It was many moons ago, when a younger Vektor approached his sorceror surpreme in his chambers atop a large gold and purple spire that stretched into the sky. Of course like so many Quartzarian monuments and buildings, this one was built with form and style before substance and function.
Speaking of function, Vektor was interested in seeing if his plan had succeeded... that is the plan to advance his father's work. Back during the rule of his father, Lord Hyperbole, the Kingdom enjoyed a wonderful peace, especially by Quartzarian standards where war and turmoil seemed to be quite common.
While not the entire cause, the Paradox Crystal, named after the sorcerer who made it was a valuable tool for the military of the former Lord, who rarely had to resort to such violence, as the Crystal allowed for his troops to spy on any potential opposition and squash any problems before they arose.
Vektor, while he agreed with the idea, thought it could be expanded in its scope. That's why when he took over as Lord of the Quartzarian Kingdom, the first thing he had Paradox work on was modifying the crystal to make it more powerful. Maybe TOO powerful. The new crystal proved unstable, even for Quartzarian soldiers who were use to the properties of the former one. They would shape shift erratically at times and be left in a state of trauma if left in their form for too long.
It was for this reason, Vektor had Paradox design one more modifier, although neither of the two were sure if it would be effective in controlling the gems one way or the other.
"So this is essentially ... a kill switch" Paradox instructed his master, handing over a small black and gray device that was about the size of a key fob, featuring a glowing red button, "although it can also act as a ... reactivation switch"
"How so?" Vektor asked curiously
"This switch is only to be used in case of emergencies... if somebody's paradox poisoning gets out of hand, it acts as a way to quickly dissipate the gem, but it's not known what long term effects there could be from just disintegrating so much magic at once ..." Paradox explained, "that's one use of it ... however, if somebody's already been inflicted with the paradox gem... even if they recover from it, it's possible there are still small traces of the poison in their body ... this button can also reactivate that small portion in them and ... basically cause them to revert again ... but ... chances are it'll be just as unpredictable as the initial change"
Vektor held onto the device with a curious gleam in his eye as Paradox attempted to take it back, finally getting it back onto his lab bench after an unusual amount of resistance from Lord Vektor as he loomed over the sorcerer's area turning and glancing over at Pandora, Paradox's sister only briefly before leaving the room.
Maybe they HAD gone too far in altering the paradox crystal ... but one had to be ready for every possibility ...
And that would of course eventually lead to present day and the approaching wedding that became the huge news around Vektor's lavish castle. Up in a large green emerald tower dwelled the bride to be, Alexis Cole, or at least... that's what Vektor's guards and most in the castle would logically assume.
Vektor himself knew better ... although he had hoped he hadn't worsened Lexi's condition somehow in his haste. If only she could have accepted the idea of being his interdimensional wife with a bit more class and maturity ... it might not have come to this. But Vektor always was more about style and substance than function. So activating the switch on Lexi was more or less within his nature.
Cold, calculating, greedy and hungry for power from the start, Vektor was attempting to turn over a new leaf and become a responsible, mature and loving man as he aged older and hoped his eventual marriage to Alexis would help him do just that. Well, it wasn't exactly off to an ideal start.
Outside of the tower, the two guards began to converse as all appeared quiet.
"This seems..."
"Like a very rash idea??" the other agreed with a nod
Lexi could feel it again ... the fog that overcame her mind from before. Although this time it almost felt more gentle. It made her want to ... lean into it. And so ... she slept. Unlike in the medical chamber where she had been gasping and screaming for air, she felt as if floating on a cloud, her eyes closing and giving way to sleep that she hadn't known in some time.
After the blissful slumber was over, Lexi felt as though her emotions had been wiped clean. She no longer felt the angst, anger, fear or any of the sadness she had been feeling lately.
But ... something still felt off. She wondered why her best friend didn't seem to want to hang out with her as much anymore ... ever since she became ShrinkGirl... she was very happy for her but she just felt like maybe ... spending time with silly old me was ...
The brunette woman blinked a few times, confusion striking her once more. "ShrinkGirl? Aren't I ShrinkGirl? Isn't ..."
The woman stumbled towards the mirror and let out a yelp. She saw the face of her best friend Leah Henderson staring back and yet that wasn't what scared her so much as seeing further back into the distance and noticing the orange skies and strange environment she was in. She turned around and noticed the bed. How had it taken her so long to notice? This wasn't her bed, this wasn't her home! She looked to be in some kind of twisted fairy tale.
And so, this led "Leah Henderson" to let out a great scream, immediately alerting the attention of the guards who dashed upstairs in a panic. Upon opening the door, they didn't see Alexis Cole, but rather the girl who looked similar to one whom their fellow guard Dagger had earlier shapeshifted into it. It was then they knew exactly what had occurred.
"Oh great ..." one of them sighed, "it's happened again!"
----
Back at the disheveled lab, it was all systems go as the ragtag team, headed by a technically off-duty cop, a former Enormo engineer and scientist, a fledgling young wizard with incredible elemental powers who couldn't think of a good pick up line to save his life, a spunky, well meaning and sometimes lucky elf named Mara, her fiery pet Penelope, a strong willed crimson clad Spark who saw herself as more than just a cute tiny fairy, and Lexi's best friend Leah Henderson.
Leah leaned back on the dusty old lab bench, glancing back at what had been the door of this building. It was blown clean off, and all along the perimeter of the lab walls were signs of extreme burning, similar to the collapsed lab from the city. Whatever this place was, it made little to no sense how it was built so fast or how it was similarly destroyed so fast.
Trevor was focusing on powering on the machine, watching as a series of breakers flipped on in a vertical sequence, all save for the last one which would flicker off, shutting down the power, not just on the machine but in the entire lab yet again as the group let out an audible groan.
"I'll get the switch..." Spark sighed in disgust, floating off and flipping the large switch to restore power. "But could we maybe please try not to fry the circuits again? We don't know how many uses that machine has left ... if any..."
"I wasn't TRYING to blow the power..." Trevor sighed, sounding a bit annoyed as he hunched over the lab bench with a wrench in his hand.
"I know... I'm ... I'm sorry..." Spark pouted, landing on the bench next to Trevor and offering him a supportive smile, "y-you can do it, Mr. Science Guy"
"M-My name's Trevor..." Trevor Hilfmann stuttered, looking down at the strangely charming young fairy as she glanced up at him, "you've known that for a while now"
"Oh I know!" Spark giggled, "But it's cuter if I give you the 'fairy eyes' and say something dopey like that"
"Ah, so you DO use your size like that" Chris smirked, offering a hand for the hapless fairy to fall back into like a butterfly net, an offer that she gladly accepted, flopping back as if landing on a futon. "Don't act all cute innocent like 'oh I'm a fairy, I never use my smallness for any of that..."
"Not my fault I'm cute..." Spark giggled, causing Chris to chuckle as well.
Leah broke her anxious stare for a moment to break a smile, observing Chris and Spark's undeniable chemistry.
"Can I just say you two are so adorable together?" Leah giggled, Josh also cracking a small smile.
"Hmm?" Spark asked, looking over as she floated out of Chris' hand, landing on her heels back on the lab bench, "what do you mean by that?"
Before Leah could answer however, the large Phoenix perched itself in front of Spark and briefly sniffed her, tilting its head as sparks crackled around it.
"Penelope ... no!" Mara said sternly, "No incinerating the fairy!"
"Well..." Spark said, a bit monotone in her delivery as she brushed a few wayward embers off her sleeve, "I wasn't worried about that ... until you put the thought in my head..."
Trevor looked over, observing what little "tools" he had at his disposal. Being a scientist, he often operated in logic and proven theories. He knew of many types of conventional energy ranging from electrical, solar, wind and even some uses of nuclear from his time at Enormo (although if anybody asked, that information was strictly classified)
Maybe he had to think a bit more outside the box though.
"Um... I'm sorry ... Ms. Fairy Lady..." Trevor stuttered, trying to return Spark's etiquette. Spark just raised an eyebrow as she looked up at the older scientist.
"Sorry, sir..." Spark sighed, a nervous smile crossing her face, "it's ... a bit more creepy when YOU do it... I ... don't know why..."
Even the rest of the ground, including the mostly silent Sonia Sanderson nodded in agreement.
"Anyway, what were you going to say, sir?" Spark asked, feeling bad if she had upset the older gentleman.
"Well ... huh... not sure how to say this ... but ... is there such a thing as ... uh ... fairy power?" Trevor asked, feeling a bit silly even uttering the words, "like not magic but ... energy specifically...?"
"Well ... yes actually" Spark nodded, happy to answer the question even if she didn't see where it's going. Chris on the other hand, had a few ideas of where he thought it was going and took slight exception to the implication.
"Hey, if you think you're going to have her run on a treadmill like some kind of hamster to somehow power the ... machine or whatever.. you can forget it... it's degrading and ... not even gauranteed to work and ..."
"I'll do it" Spark smiled and nodded, not even sure if that was the plan, "whatever the plan is to save Lexi, I'm in ... I'll give you as much of my fairy power as I can"
"...and she's totally down for it..." Chris mumbled, "and now I look like a jackass"
Leah leaned against Chris playfully and elbowed him a bit, "hey, gotta respect the fact that you defended your woman"
"She's not my ..." Chris said, looking a bit sad as his words trailed off. He just let out a great sigh.
"Well, I'm not sure it's going to be anything as rudimentary as that..." Trevor nodded, "but we can't seem to fire up this machine past a certain point ... fact is, there may not be enough juice left in this place to do the trick, but if we use some non-conventional means ... like we did to get the power back in the first place..."
Josh found himself perusing the area as well for any clues or hints on how to repower the machine. He let out a great sigh of his own as he remembered at least one potential roadblock that could stall their plan, "but ... we don't even know if Lexi is safe... or can hear us ... she has her cell phone but Leah said some guy had her captured"
"If I know Lexi the way I do..." Leah said confidently, "that guy will be sorry he dealt with Alexis Cole"
----
"But I'm not Alexis Cole!" a confused young woman who thought herself to be Leah Henderson said as she was sat down in a chair and surrounded by a few guards and Vektor himself who looked at her concerned. "You're talking about my best friend and I just wish you guys would tell me what you did with her! I ... I'd do anything..."
"Listen, I understand this is hard to comprehend..." Dagger sighed, trying to walk the confused woman through the process again. Before he had a chance though, he was interuppted by a deviously thinking Vektor who stepped forward into the fray.
"Anything you say?" Vektor asked
"Leah' looked at the hefty onyx clad gentlemen and gulped.
"I'm not going to hurt you..." Vektor said, holding his hands up where she could see them, "I'm just saying ... what if there were ... a way to bring Lexi back?"
"Back from where?!" "Leah" grunted shaking her head, tears forming in her eyes. She just wanted her best friend back.
"Okay look..." Vektor sighed, "this is all going to be very hard to believe..."
"My best friend can shrink herself!" "Leah" said, shaking her head in resilience and crossing her arms, "I've danced with fairies with her ... I ... I can believe a lot ... I'm going to be okay ... I mean, she's going to be okay..."
The slip of the tongue proved a bit worrisome for Vektor. The corruption might not last long before she remembered who she truly was.
"Lexi is caught in a vortex..." Vektor said, hanging his head
"Okay, well how do we get her out?!" "Leah" asked, still trembling. She still didn't remember anything that led to this point. She just remembered waking up in the strange castle and being stopped by guards when she tried to leave the room. From there, they took her to see Vektor who tried telling her that she was actually Lexi and that she was set to marry the strange man.... but how? Why? Would Lexi really go off and get married without telling her?
"Well... I was going to try ... to reason with the one who has her captured there ... " Vektor said soft and slow, his own guards shooting him looks of confusion at the concocted story, "They say ... if I want to save Lexi ... I have to get married in the next 24 hours"
Leah gave the strange warrior a raised eyebrow, "I'm sorry what?"
"I don't get it either!" Vektor stammered, his lie falling apart fast, "Th-That's why I was going to marry Lexi ... just as a means to save my friend Emerald, but before that could happen, they captured Lexi and now they want me to get married anyway..."
"So... there's some of monster that captures people in vortexes and only lets them go if somebody gets married?" Leah asked.
Vektor hung his head and began to walk out of the room, "N-Never mind... I ... I knew you wouldn't believe it ... let's go, men. We'll have to save Lexi some other way..."
The men were utterly incredulous. Was he really going to lie to Alexis this way? They reluctantly hung their heads and began to shuffle out of the room along with Vektor before the voice of "Leah Henderson" could be heard once more, a shaky confidence arising out of it.
"I'll do it"
------
In the mechanical room of the castle, it was clear time was running out. Vektor's latest scheme was unknown to Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald as they hung over a hard at work Smoke.
"You know..." Smoke sighed, a bit irritated as the three ladies crowded his already limited space, "this won't go any faster with you watching"
"Oh. Sorry." Sapphire whimpered
Ruby appeared less sorry, simply leaning against the concave wall of the machinery room and looking around for any signs of guards coming.
"So how are we going to do this?" Ruby asked, "we need to get Lexi out of there ... we need to get her here and there won't be much time to do so before the portal closes from what you're telling me..."
"...the cell phone" Smoke sighed
"Hmm?"
"I gave Vektor Lexi's cell phone" Smoke explained, drawing a very aggressive step forward from Ruby, who's fists were clenched
"Well what the hell did you do that for?!" Ruby sighed, "Who knows kind of information is stored on there?"
"Enough for Vektor to clone a couple of her friends as part of this madness..." Smoke sighed, "look, I messed up but ..."
"You're damn right you messed up!" an irate Ruby continued her verbal assault before Emerald attempted in vain to subdue her.
"BUT..." Smoke continued, "if we can get the cell phone back, we can try to call through ..."
"You mean?" Sapphire asked
"Yes... I made some modifications to the phone, so it can call through to anyone on her contact list ... and vice versa... chances are Vektor has the phone now" Smoke explained, "but if we can get it back..."
"We can get it to Lexi and she can let her friends know what's going on..." Emerald nodded, "we can then trace where the call goes and get approximate coordinates to get her home..."
"Okay... so we have a plan then?" Sapphire asked, a bit nervously.
"We have an IDEA" Smoke said, pressing the last quartz gem into place to complete the outer rim on the machine. It was the final component needed to complete the portal machine which now hummed to life, "but still, we have to get the phone back first..."
Sapphire peeked around the corner nervously before retreating back into the room.
"Shit." Sapphire sighed, looking at Ruby, "Vektor's coming"
"Are you sure?" Ruby asked
"Yes! It's Vektor! What do we do?" Sapphire asked in a hurry
"Emerald!" Vektor said from down the hall, "I'd like to see you, please"
Emerald mouthed the words "me?" pointing to herself in confusion. The others just shrugged.
"I have an idea..." Ruby said as Vektor got closer. "Emerald, get out there and just distract him... see what he wants ... talk to him ... preferably far far from here..."
Ruby then looked at Smoke and nodded
"Wh-What?" Smoke asked
"You got any paradox crystals?" Ruby asked.
Sapphire simply raised an eyebrow, not liking where this was going.
"Emerald..." Vektor asked in a serious tone as the two walked side by side down the palace corridor, "you have some experience as a tailor, correct?"
"I ... do?" Emerald responded, a bit dumbfounded, "but ... what is this about, Lord Vektor?"
"Well... there's a been a bit of a ... complication..." Vektor sighed, "you see, Lexi's paradox poisoning seems to have taken a turn ... she's kind of uh ... changed body types ..."
"Oh?"
"She seems fine otherwise though" Vektor said, his thumb perched under his chin in thought, "but ... since she's now ... well, a different figure, we may have to make some alterations to her dress..."
"I see..." Emerald nodded, for the moment just going along with Ruby's plan to distract Vektor while personally upset that he seemed more concerned with the wedding than Lexi's condition, "and you're sure she's okay?"
"Yes yes ..." Vektor said, very quick to skirt the question, "even though she now appears to be someone else, she's retained her normal personality and says she wants to have the wedding nonetheless"
"And ... you need me to ... alter the dress?" Emerald asked
"If it's not too much trouble, I realize it's short notice... I just want this wedding to be perfect!" Vektor said, while noticing another figuring sidling up beside them, "Yes, Smoke?"
"Lord Vektor" the ingenuitive guard said, "I'm afraid I'll need to borrow Alexis' cellular device for a moment..."
"Oh?" Vektor asked, "And why is that, Smoke?"
"I realize I didn't finish the proper modifications ... if we're not careful, the people from Lexi's home dimension may be able to track us ... if you'd allow me to borrow the phone, Lord Vektor, I could put a scrambling device in it to avoid such a possibility..." Smoke said, nodding.
"Hmmm... good thinking I suppose" Vektor said, handing the phone hesitantly to Smoke, "although I have to say I'm a bit surprised at your change of heart ... you were afraid to even touch this device before..."
"Well, I figure since Lexi has agreed to the wedding, there's no need to cause any more undue drama, sir" Smoke said with a reluctant nod, "we can always remove the scrambler after the ceremony"
"Very well then, make it so" Vektor said, dismissing his master mechanic at once while he continued to talk to Emerald.
Back at the increasingly hectic lab, things were quickly in motion. Dr. Hilfmann... Hoffnung... had constructed a small power conduit for Spark to help energize the machine. Spark had no reservations about stepping inside the power box sized device before a hand stopped her. It was the doctor himself.
"If you're not sure about this ... you don't have to do it..." Trevor said reassuringly, recalling some of his ... darker days at Enormo where unethical tests would be run under his watch, or at least he highly suspected it. He wanted nothing more than to seperate himself from his past work.
Spark nodded,
"I understand the risks ... if it gets to be too much, I'll let you know ..." Spark said with a nod, stepping into the chamber and nodding as a signal to activate it.
As the machine began to whir to life, it would almost be expected that one might not hear the slight vibrations of a cell phone, but Josh was pretty perceptive as it was and quickly snatched up the phone.
"Oh shit, it might be Lexi" Josh said, about to open the call again when an anxious Leah Henderson snatched the phone away.
"Lemme see!" Leah said, picking up the call. Josh simply rolled his eyes since the option to hand the phone to her was already taken from him quite literally.
"Lexi?!" Leah asked worriedly, her voice projecting over the sounds of the machinery as it snapped and flickered behind her.
"It's not Lexi..." a hushed female voice said, walking down some stairs towards a basement in the palace, her voice producing slight acoustical echoes as she spoke. Leah again grew angry, not sure who this group was that kidnapped her best friend.
"Whoever you are..." Leah said, "We will find you and we will..."
"Miss, please..." the woman said, revealed to be Ruby holding the cell phone. "My name is Ruby ... I'm from the Quartzaria kingdom..."
After a long pause, Ruby quickly surmised that this information had no bearing on the being on the other end of the line.
"OKay look, that's not important ... I know where your friend is and we're all trying to help her..." Ruby sighed
"Who's we all?" Leah asked as the machine continued to give off sparks. Mara let out a yelp as one almost touched her.
"My sisters and I ... and some other guards ... look, I realize this is a lot..." Ruby said, "We are working to get Lexi free and when we do, we're going to need your help ... as we speak I'm tracing your coordinates so that we can hopefully send her back to you ... like directly TO you..."
"You mean?" Leah asked
"We have a portal transducer" Ruby explained, hoping the other person knew what that meant, and unaware that the humans on the other end were working on their own such thing.
"Oh no kidding?" Leah asked, almost casually compared to everything else to that point, "we do too ..."
Just then there'd be a yelp and a scream on the other end, as another fuse popped, causing a couple lights to go out and a usually calm Trevor Hilfmann would let out a curse while Sonia yelled "what was that?!"
"...it's uh ... still in progress..." a sheepish Leah replied.
"Hmmm..." Ruby thought aloud, realizing what must've been happening, "You're repairing the machine that sent Vektor and Lexi here, correct?"
"Vektor?" Leah asked, "is that the douche who picked up the phone earlier?"
"...most likely..." Ruby groaned but with a slight smirk, "that could be a very good thing though ... the machine we're working on is also of his design ... meaning if we sync this up right, we can return Lexi through a portal that is more or less gauranteed to produce a tunnel through to where you are"
"Yeah? That's great!" Leah exclaimed, drawing some interest from the others while Mara grabbed a fire extinguisher that just happened to be in working order, hosing down an area of the lab table that caught fire while Penelope fluttered about erratically.
"Y-Yeah ... so you sure your machine is almost ready?" Ruby asked
"Oh yeah..." Leah said, exuding a similar confidence to before her final exams, while the others worked on the machine, "it's like 5-10 minutes away ... make that 15..."
"Okay well, you may have more time than that..." Ruby said, "I'll keep you posted and hopefully the next voice you'll hear is Lexi's..."
"If you talk to her again soon..." Leah said, turning the phone closer to herself as she got a bit teary eyed, "tell her I miss her a bunch... my name's Leah"
"So you're the real Leah, huh?" Ruby asked
"Why does everyone keep saying that?" Leah asked in confusion
"N-Never mind..." Ruby sighed, "Just know that ... your friend is ... kinda amazing"
"Like I don't know..." Leah grinned, "I'd like to think she learned everything she knows from me"
"Oh? So you two are kind of alike?" Ruby asked
"I guess you could say that" Leah replied with a grin
Neither Leah or Ruby knew just how true that statement was as a frantic "Leah Henderson" was trying to find a way to escape from the high Emerald Spire that served as her bridal quarters. There was no way she was buying Vektor's stupid silly story of needing to marry him to save Lexi. The whole thing defied logic, even as she felt to be in no position to question anything.
Glancing back at the bridal gown hanging on the door, she'd shake her head, running her hand through the empty form. It wasn't terrible but seemed awfully garish, various fibers of gold threading running up its purple facade. It looked like something Lexi might wear, and while she usually liked the combo of gold and purple, it just didn't work here. "Leah" would shake her head, needing to focus on her more pressing goal. Finding a way out of the spire.
She looked down out the window seeing it was a big drop and let out a gulp.
"What would Lexi do here?" "Leah" sighed.
Suddenly, the dazed and confused Leah duplicate would hear a knock at the door, slightly startling her as she backed away from the window.
"Lexi..." she heard a female voice whispering.
"Um... come in?" the confused young woman answered. She gasped as a blonde woman in green and gold walked into the room with a blade on her arm. "Whoa whoa whoa, who the hell are you?"
"Lexi, it's me ... Emerald!" the desperately frantic woman tried to explain, "listen ... I know you're scared and ..."
"Please!!" "Leah" sighed, nearly brought to tears as she backed away, "just help me find my best friend, okay? Help me find Lexi ..."
"Listen to me!" Emerald said with a bit more of a forceful tone in her voice, this would draw "Leah" to repel back a bit, reaching her hand out defensively, "this is not you, Lexi ... please... you have to fight this..."
"I don't know you..." the angry "Leah" replied, staring at Emerald as she advanced on her, looking down to notice odd sparks emanating from her own fingertips. What in the world?
The next thing the wannabe Leah Henderson knew, she was watching in shock (some pun intended) as the taller knight began shrinking before her eyes. She tried to pull her hand back but there seemed to be a strong electromagnetic hold on Emerald, as Leah watched the green clad knight shrink into a little doll size version of herself.
"Um... okay..." Emerald giggled a bit nervously, looking up at "Leah", "well ... c'mon, surely that isn't something that THIS particular girl you are can do ..."
"I ... I guess not..." "Leah" said, blinking a few times before beginning to see flashes of her past -- including the time she shrank Rachel Rutschmann, Gloria Graff, and ... even Leah Henderson herself. "Leah" would hold her head and stumble back. Emerald would simply watch, hoping that Lexi would come to at some point soon and grow her back, since Emerald wasn't quite sure how the young woman's size changing powers worked.
"Leah" stared down at the ground, seeing the tiny Emerald as flashes of memories flooded her mind and soon began changing her body back into its former state.
Emerald looked up, relieved to see Lexi feeling and literally being more "herself"
"So uh ..." Emerald chuckled nervously, looking up at the giant Lexi, "would it be too much trouble to ask for a reversal?"
"Oh my gosh!" Lexi gasped a bit, "I am SO sorry ... of course..."
Lexi knelt down and gently poked Emerald, causing an electrical field to surround her body, slowly regaining her former size. Lexi sighed in relief, glad it was that easy. She had noticed her powers had become a bit more effective since coming to this strange dimension. Perhaps it was a by-product of the world's electrical atmosphere or something else entirely but Lexi felt a bit more sure handed even when it came to something like shrinking or growing someone else. Perhaps it could have also been the experience factor.
Emerald opened her mouth, about to deliver some news to Lexi before a parade of trumpets filled the air outside. Lexi looked outside confused to see confetti and more pink phoenix birds circling the courtyard outside of the castle. It was then the full gravity of the moment hit her again ... this was her "wedding day" wasn't it?
"Oh good lord..." Lexi sighed, a hand to her head.
"I know ..." Emerald chuckled nervously, "look, we have some good news"
"Oh?" Lexi perked up, "I could really use some"
With that, Ruby slipped into the room next, holding onto Lexi's cell phone. Lexi smirked and took the phone.
"Well I appreciate that, but I doubt it gets long distance..." Lexi sighed, looking at the phone to notice it did seem a bit different.
"That's where you'd be wrong ..." Ruby smirked
Sapphire would be the next to enter the room, a glowing white crystal behind her back as she stood nervously in the threshold.
"A-Are we ready for the plan?" Sapphire asked
"The plan?" Lexi asked
"We have an idea..." Ruby nodded, huddling up with the ladies.
----
"Lexi? Is that you?" Leah exclaimed hopefully back in the makeshift lab at the heart of the Fenster Forest back in Miniborough.
"The one and only" Lexi nodded, "We don't have much time ... but Ruby and the others have a plan ... I'll give you a call when I'm close to the portal ... if this works, as long as you trigger your portal machine around the same time as we trigger ours, I should come out whereever you guys are"
"You hear that, guys?" Leah said, referring to the others in the room as they were on speakerphone, "We've got a plan ... let's do this!"
"You got a whole posse there, huh?" Lexi smirked, hearing footsteps approaching, "Oh shoot, I've gotta go for now..."
"Copy that ... hang tight, girl" Leah said, as she disconncted from Lexi for now, looking over at Trevor and Spark who was helping to power the machine, "you guys ready?"
"As ready as we're going to get ..." Trevor sighed, while Spark gave a thumbs up from within the power conduit, her hair a bit frizzy as red electricty crackled around her although she seemed to be fine and not in pain.
----
The trumpets sounded the arrival of the groom, dressed in black and gold (as usual) riding in on a crystal horse. Stepping onto the cobblestone path as several dozen people gathered was none other than self appointed Lord Vektor. He'd wave to the people as they cheered joyously, music echoing harmoniously from the rooftops to commemorate the coming nuptials of Vektor and Alexis.
In the distance stood a hesitant Alexis Cole, dolled up in a floofy purple and gold dress as she hesitantly took a few steps forward, ushered on by a few of the castles makeup artists and tailors. She'd seem to be glued to the ground as her steps were slow and hesitant, she'd hold her breath hoping this plan would work.
Up in a balcony a decent distance away was Ruby, leaning on the window frame with grave intent. She'd glance down at her own wrist to see the holographic image of Emerald.
"Are you sure about this??" Emerald asked, "I mean, I know we're trying to help Lexi but this is ... serious shit if you pull this off..."
"Extreme times ... call for extreme measures..." Ruby sighed, looking through the sights of what appeared to be a futuristic sniper rifle, looking through the reticle as it shook wildly, her aim squarely on Vektor as he took the altar. "Besides, I'm not going to kill him ... I just need to cause a distraction ... how are things on your end?"
"I'm just about in position ..." Emerald whispered, leaning against a purple car which was up on a pedestal. It was meant to be a wedding gift for the bride to be, none other than the shiny purple Pontathlon Stratacruze.
"It's going to work ..." Ruby said, keeping her aim steady, "... it has to"
An anxious Vektor stood at the end of the aisle as the gathered Quartzarians stood up at the sight of the beautiful Alexis Cole as she walked down the aisle. Lexi wasn't sure how to react, giving shy waves to the people as they hailed her like some kind of princess. It would be more appreciated if not for the dire circumstances. This wasn't exactly how the shy brunette pictured her wedding day.
The confetti fell at Lexi's feet as she made her way down the aisle. The walk felt like an eternity and to be fair it was longer than most aisles for a wedding, spanning almost a half mile and as extravagant as anything this kingdom had to offer. She looked up and around nervously, anxiously anticipating what was to come and she didn't mean the wedding vows.
A momentary calmness fell over the amethyst sky as the music subsided and the crowd fell into a hushed silence, taking their seats as a hefty male wearing a green and pink suit jacket rose from behind the pulpit.
"Dearly beloved..." the boisterous man proclaimed, as Vektor gave Lexi an excited nod, finding her stunning in the Quartzarian dress. "We are gathered here today to join Vektor and Alexis in the holiest of matrimonies..."
While the dreaded ceremony prattled on, Lexi looked around worriedly, noticing very slight green streaks in the sky which she wrote off to unusual weather. After all, she still wasn't quite familiar with the weather patterns (or anything) in this new realm she found herself in. She just knew she didn't intend to spend the rest of her life there -- let alone as Vektor's housewife.
It finally reached the point of the ceremony for the vows. Emerald watched on nervously from beside the purple car.
"Dearest Alexis..." Vektor said, in a deep sincere tone. Lexi just stood and watched, her smile wavering from nervous to anxious as her eyes darted every which way, her body shaking a bit, "I don't fully comprehend the circumstances which brought you into my life, but I know it was for a very important reason ... it will be my honor to have you and treasure you for the rest of eternity..."
Vektor went to grab Lexi's hand. She reluctantly took his handin hers but her face was showing signs of serious doubt even as Vektor continued to wax poetically.
"and Lexi ..." Vektor sighed, continuing to show an odd vulnerability, all while the other ladies stayed focused on their mission. "When I'm with you, I just feel like ... nothing else matters..."
"Uh-huh..." the anxious dolled up Lexi responded, her mouth barely opening as she mumbled, her eyes noticing the green streaks getting closer, while exchanging a glance with Emerald and peering off towards a balcony in the far distance.
Ruby remained perched there, her aim becoming a little shakier as the time drew near.
"C'mon..." Ruby whispered "keep it together, Sapphire..."
But unbeknownst to Ruby, Vektor, the soon to be wed Lexi or Emerald who was staking out the purple Stratacruze, the streaks of green lightning were approaching the castle were much more ferocious velocity than what had originally appeared. What would normally be written off as a flash in the sky or some random occurrence was becoming clearer and clearer to not be the case.
As all these things were concurring, Emerald had a small microchip looking device pressed to Lexi's future car. It let out a very slight click as it had remotely unlocked the car. After which, the chip unfolded itself into something resembling a key. Emerald slid her body against the car door and would turn the key while the bystanders were all focused on the ceremony.
Lexi's hands continued to shake as the intimidating man acting as priest turned to her now, as if it was her turn to deliver the vows. Her lips shook as she looked at Vektor, her hands almost feeling trapped in a vice grip as she tried to take them back, she turned back towards the anticipating crowd as they hung on every word, and raised an eyebrow at Vektor's look as he stared back at her with intent.
"I'm sorry ..." Lexi stammered, beginning to glitch out a little. This understandably caused the first few rows to back away as sparks flew from her. "...I ... I can't do this!"
"Ruby..." Emerald whispered to her wrist as she slipped the key and something else into the passenger seat of the now opened purple car, noting the spectators drawing their attention to the developing scene as the wedding was quickly turning into a nightmarish magic show.
"Lexi!" Vektor yelped, grabbing her around the shoulders and gently shaking her, "are you alright?"
Lexi's once soft brown eyes warped wildly back and forth between brown and blue, her hair seeming to do the same as she had gently scratched the back of her neck once releasing her hand from Vektor's. In doing so, she activated the impedence gem that had been implanted there by her sisters, thus undoing the paradox transformation. So in reality, Vektor's "bride to be" was actually Sapphire in Paradoxed disguise.
Before that surprise could fully sink in, the entire front row, Vektor, Sapphire and the priest were nearly blasted by the impending green lightning was it fell from the sky, a large blast erupting and striking a castle wall hard causing a great tremor while a flabbergaster Vektor gently pushed Sapphire aside, her body sparking blue while she recovered.
"What the hell??" Emerald snapped at Ruby on her wrist comm, "I told you to cause a distraction, not blow up the place!"
"That... wasn't me..." a concerned Ruby said as she headed back down the spiral staircase to try to head back towards the courtyard, the green lightning only serving as a prelude for what was to come.
Meanwhile, Emerald nervously bumped the car door with her elbow as it shut. That was the signal.
"What the hell is going on here?!" Vektor shrieked, heading towards a frightened Sapphire as she scooted back, shreds of Lexi's intended wedding dress on the cobblestone path as she looked up at a fleet of flying black dragons. "If you're not Lexi, where IS she?!"
Right on cue, the bright piercing lights of the Pontathlon Stratacruze fired up as the engine let out a loud and powerful vroom. Lexi herself smirked, having grown back to normal as she clutched the wheel. Her smug victory was short lived though as she watched the invasion scene unfold from the skies.
The first part of their plan had worked nearly perfectly. In disguising Sapphire as Lexi, they had created a "decoy bride" to keep Vektor and his ill-begotten fantasies satisfied long enough for Emerald to sneak a shrunken Lexi over to the purple car as a means to escape. Ruby's part HAD been to cause a distraction by launching a mock attack on the wedding but it turns out she wasn't needed as Paradox and Pandora themselves were descending, both piloting latge crystal dragons as they landed, the crowdspeople screaming far and wide to give their creatures areas large enough for their landing.
Lexi looekd on disgusted to see the diabolical duo return although strangely they were a slightly less frightening sight to see than Vektor who had basically become like an interdimensional stalker to her. She heard a *bzzt* on her wrist comm and looked down to see Ruby who was in motion while talking, having run out of the castle tower and was in a location that was back and to the left of where Pandora and Paradox made their uninvited grand entrance.
"Lexi, what are you doing?" Ruby asked, "get out of there! Smoke is waiting in the portal room!"
"I can't just leave you guys!" Lexi said, a genuine concerned look on her face even as she started the car and began to drive it towards the wedding procession.
"Go! Please!!" Ruby said, as Emerald cut in, her face appearing in a seperate slot on the holographic monitor in front of Lexi's face. "We've got this"
"I'm with her!" Emerald said, "We'll cover you ... we'll give you time... just get in the castle and get back home safe, okay?"
Lexi frowned a bit, "I'm really going to miss you guys..."
"Just go!!" Ruby said, her voice a bit shrill as she was about to be attacked from behind. She turned away and in doing so turned off her wrist comm to slash at a flying crystal bat that threatened to snap her neck off otherwise. Emerald finished the moment for her distracted sister with a nod and nothing more.
Lexi put her head down, her heart racing in a million different directions but her car was only driving in one ... straight towards the castle.
"Well well well..." a smug Pandora laughed watching the chaos unfold before their attack had even truly began, "you really thought you could leave us for dead at the castle?"
"Now now, sister..." Paradox joked, "we shouldn't be TOO rude today ... it appears it's finally Vektor's wedding day ... and where is your bride? Oh is that her? Driving away?"
The two would laugh callously, driving Vektor to further violence. He quickly unleashed a gold lance that seemed to generate from his holster and slashed at Paradoz who put his solid diamond plated armored armor up to protect him.
"Don't you DARE talk about my bride to be that way!" Vektor yelled, "this day is not about you!"
"Well it kinda is Vek..." Pandora shrugged, "Since you went and trashed OUR place, we figured it's only fair we come crash with you for a while... you don't mind now, do you?"
Sapphire remained on the ground, cowering in fear but running towards the trio eventually.
"What are you waiting for?" Vektor asked, pointing to Pandora and Paradox as they flanked him, "Get them! Get these riff raff out of my kingdom!"
Indeed Sapphire did begin to draw a sword that similarly generated from her pocket and it was none other than the radiant sword. She flew into the air and let out a powerful shriek, causing Lexi to even turn back for a moment while she drove quickly for the castle entrance. The scene played out like an epic action movie with Sapphire about to strike a deadly blow into the heart of ...
Vektor.
Vektor shrieked, blocking the attack with his own lance but in doing so it shattered entirely, leaving only gold fragments on the decorated ground around him and a very infuriated Sapphire looking at him as if she were possessed. Even Pandora and Paradox were confused.
"You ...." Vektor growled, generating another sword, this one a red laser sword from his holster, "YOU... YOU... UNGRATEFUL LITTLE BRAT!!"
As Vektor went to strike the blow against Sapphire with the sword and Sapphire shrank back in fear, he was met with more resistance than just Sapphire's guarded sword. Ruby and Emerald stepped forward with Emerald taking a slash across the side of the face in an attempt to save Sapphire.
"YOU FINALLY SHOW THE GUTS TO FIGHT!!" Vektor screamed at Sapphire, slashing at her furiously. Stood in his path and threw a slash at her former "Lord Vektor" but her sword was shattered against the laser sword's might, "AND YOU FIGHT FOR THE WRONG SIDE!! YOU ARE A TRAITOR TO THIS KINGDOM!!"
"I WANT NO PART OF THIS AND I MADE THAT CLEAR FROM THE VERY BEGINNING!!" Sapphire screamed, blue sparks flying from her sword as she repelled the advancing knight for a moment, Pandora and Paradox cautiously approached before she turned her attention to them, "Just to be clear, I don't like you clowns either"
Pandora shrugged while Paradox remained a bit still, neither seeming offended. They both just found it funny that so much damage had been done to Vektor's kingdom, and more importantly, his credibility without them having to do a thing except for show up.
Ruby, also a bit injured from her run in with Vektor went to check on her sister Emerald who lay on the ground in pain, her face sparking a bit as a red streak was across it.
"Shit, we gotta get you inside!" Ruby said, a single tear trickling from her face.
"I'll be fine ... just ... keep Vek... away ..." Emerald sighed, her voice fading fast, "...from ... Lex..."
Lexi herself was too concentrated on trying to get away and unfortunately had to forgo the drama and battle with Vektor and the warrior women. Instead she had to deal with a wall of crystal knights that stood in her way. Even though she had a car and that car was made of a material far stronger than anything in her home dimension, she'd still surely be smashed if she drove right into the knights or the castle. Thankfully she didn't have to go through them. She only needed to go under them.
"And .... shrink thrusters, don't fail me now!" Lexi yelped, throwing the gear which caused the car to shrink, not sure if "shrink thrusters" were even a thing but she just felt badass saying it.
Lexi would normally have shielded her eyes due to the quick flashes that occurred but she had to stay focused, not just as a driver, but as the driver of a car that was getting very, very tiny along with her, resembling a purple hot wheels car as it skidded into the castle, strangely giving her an advantage over the larger but slower foes as they turned to give chase.
Outside the castle, Paradox and Pandora both took a couple of shots at their hated rival Vektor, blasting him with green fire. Sapphire and Ruby both helped up Emerald, each taking one of her arms and helping her to her feet, neither of them even bothering to defend Vektor. Similarly, neither Paradox nor Pandora seemed intent on picking off any of the trio of sisters. It was as if neither side had a beef with each other and they only wanted Vektor. As far as Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald were concerned, they could have him.
Lexi frantically dialed her cell phone while keeping a single hand on the wheel, noticing a couple of tower sized legs slam down in front of her, she'd swerve wildly as reinforcements had been sent in to join the developing fight against Paradox. They weren't even going for Lexi and her tiny car, they just happened to be charging her way now.
On the other end of the line was Leah as the gang on the other side, back in the Fenster Lab were having troubles of their own, the machine only showing intermittent signs of power. Leah answered the phone frantically
"Lexi?!" Leah said, looking behind her to see a purple portal flickering on and off through the ring of the machine as it struggled. She could also hear on Lexi's end all of the weird tremors but also a whooshing noise around her, "...wait, are you driving?"
"It's a long story, but yes!" Lexi yelped, dodging another larger creature as its foot blocked her path, "wait didn't we tell you the plan?"
"Well you mentioned a car, yes but I figured that was just to get away in!" Leah said, getting her hopes up as the portal machine fired up, only to watch it fizzle out again, "I don't think an entire CAR is going to fit through this machine!"
"This one will, don't worry" Lexi said, in a strangely calm voice as she bared her eyes with determination speeding towards the portal room, "I don't have much time though! So please... open the portal as soon as you can!"
"You guys!" Leah said, turning her head to the side, "we need more power...!"
Lexi sighed, hoping this would work. Thankfully for Leah and the others, her estimate of being "almost there" was a bit off, as at her relative size, the distance to the portal machine was more like a mile or so.
Back outside the castle however, Vektor wasn't going to go down without a fight. Having turned to look back at the castle, he had watched the scene of Lexi's purple car shrinking itself to fit through the castle's entrance and was more determined to catch it than ever, throwing back the green flames that had only slightly dissolved parts of his armor.
"I don't have time for you charlatans!" Vektor shouted, slashing his sword through the air and producing a wave of red plasma that momentarily threw the magical pair back while he started towards the castle.
Sapphire yelped, letting Emerald down easy as she'd run into the castle to pursue him.
"Sapphire!" Ruby grunted,doing her best to set Emerald softly on a knee. Emerald shook her off and stood of her own accord. "Where are you ... what are you doing?!"
"She's being the warrior we always knew she could be..." Emerald said with a proud smirk despite the gash on her face. She herself would turn back preparing to swat at a crystal bat as it flew for her but strangely it whizzed right past. In fact it seemed all of Paradox' forces were going straight for the black knight Vektor as he fled into his own castle to try and make one last plea with his currently tiny and armored bride in the shrunken car.
Back on the other side, Trevor had the machine ready to go and was typing in the coordinates
"And you said she was ready?" Trevor asked nervously as the machine twitched and shook. It was almost like any use of its power was near debilitating for it. This machine seemed as though made of components that were already once or twice rebuilt.
"Yes! Please!!" Leah said, getting another call.
"Please tell me you have it!" Lexi said as her car whizzed towards the portal on her end, she bid a friendly wave goodbye to Smoke who noticed the tiny toy like car driving by his feet.
"We got it, we got it, we got it!" Leah exclaimed, watching the machine's quartz crystals outline the rim and glow a burning red before they almost burnt out, another jolt leaving Spark worn out as she was getting tired even with her wealth of fairy energy, she fell to the ground in a heap and let out a groan as the machine began to fail again.
"We... don't got it..." a forlorn Chris added, watching the portal vanish and reappear before vanishing again.
"Trevor!" Leah yelped, covering her mouth for a second, "s-sorry ... Doctor... do something!"
"I'm trying but I'm running out of ideas.. everything is installed as it should be... we've exhausted every possible energy option available!" Dr. Hilfmann sighed as he opened a panel just under the makeshift power conduit. Josh leaned over the machine for a moment, reaching his hand in between a couple of blue wires that weren't quite touching. "Wh-What are you doing? That's extremely dangerous!!"
"Well, have you tried maybe patching these wires back up? I think I have some tin foil in my pocket..." Josh said casually, unfolding a small piece of aluminum foil that he began to use as gauze to fuse the cables
"I've been studying engineering for more than half my life!" Trevor exclaimed, a bit frustrated by the situation already as they all had been, "you think I didn't try..."
"Got it!" Josh yelped, moving his hands back before a nasty flash of electricity could ensnare them.
As Trevor stood there dumbfounded, Leah shouted back into the phone "We've got it!"
For a moment, Lexi asked herself in a profound way, "...what's taking so long here?" before realizing that while she was punching the car at full speed, she was still tiny.
To emphasize that fact she heard a loud boom as Smoke fell to his knees, having been struck by a blast clear through his chest. He slumped over, seemingly dead. Lexi let out a shriek but that was only the beginning of her nightmares as a giant black and gold boot came slamming down. Lexi wasn't going to be able to turn in time.
"Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!!" Lexi squeaked, closing her eyes and bracing for impact.
"Leave her alone!!" another voice yelled out again. Sapphire struck just enough of a blow on Vektor to send his ankle back enough for Lexi to make the last minute adjustment, she drove in a straight path around the now cleared area too fast to even properly thank Sapphire but tears fell from her eyes as she drove into the swirling portal, knowing that whatever happened, she'd likely never see her or the other ladies again.
Vektor yelped, more concerned with the portal machine than the attacking Sapphire. He took a single step forward to try and enter the portal himself before Sapphire threw the sword at its upper most corner, causing one of the quartz crystals powering it to explode. The remaining crystals would all pop like lightbulbs around the perimeter of the machine causing it to shut down and spark.
"You fucking brat!!" Vektor snapped, stomping the castle ground so hard that it shook, a small crack forming in the stone floor of the lab as he loomed over now unarmed self while the radiant sword remained lodged in the now useless portal machine. "You've ruined everything! You are fucking finished, you hear me?!"
Before Vektor could take another step, a sword was put in his way, that sword glowing red. Another sword was put in his path shortly thereafter and it glowed a distinct green and gold. As if that weren't enough, a fleet of crystal beasts flanked both Ruby and Emerald who led the charge.
"You'll have to answer to US first, Vektor!" Ruby sneered, as Emerald tended to her shellshocked sister, helping her up.
------
The portal machine, or whatever remained of it would jerk and crackle only a few more times as the resultant portal gave way, fizzling out entirely, although not before a tiny car would make its way across the steel floors of the lab. This would go largely unnoticed by everyone though including the long haired brunette herself, Leah Henderson who let out an audible weep as the power failed one last time, the lab left in darkness.
"No!"
The gang simply stood there in solemn silence, even Penelope hanging her wings a bit as she landed on a table. Mara frowned. Chris looked at the now non-functional machine with a hint of disdain. Josh just looked devastated, especially as he stared at the small Spider-Man bouncy ball he had received not too long ago.
"Fuck..." Leah sighed, falling on a knee and hanging her head.
Lexi opened her eyes, still in her car. It was dark though but she heard a sound she never liked to hear. It was Leah, but she was crying.
"This is all my fault..." Leah said, the words too choked up for most people to hear, but Lexi understood every one of them.
Lexi took a few moments to compose herself, finally figuring out what had happened, although not quite sure where she was. She disengaged the key from the car's ignition which caused the LED lights to briefly flash on. Chris gave a curious look to that area for a moment as the shiny white lights were extra noticeable due to the advanced darkness surrounding the gang.
"Um.... you guys?" Chris said, sounding a bit skeptical, but hopeful, "d-did you see that?"
"See what?" Leah asked, her voice and tone still bitter
"Yeah, I did..." Josh answered, his own tone sounding a bit more excited.
Sonia pulled out her flashlight and focused the beam down, revealing a tiny purple car.
"The hell?" Chris asked, "did we maybe open the portal to a hot wheels dimension or something?"
"Dude. Bad timing..." Josh scoffed, before nodding, "although hot wheels world does sound kinda cool"
"Right?" Chris whispered
"It's ... a car..." Leah whispered, careful not to make any sudden motions in case its tiny driver potentially showed up. "L-Lexi mentioned she was in a car before ..."
Suddenly, the young woman's phone rang. She picked it up and her voice was still as the night.
"Y-Yes?"
"Quit your crying girl and look down!" Lexi squeaked, raising her arms up high
"LEXI!! SHE'S ALIVE! SHE'S HERE!! OMIGOSH SHE'S HERE!!" Leah cried out, leaping up so fast that the tiny Lexi fell on her butt, while her hands stayed up in the air for a few moments and even she had to giggle at her giant best friend's celebration.
"Geez, careful Leah... you're gonna squish her" Chris smirked
"Omigosh Lexi..." Leah sniffled
"Hold on..." Lexi said, "I'm coming to you"
With that, the tiny superheroine grew back to her full height and although it was still pretty dim in the room, the whole gang could see she was wearing something completely different, although still true to her style. It was the set of purple and gold armor she acquired during her time in Quartzaria. Many of its components were now non=functional and the suit was extremely bulky, making it inefficient to move around in but the more important souvenir came in the form of the small automobile which Lexi picked up to show her best friend.
"You uh ... you got a car?" Leah said, trying to stifle a giggle, "it's cute but ..."
Lexi just gave her a brief stare as if to say "really? you don't get it?"
"Ohhhhh, the car grows, doesn't it?" Leah asked, feeling like a dope for even wondering.
"Sure does!" Lexi replied with a dopey grin, "I could show you all right now if you'd like!"
"No! No!!" most of them all exclaimed
"Heh, I'll ... take your word for it ..." Leah said, falling into Lexi's arms with a hug.
While the gang released a collective sigh of relief, Spark fell onto the lab bench, her hair pinned up in the air as if she had spent hours just scooting around on a patch of carpet before touching every doorknob in a square mile radius. Chris looked down and chuckled, but not in a mean way.
"You okay down there, little princess?" Chris asked, holding out his hand. Spark didn't answer but simply glided into the moving hand as if it were a hammock, letting out a cute little giggle as she nodded.
"When did those 2 become so adorable?" Lexi joked, watching Chris interact with his tiny female fairy friend.
"Right?" Leah joked, "it's totally adorbs!"
"You guys .. it's just ... ugh..." Chris sighed, "can we just focus on Lexi being back?"
"Heh, it is pretty awesome, yes" Leah blushed.
Mara walked by and smacked Lexi on the butt
"Missed ya, luv" Mara said with a wink as Penelope the phoenix flew by and landed on her shoulder.
"Shouldn't that ...?" Lexi asked
"...yeah, don't even..." Leah shrugged, a bit out of explanations for a millenia with everything had gone on to that point.
The gang would eventually find their way towards Sonia's police cruiser where she would check and make sure everybody was okay while Chris bid adieu to Spark.
"Sure you don't need me to walk you home?" Chris teased while Spark floated up by his face
"I got wings, big guy" Spark giggled, "but ... I'm really glad Lexi's okay ... yknow?"
"Y-Yeah, for sure!" Chris smiled wholesomely.
"If you can ... maybe give her something, from me?" Spark asked
"Oh? W-Well you could always give it to her yourself, she's right over there..." the naive young man Chris said, and the next thing he knew, Spark would hover up to his cheek and give him a light smooch before flying into the forest. "Oh! Oh... you ... should I ..."
Chris looked away confused for a moment as Spark vanished into the forest like a literal spark.
"Am I supposed to kiss Lexi now? What's even happening?!" Chris exclaimed, freaking out a bit while Mara and Josh just kind of giggled, the latter of which went over to Lexi to see how she was doing.
"Hey... I'm glad you're back" Josh said, "and I'm sure your fans on the website will be glad to hear it as well ... don't worry, I've been keeping up on it while you were gone"
"Oh thank heavens" Lexi giggled, giving Josh a big hug, "I was afraid the website would go to hell without me"
Josh chuckled and then held out the Spider-Man ball, "I also really liked the gift ... you know Spidey's one of my favorites"
"Awww, I missed your birthday?" Lexi frowned, "Shoot, I'm sorry Josh... you know I was gonna get you more but then ... yeah..."
"Hey, it's okay ... you got sucked into an interdimensional vortex... it happens" Josh shrugged, "pretty cool car though ... I assume you're going to keep it?"
"Heck yeah" Lexi giggled before frowning, "wait ... this magic armor doesn't work anymore and this car is probably powered with something that we can't use here either..."
"Hmm... I could take a look at it once you grow it back" Josh shrugged, "could probably take out whatever engine is in it and replace it with a gas one..."
"Seriously, how do you even....?"Leah stammered, not even sure where to begin.
"...I know people" Josh shrugged in his usual matter of fact way before joining the others, now leaving just Lexi and Leah.
"Heh... he's something, huh?" Leah shrugged, again just overjoyed to see Lexi in one piece.
"Hey Leah..." Lexi said, sounding a bit concerned, "I hope you didn't blame yourself for all this"
"What?! No..." Leah scoffed, laughing as if she had just heard a funny joke before dropping the act "...yeah I totally did"
"You shouldn't..." Lexi shook her head, "you know me by now ... if you hadn't driven me, I'd just find someone else to drive and throw myself into that dangerous spot ... it's what I do..."
Leah nodded, "and I think it's really cool how courageous you are ... and how giving you are ... but I sometimes wish..."
"I'd give it a break?" Lexi said, nodding with sympathy. Leah nodded back, before Lexi confessed something to her best friend, "yknow... while I was ... in there... I was temporarily in your body and I saw your thoughts ... some of them anyway ... how you feel like we don't spend enough time together?"
"Wait can we back this all up?" Leah giggled for a moment, "you were in my BODY?"
"It's a long story, I wasn't REALLY you but I kind of was?" Lexi blinked, trying to explain it as best she could even though it made no sense in her own mind either
"What was I wearing?" Leah asked
"What were you WEARING?" Lexi giggled, "I don't know ... orange?"
"Orange?" Leah scoffed, "Did I at least coordinate? Geez, don't tell me you had my body walking around in some mediocre clothes in there"
"Leah they don't even know who you are there..." Lexi giggled, "...anyway ... do you ... do you really feel that way? That ... I've somehow ... left you hanging... since I became ShrinkGirl?"
Leah gave her best friend an awkward look which told Lexi just about everything she needed to know.
"I mean ... not THAT much but ..." Leah stammered, "I guess ... sometimes yeah ... I just miss how much time we used to spend together but I also know we're both going to be busy and ... grow up and stuff"
"Yeah but ..." Lexi said as she shook her head, "You're always going to be my bestie... and I'm always going to make time for you, okay? Doesn't matter if I'm in another dimension or what... and hey, I can hang out with you like every day until you start that new job..."
"Uh... about that?" Leah said awkwardly
"What? What? Don't tell me they didn't hire you" Lexi said
"No... they did ... I started a couple days ago" Leah confessed
"What?" Lexi gasped with shock, "but you said you started in a few weeks ... h-how long was I gone?"
Lexi paused for a while as she realized that the answer was in the question.
"Holy shit ... it felt like a few days in there..." Lexi sighed
"Well time does travel differently through other planes of existence..." Chris chimed in, interuppting with a bit of science that nobody had asked for.
"Geez, no wonder your fairy girlfriend thinks you're so cool..." Leah teased
"She's not my girlfriend... cmon!" Chris sighed
"Hey, it's not a bad thing!" Leah shrugged, I mean Lex and I love fairies... and having a fairy girlfriend? That's gonna give you major street cred!"
"You think so?" Chris asked, to which the girls nodded back in response, "I've never had cred before ... be it street or card."
Lexi chuckled before asking one final question about it, "Wait... though, if they ARE together and ... y'know, it gets serious ... how are they going to ...?"
There was a momentary pause as they both watched Lexi slowly smush her hands together to charade what she meant.
"Oh gawd!!" Leah chuckled as Chris also did, albeit uncomfortably, "You're horrible Lex"
"Ah I know..." Lexi smirked
Elsewhere, Sonia took a look at Dr. Hilfmann, finishing her questioning of him with one last one.
"There is something else I'm interested in knowing though, doctor..." Sonia asked, "you said Professor Giovanni was once a colleague of yours? Do you have any idea what became of him?"
"Honestly? No" Trevor replied, "I never fully bought that he died, but ... I also don't know if he's ... still around or maybe has deceased SINCE the incident in the 90s but ... no, I haven't seen him in years although you do have me wondering now..."
"What's that?" Sonia asked, taking note of the elder doctor's concerned face.
"Well... whatever rebuilt this portal machine wasn't Giovanni but rather took his appearance ... so then ... where is the real Giovanni Guillardo?"
-----
For the full answer to that question, one would have to look back at the fateful night that Vektor and the crystal beasts escaped from Quartzaria, albeit briefly, using the portal inducer that Giovanni had fired off in one of his many interdimensional experiments. The experiment was both a success and a failure, producing literal proof of other life in other dimensions but also destroying much of his work in the process.
In a desperate attempt at survival, he fled into the Fenster Forest that evening trying to escape the clutches of whatever strange monstrous creatures he had unintentionally let into their reality, while Vektor had stolen his identity and eventually his clientele, having Roxie fetch him many components to rebuild the portal machine.
Exhausted, the spent Dr. Guillardo collapsed against a tree trunk, thinking he had lost the creatures for now. Suddenly a piercing set of red lights filled the surrounding area as a whirlwind of helicopter blades filled his ears with their descending sound.
He heard a voice through a fuzzy intercom as a flock of menacing looking drone like creations surrounded him, one leaning in extra close to get a better look at him through it's orbular red eye which housed an effective but nanoscopic camera inside.
"Dr. Giovanni?" the voice said. It was a familiar voice. One the dimensional doctor recognized despite not hearing it for many many years.
"...Maximillian?"
"Oh thank heavens you're okay!" the mad scientist declared as a panel unfolded from the drone revealing the face of Giovanni's old colleage and maybe his only fan at the time, Dr. Maximillian E Mumford
"'Okay' may be jumping the gun just a bit..." Giovanni shouted, out of breath as he looked around to make sure there were no other creatures on his tail.
"Yes yes, I was seeing the crazy things that were chasing you ... what WERE those?" Dr. Max asked curiously
"Creatures ... from another dimension..." Dr. Giovanni replied in a daze, "you wouldn't even believe me if I told you..."
"Here is where you would be making the mistake!" Dr. Max said with a gleeful grin, "But why don't we talk it over at the lab sometime?"
"I'm afraid I don't have much of a lab anymore at the moment..." Giovanni sighed
"Then feel free to borrow mine..." Dr. Max replied with another grin, this one a bit more devious. "It's time we catch up a little"
Giantess World
