FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Like an ancient day and I'm on trial

Let them seize the way, this once was an island

And I could not stay, for I believed them

Left the lights always in season

(Beirut)

---

When I hurried into the bustling hospital waiting room, I found Roger sitting in a cheap plastic bucket chair, still as a stone. He seemed completely unaware of all of the activity going on around him--the nurses talking with patients, charts in hand, the visitors checking in at the front desk. Roger's entire focus was wrapped up in his hands, which were folded together in his lap. His eyes were downcast and his lips formed a thin black line in the white fur of his lower jaw.

Overwhelmed, I hurried over to my twin brother, sitting down next to him. The chair wobbled on its uneven legs, sending me toppling a little towards Roger.

Suddenly, I had no idea what to say. What was I supposed to do? "Sorry some random crazy person shot your husband?" Yeah, that was a real winner. Fuck. They never taught us shit like this in negotiation training or anything.

I draped my arm over Roger's shoulders, rubbing him gently with my thumb and fingertips. Roger leaned his head against my chest and I kept rubbing.

Suddenly, my brother was sobbing. First, it was just a slight trembling of his lip, but sniffles turned into silent tears, which crescendoed into dry sobs that racked his entire body.

"Shh, ssshhh..." I murmured softly, wrapping my other arm around my brother and pulling him into a close embrace. I rested my chin on top of his head. "I'm here,"

A nurse passing nearby caught my eye, jerking her head for me to follow. I helped Roger to his feet and led him into a small conference room down a short side hall from the waiting room.

"There's a meeting in here at 1600, but the room's all yours until then," the squirreless murmured in my ear as I ushered my brother through the door.

"Thank you so much," I whispered back.

The nurse bustled away as I ushered Roger into the conference room. He took a seat in a chair next to the long wooden table, staring blearily at a poster on the wall that displayed a chart of departmental expenditures over the past quarter or something equally boring.

"I'm so glad I never got into accounting," I commented, nodding at the poster and trying to smile as I turned a chair so that it was facing Roger.

Sitting down, I held Roger's hands in mine, resting my forehead against his. I still couldn't think of anything substantive to say, so we just sat there in silence.

I had dealt with horrible injuries and death countless times before. Everyone in my agency knew someone who'd died or taken a bullet on the job. Hell, I'd shot a number of people myself during the course of a number of missions. Seven. Four fatal. I knew that number well and I reminded myself of it each day. But ultimately, it was a fact of life in my field. It always hurt, but you dealt with it and moved on.

This was different. Reynard was a good friend of mine. Is. Reynard is a friend of mine. He wasn't dead. He wouldn't die. He would pull through. But I knew_him. I'd loved spending time with him. And that was _nothing in comparison to what Roger must have been going through. I couldn't even begin to imagine.

"You got here really fast," Roger mumbled, pressing his forehead into mine.

"I was on the first flight down here to San Javier," I assured him. "I needed to be here for my baby brother. Twin. Twin," I corrected myself hurriedly. Probably not the best time to tease him.

Roger remained silent, rocking back and forth gently.

"How are you feeling?" I asked.

"The bullet grazed his prefrontal lobe. It didn't cross the hemispheres. They said that's good. Well, they said 'hopeful'. That word was tossed around a lot. His operation went... well, as well as it could go, really. I guess. But he's asleep. Unconscious. In a coma. They say it'll be safer for him that way, but can't say for sure when he'll wake up. Assuming he wakes up at all. But it's still 'hopeful'," Roger concluded.

"Roger, how are you feeling?" I prompted gently.

A ragged sob escaped from Roger's throat. He slumped in his chair, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand.

"I shouldn't have let him take that shortcut. We should have just gone the long way. Then we never would have run into those--those... savages. Or I should have agreed to let us stay longer at the art museum. He loves that shit, but he knows it bores me, so we hurried through. I'm so fucking selfish,"

Roger fell against me, sniffling wretchedly. I patted his cheek because it was the only thing I could think to do.

"The best thing we can do right now is focus on what's ahead. We need to support--"

"--What the fuck is there to support? He's a vegetable lying on a fucking bed with a bazillion tubes and wires attached to him. It's so hard seeing him there, so frail, so vulnerable. It's like Mum. At... at... when it was all over. I can't watch him go away, too," Roger's voice was barely a whisper.

I wanted to tell him that it wouldn't be the case, but I couldn't be sure. I couldn't lie to him.

"He can't do shit and we can't do shit for him, either. No," Roger continued. "The only thing we can do is hurt the motherfucker who did that to him. Really hurt him,"

"Rodge, don't you think that's a bit..."

"You can do something," Roger's red-rimmed eyes suddenly blazed with emerald fire. "I'm pretty sure you kill people as a part of your job, right? Whatever it is you do there. Not that you ever tell me anything,"

"You know I can't," I replied. "And I'm not going to kill anyone. I know you're angry, and I can understand that. But we can't do that. If we do that, then we're no better than the bastard who put Reynard in hospital. Sometimes it's hard to be the bigger person, but it's what we have to do,"

Roger was shaking. "I hate you," he muttered. "But..."

"I'm never wrong. You know that," I whispered, smiling softly.

"Sometimes," Roger pointed out.

"Sometimes," I conceded. "But not this time,"

"It's just... so hard,"

"I know. And it isn't fair. But that's why I'm here to help," I patted Roger on the shoulder.

Roger was still sniffling, but nodded shakily. I gave him another reassuring rub between the shoulders, smiling as best I could manage.

"Is there anything you need?" I asked softly. "I was thinking about heading down to the cafeteria and getting some food. Or whatever they claim is food, that is. I go right from the airplane's 'food' to hospital 'food',"

"I'm okay," Roger mumbled. "I just want some time alone,"

"I'll give you some space,"

"But I don't want you to go away!"

"I'll be just outside the door whenever you want me," I ruffled Roger's hair as I stood. "Tell you what. Why don't we go out to some ridiculously-priced restaurant and gorge ourselves tonight? My treat,"

A tentative smile wavered at the corners of Roger's mouth.

"I think I'd like that," he murmured.

I nodded, bowing out of the room. Hurrying down the hall, I attempted to follow the signs pointing down to the Plaza Café.

Trying to class the joint up, I snorted. You and I both know it's all just a name.

Roger and I had become hospital food connoisseurs during our repeated visits to hospital for our mother's cancer treatments as kids. At least they didn't beat around the bush when it came to their subpar quality back when we were growing up. Now they had to go pretending it was some sort of fine bistro while still serving the same tasteless slop.

BLAM

To be clear, 'blam' doesn't come anywhere near fully describing what happened. Not in the least. But I don't think there's a word in the vernacular, onomatopoeia or otherwise, that quite describes the powerful blast that knocked me clear against the wall.

"What in the fuck?" I hissed to myself, scrambling back to my feet in order to find a window, a television, anything that would clue me into what in the holy fuck had caused that tremendous noise.

*****

The none-too-gentle buzzing of the doorbell jerked me out of the restful sleep I'd been enjoying. Throwing back the comforter of my bed, I swung my legs over the side of the bed. Regretfully leaving my warm, soft cocoon of bliss and padded across the cold floor.

I cursed softly as I stubbed my toe on the side of Ciaran's little house. Shifting it regretfully aside with my foot, I crossed over to the door. Groggily, I turned the knob, dropping to my knees as I opened the door.

Blinding floodlights caused me to flinch, throwing my arm across my face. Who in the fuck was on my doorstep at this hour of the night?

"Lower the lights," I grunted gutturally, squinting in the glare.

No response. I could make out a couple of vehicles as well as a handful (quite literally, in my case) of individuals standing around in front of them. The roofs of the vehicles (a couple of jeeps, from what I could make out) were rigged with the lights that caused me so much grief.

"If this is you guys trying to have some sort of stare-down pissing contest with me, I can promise you that you'll lose," I snapped, my patience wearing thin quickly. You don't fuck with me after eleven o'clock at night. Ten, really.

There was still no response, but someone dimmed the lights. It was a start. As my eyes adjusted to the more hospitable light, I saw that the group was wearing fatigues. A frown furrowing my brow, I crouched lower, leaning forward and placing my hands on either side of the group. What in the fuck were these military types doing on my doorstep?

"What do you want?" I sniffed, the ends of my hair dangling just over their heads. "What in the hell are you here for at this hour?"

"We're here to appeal to your sense of patriotic duty," a stocky bulldog barked up at me.

A smirk crept involuntarily across my lips and I shifted, sitting cross-legged in the doorway.

"And what better time to kindle warm fuzzies in my breast than oh dark thirty in the godsdamn morning," I leaned my chin against my hand, grinning sardonically down at the assembled people. "So go ahead. Win me over,"

The bulldog cleared his throat self-importantly. "Our group is always looking for bright, promising, young individuals. People such as yourself, Tabitha Crane. We have--"

"--Is this part of some new door-to-door campaign? You guys that desperate? Sorry to hear," I snorted.

"When I was saying 'people such as yourself', I _meant_people such as yourself," the bulldog said emphatically. "We've had our eye on you for a little while, Miss Crane. You're one in a million. To put it lightly. You have certain... desirable skills. Admirable traits,"

My eyes flashed. My foot began to curl underneath me as I started to get up. I had a bad feeling I knew exactly where this would be going.

"Ah, I see. Your recruitment been dropping in the Over Fifty Foot demographic? Sorry to hear that. I'll be sure to let King Kong know next time I see him around," I replied shortly. "Because I've already got a job, thanks,"

"We offer competitive salaries," the bulldog pointed out lamely.

"I make plenty enough for myself, thanks," I said with an air of finality. I held up a finger. "You know what? Furthermore, I would never go along with you. No thanks. You know what I think? I think you look at me and you see something that can, with some training, rip through a group of enemy combatants without batting an eye. Who could shrug off a bullet pretty easily.

"Well you know what? Fuck you. That's not what I am. So fuck off. I'm not a... a weapon for you to use," Back on my feet, I could feel my limbs shaking, hands balled into fists. "So good night,"

Not bothering to listen to whatever the bulldog's canned response was, I slammed the door and returned huffily but softly to bed.

When I pulled the covers up, I glanced over to see Ciaran sitting on the edge of the nightstand. He had a blanket wrapped around his shoulders.

"Did I wake you up?" I murmured softly. "I'm sorry,"

"I tend to wake up when my entire apartment gets kicked," the ebony-furred mink shrugged. "But no worries,"

"I'll make it up to you later," I replied blearily, fluffing my pillow.

"What was going on at the door?" Ciaran asked. "It seemed like things were getting a little heated,"

"Oh, just some fucking assholes," I muttered. "I don't know why they came knocking all of a sudden. I mean, I've been like this for how long now? And those troglodytes are only just now thinking that having a giant soldier or whatever would be like totally the coolest thing ever, or whatever?"

Ciaran looked puzzled for a moment. "Huh," was all he said.

I arched a brow at him. "What's going on in that cute little head of yours?"

"Oh, nothing. It's just, someone in a uniform was asking around for you earlier yesterday. You weren't home, so I told them I'd let you know they'd come by. Figured maybe you knew what the hell was going on. But I forgot until just now. Sorry,"

"No worries," I said, frowning in confusion. "Now, I think I'm going to try and get a bit more sleep, if you don't mind,"

Ciaran made his way down the ladder to the floor as I rolled onto my back staring at the ceiling. They "had their eye on me?" They'd been here, to my home, poking around when I wasn't there. A sense of foreboding crept into my breast. Suddenly, I wasn't very tired anymore.

*****

I swaggered down the hallway behind Arora. Well, it was sorta the upper end of the 'swagger' spectrum far as speed was concerned, seeing how the griffon was booking it through the labyrinthine corridors at a brisk clip.

"So, where we off to, hon?" I grinned, winking at a rather buxom dragoness who passed us heading in the other direction.

My escort had been dismissed, so I took that as a good sign.

"We'll get there soon enough," the griffon replied.

"Anyone ever tell you how descriptive you are?" I sniffed. "Real helpful,"

Shooting me a look out of the corner of her eye, Arora pushed open a door leading off a hall that veered off at an odd angle from the main corridor.

"And here we are," she muttered.

Bowing my head through the doorway, I stepped into some sort of technological wonderland. The room was dark, illuminated only by a few display screens and under lit counters. Several circular platforms lined one wall of the room, illuminated by a pale blue glow.

"Hello, Yara," Arora said matter-of-factly, nodding a greeting to the golden dragoness standing in front of a console.

"Who's_this_?" Yara asked, shooting a glance at me.

"He's... a new Reaper," the griffon snapped in a matter that indicated the dragoness shouldn't poke her snout any further into matters. I shrugged sardonically, raising my brows at her over Arora's shoulder.

"So what do you and this... 'new Reaper' need?" Yara replied shortly.

"We need you to set up a Synch with the city known to the local denizens as San Javier," Arora ordered.

"Er, Arora?" I muttered in the griffon's ear, "Did I hear you correctly? Because I thought you said 'San Javier',"

"You heard correctly. Congratulations," Arora replied drily.

"Well, I thought we'd agreed on a location," I reminded her. "Saaduuts, right?"

Arora fixed me with a glare. "We've been over this. Synchronicities with Saaduuts have been banned until the situation can be better evaluated. I'm not going to go through the extra trouble of getting approval from my supervisor,"

I pursed my lips. "And I've told you before. There's no trouble with Saaduuts. I can't believe you believe the line of shit Roger fed you lot,"

Arora shot me a look that indicated she wasn't budging on the matter.

"You get San Javier," she snapped. "Now, if you'll quit your yapping, we can get this all set up,"

"Already done," the dragoness chipped in.

"Excellent," Arora said. "Alright, Todd. If you'll go stand over there, we can get this all started,"

Eagerly, I padded over to the circular platform indicated by the griffon. It emitted a subtle glow that pulsed alternately blue and white.

"So, what happens next? Do I need to click my heels three times or something?" I asked, planting my feet on the platform and folding my arms across my chest matter-of-factly.

"All you need to do is stand still," Arora replied impatiently. "Before we Synch you, do you need anything? Want something to eat, anything?"

"Nah, I should be fine," I shrugged. "Plenty to eat on the other side,"

"Alright, then," the griffon rolled her eyes. She jerked her head at the dragoness. "Go ahead. Synch him up,"

"You might want to close your eyes," the golden-scaled dragoness smirked at me, tapping away on a few keys.

She wasn't wrong. No sooner had she hit the final key than my entire field of view was filled with blinding white light. Screwing my eyes shut tightly, I gritted my teeth against the high-frequency whine that accompanied the light.

After a few moments, the whining faded almost as quickly as it had begun. I opened my eyes, blinking in the natural light of the sun overhead. A cool, gentle breeze ruffled my fur. As everything swam back into focus, a wicked grin spread across my lips.

To say that I was a giant felt like something of an understatement. I felt as if I were standing in a miniature toy world, like one of those model train sets reclusive old codgers build in their garages. Except it was all real.

My right foot was planted clear through the lower several floors of an unfortunate office high-rise and my left covered all lanes of a wide street, toes brushing against the foundations of another tower. I shifted my foot slightly and the high-rise it had materialized through began to collapse to the ground, its structural integrity compromised by my mere presence.

"Oh, yes," I rumbled, hitching my hip to the side, shattering several hundred thousand dollars' worth of window-glass in the process. "It's good to be back on top,"

*****

I was staring aimlessly at the wall, hugging my knees to chest and rocking gently in my chair, when Warren burst through the door. Breathing heavily, his eyes were wild, and his hair was even more unruly than usual.

"We need to get out of here. Now," he said, grabbing me by the wrist.

"But... but what's going on?" I asked as I was pulled to my feet.

"You didn't hear the explosion? Never mind. Let's go. I've got a car in the basement lot," Warren breathed, pushing through the door and practically dragging me down the hall. "Actually, no. It'll be too crowded down there. I can find a car parked on the street and hotwire it,"

"Warren, what the fuck is going on?" I snapped, looking around in confusion at the scene of chaos in the hall around me. People were running every which way. "You need to tell me exactly what the fuck is going on,"

"There'll be time to explain once we get to a car," Warren replied with an air of finality. He was trying to remain calm, but I knew him too well to believe the act. "We just need to focus on getting there first,"

"But what about Rey?" I pointed out. "Are we in danger? Is something bad happening? Of course it is. You wouldn't be freaking out like this otherwise. What's going on? I don't want to abandon Rey,"

Warren pulled me into a stairwell and we barreled down several flights of stairs to the ground floor.

The street was just as insane as the hospital, perhaps even more so. Warren and I burst out onto a scene of utter chaos. People ran in every direction, pushing and shoving one another aside in a frantic effort to get away from something. I gasped aloud as I saw a middle-aged housecat trip and fall, struggling to get back to her feet, only to get trampled by the panicking crowd. Paralyzed with shock, I stared stupidly at the confusing and terrifying scene unfolding before me.

Warren, on the other hand, appeared unfazed by the situation. When I looked back over at him, he already had a car unlocked and was mucking about underneath the steering column.

"Warren, cut the shit," I said, eyes wide as an elephant nearly knocked me over. I slid into the passenger seat, if only to escape the crowd. "You need to tell me what's happening,"

"Car's no good," Warren muttered half to himself. "I'm a fucking idiot. What was I thinking? It's no good," he jumped out of the car, running around the front to the passenger side where I sat, the door ajar. "We need to head out on foot. We're doing nothing but wasting fucking time with this car. Follow me. We'll stay off the beaten path, away from the crowds. It'll be safer that way,"

My twin brother made another grab at my wrist, but I jerked my hand away.

"No," I snapped. "Tell me what is going on. Why am I abandoning my husband here? Why is everything going to shit all of a sudden?"

Warren let out his breath in exasperation. "I'll tell you everything I know," he grunted. "But we have to move. Come on,"

I obliged, following hastily after him as he ducked into a narrow side street next to the hospital. He seemed to know where he was going, moving purposefully through the less crowded side streets and alleyways.

"What's happening?" I reminded Warren after a few minutes of running.

"Todd is back," Warren replied simply, not looking back at me. "And he's a giant again. A really, _really_fucking big giant,"

I knew that I should keep running, but my body jerked involuntarily to a halt.

"Todd?" I asked, wide-eyed. "What--how--"

Warren shook his head emphatically, waving for me to keep moving.

"He... I've been investigating his disappearance for some time now. I couldn't believe anything that I found, but I guess it's all water under the bridge given this latest development,"

"You couldn't believe...?"

"He... he somehow got a hold of a device that took him to some sort of alternate dimension," Warren replied.

I shook my head in disbelief, breathing heavily as we kept running.

"That isn't possible," I said simply. "I just can't... I can't..."

"Believe it?" Warren suggested. "You and me both. But he's back. And he's fucking huge,"

"Why here? Why is everything going wrong?"

"I have no clue. I knew he disappeared, but Guillam and I never expected him to return. We didn't know the device went two ways. If it does,"

"Device?" I panted. I really needed to work out more often.

Taking refuge behind a row of dumpsters, Warren reached into his breast pocket and pulled out some sort of bracelet thing.

"Something sorta like this," he said simply, holding it up. "We found a crony or associate or something of Todd's who had apparently sent something like this to our dear friend in jail,"

Without thinking, I snatched the bracelet from Warren's fingers. All of the fear and confusion I'd been feeling was suddenly replaced by blind rage. Reynard was on death's door. And now Todd had the gall to come back into my life.

"What the--stop, Rodge! What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Warren spun around, grabbing at me again.

I paid him no heed, slipping on the bracelet. I needed to stop Todd. I wasn't sure how I was going to do it just yet, but I was going to stop him.

"Make sure Reynard's safe," I ordered softly. "Get him out of town,"

"Roger, stop. Think for a second. What do you think you're going to accomplish by doing that?" my brother pleaded, but I ignored him.

My fingers found a small button on the clasp and I pushed it. Everything vanished in an instant.

For several terrifying moments, I was surrounded by nothing, alone in a colorless, immaterial void. My heart leapt in my breast and my throat seized up. But just as I thought I'd rashly cast myself into oblivion for all eternity or something equally dire, I felt solid ground under my feet and somethingness materialized around me once more.

Blinking in the dim, oddly artificial light of my new surroundings, I rubbed my eyes. My jaw went slack as my vision cleared.

I was in a fairly nondescript bedroom, average in nearly every way, save for one detail: its scale. Surrounded by monumentally proportioned furniture and underneath a ceiling that stretched an unimaginable distance overhead, I felt more like an insect than a person.

A blind panic seized me. Had the bracelet somehow shrunk me to miniature size? Or was this some sort of planet of giants? Either way, I needed to find cover. If someone came into this room, I could be crushed underfoot without even being noticed.

Somewhat unsteadily (apparently trans-dimensional travel takes a bit of a toll on one's motor skills), I hurried off in the direction of the enormous bed.

As I approached the nearest bedpost, a frown of confusion crossed my brow. Sitting with his back resting up against the base of the post was a tiny person. Well, rather, a person of my size. But gods, did I feel small and insignificant.

My confusion deepened as I drew nearer. Upon closer examination, I saw the newcomer was unlike anyone I'd ever seen before. A thick, muscular tail curled around his legs, which were pressed against his chest, horns and spikes curling from his head, copper-colored scales that covered his body... He _couldn't_be...

"A dragon?" I whispered to myself. "What the fuck?"

I'd seen one other like him before, though he'd been several hundred feet taller and merrily stomping his way through Saaduuts, not moping underneath a bed far too big for him.

Apparently noticing my approach and my not-so-internal commentary, the copper dragon's head snapped up. His amber eyes, damp from tears, focused on me as a snarl curled across his lips.

"You," he hissed. "I can't believe you would have the gall to come back to me,"

Before I could protest my ignorance of the meaning of the accusation, the dragon lunged at me. Sharp claws dug into my shoulders as he pushed me on to the ground. I scrabbled at the front of his black, oddly tailored shirt, trying to push him off my chest.

"Stop!" I spluttered. "Please stop! I don't know what you're talking about, but I'm not who you think I am, I swear. Whoever that may be,"

The dragon peered intently at me for a few seconds and I felt his grip slacken. He stepped back, offering me a hand as I struggled back to my feet.

"I'm awfully sorry about that," the dragon muttered sheepishly, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye. "Bit of a mix-up. You foxes all sorta look the same. No offense,"

I blinked in confusion as the dragon motioned for me to follow him under the bed.

"I hope you'll forgive my... assault," the dragon replied, shaking his head. "The last fox I met, well, he taught me not to trust strangers the hard way,"

"Really?" my eyes narrowed inquisitively. "Who was he? Did he give you a name?"

"Todd," the dragon replied, a note of bitterness in his voice. "Cunning, insane son of a bitch,"

My ears perked up. Time to investigate further.

"Well, my name is Roger. So you've got nothing to fear from me," I replied with a bit of a smile. "I'm sure you'll find me far more trustworthy,"

"I'm Kotalyn," the copper-scaled dragon replied. "Tal, if you like," He wheeled around so that he was facing me, placing a hand against my chest to stop me. We stood underneath the cover of the bed by that point. "I'm sorry, but before we go any further, I am going to need some sort of assurance. Can't just go on blind faith any longer. Why should I trust you?"

I stared hard at Tal, my emerald eyes boring into his amber ones. "Because Todd is just as much of a problem for me as he seems to have been for you. Even more so for me, I'd wager.

"See, our dear vulpine friend seems to have found a way to enlarge himself to colossal size and is now using a major metropolis back in my world as his own personal playset.

"I'm just here because it's my only option. He came here. There's got to be some way to stop him. There has to be," I finished passionately.

Tal fell silent, staring at me. He turned away, hurrying towards what appeared to be a knot in one of the floorboards. The knot, as it turned out, concealed a trapdoor and ladder down into the space underneath the floor.

As I was taking in my surroundings, Tal slumped against the wall, sighing despondently.

"Is something the matter?" I asked, cocking my head to the side.

"It's my fault," he mumbled simply.

"What's your fault?"

"Todd. I--I gave him something that made him like that," Tal replied wretchedly. "Well, I didn't really give it to him; he grabbed it away from me before I could stop him. But it's still my fault,"

Now was my turn to be furious. Shaking, I turned on the drake. "What exactly do mean?"

Tal told me everything. His history of confrontation with his unlike-minded superiors, his subsequent punishment and plans for revenge, Todd's appearance and theft... the works.

My eyes flashed as Tal's narrative drew to a close. "We're going to fix this," I snarled.

"I really want to," Tal quailed. "But I don't know how,"

"There's one thing we can do," I said slowly, scarcely able to believe the words that were presently sliding unevenly off my tongue. My eyes focused on Kotalyn, voice trembling. "You need to make me a giant,"

*****

It was just a casual stroll. Well, for me, at least. For the worthless, insectile inhabitants of this poor excuse for a city, my every footfall brought about more death and destruction. And lemme just say, walking around was the very _least_of what I planned on doing.

Deigning to look down towards the ground, I paused momentarily to admire my handiwork (footiwork?). At my colossal stature, my every movement had a palpable impact on my surroundings. Pavement cracked and crumbled under my unimaginable weight. Windows shattered as my tail brushed against them. And then there was the wreckage of the office building I'd just "accidentally" walked through.

Glancing around, I noticed that much of the city was far too intact for my tastes. I smirked. All in good time. All in good time.

I lifted up my foot, grabbing my ankle as I craned my neck to inspect my sole. My nose wrinkled in vague disgust as I noted the mess. All that rubble and mess after only a few blocks? Really? I needed to get some people to clean that up from me. I am many things, but I'm definitely not a slob.

Prompted by the shriek of rending metal, I glanced over my shoulder. My lip curled into a grin as I saw that my rump had brushed up the building behind me, causing massive damage to its façade. A jagged, gaping hole had been ripped in the wall, leaving several levels of the interior exposed.

The grin on my lips grew as I turned around, stooping to peer through the hole at the startled, confused, and terrified occupants.

Oh, I'd almost forgotten: the most amusing part of the whole overall situation had to be the tiny little people. How did they behave when their new deity appeared in their midst? Were they filled with fear and awe, falling to their knees to worship me and beg me for mercy, something they would never receive? No. But they didn't really do much of anything else, it would seem

I mean, there was a lot of panicked milling about, attempted fleeing, and all that bit. But when a bunch of them get silly ideas about escaping at the same time, the result is nothing short of utter chaos--traffic snarling the streets, jostling and pushing on the sidewalks, and one giant fox picking them all off at his leisure. Coordination was clearly not a strong point for them.

Fixing my new prisoners with my most menacingly winning smile, I cleared my throat.

"Nice to meet you," I said. "Why you guys sticking around? I hear there's a fox on the loose who makes Godzilla look short," I glanced around in feigned panic. "Might want to get out of here. Here, I'll help,"

Gripping either side of the structure, I gave a tremendous heave, sending it toppling sideways. With a terrific cacophony of crumbling concrete, smashing glass, and screeching metal, the building crashed to the ground. The building snapped off a few floors above ground level, chunks of varying sizes raining down on the street before the main bulk impacted on the ground.

As it fell, the structure collided with another across the street, which started to collapse in turn. Watching the unfolding chaos with a smirk on my lips and hands on my hips, I chuckled darkly. I'd just started the world's largest game of dominoes.

Unfortunately, it petered out sooner than I would have hoped. Apparently, buildings don't fall with any sort of regularity. Rather, they just sort of crumble in on themselves and go whatever way they please.

Unwilling to let a couple of inanimate objects have all the fun, I fell forward onto the building I'd pushed, crushing anything that had remained intact to rubble. Chirring in ecstasy, I rolled back and forth along the length of the block, relishing the visceral sensation of destruction.

As I rolled onto my stomach, my eyes landed on a metro bus full of people just a few feet in front of my face. Kicking my legs up behind me (and sending them through an as-yet unscathed apartment tower in doing so), I rested my chin on the rubble-strewn ground. Idiots thought public transit could save them now? I'd teach them a thing or two.

My hand flew out and snatched up the candy bar-sized coach. The metal body dented at my slightest touch. For once, I had to be careful; didn't want to destroy it quite yet.

"Ah, I remember riding the bus," I rumbled, peering through the windows. "Always trying to avoid making eye contact or talk with other folks. Really a shame. I mean, _think_of all those opportunities to meet someone new and interesting. So I'm here to give you a little icebreaker activity.

"See, the thing is, I'm getting a little nabby. Rumblings in my tummy and all that. So here's the deal. You all get to pick out one lucky winner for me to snack on. To... appease me,"

It was hard to gauge the reaction--the windows were a bit small--but the news seemed to have caused the stir I'd desired.

"Go on," I growled. "Choose. I'm growing impatient,"

Peering through the tiny windows, I was practically intoxicated with power. People who had barely known each other mere moments before were now fighting amongst themselves for their very lives. All because of me.

Several minutes later, the front door slid open and a distraught middle-aged otter was pushed onto my waiting palm. I was almost disappointed at how quickly they were able to make up their minds. I thought most people were supposed to have some sense of morality. So much for quality entertainment.

Shifting into a seated position, I eyed my sacrifice. Then in one fluid movement, I tore open the rear of the bus and emptied its contents into my open mouth. Chewing thoughtfully, I shrugged to nobody in particular.

"I just remembered," I commented to nobody in particular, popping the otter into my mouth as an after-thought. "I'm going to need more than one scrawny person to make a dent in my appetite,"

Easing back to my feet, I idly brushed off the worst of the fine patina of rubble covering my body as I surveyed my surroundings for my next target. The possibilities were deliciously endless.

*****

"I can't believe you're making me wear this," I commented flatly, staring at the article of clothing (only in the most tenuous sense) in my hands.

"Nobody's_making_ you wear anything," Tal replied somewhat hotly, folding his arms across his chest. "You're the one who insisted on this whole thing,"

"But this is going to make me gigantic?" I raised my brow at the copper-scaled dragon.

"Yeah," Tal insisted.

"These... compression shorts," I added helpfully.

The dragon nodded silently.

Sensing his building irritation, I decided to drop the matter. I turned the black spandex garment over in my hands, swallowing nervously.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," I mumbled again. "Fuck,"

"You don't have to do this," Tal reminded me.

"I do," I swallowed. "I can't let Todd just get away with doing whatever he wants,"

"So... you're going to stop him?"

"What the fuck else am I going to do? Someone has to!" I exclaimed nervously. "I have no idea what I'm doing. Don't make me second-guess myself,"

The whole thing really was a terrible idea. But I simply couldn't see any alternatives.

Tal nodded slightly, a grim expression on his face. He glanced around the room, checking to make sure we were still alone. We'd moved "outside," so to speak, standing just out from underneath the bed.

I stared pointedly at the cloth in my hands. "So all I need to do is put this on..."

"...and press that little needle in the waistband into your hip. Yeah. Just like I said,"

"And you don't have anything... I dunno, more?" I added. "I was kinda hoping for a bit more than, you know, some, er, skivvies," I said haltingly.

"I mean, well, I have other stuff, but I wanted to hang onto those. In case something came up, I guess. I dunno," Tal said, avoiding eye contact. "You've got more, ah, cover there than your friend does at least," he concluded with a half chuckle.

"He's not my friend," I snapped.

"Well, you know what I mean,"

"All right. Can you... could you turn your back?" I asked hesitantly. I wasn't about to undress in front of a complete stranger.

Tal's throat glowed subtly in embarrassment. "Er, all right," he said. He held up a hand. "You're going to hold your end of the bargain, right? You promise?"

"I_swear_," I replied emphatically, touching my chest. "I've proven my trustworthiness to you. Now, turn around, please,"

The dragon paused before turning his back.

Hesitantly, I pulled off my clothes, setting them in a neatly-folded pile just behind Tal.

"If you could hang onto my clothes, that would be great," I commented as I took a few dozen paces backwards, towards the center of the room. "I rather like that shirt,"

Taking a deep breath, I numbly slipped one leg then the other into the compression shorts. They conformed closely to the contours of my body. Well, at least I wouldn't have to worry about bulky clothes. Or something.

Hot damn, I rolled my eyes.

Then came the moment of truth. With a shaking hand, I pressed the needle sewn into the patch on the waistband into my hip, allowing it to bite deep into my flesh.

A wave of nausea wracked my body. It was followed by another, more powerful sensation of nausea. And another. And another. Each pulse of pain increased in intensity until I felt like every cell in my body was on fire.

Crying out in pain, I fell backwards, curling into a ball with my eyes screwed tightly shut. I needed it to end. Why had I done this? It had to be the worst mistake of my life. Tal had killed me. I was going to die. It was only a matter of moments until--

Well, until the pain faded, as it turned out. Blinking blearily, I sat up cross-legged.

"The fuck?" I murmured, looking around.

I fit into my surroundings. I couldn't put it any more plainly. Somewhere, I registered that I was fucking gigantic, but it didn't seem to be true.

"Told you it would work," Tal's voice came faintly from somewhere in the vicinity of my left knee. "Though I gotta say, you were much more of a drama queen about it than Todd,"

"Oh, shut up," I sniffed, seeking him out.

"Down here," Tal clarified. "Don't squish me!"

"Oh, I see," I mumbled, eyes falling on the dragon's minuscule form. My jaw slackened. "Fuck, I'm huge," I breathed.

"Got that right," Tal replied shortly. "You and just about everyone else around here. Now, you gonna make good on your promise?"

Shaking my head in an attempt to clear my jumbled mind, I mumbled my assent and clumsily placed my hand palm-up on the floor in front of Tal.

"Hop on, I guess?" I mumbled with uncertainty.

The little dragon hesitated before clambering unevenly onto my hand. It felt so strange, having this tiny little thing in my palm. He steadied himself against my thumb as I lifted him off the ground.

"So, where do I need to go?" I asked, studying him intently.

Tal blinked, trying to gather himself. "Sorry, this is just so weird,"

"You and me both," I commented flatly.

"Well, there's a room down the hall..." Tal said. "We need to get there. That's where we can Synchronize back to your dimension. Oh, and you should probably try to keep on the down-low, you know? You... aren't supposed to be here,"

"That goes without saying," I muttered.

I struggled to my feet, apologizing softly as Tal reacted with mild discomfort to the elevation change. My hair brushed against the ceiling. Perhaps Tal's super-sizing undies were a little too good at their job. But when facing Todd, I supposed I could use all the height I could manage.

I pushed the door open a crack, peering around the corner to check if anyone was coming. Completely empty. No signs of anyone around. Seizing the moment, I started to hurry down the hall in the direction indicated by my pint-sized passenger.

"You'd better know where we're going," I muttered to him. "I'm not about to get lost in some sort of world of gigantic fucking monsters,"

*****

I'd never really understood all the hype behind gyms. Why pay a fortune every month in membership fees just so you could run on a treadmill or lift dumbbells? It just gave people an excuse to act like pretentious twats.

No, I was much more of a go-for-a-jog-in-the-park kind of fox. Then again, my primary workout method nowadays was laying waste to entire cities. Wondered what my personal trainer would have to say about that. He'd probably bitch endlessly about my diet versus caloric output or some other mumbo jumbo. I could always eat more people to make up for any energy I expended.

I cocked my head to the side, grinning maliciously at the assembly of little people staring at me through the panoramic windows of the rooftop gym at which I'd been staring. Perched on the uppermost floor of a glassy skyscraper nearly as tall as me, it was one of those snobby, upscale affairs, full of sleek, top-of-the-line equipment. By the look of it, they probably had bikram yoga classes or whatever every Thursday evening. How posh. Perhaps they'd thought they would be safe there, or maybe they simply hadn't taken notice of the panic in the city.

Several people cowered as I reached out to gingerly clear away the window glass and pieces of the roof, leaving an open space. One insect, a stocky zebra, finally found his legs and made a desperate scramble the door. Clucking my tongue disapprovingly, I reached in and extinguished his life under my thumb.

"Anyone else feel like making an escape?" I asked coyly, licking the mangled remains off my thumb.

No movement.

"Didn't think so," I smirked. "Now. Before we get started here, I just gotta ask--why in the fuck did you guys see that there was a gigantic fox on the loose and then decide you wanted to hit the gym? I mean, don't get me wrong. I'm glad you're all here. It's just a little odd, I guess,"

No response. Jeez. These people really weren't big on the whole communication thing. They just stared at me wide-eyed.

"You guys are no fun," I pouted out my lower lip. A broad smile crossed my face as an idea suddenly "dawned" on me.

"Say. You guys are strong, right? I bet one of you could take on little old me," I murmured, oozing feigned humility.

That earned a response. I grinned.

"Don't worry," I chuckled. "You'll just be taking on my pinkie," I clarified, wiggling the finger in question.

There was more of a commotion. I pointed at a burly husky.

"You. Step up," I said with a commanding air. "If you can pin my pinkie for 10 seconds, you win... uh, something. We can work that out later. But if I win, I get to keep you as my slave. I'll probably just eat you, though. So it won't last long. No worries,"

Placing the base of my hand on the edge of the gym floor, I extended my pinkie finger over the husky. He staggered back a few steps in shock.

"Alright, go!" I cheered enthusiastically.

Well, the fight was pretty boring. I lowered the finger and he collapsed underneath it in a matter of moments. Wasn't much of a fighter, that one.

Breathing out through my pursed lips, I withdrew my hand, shrugging at the other collected people.

"That was dull," I commented to them.

I turned around, taking out the structure with a casual swipe or two of the tail. Couldn't have any survivors, could I? I was already bored of the whole thing, anyway. Plenty more things to do. Playtime was only beginning.

*****

Tal drew my attention by pounding heavily on the surface of my palm.

"This is the place," he said, gesturing about the closet-sized, dimly lit room. "This is where the... magic happens,"

Well, as it turned out, 'where the magic happened' wasn't all that exciting of a place. The small room housed little more than a nondescript console and a circular platform that glowed with a dull blue light.

"So, how does this all work?" I asked, approaching a glowing console and bowing my head to study it.

The console appeared to be some sort of touch screen, with all manner of virtual buttons, knobs, and levers. As I reached out a finger to prod at it gently, Tal let out a strangled shout.

"Hey! What did I tell you?" Tal scolded.

"Sorry," I muttered, lowering my hand.

I placed Tal on the lower lip of the console and he began to pace back and forth, studying it intently.

"Do exactly as I say," he ordered for perhaps the billionth time that day. "This is a delicate process,"

"Are we doing you or me first?" I asked.

"Me," the fire-drake replied. "I'll give you full instructions for yourself before I leave,"

"Alright," I said nervously. "But I don't want to get stuck here, you know,"

"Won't happen," Tal promised.

It was an intricate process, almost balletic in the strokes and gestures. There were coordinates to enter, Synchronicities to form, and all manner of other things I only barely understood. But at length, Tal finally appeared satisfied.

"Alright. Can you take me over to the platform over there, then?" Tal said, gesturing to the steadily pulsing blue glass circle on the floor. "I'm pretty sure we're ready to get things rolling,"

"Pretty sure," I commented, arching a brow.

"Very sure," Tal corrected snappily. "Sure as I can ever be,"

I carried Tal over to the platform, which was glowing with more intensity than it had before. He walked to the center, carrying my old clothes under his arm.

"Alright, so once it's all set, just enter in that second set of coordinates I had you write down, initiate the sequence, and book it over here," Tal instructed. "You should have about fifteen seconds, give or take, to get into position before the Synchronicity is set,"

"Sure thing," I replied. "And you know what to do, right? You have the address,"

"Of course. MACRO Headquarters. Or whatever,"

"Talk to... talk to Morgan. She'll... think of something. She's good with that sort of thing,"

Tal nodded and I returned to my position by the console. I tapped a few buttons and the initiation sequence, well, initiated.

A few moments later, Tal vanished in a tiny blink of white.

Suddenly, my heart was racing. Tal had said this would work, but how certain was he? What were the odds of me ending up somewhere totally wrong, or getting dispersed into a million atoms, or something equally terrible?

But I couldn't go back. There was no option but to proceed. That was the only way. Wasn't it?

Hand shaking, I tapped in the new coordinates. Taking a few deep breaths, I tried to calm down.

Before I could talk myself out of what I was about to do, I pressed the large red 'INITIATE' icon and sprinted for the glowing blue platform.

Screwing my eyes shut, I gritted my teeth and clenched my fists. I felt a moment of searing heat and then nothing aside from a subtle wind that ruffled my fur.

My eyes blinked open, adjusting to the natural light. I looked up, taking in the familiar pale blue sky, wispy clouds gusting back and forth in the marine breeze. Then I looked down.

"Oh, shit," I gaped idiotically. "I really am fucking massive,"