she slowed down a bit, showing her boss, a Dr. Giovanni what she had collected.
"Very good, Miss... bring them to me at once!" Dr. Giovanni said, seeing some of the loot his hired criminal had gathered for him. Roxie shrugged, only somewhat questioning the Doctor's sudden change in tone. After all, he usually operated in secrecy and she only had the number through less than "by the books" means.
She suspected something was up but she thought not to question that the person hiring her for services was no longer Dr. Giovanni but rather a duplicate produced by using a Paradox Crystal.
This seemingly unrelated heist took place maybe a month ago, but it didn't seem so unrelated now as a skeptical Sonia Sanders eyed the small group she found in the woods, panning a flashlight over all of them. She hadn't made any arrests ... yet. She just feared that a certain cheerleader girl in purple was involved in this. She usually was...
"So you guys know noting about the missing merchandise from the Cybertek warehouse?" Sonia asked again
"I'm not even sure what Cybertek IS if I'm being honest..." Chris said, before frowning, "S-Sorry Ms. Officer, I'm sure that's not very helpful..."
"Oh, I've heard of them!" Josh nodded, drawing a bit of a surprised look from the questioning officer.
"Really?" Sonia asked, raising an eyebrow, "because they haven't even gone public yet"
"Yeah, true" Josh nodded, confirming this fact, "they filed some patents as recently as earlier this year but they're not set to release their first line of products until the next fiscal year ..."
"Seriously HOW....?" Leah muttered under her breath, incredulous at the wealth of Josh's knowledge, usually at the most convenient or least convenient times.
"I know things..." Josh shrugged, with his usual cheeky grin.
"Okay ... well that still doesn't explain what you were all doing out here, this is technically not a public area, at least not until the construction is over on the Enormo facility..." Sonia said, although she had very little intention of enforcing that rule. The facility was all but constructed but she'd say that (as instructed by her higher officers) to discourage visitors in case there was any truth to the rumors of toxic runoff or harmful toxins in the atmopshere surrounding the new lab.
"Hah!" Chris said, stepping forward, a bit overly eager but perhaps it was his nerves action up, "well, we're certainly not out here visiting FAIRIES or anything crazy like that ... HAH! Do you know how insane you sound?"
"Smooth Chris..." Leah nodded, patting him on the back with a very flat look on her face, "oh so smooth"
"Normally I'd write that comment off as some non-sense..." Sonia nodded, instead scribbling something on a notepad she took out of her pocket. Chris seemed curious to see what it was but knew better than to peek in on a police officer's writing. "...but given some of the stuff I've seen lately ... plus ... you know the ... bird?"
"The bird?" Leah asked
"The literal flaming bird that's sitting on your friend's shoulder ..." Sonia sighed, pointing to Penelope the Phoenix who remained perched on Mara. "How does that not hurt you??"
"We're all kinda wondering that..." Josh nodded
"Awwww, but look at how obedient she's being ..." Mara cooed, scritching the phoenix under the chin, "awwwww who's a cute little phoenix? WHO'S A CUTE LITTLE PHOENIX?? YOU ARE..."
"Officer..." Trevor stuttered, as if he were about to take control of the situation as the elderman of the group "...I have no logical explanation for any of this, and I'm a scientist. I'm deeply sorry. Please proceed..."
Sonia paused, looking at Trevor the longest as she set the notepad back in a holder on her waistbelt.
"You look familiar ... weren't you ... Enormo Enterprises? One of their engineers?" Sonia asked
"Was being the key word..." Trevor nodded, "it's a phase of my life I'd like to regret but I assure you, we are not here on any sinister business or anything of the like ... we'd love to help you find whatever was stolen but ..."
"I know..." Sonia nodded. "Truth be told, I've already given up on the missing tech, as has most of the force... I was more out on patrol ... I remember hearing about Roxie frequenting this place for a time but she hasn't been here in ... well a few weeks"
"That's about the time Lexi went missing!" Leah nodded
"Her parents called us about that..." Sonia sighed, "I've been very worried ... and I'm guessing ... by well, the fact that you're well ... you... heh, no better way to say it, you're all Lexi's ... friends?"
The group nodded in a heartfelt manner, except for Penelope who just kind of wailed.
Sonia sighed, letting her flashlight fall to the side, "I wish I had more leads to help you find her ... we know she was after Roxie ... Roxie hasn't even been around much in recent days ... just a heist here or there ... "
"We may have a lead..." Trevor said, "but we don't know how strong it is ..."
"Oh yeah?" Sonia asked
"You remember that lab that imploded about a month ago?" Trevor asked. Sonia nodded in response, we have reason to believe it belonged to my old colleague from way back when, Dr. Giovanni Guillardo..."
"So it WAS him..." Sonia said in a hushed whisper, "I'm sorry, it's just ... another case the police kind of wrote off..."
"They seem to do that a lot..." Leah sighed, "n-no offense ... ma'am..."
Sonia shrugged, "you're not wrong ... unfortunately a lot of crimes and mishaps go unsolved in the city... it's not that we don't want to solve them all, it's just ... we're limited on time and force... for something as mysterious as that lab accident we can't find any traces of a victim or a cause ... even our arson experts have no evidence of a fire started there, it's like the whole place..."
"Got sucked into another dimension?" Chris asked, trying to act smart for a second
"Eh... sorta?" Sonia answered, not sure she LOVED the young man's habit of interjecting but she couldn't help but find his demeanor somewhat endearing as he clearly cared about the well being of his friend.
"Well, if you don't mind my asking..." Trevor asked, "what led you down this path exactly to investigate?"
Sonia unfolded what appeared to ba a broken piece of something, it was silver and metallic, but that wasn't the strange part. She used her flashlight to illuminate a dirt path between a few trees that had led her to their current location and that path was littered with small shiny pieces of metallic residue.
"This component here seemed similar to the stolen tech ... I was following up on any thinking that Roxie could have some kind of hideout in the woods before realizing that sounded kind of silly..." Sonia answered
"Heh yeah..." Chris snorted with laughter, "I mean it's not like an entire colony of fairies are just living here in the woods or anything insane like that because ... heh ... that would be like ... heh... right?"
"...you really don't get out much, do you?" Leah sighed, rolling her eyes
"Not nearly enough, no." an ashamed Chris answered, lowering his head.
-----
"BANG BANG MOTHER FUCKER!! HA HA HA HA HA HA!!" ~~
~~ "MAYBE I just wanna see what you'd look like as a cute little bug ... I know you can do it but you won't show me ... that's fine ... probably something you have to pay for, right? Maybe on your only fans page?"
Lexi cackled manically, thrashing around, her mind seemingly flickering from thought to thought as she'd see things from a unique point of view ... that of her rival Roxie. At the same time, the true Lexi tried to break through but it seemed to be a constant struggle. Lexi was in a battle for her identity and it was hard to tell who or what was winning.
Meanwhile, Vektor was elsewhere in the palace and despite being overwhelmed with grief, he was speaking to another guard of his, by the name of Smoke.
"Well?" Vektor asked, looking down at a table that held a very particular device -- namely Lexi's cell phone. It now appeared to have been altered, with some kind of small battery pack attached. As Vektor paced around the table anxiously, in the background, Lexi's car could be seen, having been unshrunk and extracted from her following the harrowing battle at Paradox Peak.
"It's done, Lord Vektor..." Smoke said, a shade of regret in his gravelly voice as he slid the altered cell phone over to the Onyx clad knight, whose armor still showed signs of wear from the battle. After a long pause, the elder guardsman finally got up the nerve to ask, "...how is she?"
"She's ... not well..." Vektor sighed, shaking his head, "I blame myself for this ... but I vow to stay by her side ... no matter what"
Smoke raised an eyebrow, finding the sentiment noble but also a bit questionable. He, of course wasn't alone in this train of thought.
It all felt like a blur for the poor Alexis Cole. It felt like her life had been standing on its head ever since she acquired those shrinking powers, but even for her, this was a new type of experience. Lexi usually loved trying new things. This was the exception.
She found herself in a purple nexus, a wondrous world of twirling ribbons streaking through a chaos filled sky. She looked around and yelled as loud as she could, yet the words seemed to fade into an abyss that vanished on into infinity.
"Hello?!" Lexi screamed, "Anybody ... please..."
Lexi fell to her knees, a single tear forming as she looked outward to notice two large pupil shaped openings in her cosmic prison. Through the slots she could see the ceiling of the castle, a mosaic of gray and gold, but it was obscured, like so much to her right now. It was as if she were in a glass case ... or a coffin.
On the outside, 3 people looked in on the woman formerly known as Alexis Cole. She currently appeared like a human from another dimension, and not a nice one. Her blonde hair was straggly and unkempt, her eyes remained staticly open as if she had experienced death itself.
Ruby, Emerald and Sapphire looked down at Lexi's current form as she was inside a Quartzarian medical chamber, a tube filtering a potent form of ionic energy attached to the complex sci-fi appearing aparatus. Lexi was capable of breathing on her own and her vital signs appeared fine, but it was her mind that wasn't functioning correctly. Every now and then the woman would show signs of life, but it would be as a confused Roxie Wright, not the Alexis Cole they had come to know and appreciate.
Breaking the tense and somber silence was the subtle whoosh of a door sliding open and Vektor who hung his head. It was a sad and poignant point in time for the team who had fought so well together despite their troubles. It should have been a galvanizing moment, for the group to unite over the cause of Lexi's condition.
Instead, the worsening situation only produced further disdain.
"Well ... I hope you're happy..." Ruby scoffed, looking at Vektor. The other 2 remained silent, Emerald keeping her eyes barred with anger before turning back to Lexi, tilting her head as she observed something but she kept her thoughts to herself, so as not to alert the others just yet. Sapphire meanwhile looked extremely shy but saddened, and she couldn't even make eye contact with Vektor, much less say anything.
"Why in the world would I be happy?" Vektor said, a hint of anger in his voice as it raised, "Lexi's condition is curable but it may take some time... we have to hope that she has the resolve, not just physically but mentally to counter what's happened to her... and knowing her, she should be able to..."
"Oh fuckin' save it!" Ruby snapped, stepping up towards Vektor in a battle-like stance. Vektor naturally took exception to this, his hand even clutching his blade for a moment. "Oh I dare you ... I would LOVE it!"
"Guys guys..." Sapphire pouted, turning away from Lexi to address the developing argument which showed signs of becoming violent. Meanwhile, Emerald stayed fixated on the corrupted Lexi's body in the case. "Please... let's not do this"
"Sapphire's right..." Vektor said, trying to de-escalate the situation as well
"Oh shove off!" Ruby shouted, literally shoving the taller male knight, "You don't care about Sapphire, you don't care about any of us ... you care about your precious Lexi who you didn't even know until yesterday ... you were prepared to throw us all under the bus and ..."
"Excuse me!" Vektor interjected with added furor, "Did we not all embark on a dangerous mission to rescue your sister from ..."
"Bullshit!" Ruby said, already making her way for the way out of the medical room, "You went for the sword, nothing more! All you care about is power and pride and all this other non-sense! You tell stories about these great heroes who you could never hope to be and try to build up your image into something it's not..."
"That's enough of this!" Vektor yelled, putting his hand on the threshold of the door so as to impede Ruby's progress, "We have a very dire circumstance on our hands as it is ... at this rate, you're going to make me think that YOU'RE a Paradox victim... shall we take a DNA sample?"
"Guys..." Emerald said in a hushed tone, beckoning the others to come look. "...look"
Ruby slipped under Vektor's extended arm to head back towards the metal chamber containing Lexi's body. Sapphire and Vektor both did the same, Vektor leaning forward a bit to have a better look.
"Wh-What are we looking at?" Vektor asked, simply seeing Lexi's physically altered body in a state of stillness yet again.
"She's ... she's coming to..." Emerald nodded, "I didn't want to say anything until I knew for sure ... but ... look"
The group maintained a stare for another few moments before they too witnessed what Emerald had seen. An encouraging sign.
While it didn't last long, slight glitchiness appeared in Lexi, transforming her momentarily back into her brunette, kindhearted self before warping back to the blonde vixen from Minitropolis.
"It's working..." Vektor sighed in relief, watching the Quartzarian energy continue to filtrate into Lexi's chamber as a means of combatting whatever toxins had been effecting her due to the paradox crystal. "She's going to be okay..."
"We... don't know that ..." Ruby sighed, "just ... if she DOES pull through this ... make sure you send her back home as soon as possible..."
"Hmm?" Vektor asked, a bit too fixated on Lexi's fluctuating condition to completely pay attention, although he had heard the words "send her home"
"Vektor ..." Ruby said with a hint of sympathy, "I know how you feel about her ... hell, we ALL know ... and we like her too but ... she doesn't belong here"
Emerald nodded sadly in agreement, Sapphire remaining in stunned silence beside her.
"Wh-What do you mean by that?" Vektor asked, still only half invested in the ongoing conversation, as he stared at Lexi and noticed her body reverting back to normal more often than it would shift to Roxie. "...we've seen how she can fight, how she can hold her own ... she even escaped Pandora's clutches on her own..."
"Vektor..." Ruby said, her tone now shifting back to frustration, "there's more to existence than ... fighting and power ... this isn't where she belongs... can she handle herself? Sure ... but ... that's not the point ... where she's from, she has a life ... she has people ... who care about her ..."
Vektor sighed, shaking his head. He didn't say another word but all he could remember is what little conversation he had with Lexi about her life in the other dimension. She didn't seem too thrilled about being a hero there. It sounded as if she wasn't appreciated, and had to hide her identity. In Quartzaria, she could be revered. People would love and adore her... plus he couldn't help but be haunted by Pandora's accusations ... that he, the great Vektor somehow lacked the capacity to love or settle down. He didn't want to make his intentions known to the others but he couldn't help but feel that despite her not being from here ... Quartzaria may be the right place for Lexi ... especially with the right counsel and partner in her life.
The machine holding Lexi sparked briefly and though her progress seemed to have slowed, the others stood and began to take their leave, figuring there wasn't much else they could do to heal Lexi than give it time. Vektor meanwhile seemed to stay behind. Ruby just let out a sigh as they left him alone with the interdimensional woman.
Lexi's consciousness found itself still in the thickets of darkness, her mind had become her own worst enemy as she felt trapped inside her own body. Except it wasn't even her body. In a moment of consciousness, the confused Alexis Cole looked down at herself to see flesh, but it wasn't her own. It was ... different, paler, and as she examined herself briefly, she couldn't help but think "Damn... I'm sexy..."
But that wasn't her thought. It came from her mind but it didn't feel as though it was her own personality.
"What... in the world ... is wrong with me?!" Lexi screamed out but nobody could hear. She was alone, so she thought ... although she saw those cosmic eyelids again, representing her sole window out into whatever version of reality she was in. She now saw a person. They looked familiar.
"Vektor?" Lexi asked, seeing the blurry silhoutte through the glass, "Vektor?"
Lexi sighed. She couldn't be heard. Or could she?
Vektor's eyes widened hearing the soft voice. Even though tbe body was foreign to him (having only seen Roxie briefly) the voice sounded more like that of his beloved Lady Lexington.
"Lexi?" Vektor asked, peering into the chamber, careful not to disrupt her healing by making any sudden motions as he watched her vital signs improving via a monitor attached to the machinery. "Lexi? I'm here, Vektor's here"
"...Vektor..." the shape shifted woman muttered again, shifting briefly back into her original form.
It seemed the clouds were beginning to dissipate. While Lexi still felt like a prisoner in her own body and her memories felt fractured as if she had literally fused with the being of her rival, Roxie, she could see a bit clearer now. Her body, or at least the subconscious representation of it was beginning to glitch and flicker.
"I'm here Lexi... please... save your strength..." Vektor sighed
"Vektor..." Lexi repeated again, this time with a bit more conviction. Her face remained rough and jagged, her eyes bright blue but her hair was changing back to a light brunette and shortening up a bit. Her body was beginning to warp as well. Vektor looked over at the machine and saw the progress she was making, encouraged by it further. He knew she had resolve, and this proved it more than anything so far.
"Lexi..." Vektor sighed, kneeling in front of her medical chamber, "I'll be here... as long as you need..."
After a few moments, the weakened woman nodded, her hand grazing the glass very softly. It appeared Lexi was back ... for now.
"I ... I ... thank you ..." Lexi mumbled, still sounding a bit sedated and weakened but her body seemed to be retaining its natural quality.
Still, Vektor looked over at the vitals and saw at least one concerning sign.
On the monitor, displaying a wireframe of Lexi's body were several readings ... heartrate, polarity and more ... but also a stat known as PARADOX POISONING which remained at 20%
"Lexi ... I ..." Vektor stammered, "...I realize this may not be the time but ..."
"Vektor?" Lexi whimpered, still a bit confused, as if coming out of a fog. She was even beginning to wonder why she was trapped in a glass as she twitched a bit, "am I ... dying?"
"N-No..." Vektor said in a soft and reassuring voice, "No, you're going to be okay ... the paradox crystal may have some ... residual effects but it seems that you've weathered the worst of it ..."
"Thank ... you ..." Lexi muttered, still out of it as her vision went in and out.
"No... thank YOU..." Vektor sighed, leaning his head tenderly on the glass, "You've given me ... more meaning than I ever thought possible ... I ... I don't want to fight anymore ... I don't want to be a constant warrior ... you've shown me something far more precious and I ... I want to keep it ... I want to keep you ... in my life ..."
Lexi remained silent, and it was unclear if she just didn't hear or didn't understand what Vektor was saying in his moment of emotional honesty.
"...do you ... understand what I mean, Lexi?" Vektor asked
"...I think so" Lexi muttered weakly, a mass of smoke forming around her as her body seemed to be regaining a bit more life and movement to it. "I ... I ..."
"Then say yes, Lexi..." Vektor said, interuppting her. "Just say yes ... and we can have ... such an amazing life together..."
"Vektor?" Lexi asked, sounding as if coming out of a deep sleep
"Yes, Lady Lexington...?" Vektor asked lovingly
"Wh-What do you mean?" Lexi asked, again not in her best frame of mind.
"Lexi ... please..." Vektor sighed, on one knee now, "I ... I never thought I'd feel this way about somebody but ... destiny brought us together, I refuse to see it any other way ... a woman from another dimension who crossed paths with me ... who understands the Quartzarian way ... despite being new here ... and ... everybody loves you here ... I ... I love you..."
Lexi remained silent but again it appeared as though her mind and body were still ailing, although not as bad as before. The fact that she had held her original physical form without transforming any further was a good sign.
"...and I guess ... this whole thing has shown me that ... there IS more to life than fighting ... and so ... if you'll have me ..." Vektor sighed, "I could be ... your husband ... Lexi ... please... will you marry me?"
There was a long pause and Lexi's consciousness continued to fade in and out. She heard only bits and pieces of Vektor's words but as if hearing a recording out of order she remembered hearing Vektor say "then say yes..." from earlier in the exchange.
Knowing that anything was better than the pain she was currently in, Lexi simply nodded and obeyed.
"Yes..." Lexi muttered
"Yes??" Vektor asked, in a bit of shock but also elation, "Yes?"
"Mmmmhm" Lexi sighed weakly.
Vektor just stood up a bit, getting off of his knee and smiling. "She said yes..." he thought to himself with a sense of triumph.
------------
Back at the forest, the gang continued to investigate the mysterious trail of machine parts although the further they delved into the woods, the more the trail appeared to go cold. As if in need of a miracle, at least one participant in the search was willing to step up, but it wasn't who anybody expected.
Mara's new pet phoenix Penelope began to caw, pointing its head in a direction contrary to the one the group was walking on.
"What's that, girl? Trouble in the old well?" Mara queried, staring intently at her fiery feathered friend. The others just looked on in confusion, "Yeah I'm sorry, just trying to lighten the mood ... but she does seem drawn to something..."
"This thing is supposedly from whatever dimension Lexi got sucked into, right?" Chris asked, "maybe it's ... trying to lead us somewhere?"
"It's not Lassie..." Leah sighed, leaving Chris a bit glum for having been shot down, "S-Sorry, just ... a bit on edge..."
As Mara took a few cautious steps into the forest, guided by her phoenix, she looked down and raised an eyebrow upon a new discovery.
"Uh guys ...?" Mara said, as the others crowded around, Sonia shining her flashlight on the pile of crystallic matter that Penelope had been drawn to, "either a giant lost their earring ... or we might be onto something"
Chris suddenly received a call, reaching for his cell phone as Leah gave him a playful ribbing, causing him to turn.
"Is that your fairy girlfriend?" Leah winked
"Hey .. c-c'mon now..." Chris sighed, a bit embarassed as his cheeks turned flush red. Leah frowned a bit as Chris got the phone.
"Oh. Um... s-sorry..." Leah sighed a bit, "I ... I didn't mean anything by ... it"
Leah's words trailed off as she watched Chris retreat, trying to hear what Spark was saying.
"Hey, you guys may wanna have a look at something ..." Spark said, fluttering through the forest before realizing they weren't too far apart, "Actually ... is that you way down there? You brought a police officer?"
"Hmm? Well .. she kind of ... brought us ... it's a long story" Chris said, drawing confused looks from the rest as they tried to listen in on the crucial phone conversation, "but ... whattaya got, Princess?"
"Princess?" Josh asked
"Shhhhh!!" Leah urged, trying to stay focused on what was happening.
"I see..." Chris said with a nod, "be right there"
Chris looked at the others, pausing only briefly to acknowledge the phoenix at his feet as it sniffed and perused the shattered pieces of crystal matter on the ground. One certainly doesn't see such a sight everday.
"Spark seems to have found something" Chris replied, confirming the others suppositions. "We may have a lead..."
"Alright..." Leah said with a confident nod, "let's get our girl back"
Giantess World
