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Vindication by: Pent Ghelsburg

Disclaimer: The characters depicted in this work are purely fictional. Most are original and used only within the context of this story. One is the property of another person and I use them with permission and respect to the owner. Any resemblance to real life persons is purely coincidental. Furthermore, there is a prominent micro/macro theme as well as underaged content presented within this story. You have been warned.

Boyhood mischief is a part of many of a boy's lives. Some take more liberty with it than others and not always is every party involved privy to the genuine excitement the perpetrator often gets. Depending on the nature of the situation and of its place, there is, of course, a time and a place for mischief and often school is one such frequented location. School for it is often away from the shackles of home life. Especially for those boys whose parents were quite strict.

Nils was a Pine Marten boy of 11 summers. It was his final year of primary school before moving on and he was anxious to see the end of one journey and excited to see the beginning of another. Many mistook him for a Weasel or even more erroneously an Otter. However the boys almost cherry red fur was unmistakably that of a Marten. The child lived in the outskirts of Frederickstad, Norway and went to a local school that hosted a fairly meager number of children compared to its neighbors.

Like many others, his school was segregated. The districts decided it was best until high school when the kids were better acclimated to dealing with the opposite culture, be it human or furry. Nils didn't mind much. He had a fairly stable group of friends who he hung out with. A variety of species, but all boys, the group was tightly knit as they were all on the swim team. Even if Martens weren't the strongest swimmers in the animal world, the boy enjoyed the companionship of his other friends. However, unlike most teams in the school, this one didn't compete.

The issue with swimming in Norway was that most of the year you couldn't really do it unless the pool was inside and kept warm. However, neither this school nor any other for that matter, could afford such technology in order to maintain it. So the swimming team was left to manage during the warmer months which put it closer to the end of the school year. Often times due to winter it would run into the actual summer so that the kids would get their monies worth. Especially since many of their families opted in for the summer camp option.

Nils family had, of course, signed him up and he didn't mind much since the activity didn't take much time or effort. Besides, he got to hang out with his friends and some of the other kids were forced into sleep away camp which Nils certainly didn't want to do. Besides his favorite time of year was just rolling around and he, like many other kids his age, was looking forward to the summertime which was just a week away now. By this point, most of the regular school activities had rolled down and many teachers were left as makeshift babysitters.

Many classrooms were having parties, others were participating in signings while the rest were serving as a somber requisite where children were saying their parting goodbyes, assuming they would never see each other again. Nils would be part of no such thing. Towards the end of the school day, the loudspeaker summoned the swim team to the gym. It was likely today that they would begin the process in transitioning to a summer mode of activities. The marten was just glad to be away from the chaos that was in the classroom.

Nils couldn't help but notice that the hallways were mostly absent of kids. Though the noise was unmistakable. It was most certainly the end of the year. Once the marten made his way down to the gym, he made his way to back without changing. He assumed it would just be a meeting about what the team would plan for the summer. After arriving, it seemed that Nils was one of the last to arrive. The team was a combination of both boys and girls and the Mustelid of a man stood in front.

The Coach went by his shortened name of Sig, though his full name was Sigmund. The man had not been a coach for long. In fact it was the end of his first year. Even though he wasn't particularly old, he had been recently discharged from the military. This made him rather strict with the kids and he was often quite rough with them. The boys often liked his style but the girls found him to be overly firm. The badger was a great deal taller than his charges, with brown and black fur and an atypically long nose that suited him quite well.

Sigmund was quite accustomed to swimming as even before the Navy, he was a member of his university and even high school teams. Even if some of the kids were put off by his style, they respected his prowlice in the water. The Badger began to wave his hands trying to settle everyone down.

"All right everyone. We need to discuss the plans for the summer." Sigmund spoke with a powerful bellow.

The students settled down into a low mumble as they knew his retribution could be quite swift and certain.

"There will be a signup for camp over by the wall. We have 6 meets set up for the summer, basically one every two weeks with practice every Wednesday. Meets will generally occur on Saturday and for those Saturday's we don't have meets, there will be practice." The older male went over the protocol of what he had planned.

Some groaning occurred once the mention of Saturday occurred. The kids forgot that they had the rest of the week off during the summer. But they returned to silence once he spoke again.

"Not only this but I have a surprise for you guys." Sigmund paused for a moment in order to exacerbate the excitement.

Of course, the group of cubs listened with increased anticipation. The coach knew how to work them and keep them interested. The Badger didn't keep them waiting for long.

"I managed to book us a few competitions on top of the meets were going to." The older male watched as the kids erupted in mumbling.

The anticipation of the idea had resulted in a mixed sort of jubilation from his crowd. Some of the students were looking forward to the prospect of competition while some others were nervous they might perform poorly.

"Don't worry I will prepare you adequately so that we can be in top form for when the moment does roll around." The man tried to settle down his more anxious charges.

Nils wasn't sure what to think. He had never competed in much of anything other than for the sake of fun. However, he didn't really know what was at stake here. Was there rewards to be had or exactly what was the purpose. After a few moments of listening to some of the more optimistic kids, the Marten couldn't help but feel a little bit excited. Still, he was a little bit anxious because he liked coming out on the top.

An idea came to his head though. What if he offered to put up more of his time in exchange for extra training? Perhaps the idea seemed realistic and beneficial to him but he wasn't sure his coach would buy into it. He would have to wait and see until after the meeting to ask and see if the idea was probable or not. The rest of the event went like normal. Sigmund passed out some permission slips along with a medical form.

"Your parents need to fill this in before school lets out for the summer or you cannot participate. Is that clear everyone?" Sigmund instructed his charges before finally dismissing them.

Once everyone had begun to make their way home, Nils made sure to stay behind for a little bit to make sure he got his question in. A few other kids lingered but the mass majority of them wanted nothing to do with school and a few were even being forced to join by their parents. The marten made his way to the back to the end of the line. Fortunately for him, there weren't many kids waiting and most of their questions were silly ones that he repeated or mentioned while waiting in the line.

Eventually, the wait died down and the boy was left mostly alone with the older male. Whatever kids remained were off to the front of the school waiting to be picked up. It was almost the end of the day so returning to class was pointless. Before long the bell rang and the herd of students came shortly after.

"Mr. Sigmund, I had a question for you before I go home for the day." The younger male tried to maintain his voice so that it was loud enough to hear.

"What's that my boy?" The badger kneeled down to be more at an eye level with the boy and to hear him better.

"I was wondering if I could come for extra training? I don't really want to perform badly." The boy said calmly to the man despite not knowing what to expect.

"Hmm...that depends. You'd have to ask your parents. Though if they say it's alright then I'm fine with it and we can add an extra day or two depending on their availability." Sigmund didn't mind, though he didn't want to infringe on the boy's parents.

"Cool. Thanks, Mr. Sigmund. I will ask today and let you know tomorrow." Nils responded with a smile before beginning to walk away.

"Great. See you tomorrow, bud." The badger picked himself up to get ready to go home for the evening.

The marten felt much better about the ordeal now. The coach had agreed to train him some more, so now the only real unknown was his parents. Nils felt certain that his parents would agree, though he could never feel certain. Only time would tell if he was right. For now, he collected his things and made his way home. His home was but a short trip from the school and the weather was good enough that he was able to take advantage of his bicycle for once.

The marten much preferred his bicycle over the bus even if he didn't have anyone to ride with. The crowded nature of the vehicle was too much for him, so he only used it when he absolutely had to. Nils enjoyed the surroundings of his location. His area was very much suburban and integrated a fair amount of foliage as well as undeveloped parcels of land. So the sights were very much breathtaking, especially for those who didn't frequent the area often.

Nils made his way home. It was but a short trip and took him on average about 20 minutes. He took many back roads in order to avoid whatever traffic there was on the main road. After he arrived home, he could see that neither of his parents had yet returned from work. He assumed they wouldn't be home for a few hours and would have to entertain himself until then. Of course, like most kids that was simple enough, there were many games he liked to delve into.

Once inside his home, he looked around the place just to make sure he was alone. Of course, he was, so he went about lazing about. Kicking off his shoes and throwing off his bag into the corner. The couch and TV were free of course and so for once, he was the king of the place. So he laid back and lifted his feet up on the coffee table and began playing the latest Mario Kart game. His favorite character wasn't one of the Mushroom Kingdom at all, it was Link. He played multiple rounds and usually came in first or second. It wasn't much of a challenge.

Before long the minutes turned into hours and Nils overheard one of his parents shut their car door. It was most likely his mother since his mother worked late. Sure enough, she was the one to arrive at the door. Nils rushed over to help her and be a good son making sure that she was comfortable after arriving home Once she was settled in, the boy wasted no time in getting around to asking the burning question of the day.

"Hey, Mom. How was your day?" The son wanted to figure out a roundabout way of getting to the subject on his mind.

"Good. How was yours?" The mother figured something must have been up for him to be acting like this but didn't let on.

"The same as always. Guess what?" Nil's wasted no time in getting to the point.

"What's that?" The woman asked genuinely curious.

The boy explained the details of the swim club and how it would be competing over the summer. Making sure to ask if he would be able to participate before delivering her the paper that served as a permission slip. She looked it over before nodding to him.

"I was also wondering if I could go one extra day per week to make sure I compete in top form." Nils continued.

The older woman rolled her eyes before giving in. It wasn't like she had a reason to say no anyhow. He was a good kid and it would get him out of the house.

Nils hugged his mother and thanked her. To be extra kind he was overly obedient that particular night, making sure to do all of his chores without asking. He was looking forward to tomorrow so that he could tell the coach and begin his training. He couldn't wait for the day to end so that his journey towards greatness could begin anew. In fact he was so intent on burning time, that he retired to his room without having dessert. A notion his mother found quite odd but decided not to pursue regardless.

After returning to his room, Nils decided a quick few levels on Kirby Star Allies would do just fine to burn some time. He really liked the pink puffball character and even had some posters of it adorned around his room. His favorite character from the series though was meta knight. He was thoroughly looking forward to the fight against him and was hoping he might be recruitable. He was still a ways off from what he had heard on the internet. However, that didn't tarnish his ambition to further the game.

The rest of the night went like normal. Eventually, the boy's father return home and the family had dinner. After the meal was finished, Nils was instructed to go to bed. His parents were rather punctual on his bedtime and he still had school the next day. Frankly, the notion didn't bother him much since he was looking forward to the next day anyway. Before he went to sleep both his parents stopped in to tuck him in. Despite his age, it was a tradition they saw fit to continue.

Once he fell asleep, the morning came like clockwork. The alarm went off and the boy rose out of bed without complaint. It was the next to last day of school in addition to the fact he would get extra training today. He knew his coach would accommodate him, he just had to! The marten hopped off to breakfast forgetting to take his usual shower. He figured it wouldn't be needed since a dip in the pool would suffice. Of course, his bed head gave away his intention. After he was spotted by his father he was forced to take one anyways.

Nils grunted and complied. After getting ready for school and gathering his bag of things he made his way to his bike to go off to school. Like the day before it was a fairly nice day for biking and his parents couldn't take him to school regardless. By the time he got there most of the other kids had already arrived. While he wasn't late, he wasn't overly early. Swimming wasn't until the end of the day but the boy decided he would stop by to tell his Coach the news anyways. Looking at the school clock, the Marten assumed he had enough time to do so.

The cub rushed his way down the hallway making sure not to quite run as he didn't want to risk being stopped by a Hallway monitor. He managed to make his way to the gym, which at this point in the morning was empty. The coaches offices were near the back and Sigmund was the last of the bunch since he was the most recent hire. Nils already knew where it was but the signage on the walls certainly aided his efforts in finding the older male.

At the door, Nils knocked before showing himself in. Sure enough, the Coach was there. Seemingly taking a load off and doing nothing important by the looks of it. His face buried in a magazine with a fairly young looking lad on the front.

"Hey, Coach guess what?" Nil's wagged his tail in anticipation, a gesture he didn't often frequent in.

"Huh, what the!? What're you doing in here?" Sigmund was caught off guard and quickly panicked trying to hide the magazine.

"I just uh..." The boy's words were cut off before he was even able to finish.

"Get out! NOW!" The badger's words boomed through the chambers of the various offices in the small corner of the room.

It resounded so much that the young secretary nearby stepped in.

"Is everything alright?" The antelope's ears were perked up from the sudden spike in noise as if he was startled.

"Yes, the boy was just leaving. Can you show him out please?" The badger was much calmer and collected now around with the antelope around.

The antelope wasn't much larger than Nils himself. Of course, the boy complied, he didn't want to anger the man further but he was at a loss for words. He wasn't entirely sure what was going on.

The antelope showed him to the door but didn't quite show him out. The secretary was much more interested in returning to his master. Little did the boy know, that this secretary was a ward of Sigmund himself. Nils decided to see if he could figure out just what was happening. The antelope was of normal color variation, however, the young man had decided to trim his horns in order to better deal with low rise doors. However, his looks and height made him look at younger than he actually was.

After being certain that the Antelope had slipped back inside Sigmund's office, Nils crept his way back towards the cubicle and tried to listen in and gather more information. He couldn't afford being caught or he might have gotten a detention.

"Was the boy bothering you, sir?" A higher pitch voice through the wall, presumably the Antelope.

"No...he just caught me at a bad time is all." A lower tone voice answered, a little shaken and half quivering.

"A bad time, sir?" The Antelope responded trying to calm his employer.

"Yes, Henrik. You don't need to know the details." Sigmund tried to brush the issue away.

"Boys again, sir?" Henrik knew full well the vices of his master.

No answer was elicited as the conversation seemingly ended. Nils thought there had to be more to it than that. Why would the coach be upset about the "boy" issue?" He didn't fully understand and decided to take a quick look inside.

The marten was careful not to reveal too much of himself and slowly peered around the corner. Luckily for him, once he got a look inside the room, he wasn't spotted. The pair was much too busy with another activity. The Antelope was giving the Badger a massage and Sigmund's eyes were closed. Had Henrik been looking up he might have seen the boy but he was occupied otherwise. Curious, Nils continued to look ever onward.

Once the smaller male landed a kiss on the Coaches cheek, this was all the boy needed to see. He figured he had enough information to act on, though he needed some time to digest it all. Nils quickly departed from the office and made his way out to decide what to do next. The marten decided he would confer with a friend. He didn't fully understand what was going on and needed perspective on the issue. He figured the best person he could talk to was the one he considered smartest, Astrid.

Astrid was a black bear girl whom many avoided. The female was at the top of her class and was even graduating a year early. She had skipped a grade and as such was younger than the rest of her mates. Fortunately for the boy, she was in his first period. Normally she was alone since she didn't have many friends to speak of. Nil's figured she would be the best person to ask. It was as good a place to start as any.

The marten approached the girl who unlike many other females near his age, was shorter than he was.

"Hiya, Astrid. How are you?" The boy tried starting a conversation.

"What do you want?" The girl smelt mischief as normally the two didn't talk often.

This response caught him off guard and he tried to play it off as nothing.

"Nothing...I just wanted to say hi and congratulate you on your achievements this year." Nil's knew she was a sucker for commendations.

"Oh...thanks! Yeah, it was really hard but I managed just fine." The girl's arrogance really came through as she crossed her arms proudly.

"I was wondering though. The last kid who made you angry. What did you do to him?" Nil's, like many other kids, had bought into the rumor that she had caused it.

Astrid rolled her eyes and decided to toy with him.

"I made him my toy." The bear pulled out a small plush out of her bag as if symbolizing that it was her victim.

In truth Nil's didn't buy into the plush being a person but decided to play along anyway.

"Wow, that's crazy. What if I wanted to get even with someone? Would you be able to help me?" The Marten asked trying to hide his own disbelief.

"Sure. But what do I get out of it?" The girl asked trying to think of just what she could do for him.

"I'll do whatever you want." The boy wasn't entirely sure why he just said that and immediately regretted it.

"Deal. Shake on it." Astrid didn't even think about it for a second and put the toy back in her bag before extending out her paw to seal the deal.

Of course, Nil's didn't think but did it anyway. Right after the girl rifled back through her bag, seemingly searching for something. After a few moments, she pulled out a small toy gun.

"This has one charge, maybe two at best. Fire it at your target. I think you will like the results. Just...don't miss." The bear provided little instruction for the boy to have before handing him the device.

"What does it do?" The boy took the item looking it over as curiosity overcame him.

"Just wait and see. Come back once you're done." The girl made her exit and went back to being alone.

The marten wasn't sure this was real or not but decided to not test his luck. It was probably a stun device or something to that extent. It didn't appear to be lethal and it's brightly neon colored structure could have easily passed it off as a toy.

The boy decided it would have to wait. The lever on the side of the gun showed OFF and even had a safety mechanism to prevent a misfire. Nil's stored it in his backpack and bide his time until the end of the day. The rest of the day went like normal, it was fairly non-challant and laid back. Not many teachers had constructive things to do and the ones that did knew it was little other than busy work. Once the day was over the kids were glad, it was done as it meant there was only one day left. In fact, many of them were not planning to come at all.

Once the bell rang, all hell was let loose. Many kids were celebrating the end of the year even if it was early. The marten, on the other hand, had something else planned. He made his way opposite of the crowd. Finding his way through was quite difficult and he had to fight through it. Luckily most of the kids weren't intent on knocking him over. Nil's managed to make his way through with some difficulty to the gym. Of course, the gym was completely abandoned and once he reached that part of the building it was easy to get to where hew as going.

The offices still had people inside them so once he arrived he had to state his purpose. Using the need of handing his permission slip in, he was granted access. Heading back towards the end of the building, he made his way towards his coaches office. The antelope was nowhere to be seen and so it seemed Nil's would have no restriction in getting to where he wanted. The marten pulled out the little gun as his tail swished in genuine excitement. He was ready, it was now or never. Pretending he was James Bond he leaped around the corner.

Of course, the badger was in his chair, his face plastered in the same magazine as before. This was the opening he was waiting for. Nil's aimed the gun and pulled the trigger but nothing came out. The boy panicked for a moment before remembering the switch on the side. He moved it to ON and re-aimed it. Now a light humming sound was evident and the gun let out a light glow. Again he repeated the same motion as before.

"PEW, PEW!" The boy mimicked a sound he thought was appropriate as a small yellow laser spread out from the tip of the gun to where the man was sitting.

The second that Sigmund heard the boys noise he reacted but it was much too late. The shot was square on and tore a hole right through the magazine which he dropped to get a look at his aggressor.

"What the...?" Sigmund was at a loss for words looking at the boy who still had a very colorful gun pointed at him.

"Is this some kind of joke?" The second he uttered those words, the badger felt as if he was riding an elevator.

The room around him spun out of control, he became dizzy and light headed. His vision became foggy and his surroundings became difficult to discern. Nil's watched in interest as the male before he began to dwindle.

Bit by bit at first and then it became more noticeable. The once virile man was soon engulfed by the very clothing he was just wearing. In mere moments he vanished into a tent of his own things. The gun had shrunk him. The marten couldn't help but feel giddy, unsure of what to do with himself. But vengeance was his and now the question remained what to do next. Curiosity got the better of him, Nil's approached the desk with a now unattended magazine and some clothing piled on the chair with the remaining bits sprawled over the floor.

Within the shirt, the boy saw movement. The boy was very careful to move the fabric around before finally removing it entirely and tossing it to the ground.

"Wow...look at you. You're so little!" The Marten's excitement overcame him as the now minuscule man came into view.

Nil's thought he heard squeaking but the noises coming from the now ant-sized badger were not decipherable. Now that he had gotten revenge, his coach would be his toy for all to see. It seemed that Astrid had not lied after all, which meant that Astrid would soon have to be repaid. But the real question remained. What would he do with his coach now that the boy was in control?...