Melissa walked into her basement, her flip-flops slapping on each step on her way down. From there, she walked towards the doll house that sat further in the basement, and tapped on its plastic wall with her foot.

"Oh, Brucie~" she called. "Come out here for a minute."

She waited for half a minute, before the plastic front door opened, and Bruce walked out of the house. She could see that he had an annoyed look on his face. She felt inclined to kill him right there, but she had other plans.

"What do you want?" Bruce asked.

"Careful, now," Melissa said. "You don't want to be stomped to death, do you?"

"No... That would hurt your mother."

"Exactly. Anyway, I've recently learned that your little group don't take too kindly to the street rats."

"You mean those Homeless freaks? Yeah... We hated them, and I can only hope that they still do."

"I see... I have a proposition for you."

Bruce raised an eyebrow. "'A proposition'? What do you mean?"

"I think you'll like this one. You just have to do as I say, and I'll let you have at it." Melissa smiled.

Thomas sat on top of the computer desk, looking at the monitor's screen. Sayuko was on a website called "Nico Nico Douga", which seemed to be a Japanese version of "YouTube", and was watching a Japanese drama program. Of course, Thomas could not understand what the characters were saying, so he was at a complete loss over what the plot was about. Sayuko, however, seemed to be really into it.

On a rainy balcony, two of the characters, a male and a female, exchanged seemingly heartfelt words. After the young man spoke, the woman seemed to get very emotional, and she soon grabbed his face and kissed him on the lips.

"That's all I understood," Thomas said, jokingly.

"They say the language of love is universal," Sayuko said, her eyes still fixed on the screen.

"Yeah, I guess. I sure would like to know what the guy said, though."

"Oh, just that she's the only woman that he ever needs."

"Oh. ...That's kinda clichéd."

The ending credits started to scroll on the screen, and Sayuko moved the mouse's cursor to the Back button, and clicked it.

"Thoma-kun," she called. "...Have you ever been in love?"

This question took him by surprise. "Yeah, I guess. Though I've never had a girlfriend."

"Really? That's odd... It's not as if you're unattractive."

Thomas blushed. "I'm just kinda shy around girls. Always have been."

"Oh... I never would have guessed."

"Not only that, but whenever I did get the guts to ask one out, they would turn me down. I guess I'm too much of a geek for them." He chuckled. "There was only one girl who didn't outright turn me down."

"Who was that?"

"Melissa."

"Oh..."

"Yeah..."

The two were silent for a few seconds, before Thomas spoke.

"So, what about you?" He asked.

"Have I ever been in love? I'm the same as you." She answered. "Except I never had the courage to ask anyone out. I waited for them to ask me. They never did."

"Oh... That's too bad. But it's their loss. You're pretty cute yourself." Thomas blushed, though for a split second, he regretted complementing her in that way.

Sayuko smiled. "Thank you. Yes, my Japanese friends told me that all of the time. As did Taro and my parents."

"Any guys in particular you're interested in?" Deep down, Thomas felt that he did not want to know the answer to this question.

"Umm... None I can say right now, but there were a few back in Japan that I liked."

"Oh, I see..."

She lowered her head, so that it was closer to Thomas. "You sound disappointed."

Thomas shook his head. "No, it's not that."

"I guess my parent's expectations are still in my head." She sighed.

"'Expectations'?" Thomas repeated.

"Yes. They wanted me to marry someone like Taro: handsome, successful, ...and Japanese."

"...I can understand the first two, but did- does he have to be Japanese?"

"I'm not sure anymore... If they were still alive, then yes, but now... I don't know... Taro is a bit more open-minded, but I think that he would still want me to marry a Japanese man..."

"So I guess we can forget about you and I ever getting married, huh?" Thomas chuckled.

Sayuko's eyes widened. "What?!"

Thomas waved both of his hands in front of him. "I kid, I kid."

Sayuko smiled and moved her head away from Thomas. She then turned back towards the monitor and began to browse through the videos on the webpage.

"Smooth..." Thomas lamented to himself.

~~~

Sheryl watched as Melissa plucked out a man from her glass cage, and dropped him in her other palm, joining the other four men that were already there.

"Well, that's five," Melissa said. "Any other volunteers?"

Sheryl looked besides her, towards Reeve, who was staring at the giantess. Reeve... She had come to hate this man. She had no idea how much time had passed since he started using her as his own sex slave, but she had had it. She did not want to be forced into pleasuring this man any longer.

With no hesitation, she stepped forward.

"What the hell?" Reeve said, perplexed.

"I'll go!" Sheryl yelled out.

Melissa turned her head towards her. "Oh?"

"What are you doing?" Reeve asked. "Don't go out there."

Sheryl turned behind her. "Fuck you. I'm doing this, and you can't stop me."

She saw Reeve grit his teeth, before she turned back to Melissa, who had reached in and pulled her away from Reeve and out of the cage. She was soon dropped into Melissa's other palm, joining the five other men picked out before her.

"Okay," Melissa said. "Some of you may be back. ...But there's also a chance that all of you will be killed. But I'm sure that you all know that already, right?" She smiled at them, which Sheryl could barely make out in the dim light.

"Let's go." Melissa then carried them out of the closet.

As Sheryl watched the passing scenery, she knew what could be the ultimate consequence of her volunteering to go out with the other, but she did not care. She would rather be dead than to have to deal with Reeve anymore.

~~~

Dawson watched as Melissa walked out of the closet. A small part of him was slightly disappointed that she had once again opted to only take the Homeless out with her. However, the rest of him knew that they would all most likely end up being killed in some way or another.

Yet, that small part drove him to mutter, "Lucky Homeless bastards..."

"'Lucky'? You just want more toejam, don't you?"

Dawson turned around, and saw Matt standing behind him. "Didn't they ever tell you to never sneak up on people?"

"Actually, no, they didn't."

Dawson sighed. "Anyway, what do you want?"

"Nothing, really."

"Just to annoy me?"

"Yeah, probably."

Dawson shook his head, and looked past Matt, towards Jenna, who stood near the other side of the cage. "So, what do you think of Jenna?"

Matt grunted. "Again? Haven't you asked me that same question before?"

"Yeah, but she's cute, so it's worth it."

"Well, frankly, I've seen better." Matt folded his arms. "Plus, she's a bit too young for me."

Dawson raised an eyebrow. "What? How old is she?"

Matt chuckled. "Of course she never told you. She's 18."

Dawson's mouth dropped. "Are you serious?! You mean I've been hitting on a girl eight years younger than me?!"

Matt laughed. "Well, she's still legal, so it's not like you'd go to jail."

Dawson sighed. "I guess you're right. But it would have been better if she was closer to my age, y'know?"

"So you'd feel less guilty about fantasizing about her feet?" Matt laughed.

Dawson became a bit irritated. "Shut it."

Matt laughed a bit more before regaining his composure. "Speaking of girls, I wonder how Milly's doing?"

"Oh yeah... Your girlfriend. ...And baby's momma."

"Yeah. I bet that she's pissed off that I've been gone for so long. She probably thinks that I left them."

"Well, I'm sure that the news has been talking about missing people. Maybe she rightfully assumed that you are one of them."

"Yeah. I hope so. I don't want her ending up fucking another guy." Matt sighed. "Hopefully this will all end, and I can go see them again."

Dawson nodded, and looked towards where Melissa has walked out. No doubt that, by now, Melissa was well underway with whatever game she had planned today.

~~~

Sheryl and the other five men had been placed in the middle of a foam ring that had been set up on the floor. Melissa stood several feet away, holding what looked like a jar in her hands. However, it was covered with a blue cloth.

"I'm going to tell you right now," Melissa said. "This will be a survival game." She smirked. "However, I won't be the one going after you."

The tiny people looked among each other, in a state of mild confusion.

"Oh, no. That would be too easy for me. Plus, it wouldn't be fun if you have no chance of fighting back. That's why I put some needles in there for you all."

Sheryl looked to her left, and saw a stack of six or so sewing needles. At her size, each one looked more like a javelin.

Melissa then stepped closer to the ring. "Who you all will be fighting against is this thing inside here." She looked down at the jar she was holding.

"What thing?" one of the men asked.

Melissa smiled. "I'm glad you asked! It's a little thing I found and caught outside." She lifted the side of the cloth facing her. "It looks ready for some blood, too."

Sheryl heard some of the men around her gulp. She also began to become anxious.

Melissa knelt down closer to the floor. "Wanna see? ...Of course you do"

With that, she completely removed the cloth from the jar and threw it on the floor beside her. All six of the tiny people were horrified at what they now saw inside. Underneath Melissa's smirking face, in the jar she held, was a praying mantis.

"Bugmen versus Bug." Melissa smiled.

"Oh god..." Sheryl said, her eyes wide with fear.

"The last one standing will be the winner. Plus, I'll sweeten the deal: if you win, I'll grant you any request you want. ...One that doesn't involve me setting you free, that is."

"Are you kidding me?!" one of the other men yelled out. "That son-of-a-bitch's going to kill us all!"

Melissa snickered. "Maybe. I guess we'll find out now, won't we?"

At that point, Melissa moved the jar over the center of the ring and turned the jar upside down, which caused the insect inside to drop from the glass container and onto the floor below. Each of the tiny people had quickly dispersed as soon as the jar loomed over head. Now, each one were spread in different parts of the ring, as they all stared in fear of the green beast in front of them.

As Melissa stood up and walked to her bed, the mantis wasted no time, and quickly lunged towards one of the men. He tried to run, but the insect caught him in its mighty blades, then bit down on his head. It then pulled its head back, tearing the man's head from his body.

"Damn!" an amazed Melissa said.

Sheryl and the others looked on in horror as the gigantic monster fed on the body of the decapitated man. She watched as the remaining men ran for the sewing needles, each one picking one up, though they struggled to hold it due to a combination of the needles' size compared to them and their bodies weak from lack of proper nourishment. Sheryl did nothing but back away, until her back was against the foam wall.

She watched as the other men began to rush the green mantid as it was finishing off what remained of the unfortunate man in its claws. One man tried a thrusting attack, which penetrated through its exoskeleton. This aggrivated the insect, as it soon turned to face the man that impaled it. It slashed around with its claw, striking one of the men in the neck. The sharp hooks on its claw sliced the man's flesh open, and he fell to the floor, clutching his neck in his hands in a desperate attempt to try to stop the bleeding.

As she watched the remaining three men struggle against the beast, she started to feel grief over the fact that she was the leader of this entire group of prisoners, yet could not bring herself to engage the giant insect with the other men literally fighting for their lives. Maybe the others were right to overthrow her... She should just throw herself at this beast and get it over with...

Just then, she heard another scream. The mantis has thrust its head in another man's chest, impaling its fangs inside. The man pulled away, but immediately fell to the floor with blood gushing out. As the mantid prepared to prey on the fallen man, the two remaining men started to rush the insect and jab it with the needles. It seemed to be having its effect on the mantid, as its reactions started to slow down. One man then thrust through its hind leg, nearly severing it. The insect started to limp, as the men's assault on the once dominant beast became a bit more fierce.

Sheryl looked to her right, and saw the remaining needles. At that moment, she contemplated grabbing one and joining in on the battle. However, just as she was about to make her way to where the needles were, she felt the floor shake as footsteps drew near. Melissa was coming, and the fighting men did not seem to notice, as they were too involved with the battle against the mantid.

They did notice, however, when a giant shadow covered the entire area. They looked up and screamed as Melissa's sandal-clad foot came down on them, crushing them, their incapacitated comrade, and the mantis underneath. Sheryl gasped and fell to her knees. Through her cowardice, she was the last one standing.

"Well," Melissa said. "They were starting to gain an edge, so I had to put my foot down." She chuckled, before turning towards Sheryl.

Sheryl gulped as their eyes met each other.

"Oh? You're still alive, huh?" Melissa said, removing her foot from the spot inside of the ring, revealing the mashed-up remains of the men and insect. "I guess that makes you the winner." She smiled.

This was not what she was expecting. She truly expected to be killed here. In fact, she was amazed that the others hadn't thrown her to the mantis. However, if the giantess truly intended to keep her word, Sheryl knew what her "wish" would be.

"Anyway, since you're the winner, you get anything you want... as long as it's in my power."

Sheryl exhaled, regained her composure, and stood up. "You really intend to do this?"

Melissa nodded.

"Then... I know exactly what I want."

~~~

Thomas was now laying down on the computer desk, arms folded behind his head as he stared at the ceiling, drifting in and out of reality. Sayuko was still on the computer, and last he check, she was looking at more Japanese videos.

This had been going on for about two hours. The only sounds he heard were the keys being typed on the keyboard, the clicking of the mouse, and those of any viral video she watched.

Just as he prepared to close his eyes again, he was shocked by a rather loud noise.

"Ohh!!"

Thomas shot up, and saw a look of excitement on Sayuko's face as she stared at the monitor.

"What happened?" Thomas asked.

"Someone finally responded to my post!" Sayuko said.

"Are you serious?!" Thomas stood up and ran closer to the young woman. "What does it say?!"

"...'Edgar Cruz? I believe the one you're looking for works at FutureTech Labs.' FutureTech Labs!"

"Future technology... Like building stuff that could be of use in the future? I think the Shrink Ray that Melissa has would fit right into that!" Thomas snapped his finger. "Of course! Quick! Let's try the search again!"

Wasting no time, Sayuko opened another tab on the browser, and typed in "google.com" in the address bar. Once on the webpage, she typed in "Edgar Cruz FutureTech" in the search box and clicked the "Search" button. Her excitement increased as she saw the very first webpage on the results page: FutureTech Researchers. In the summary, among other names, Edgar Cruz was listed.

"Click it! Click it!" Thomas, also excited, ordered.

Sayuko took a deep breath, and moved the cursor over the link and clicked it. Soon, the screen went black, as if the page's background itself was that color.

However, the excitement that they had just gotten soon faded, as a pop-up box appeared in the center of the screen, asking for a password.

"What the..." Thomas said.

Sayuko turned to Thomas. "What do I do now?"

He stared at the box for several seconds, before he pounded his fist in his other palm, and sighed. "We need a password, and we have no idea what it is..."

"So..." Thomas could see that her eyes were starting to water.

"I'm sorry, Sayuko... There's nothing we can do..."

Sayuko's mouth dropped, before she turned back to the monitor. Without typing anything into the box, she clicked the "OK" button. The box disappeared, and the page was soon redirected to a white page with the text "Access Denied."

With that, Sayuko began to cry. She folded her arms on the desk and dropped her face into it.

"No... Our only lead..." She said through her weeping. "Now there's no way we can get Mr. Cruz!"

Thomas shook his head. "Why would they even put it on a search engine, knowing that most people can't access the site...?"

He then walked closer to Sayuko, and once he reached her, began to pat her on her giant arm.

"Hey... Sayuko. Listen to me... Don't give up hope. We'll find a way to rescue your brother."

Sayuko lifted her head, revealing her tear-covered face. "How?"

"...I'm sure that something will come up. Fate will throw us a bone that we can use sooner or later."

"Thomas..." She unfolded her arms and wiped the tears from her face. "I want to believe you... But it seems hopeless..."

"We can't give up. Not now. Because once we do, Melissa wins." Thomas folded his arms. "And once that happens, she can do whatever she wants with Taro."

Sayuko stared at him for several seconds before nodding. "I'll... try to hold on... But what now? How are we going to be able to contact Mr. Cruz. The only person who can call him anytime she wants is Melissa..."

"Yeah... And I doubt she'd give you his number if you asked. Plus, if you did, she'd know that something was up."

Sayuko sighed, and muttered something under her breath in Japanese, though Thomas could make out the word "Taro."

"If only I were a hacker..." Thomas said to himself as he looked back to the monitor, still on the "Access Denied" page.

~~~

Sheryl, sitting in Melissa's open palm, was being carried back into the closet. Soon, she was back in the dark area where the glass cages were. Melissa then knelt down and dropped her into the glass prison.

"So, is that what you wanted?" Melissa asked as she stood upright.

Sheryl looked around herself, before responding. "Yes."

"Good. Hope you enjoy it. While it lasts, that is." Melissa smiled. "Anyway, I'm out of here. Gotta clean up the mess they left behind. You all have fun!" She then walked out of the closet, closing the door behind her.

Sheryl took a deep breath and exhaled it, and turned around. She saw the many younger faces staring at her, some with a look of confusion, others with disgust. An one-armed man walked towards her, with a look of annoyance and concern on his face.

"Uhh..." he said. "Who are you, and what are you doing here?"

Sheryl stepped forward. "My name is Sheryl. ...You can consider me an ex-Homeless."

She smiled as the Refugees began to chatter amongst themselves.