FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

You might be a big fish

In a little pond

Doesn't mean you've won

'Cause along may come

A bigger one

(Coldplay)

---

Pressed up against the foot of the bedpost, I scanned the vast expanse of the darkened room. Where could she have gotten off to? How on earth had I let myself lose track of her, even if only for a moment?

No, there she was. Crouched like a coil under the window, her every muscle was poised to spring at the slightest hint of movement. I allowed myself a moment to admire the way the shafts of pale moonlight filtering through the curtains made Tabitha's form appear. The only things moving were her eyes; everything else remained stock-still. A predatory sort of grin was fixed on her lips.

My miniature apartment--my desired destination in the silly little game Tabitha had cooked up--was so close to her, only a few dozen feet away from her right haunch. A seemingly infinite expanse of open floor stretched between my ultimate goal and myself. There was no way. The odds were most definitely not in my favor.

"I can smell you," Tabitha rumbled gleefully. "Just give it up now,"

Suppressing a giggle, I shook my head. Futile as my end of the whole game was, I knew she'd hate me if I gave myself up so early. Given the magnitude of the difference in size between the two of us, the foreplay really was the bulk of the whole thing for Tabitha. Everything afterwards was just a little bit awkward. I felt as if it were something of a boyfriend-ly obligation to make sure to make her as happy as possible, so if that meant some sort of hide-and-seek game that made me feel like I was at the bottom of the food chain, so be it.

After casting a final glance in Tabitha's direction, I tore silently away from the bed, skirting the edge of the room. I was thankful for the inky black color of my fur; it definitely made things a little bit easier in the blending-in department.

Diving behind the base of the sink basin stand, I took a moment to catch my breath. Damn, I needed to work out more often. It was a little sad how easily winded I could get.

How did I get talked into this situation? How many other guys spent their Saturday evenings hiding around their gigantic girlfriends' apartments like fucking little feral mice or something? Well, probably as many guys who had gigantic girlfriends, I supposed.

See, whenever Tabitha drank, you got one of two end products. Either she suddenly felt the need to gush on and on about her feelings (which invariably involved you being used to some extent as a handkerchief), or she became some sort of crazed sex kitten. Sex ferret? Is that a thing? It should be a thing if it isn't a thing already.

On this night in particular, as one glass (cask, rather) of wine became two became four became a small country's entire seasonal output, the latter had begun to emerge. With each passing cask, the ferretess began to relieve herself of various articles of clothing.

This quickly turned into her asking me to do the same, which further escalated into the latest of Tabitha's insane sex-game ideas. Before I knew it, she was stashing my home away somewhere and telling me that if I couldn't get there before she caught me, it would be spelunking time for me.

I glanced around the edge of the poured-concrete sink pedestal. My destination was so close. Except now there was a massive foot in my way. And a whole massive ferretess attached to it. Looking up slowly, I stared at Tabitha's face leering down at me from 90-someodd feet overhead.

"I win," she declared simply, if not a little tipsily.

The giantess stooped down, reaching down towards me. I froze momentarily, but didn't run. I supposed after being in a relationship with Tabitha for so long, my body had eventually just given up on that whole oh-gods-run-there's-this-giant-thing-out-to-get-you-and-eat-you-or-something response.

As Tabitha's fingers wrapped securely around my torso, I heard the sharp buzzing of the doorbell.

"You gonna answer that?" I asked somewhat nervously.

"If it's anything important, they can come back tomorrow," Tabitha replied dismissively, grinning coquettishly.

Tabitha sat on the edge of her bed, chewing her lip in thought as she stared at me. The buzzing persisted.

"I don't think they're going to be leaving us alone any time soon," I jerked my head in the direction of the door.

The ferretess cast a baleful glance in the direction of the door before shifting off the bed, padding toward the source of the annoying sounds.

"Er, aren't you going to put something on?" I whispered urgently. "Can't you put me down?"

Tabitha smirked as she stretched out on her stomach in front of the door, kicking her legs up behind her and resting the fist holding me on the floor next to her chin.

"We'll get them to buzz off," she murmured to me.

Prodding open the door with a fingertip, Tabitha attempted her best winning smile at the guests, though it ended up coming out mostly just creepy and inebriated. There was no porch light (we really needed to do something about that), but I could tell that there were two or three individuals standing in the shadows.

"Oh, I've been looking forward to you lot showing up again," Tabitha slurred, evidently recognizing the group. "Oh, wait. Just kidding. Fuck off, please. See, I'm even being polite about it. I said 'please',"

"Miss Crane. We had hoped that you had given our offer some consideration and--"

"--You've already received my answer," the ferretess snapped. "I don't know why you think you're going to get any other sort of response.

"And why, while we're at it, do you insist on visiting me now? At this time? There are so many more hours in the day. So many. I hear there's something called the daytime. Most people I know tend to take care of business when the sun is out. Pretty awesome, or at least so I hear,"

"Miss Crane, I'm afraid--"

"--I'm afraid nothing," Tabitha snapped, starting to get hot under the collar. "Leave. I've already asked nicely. I'm going to start asking not so nicely. Or I might just kick you out. And when I mean 'kick you out' I actually mean 'rend limb from limb',"

I shifted uncomfortably in Tabitha's fist, not quite enjoying being stuck in her grip while she discussed maiming. She seemed to notice my discomfort, as she reached her free arm out, ready to close the little door.

"Now, if you'll just buzz off, I'm sure my boyfriend would like some attention. Unless you want to join in, of course. I'm sure there's some extra room if you so desire," she grinned deviously.

My feeble attempt at a protest registered as a choked sound in my throat as my ears flushed every shade of red possible. The group clustered on the doorstep seemed about as uncomfortable as I was with the prospect and quickly excused themselves with much hemming and hawing.

Closing the door, Tabitha shifted so she was sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of the doorway. She was quiet, all of her energy seemingly having vanished in an instant. Her hand fell open and I slipped out, hurrying along the length of her leg to her knee.

"Tab?" I asked. "What's the matter?"

Brushing me almost absentmindedly off her knee and onto the floor, the ferretess got to her feet and hurried across towards the bed, where she began to pull on her pajamas. I protested as I hit the ground, buffeted by the flurry of movement.

"Hey! Be careful!" I complained.

"I'm really tired, now that I think about it," she said flatly, ignoring my remarks as she fell into bed. "Let's just call it a night,"

I hurried towards the foot of the nightstand, clambering up the series of ladders to the surface.

"What's going on, Tab?" I asked softly, sitting down with my legs swinging over the edge.

A loud snore. A very fake one.

"Come on, Tab. We need to talk. What's going on?"

Another snore, even more fake than the one before.

"Fine," I sniffed somewhat huffily. "But don't think this is over,"

As I slipped into my own, much smaller, bed, I thought I could hear Tabitha crying softly.

*****

The sudden concussion of sound, light, and movement was unlike anything I'd experienced before, at least in recent memory. After spending so long in relative solitude, it took every ounce of energy and willpower available to me to not simply fall on the ground and curl up into the fetal position.

As the initial shock wore off, I blinked my eyes open, looking around as I tried to clear the fog of confusion and disorientation from my mind.

The scene before me was like nothing I had ever seen. A wide street stretched before me, busy with traffic comprising all manner of automated vehicles. We had automotives in my home, but nothing like these noisy, wheeled contraptions that trundled back and forth along lanes demarcated by yellow and white dashed stripes.

Individuals somewhat like Roger and Todd, but of countless varieties, pushed past one another on still more lanes, these ones grey and raised slightly higher than the automotive lanes; they appeared designated for pedestrian traffic alone.

A gentle rain fell from the slate grey sky, prompting some to pull hoods over their heads while others produced collapsible covers from their bags, holding them overhead. These protective measures didn't appear all that popular with the majority of the people in the pedestrian lanes, judging by the occasional muffled complaint as the covers jostled and bobbed through the throng.

As I began to regain my bearings and the feeling in my legs, I slowly came to realize that I had no idea where it was I was supposed to be going, exactly. Where was this 'MACRO' building? Roger'd just spat it out like everyone somehow innately knew where it was. Well, make this one dragon who has know bloody clue.

I managed to flag down a female who seemed friendly enough, She was a red panda of some variety, as best I could tell. I'd never seen anyone like the menagerie hustling back and forth around me before, but I recognized some of the varieties from various children's' stories I'd been told while growing up.

"Er, could you tell me where I can find the... MACRO Headquarters?" I asked, feeling my throat starting to glow subtly in my embarrassment. "I'm... I'm new around here, see," I added, as if that would make her look of confused skepticism go away any more quickly.

"Sure," she said vaguely, throwing an arm out down one direction seemingly at random. "It's off that way. Just take a left on Jefferson and it should be one of the first buildings on the right side of the street. Big sign. Pretty hard to miss,"

Thanking the red panda profusely, I hurried in the instructed direction as if the building would be relocating itself shortly.

Indeed, the building was pretty difficult to miss. It wasn't the tallest structure in the area, per se, but it still managed to be quite formidable in a fashion. Underneath an austere steel and chrome sign proclaiming

M. A. C. R. O.

was a set of revolving glass doors monitored by no less than three burly guards in matching grey jackets, each mustering what appeared to be a decent amount of firepower.

Swallowing thickly, I approached the revolving doors. Either the guards were asleep or they didn't perceive me as a threat, because they didn't move a muscle. Seizing the opportunity, I hurried (in the least suspicious manner possible) through the rotating door.

The atrium inside was just as simple and severe as the main façade of the building. A long desk staffed by a pair of fairly nondescript 'people' lined the majority of the wall to my left, and directly in front of me was a bank of chrome-and-steel elevators. A single simplistic fountain installation in the center of the atrium made a fairly pitiable attempt at making the place seem more 'fresh' and 'lively'.

One of the staff members, a rather bland-looking mouse, eyed me pointedly as I approached the desk.

"Can I help you?" she asked flatly, typing away at her computer.

"Er, yes. I think. I'm supposed to see a... Morgan? Yeah, that's the name, I think," I stuttered hesitantly. "Roger told me to speak with her," I added, hoping that would help in some way.

At the least, maybe it would give me some sort of air of authority. Perhaps. Was Roger even an influential figure here? With my luck, he was probably just a custodian or something.

The mouse busied herself at the console, typing in furious bursts of motion for several moments. At length, she returned her beady gaze to me.

"Floor eight. Elevators are over there. Sign in and wear this badge, please," she stated, passing me a plastic badge reading 'GUEST' on a clip and jerking her head in the direction of a series of metal doors set against the far wall. "Room 837 is her office,"

I thanked her and headed towards these 'elevators'. After watching a heavyset panther use the contraption from a discrete distance, I hurried over. Selecting the appropriately labeled button from the bank on the wall, I stepped on and waited for the tired, old contraption to trundle its jerky way up to the eighth floor.

As I stood leaning against the wall, I couldn't help but notice all of the sidelong glances my strange appearance was earning from my fellow occupants. It was probably something I would have to get used to, I sighed inwardly.

With a soft ding, the elevator shuddered to a halt and opened up onto the eighth floor. Stepping out, I cast about for Room 837.

The office was right around the corner, a cluttered little affair shoved haphazardly into the corner of the floor. Almost more of a closet than a real room, 837 had a freshly lettered plaque beside the door indicating the modest space belonged to one MORGAN MADDOX.

I knocked and several moments later, the face of a rather pretty pine marten appeared around the edge.

"What is it you wa--" the words dried up in Morgan's mouth as she got her first good look at me. She tried to complete her sentence, gave up, and fell upon a rather blunt, "What... what are you?"

"I'm new here," I muttered self-consciously. "Can I come in?"

After a few more moments of hesitation and blinking, Morgan opened the door, allowing me through.

The space inside was just as modest as the door indicated it might be. Cardboard boxes stuffed with manila folders and loose-leaf papers were stacked several high on virtually every available surface--floor, cabinet, and the one chair that appeared to be not Morgan's own.

The desk was in no better of a state of affairs, cluttered with still more files and other office paraphernalia. A chipped mug sat perched on top of a rather primitive-looking (relatively speaking; everything in this world seemed more than a little out-of-date compared with the technology to which I was accustomed) printer. In the corner of the room sat an earthenware pot with a rather pitiful vine plant of some sort.

Morgan looked around the small space in thinly veiled embarrassment and made a couple attempts at making things look less cluttered. She removed the file-boxes from the other chair, setting them on the ground so I could sit.

"Coffee? Tea?" she asked me.

Noticing my confused expression, Morgan pointed at a mug and then a glass carafe filled with dark liquid that was being kept warm on a hot plate on top of the file cabinet. I shrugged my assent and she poured me a cup.

"Want sugar or something with that?"

I shook my head vehemently. Really? Morgan seemed frazzled and all, but sugar? What a breech of etiquette. Why anyone would offer that nasty filth to a guest was beyond me.

"So, what is it you need, exactly?" the pine marten asked me, settling in her chair as I found my own seat.

I took a sip of the pleasantly bitter drink. "Well... I feel like I have a lot of explaining to do in order for anything to make any bit of sense to you," I began hesitantly. "And even then, I probably can't guarantee even that,"

Morgan folded her arms primly across her chest. "Well, can you begin by explaining why you're here? I didn't send for you. I don't even know your godsdamned name, for that matter,"

"Oh! Of course. Sorry. I'm Kotalyn. Tal," I said. "And you're Morgan,"

"That's correct," she nodded.

"As far as why I'm here, well... I don't know if I can tell you that. I don't know, myself, strictly speaking," I sighed. "Roger sent me here. He said that you guys--MACRO or whatever it is--would have some use for me, and that you would be the best one to speak with,"

"Roger's back?" Morgan asked. "I thought they were still on their honeymoon. Him and Reynard,"

"Mmm, well... it's... more complicated than that," I stumbled.

"You know, I really feel like this conversation is stuck in a two-steps-forward-three-back sort of pattern right now," the pine marten pursed her lips. "Can we just lay all the cards out on the table?"

I didn't quite understand her reference, but I figured it was time to cut right to it.

"So, I'm not really from your, ah, dimension," I started. "In case you couldn't tell. Anyway. I was really looking for an out--needed to get away from my present... living situation. And Roger gave it to me. I did a favor for him, and he's given me that out,"

"And what exactly was that favor?" Morgan pressed. "Is he in Saaduuts?"

I shook my head. "He's in San Javier," I said. "And he's... well... I gave him something and now he's... four-hundred-something feet tall," I concluded quietly, working out the unit conversions on my fingers.

Morgan's jaw fell slack and she sat up abruptly in her chair.

"Four... four hundred..."

"Give or take a few dozen feet, yeah," I nodded stiffly, gauging that this was a development Morgan neither expected nor particularly desired.

The pine marten whipped around, almost as if she expected the enormous red fox to be peering through the window like she was in a dollhouse, before she remembered that she didn't even have a window to begin with.

Sensing that a confused babble was about to pour from Morgan's lips, I held up a hand to preempt her.

"He made the request specifically himself. There's a... well, he's taking care of an issue in San Javier, I believe,"

"What. Kind. Of. Problem," replied Morgan icily, more as a statement than a question.

"There was an issue," I began, studying my interlocked fingers with interest. "Let's just say someone got through to my dimension. I come from somewhere else, in case you hadn't gathered that already. But that's beside the point. Anyway, let's also say that same person somehow got a hold of something that enlarged him to enormous proportions. And that person made his way to San Javier. Roger needed to stop him. That's what he told me. So I did the only thing I could--I helped him,"

Morgan was becoming paler with each sentence. "Who,"

"He said his name was Todd,"

Letting out what could only be described as a small whimper, Morgan pushed back from her desk.

"So let me get this straight," she said haltingly. "You unleashed a forty-story Roger on the world so that he could duke it out with an equally enormous Todd, who is likely laying waste to San Javier as we speak,"

"Er... that's the gist of it," I mumbled.

Morgan took another deep breath.

"This is way beyond me. We need to go see my boss. Assuming he could even do anything about this," she said faintly, gesturing me to follow her out of her office and down the hall. "Oh, boy. I was so not ready for my day to shape up like this," she breathed.

*****

To say that the hospital was in a state of complete chaos was perhaps the greatest understatement of the century. No. With the way things were going, a hurrinadoquake could probably pass unnoticed. Doctors and nurses ran every which way ferrying patients about, trying to get any patients capable of moving of their own volition to shuttles.

I stood like an idiot in next to Reynard's bed. A couple of doctors were having an urgent conversation in hushed tones near the entrance to the ward. Tearing myself away from the comatose arctic fox's bed, I approached the pair. Judging by the grim, regretful expressions on their faces, I was certain I wouldn't like whatever it was their conversation was all about.

"Can I help out in any way?" I offered, producing my agency badge. "I've got training in disaster response. And I dare say this is one of those situations,"

The taller doctor, a gaunt muskrat in his fifties or sixties, pursed his lips and shook his head regretfully before speaking.

"Unless you have a fleet of ambulances or high-capacity vehicles, I'm sorry, but we're completely out of options," he said wearily, looking at the patients in the ward. "We simply don't have the space to transport all of them,"

"You should get yourself out of here," the younger doctor, a slim housecat with a cowlick, insisted. "I'm staying here to make sure everyone here is secure. We should be fine so long as...well..."

"I can't leave Reynard here," I insisted, gesturing at the arctic fox in question. "Please. He's my brother's husband. Roger will murder me if I allow anything to happen to him. Please,"

The muskrat seemed hesitant, but the housecat nodded grimly after a moment. Ushering me hastily toward Reynard's bedside, he gestured towards the monitor and tubes attached to the comatose arctic fox.

"Make sure these stay in place. Ideally, we'd have a transport for him--airlift or whatever--but, well, these aren't exactly 'ideal' circumstances," the housecat shook his head.

"Not at all," I concurred.

"Just make sure these stay connected and he should be alright, at least for the time being," the doctor continued. "I guess you're lucky in a way--we've just received a lot of high-mobility bed units. Much more conducive to support than the older stuff we had.

"Just be sure to get him to hospital as soon as you possibly can. We've got some affiliates on the other side of the bay," the doctor said. "Er, better go a bit farther than that, just to be sure," he added after a moment's thought.

I nodded grimly. Pulling the wheeled bed away from the wall, I pushed it hurriedly down the hall after the housecat. As we neared the entrance, the doctor placed his hand on my shoulder.

"You got a vehicle?" he asked.

"I can...procure one no problem," I shrugged.

I took a certain pleasure in commandeering vehicles. Not entirely certain if I was allowed to do it, strictly speaking, but it was certainly fun anyway.

"All right," the doctor said.

"Are you sure you can't come? I'm sure I'd feel better if we had a doc with us,"

The housecat hesitated, but looked back down the long hall towards the ward, shaking his head slightly. "I really shouldn't. Can't. Should stay here. Make sure everything's all right,"

"Okay," I said. "Well, thanks a lot. I won't forget this"

Finding an appropriate vehicle proved to be quite simple. An abandoned delivery vehicle was parked right in front of the entrance. Practically had a big red bow on the hood. I managed to coax Reynard's bed and accoutrements into position in the back and quickly hotwired the van. Gods, I'm such a badass.

The going proved pretty slow through the packed streets. No amount of wailing away on the horn would get the crowds to part. Why wouldn't these fuckers move?

Frustrated, I careened off into a wider alleyway, hoping to be able to make better headway. I suppose it was better, on the astronomical or geological scale. Seriously. Where were all of these people coming from? I guess you can't fully appreciate the population of a city until there's a gigantic fox stomping around it.

I was able to make surprisingly good time using back routes and various narrow lanes that probably weren't even intended for vehicles of any sort. Only problem was, I had no idea where I was going, much less where I should even be heading.

Pulling out my mobile, I dialed my partner. Maybe he would have something for me. Anything. I needed something with which to work. Mercifully, Peter answered on the second ring.

"Guillam," I breathed, veering down yet another side street and swerving to avoid a fleeing parakeet who'd dashed into the street in front of me. "I'm fucked six ways from Sunday right now. I need something,"

"Ummm..." came Guillam's hesitant, confused response. "Can you at least catch me up on what's going on, I guess?"

"What_isn't_ happening?" I exclaimed. "There's a fucking gargantuan Todd on the loose down here, I'm carting Reynard around in some delivery van I stole, and Roger's vanished,"

"Vanished? What do you mean?" Guillam replied.

"Well, remember that bracelet thingy I had? Well, suffice it to say, he has it now. And he put it to use. Fuck only knows how we'll ever be able to get him back from the other side of wherever that thing dumps out,"

"How'd he get ahold of that?"

"Well, he stole it from me, didn't he?" I snapped. "Speedy motherfucker,"

"Warren, I--I'm sorry about all that,"

"Doesn't matter. Nothing we could do,"

"Look, I've got a bead on your location now. GPS in the phone and all that," Guillam coughed after an interlude of silence. "Let's get you the fuck out of Dodge, okay?"

"San Javier," I corrected shortly, weaving in between people and all manner of other traffic obstruction.

"I made a funny," Guillam scoffed. "Alright, take the next right. From there it should be a pretty straight shot to the freeway, assuming that isn't too clogged. You can go either way, but I'd recommend getting on the northbound,"

Following my partner's directions, I whizzed around the corner. Almost instantaneously, I slammed my foot on the brake, screeching unevenly to a bewildered halt.

"Shit_SHIT_!" I bellowed in shock and confusion. "Shi-i-iit!"

"What's going on?" Guillam asked, evidently noticing that the car was no longer moving.

"Er," I mumbled. "I think I've found my brother,"

Guillam said something in reply, but my brain couldn't process the words. Numbly, I hung up, staring through the windscreen. In my haste, I'd nearly slammed into the base of Roger's right heel. Not that he would have noticed the collision at all, I'm sure. At his present stature, the van I was driving barely even qualified as a matchbox car.

"Holy mother of fuck..." I shook my head.

It was like looking at a copy of myself, blown up to the size of a skyscraper. Every detail taken and magnified on an immense scale. Roger's bare foot stretched out in front of the car, blocking the entire street. The tips of his toes brushed against the lower floors of the building opposite, leaving cracks in the façade. His black-and-auburn-furred leg extended up and up to a dizzying height. Despite the height of the apartment tower he stood over, the structure barely reached the middle of his thigh. Even craning my neck as far as I could go, I couldn't make out my brother's face, but I could only imagine the expression on it.

I jumped as the colossal foot shifted, rattling the car. Rubble rained down from the building he stood over. Snapping back into reality, I threw the car into reverse, speeding down the street with my arm thrown over the headrest so I could get a better look through the rear window. Better get out of there, and quickly. Roger probably wouldn't be too happy if he found out he himself had accidentally crushed Reynard. Me, he probably wouldn't care about too much. But the hubby was a different story.

"What the hell have you gotten yourself into, little brother?" I breathed as I sped away from the chaos.

*****

Words cannot describe the overwhelming bizarreness of returning to San Javier at giant size. Fucking surreal. It had probably been more than a minute since I'd returned to my own dimension, but I was still frozen stock-still. My brain simply couldn't process what was going on, what was happening.

I stood astride an apartment tower, each of my feet occupying virtually all of the lanes of the streets on either side of the structure. The building immediately in front of me was only shoulder-high, and my tail had materialized clear through another tower, sending it crumbling to the ground within moments of my sudden appearance. Sorry...

Everything had an oddly muted feel to it. I was vaguely aware of the minuscule inhabitants of the suddenly miniaturized metropolis as they fled the downtown sector, making their insectile way past the thick, powerful pillars of my legs. Cars trundled toy-like down the streets, or attempted to: gridlock seemed to prevent too much progress in any direction. The faint, droning whine of police sirens wafted up from the ground far, far below.

From such a towering vantage point, I felt detached from the general populace, as if they were on some sort of lower level of existence. If I shifted a foot even slightly, I would majorly inconvenience some of them, maybe even crush some of them. Was this what it felt like to be a god, what Todd found so intoxicating?

My ear twitched involuntarily at an annoying fly I realized too late was an aircraft of some sort. Letting out a soft cry, I tried to catch the craft, but it was already too late; a crumpled wreck hurtled earthwards engulfed in flames.

"Shit. Oh, shit fuck," I muttered to myself, too nervous to shift nervously. "Roger, get a fucking hold of yourself. Oh shit,"

I was way too big to be a ditzy klutz. Any stray move could be devastating to the tiny populace below. No, I had to be fucking careful. I'd gotten myself into a gargantuan mess. Pun not intended.

Screwing my eyes shut, I tried with all my might to re-center myself. I had a job to do. I needed to stop Todd. And I needed to stop Todd without flattening half the city myself in the process. How in the fuck was I supposed to do that?

"I really didn't think this through at all, did I?" I groused to myself.

A loud, rumbling grunt prompted me to snap my eyes open. Trying to triangulate the source of the sound, I gritted my teeth. Okay. Go time. Shit. Shitshitshit.

Lifting a foot the smallest height personally possible (for someone of my stature), I took a tiny, mincing step forward. I cringed as I felt the pavement and asphalt flake and crumble underneath my weight.

Gotta get used to that for the time being, Roger, I coached myself firmly. If I didn't get my shit together quickly, Todd would walk all over me. Possibly quite literally.

The next step was a little easier, I supposed. And the one after that, and after that. Soon enough, I was picking my way slowly down the street, asphalt crunching underfoot like the crust of new-fallen snow. Now to find Todd.

The going was a little awkward, as even the widest of the streets were scarcely large enough to accommodate my frame. Even the slightest wrong movement of the tail or leg produced the faint tinkle of breaking glass and an amount of property damage I didn't care to work out at the time. And forget about the street. Asphalt companies were going to make a bloody fortune after all this blew over.

Coming to a halt in a plaza of some sort, I scanned the area for Todd. You'd think a forty-story-tall fox on a destructive rampage would be easier to find. Momentarily I pondered stooping down and asking some of the fleeing citizenry if they had any clue as to his whereabouts, but thought better of it. They probably wouldn't buy that, no, I was the friendly giant fox presently stomping through their city.

My gaze fell on a helicopter hovering over a building a few dozen paces away. Squinting, I judged from the markings that it was a military craft of some sort. Perfect. Maybe I could get a little help, both in finding my adversary and subduing him.

Holding my hands up to let the craft know I meant no harm, I took a step or two closer.

"My name is Roger Smith-White," I said softly, trying to keep my tone as calm and even as possible. "I work with MACRO up in Saaduuts. And now... well I'm pretty godsdamn macro, I guess,"

Nervously, I held out my hand. The helicopter began to move, approaching slowly before alighting dragonfly-like on my palm. I gawped at the miniature craft, resting with runners on either side of the groove at the center of my palm.

"Holy shit. I'm really fucking big, aren't I?" I mumbled for perhaps the hundredth time since my return to San Javier. The fact of the matter just wouldn't sink in no matter how hard I tried.

"Yes, you are," crackled a voice through a loudspeaker on the helicopter. "We're with the 72nd Combat Air Brigade, Pacifica Air Force,"

"Maybe you can help me then," I breathed. "I _need_to stop Todd. But... well, I haven't exactly gotten into a giant-sized fistfight before, so I'm feeling pretty dead in the water,"

"We have air and naval support coming in, due within the next couple of hours. If you can hold him until then, we can take it from there," the voice replied.

"Okay," I nodded, swallowing nervously. "Er... can you tell me where he is located?"

As if in answer to my question, I heard another loud grunt coming from somewhere not too far off. I snapped to attention, looking around hastily. I glanced back at my hand, but the helicopter had already taken off. Damn. Guess I was going it alone.

My heart plummeted as I neared the end of the long street I was making my way down. The street ended at what seemed to be some sort of industrial district. Dominating the area (relatively speaking, I supposed; nothing was all that big to me anymore) was a reasonably sizeable sports stadium. And dominating the majority of the stadium was a reasonably sizeable Todd.

Lounging around as if he was in some sort of bathtub, the fox seemed to be having the time of his life. He appeared to be getting some sort of group-effort shoulder massage from a delegation of people he had cornered in the stands. His head craning back and his eyes closed in ecstasy, Todd was feeding himself people in small groups like popcorn.

I must I must have made a sound of disgust, because one of Todd's great amber eyes--both of them, I was surprised to note--blinked lazily open, focusing on me. If he was surprised by my sudden appearance, he concealed it immaculately.

Folding first one leg and then the other over the outer wall of the stadium, Todd pushed to his feet. He brushed the few pesky remaining people off his shoulder indifferently, his attention focused wholly on me. A grin flickered across his lips.

"Joined the Big Boy Club, have we?" he rumbled with a smirk, tapping idly at the black band wound tightly around his neck. "Though I must say, I'm dressed for the part a bit better than you,"

Now that I stood face to face with my adversary, I felt a knot of misgiving in my stomach. I took a shuffling step or two backwards. He stood head and shoulders taller than me, to say nothing of the extra muscle mass. Seeing the destruction made me livid, but now that Todd's icy, calculating gaze was fixed on me, that barely-contained rage was mixed with a hefty dose of fear.

"You... you can't do this," I finally said lamely. "You need to stop,"

The fox stared blankly back at me for a few moments as if he were trying to process my statement. Then he burst into laughter, throwing his head back as he clutched at his stomach.

"You got me," he snorted, holding up his hands, his tone dripping with mockery.

"We can end this with a fight. You just have to cooperate," I said, mostly trying to convince myself this was true.

"Rodge, why are you such a fucking tight-ass?" the other fox rolled his eyes at me. "Seriously. Live a little once in a while, big guy. Sheesh,"

"You're a sick fuck. You know that, right?" I added helpfully.

Taking a step back, Todd turned around, stooping and reaching into the stadium. When he straightened up again, I was horrified to see that he was clutching a fistful of people. Why was I still standing rooted there like a fucking lump?

"S-stop," I breathed.

"Here, lemme help ya," Todd smirked.

Todd advanced on me, a malicious grin on his lips. Before I could do anything, he had shoved the entire fistful down the front of my compression shorts, kissing me viciously as he did so. I could taste the blood and other horrible things on his tongue. Should have bit the damned thing off, but I was too in shock at everything happening to do much of anything.

"Enjoy," Todd murmured huskily, groping my ass.

He smirked as I took a shocked step backwards, unintentionally obliterating much of warehouse under my heel. Humiliated, I stuck my hand down my front, trying to rescue them and failing miserably. Everyone was crushed to paste in my hands.

"Doesn't it feel great?" he commented as I cringed. "They pop like little grapes or something. Fucking exquisite. Taste amazing, too. You really have to try a fistful or two,"

"You're a monster," I choked, the edges of my vision swimming with tears. Todd had made me a mass-murderer in the manner of moments.

"Roger, you're basically a god now," Todd declared, his voice ringing with a demented grandiosity. "These people--these mere insects--are worth nothing to you. They're inconsequential. Worthless. I mean, you just ended the miserable existences of a couple dozen of 'em with your fucking cock.

"So have fun. Get over yourself and your stupid fucking holier-than-thou 'morals'. Long as you're here might as well have some fun,"

"Never," I spat in disdain.

"Whatever you say, princess," Todd snorted. "See, the difference between you and me is simple. I'm a predator and you're prey. You're awfully large prey at the moment, granted, but that doesn't change your basic nature.

"What was your endgame here, Roger? To fight me? To put me down? Come on, then. Hit me with your best shot. Hit me!"

I gawked as Todd threw his arms wide. After a pause, he smirked, folding his arms back across his chest.

"Didn't think so. Because you're prey. Here's the thing. You're just a little, little fox with a body far too big for his own good.

"Look down at your feet. You just trampled an elementary school, by the look of it. Wonder how many were still inside? Now if you were me, you'd be interested just to see how well you were performing. But based on that silly slack jaw of yours, you're pretty shocked. It would be cute if it weren't so damn annoying,"

Snarling with rage, I threw myself at Todd. He stiff-armed me, sending me toppling through a business tower that had somehow managed to escape Todd's wrath so far. So much for that.

I lashed out again, aiming a punch squarely at my adversary's face. He feinted to the side, but I couldn't react quickly enough. My fist ploughed through the side of a tower, bloodying my knuckles.

"Oh, so that got a rise out of you, did it? Please," Todd scoffed. "Just because you're as big as a skyscraper now doesn't mean you're automatically better at fighting. Hell, if anything you've made matters that much worse by blowing yourself up like that. One false step and there go dozens of lives and a couple million dollars worth of real estate. Not that it matters to me. You're only helping me out with that. So thanks,"

With an encouraging nudge of Todd's hip, the structure I'd punched crumbled to the ground.

"Doesn't mean I'm not going to stop you," I snapped. "Someone has to do it,"

"I really don't have time to deal with your incessant whining right now. This is my ascension. Saaduuts was just a dress rehearsal. Now, I am a god," the fox declared grandiosely, leering down at me.

Todd glanced away from me, refocusing on a structure roughly equal in height to himself which was still more or less intact.

"Figure there's anyone left in there? It's like a cupboard filled with delicious treats. Want any of 'em? I can save you a few,"

"You're a sick fuck,"

"And you're a broken record," Todd cackled. "And I do_know. It's great. Being good is so _boring. Being docile prey is boring, right up until you're led to the slaughter, when it ceases being boring and starts being terrifying,"

I muttered a reply that was incomprehensible even to myself.

Todd ignored me as he examined his prospect in a predatory fashion. I circled around Todd so that I was standing between him and the building.

"You aren't going to win, Todd. No way this ends well for you,"

Todd's hand flicked over my shoulder, his fist ploughing through the side of the structure. He dragged his hand downward, giggling manically.

"Come again?" he asked, his tone dripping with mockery. "I won't 'win'? You couldn't even save one pitiful little building.

"Why'd you even super-size yourself? Just so you could listen to yourself whine at a louder volume? Don't get me wrong, I love watching you mince around like a gigantic godsdamn fairy princess or something. It's pretty fucking hilarious to see you try to avoid causing collateral when you bring about death and destruction with every step.

"Have you taken a glance at the soles of your feet lately? Sat down to clean the gunk from between your toes? Oh, wait. That would mean crushing the better part of a city block under that rather well formed ass of yours. Damn.

"None of that is on me. That's all you, big boy. Unfortunate, really. Well, if you assume your rather maudlin and idiotic perspective, at least.

"See, like it or not, you're a walking, talking engine of destruction now. At least I have the good sense to have some fun with it!

"You act like one of these insects and conceal it behind a curtain of preachiness. You keep telling me you're going to stop me. So stop me. Don't just tell me that and hope for the best.

"You're pathetic, Roger. Just pathetic. You haven't been able to save anyone in San Javier like you say you will. Hell, you've added to the body count yourself at this point!

"I bet even if that stupid husband of yours were here, you wouldn't even be able to save him. What is his name? Rupert? Reginald? Reynard? What a fucking dumb name. I clipped out the marriage announcement and pasted it on my cell wall. How heartwarming. If he were here, you would watch him die in front of you and not--

A sharp blow to the side of the face ensured Todd never had the chance to finish his thought. He staggered back a step or two in sheer surprise. Spitting gallons of blood across the windows of a tower, Todd dabbed at his lip with his fingers.

"First blood, eh? You're--"

My fists cut off Todd once again.

"Don't you talk about Reynard with me," I growled, eyes blazing.

I circled around Todd, studying him for another opportunity to strike. The tip of my tail obliterated a rooftop garden, but I didn't care anymore. I barely noticed it. My attentions were focused squarely on Todd's smug visage, my only desire to punch his stupid fucking face in.

"Guess this brings negotiations to a close," Todd arched his brow, raising his fists once more.

"There never were any negotiations to begin with, motherfucker," I replied in a snarl. "You stop of your own volition or I'm stopping you,"

"Well, lemme tell you one thing, Roger," Todd growled, tensing. "When two forty-story foxes fight, the whole city loses,"

Without warning, Todd launched himself at me. I feinted to the side just in time, managing to knock the vulpine off-balance. He ate shit, tumbling thunderously to the ground with a grunt.

Seizing the opportunity, I leaped on top of Todd, scratching and clawing at every square foot of flesh and fur I could reach. Grabbing a chunk of a devastated structure, I bashed him in the skull with it.

Something in my mind had snapped. If I wanted to gain the upper hand against Todd, I needed to fight dirty. There were no rules. You had to be creative. A shard of window glass torn from a skyscraper is a knife. A chunk of building is a bludgeoning weapon.

Todd seemed stunned and winded by his tumble and my assault, but was all too quick to recover. His legs swung to the side, catching my ankles. I tumbled thunderously to the ground, letting out a pained grunt.

In an instant, Todd was nearly on top of me, poised to spring. Quickly, I pulled my knees to my chest and kicked out as Todd leaped, catching him the stomach.

Already on my feet by the time he hit the ground, I snatched up an long passenger train abandoned on an elevated track. Crossing my arms, I pulled the train taut about Todd's throat like a garrotte. The fox's neck muscles worked furiously, a glrk­ escaping his throat as he strained. I pulled back, bracing my foot against the small of his back.

The tension quickly proved too much for the little train and it came to pieces in my hands. Unable to steady myself, I toppled over, sitting down hard with a grunt. Todd turned on me, eyes smouldering as he rubbed his throat.

"You fucked up now," he hissed.

*****

By all rights, Roger probably should have been the one who ended up an agent in a shady secret organization. Growing up, while I jammed my snout into a book, Roger kept busy establishing himself as the unquestioned king of the playground. I remember many calls home and more than a few parent-teacher conferences involving my twin brother's penchant for punching. I always teased him about it afterward, but he always ensured I regretted that indiscretion.

In time, Roger mellowed out. Nearly two decades and more than a couple of hundred feet later, you never would have been able to tell. Standing on a bluff looking across the bay back towards San Javier, I couldn't help but gawk at what was going on in the city. Todd was powerful, but my brother be putting up more than a fair fight, at least for the time being. It was almost balletic, the clash of Roger's trim, wiry frame against Warren's stockier form.

I just wished the deadly dance didn't come at the expense of any and all real estate unfortunate enough to get in their way. I cringed instinctively as a blow from Todd sent Roger tumbling backwards, clear through a sizeable tower. Shit. That was going to take awhile to rebuild.

Tearing my eyes away from the mayhem in San Javier, I ducked back into the van. I needed to get Reynard over to Elmport. Certainly didn't want Roger to use his newly returned love of violence against me if Reynard's life slipped away while he was under my care.

The engine revved as I peeled away, taking the surprisingly empty highway towards San Javier's sister city to the north.

Guillam's directions over the phone were clear and concise (for once in a lifetime), allowing me to reach the Providence Hospital without too much of a headache. The nurse at the Emergency Department transferred Reynard quickly into a ward, assuring me that he would get nothing but the best of care.

"Excellent. I'd expect nothing less," I said, before adding with a bit of a smirk, "I'd hope so, seeing as Rey here is my brother's husband. And my brother happens to be the size of a skyscraper at the moment. I'm sure if things went south here, Roger'd have no problem stomping right over here and giving you a piece of his mind,"

"Umm... good to know," the nurse blinked, unsure of what to make of the statement.

"Check out the news if you don't believe me. My bro's the one in the spandex compression shorts with the cute ass," I winked as I made for the door. "I should know. I've got the same one. Girls love it,"

The nurse rolled her eyes before bustling off to attend to other matters. Well, guess that wasn't going to go any further. Live to conquest another day, Warren.

Any composure I had faked cracked the second I walked out of the ED and into the hallway leading back towards the main lobby. I leaned up against the wall, shaking with tears. My hand reached almost instinctively into my pocket, pulling out my mobile. Guillam would know what to do. He always knew what to do.

"Peter," I sobbed, my voice raspy. I couldn't help myself. "I'm out of ideas. I feel completely spent,"

There was a silence at the other end of the line.

"You've done everything you can, Warren," he said at length. "I know you hate hearing that," he pre-empted. "But it's true. You can't do everything. But you've done a damn lot,"

I exhaled in exasperation, but Guillam was usually on the right track with those sorts of things. Much as I wanted to discredit him.

"All right," I groaned at length. "But what do I do next? They don't exactly train for this sort of thing,"

"I should say not!" Guillam snorted, a hint of derision in his laugh. "What can you do? Just sit tight. I know that sounds lame, but it's all you can, really. You've done your job. Allow yourself to take a breather. For once,"

"I s'pose,"

Shaking my head in resigned irritation, I hung up.

The hospital had a small waiting area a short distance away from the emergency department down a snaking network of halls. I slumped into one of the well-worn plastic chairs, staring intently at the television. So tired.

Seeking out the remote (attached by a chain to the beat-up television itself), I flipped through the channels, trying to find something that wasn't broadcasting my oversized brother's, er, antics. And judging by the looks of things on the news broadcasts, he was in a bit of a rough patch.

*****

How had I allowed Todd to get the upper hand? I struggled against the fox's grip as he sat on top of me, restraining my wrists with his hands and leering down at me.

"You're starting to bore me, fox," he grunted, obliterating a structure with a heavy swish of the tail.

I cringed as glass, metal, and all manner of other rubble scattered in every direction. Flying shards of glass cut my lip. Not that I was all that innocent myself; I was acutely aware of the rubble underneath my prone body. At least I felt bad about it...

Sighing heavily, Todd stretched out so that he was lying on top of me. He breathed in my ear and I jerked my head forward, trying to bash him in the face. He chuckled, avoiding my pathetic attempt at an attack.

"If you're done with all this, we could just have sex or something, I suppose," Todd suggested idly, eyes flashing. "Tell ya what. If you suck me off really well, I'll spare one neighborhood. One of your choice, even. Sound good to you?"

"Let it here so I can bite it off," I snarled.

Todd offered no response aside from a smirk.

Summoning up some residual strength, I tore my right arm free of Todd's crushing grip, raking my claws across his face. To my delight, I drew blood. Todd let out a strangled cry, clutching at his face

My arm swung downward, intending to tear the strip of material from around Todd's neck. The other fox, sensing my intent, rocked backward and reared up so he was sitting on my stomach, legs on either side of my torso.

He glanced upward from me, eyes flicking back and forth across the devastated cityscape. A broad, practically feral grin spread across his lips. Todd looked hungrily down at me, his eyes blazing with a wild fire.

"We've got a bit of company," he remarked. "Looks like the bugs want to join the party,"

With a grunt, I pushed Todd off myself and leaped to my feet, scanning for whatever it was Todd was speaking about. My military support had arrived, it seemed. Should I be relieved about the aid, or worried they were being sent to their doom?