Fountain of Youth: Capítulo 1.
Shin wore his diaper and looked at the mirror. The now little fox sighed, remembering the old times, when Fenária was free from diseases and everyone could have the age they wanted. But now, it wasn't possible. He touched the mirror and stared, still finding it hard to believe: he was now a cub and he had no way to come back to his adult self. It wasn't much of a hassle, however, since he regressed at least four times before to deal with a few issues concerning his health, but what really upset him was the fact that now he had no job and everyone was either fighting for survival or hunting the responsible for all this. And it was what Shin was about to do. He stopped contemplating the mirror and got a pair of pants and a shirt. He wore them over the diaper and got his backpack, containing water and instant food, plus four spare nappies. He heard rumors that the responsible was located somewhere around the jungle, so it wouldn't take long to find him, since Shin established residence in the jungle (it's near to where he worked). He took a last look at the mirror. The young fox left his messed up room. Shin left his house and looked around. The jungle had short trees, no trails and everything was closed and warm, like a stomach. In fact, his house, a smell wooden building, was squeezed between the trees. The bird made their characteristic sound as they flew around and the sun light barely made it's way through the leaves of the trees, lightening up the ground and the fox. - It will be a long day... - said Shin to himself; looking for someone in the jungle is like looking for the moon when the sun is high. The young fox cub gave his first steps forward, making a crinkling noise with his diaper and a crackling noise in the leafy ground. He left the surroundings of the house. Time passed by and Shin walked from side to side between the trees and the bushes, looking for clues. Once he approached to the lake, he spotted a young skunk drinking water, wearing an yellow shirt and blue shorts. Shin approached slowly and the skunk didn't notice. - Got you! - yelled Shin, pouncing on the skunk. The alarmed skunk tripped and both fell into the shallow end of the lake. - What you doing? - asked the skunk. - Don't pretend to be innocent! - argued Shin. - I know what you did! - I didn't meant to! I was hungry! Shin found that sentence quite confusing. Still keeping the grip of the skunk, he asked: - What are you talking about? - I stole the apples of the farm... - confessed the skunk. Shin took a look at the face of the skunk. He seemed too innocent and weak to be the one behind the mass regression. The fox released the skunk. - I'm sorry - he said. The skunk sat on the margin, catching his breath. - Why you did that? - he asked, confused. - Well... I'm looking for the responsible. I heard rumors that he is around the jungle. - The responsible? Do I
look like him? - the skunk looked at Shin, enraged. - Well... I expected something big and bad... You could be bad, but is certainly shorter than me... - Not that height matters nowadays... - the skunk rubbed his neck, sore from Shin's grip. - I'm Gus. - I'm Shin. Sorry for causing you trouble. - I'm also looking for the responsible, based on rumors... - But you don't seem ready at all - Shin looked at the skunk, searching for destructive belongings, but noticed he had no weapons or protection, plus, his combat skills were proven to be poor. - I may not be, but I'll do what I can. Since the age lock-up... the cubs of my school became older than the teachers and the school was closed once the students started to bully the grown-ups... well, they aren't grown-ups any more. Shin couldn't help, but giggle at that. - Similar thing happened to me - he stated. - In my case, it was my job. I lost it. Everyone started to cause chaos and, I dunno, maybe because of the chemistry of their brains, they weren't focusing in work. Our productivity dropped and we went to bankruptcy quickly, after everyone lost interest in working. Gus sighed. - You seem prepared - he looked at Shin. - I have nothing to protect myself. - We could do it together! It will be nice to have someone to talk to! - Shin said, smiling. Gus smiled. - Well, then - the skunk got up. - Follow me; I have to show you my peers! Shin followed, hopeful, right behind the skunk. - So... you are also looking for the responsible? - asked Drag, the dragon. - Yes, right - answered Shin. It was raining outside. In the cave, Shin and Gus talked to a blue, pudgy dragon and a red-haired white fox. Drag was huge, even if he still looked like a child, like everyone there. The fox, however, was shy and little, looking down at his almost naked body. All he was wearing was a diaper, thankfully clean for now. - You know - continued Drag. -, the rumors said that the responsible is around the lake. - Where the rumors come from? - asked Shin, eager to test the veracity of the information. - Witnesses - Drag picked a cup that was near to the fire they just set in the middle of the cave, to lighten things up, and drank the content. - They saw an adult around. Shin blinked. - Well, they could be lying - he argued. - With everyone being so small and naive, it could be just their imagination. Or they could be lying just for fun. The white fox sighed; he had the same doubt. - Well, I can tell when a cub is lying, trust me - said Drag, looking at Shin with his captivating eyes and a neuter expression. - If they were lying, they wouldn't be shaking and sweating like pigs. They saw something really scary on the surroundings of the lake. - Well, then... Can we go together? - asked Shin. Drag put the cup back where it was. - Sure, why not? - he said,
smiling. Shin wagged his tail... then noticed the distressed fox sitting on a trunk seat. - Who is him? - asked the innocent red fox. - I'm Dax - answered the white fox. - I was robbed days ago. I was literally left naked. Shin and Gus couldn't suppress a giggle. Shin had to turn around, so Dax wouldn't see him giggling, but Gus could be more discrete. Dax looked down again. - I found him and padded him up, since he seems to be partially incontinent and I kinda "found" some "abandoned" supplies in the woods... - said Drag. - I couldn't leave him that way. - All that I want is to have my belonging back... - Dax whined. - Which reminds me... - said Shin, his giggly expression now tamed as he looked at Drag. - Why are you hunting the responsible, Drag? Drag suddenly got grumpy and looked up at the ceiling of the cave. - I want my food back - he answered. - How so? - Shin asked. - When I lived in the city, I could eat everything I wanted for a relatively low price. From sweet to salty, my gustatory senses were completely sated... and I had a good life that way. Food is one of the best things in life and living without something good to chew and taste makes life an exile... - the dragon sighed. - When the rain fell and everyone regressed, they just got too immature to continue working, they got bored of it, a lot of them even ate the ingredients, stole the food to themselves, you know, cub stuff. I guess that, when you regress, your sense of morals looses up. - I see now... Silence. Then a sound of growling. The group looked at the entrance of the cave and saw hyenas approaching. Drag got up, Dax hid behind the trunk, Shin and Gus got themselves ready. The hyenas ran towards the group. Drag received one of the hyenas with a punch, but the target dodged. Shin pulled up his knife and stabbed one of the hyenas and the pain fainted his opponent. Gus got himself ready to counter-attack and so did Dax. The first hyena attacked Drag, who seemed to be tastier, but the dragon defended himself, hitting the hyena with his fat arm. The second hyena attacked Shin, but the fox dodged. The third hyena attacked Gus, the skunk jumped back, but was still scratched by the hyena's claws, then jumped forward, hitting the hyena on the jaw with his paw. Drag spun, trying to hit the hyena with his muscular tail, but the hyena jumped back. Shin, using his knife, hit the second hyena, then pulled the knife back, but, despite the bleeding, the animal continued standing. Gus jumped forward again and tried to hit the third hyena with a kick, but missed. Dax watched from distance. The first hyena attacked Drag once again, but Drag defended himself as expected. The second hyena grabbed Shin's arm, biting it down with all it's strength and Shin almost dropped the knife. The third hyena targeted Gus, attempting to bite him, but the skunk dodged. Fed up, Drag roared at top of his lungs, trying to
frighten the hyenas and it worked to an extent, but the hyenas remained there. Shin hit the first hyena with his paw, causing it to release his arm. Gus prepared to counter-attack. Dax still watched. Seeing that winning was impossible, the hyenas left the cave. All the cubs suddenly fell to their butts, relaxed. - It was scary! - commented Gus. - Sure it was... - said Drag, then he looked at Shin. - You did a nice job there! Shin smiled at Drag; the wound on his arm wasn't that bad anyway. - We will wait until the rain ceases and continue the path to the lake - said Drag. - Also, Shin. Welcome. Shin nodded. - Thank you - he said. The starts sparked weakly in the sky; it was dawn. The group moved towards a cave, since it lead to the lake. The lake was well-known for being inaccessible through other means, since it was surrounded by huge, natural walls of stone. - This is the place? - asked Shin. - Yes - said Drag. - Oh, well... - Shin stepped inside. - Let's go inside, then. Shin was obviously scared. He tried to not let his childish impulses take over, but, now that he was regressed, his emotions seemed to be much stronger than what they used to be when he was older. He felt an urge to urinate, but he was also shy to do it in front of the others. So, he let go in the privacy of his diaper. - Drag - said Dax. -, I guess I can't go in. - Don't worry, okay? - replied Drag, petting Dax's head. - I'll protect you. - Me too - said Gus, trying to look strong. The group finally ventured inside. As they walked inside, the place became darker and darker. They got more and more away from the light. - I'm scared - Dax hugged Drag's arm, shivering. - Try to calm down; so far, no trouble has to be faced - Drag said. Gus stopped walking. - What is wrong? - asked Shin. - Why does the ground shake? - asked Gus. Everyone stopped walking. Indeed, the ground was shaking lightly, then, suddenly, it started shaking violently. - Everyone, to the exit! - shouted Drag. The cubs started to run to the exit right after pieces of the ceiling started to fall. Shin could dodge most of them, jumping and running. Gus had the same luck, dodging quickly, but doing it completely based on the luck; no one could see a thing. Dax was refusing to go and Drag was trying to convince him to run as well. Finally, Drag took Dax on his arms and started to hit the rocks out of the way. The dragon misstepped and fell over Dax, squishing the fox. He tried to get up, but rocks fell over him. The pain caused the dragon to scream shortly. Gus heard, Shin did not. Gus ran back to help if possible. But, unfortunately, the rocks blocked the way out. Shin managed to escape the tunnel, but Drag, Gus and Dax were stuck in the other side. The earthquake stopped. - Shin, can you hear me? - asked Gus. Dax cried softly as he "helped" big Drag to
stand up. - Is everybody okay? - asked Shin from the other side, approaching to the wall of rocks that blocked the path. - Yes - answered Drag. - We will continue from now on... - I'll look for a another way to reach the lake. Good luck for you guys. Said that, Shin left the cave. Dax, Drag and Gus continued the way to the lake. Finally, after some more minutes walking forward, Dax, Drag and Gus arrived at the lake. It was surrounded by big walls of stone and trees, like a sanctuary of nature. - Shin will have trouble coming here - commented Gus. - And we will have trouble leaving - added Drag. A small figured jumped from the tree and touched the ground. It was an white-muzzled orange fox. He had a fierce look on his face, even if he was little, wearing an iron armor on the chest and a very heavy ax. - Why are you kids here? - he asked. - "Kids"? - asked Drag. - You kids were supposed to be dead. - You started the earthquake? - asked Gus. - Not your business - the cub prepared the ax. - Wow! - Gus shouted. - I almost died there and it isn't my business? - You kids should leave. Drag stood in front of the cub, leaving the his friends behind a little. - You are the kid here - he spoke. - Where is the responsible? - He is doing his job in saving the world you destroyed - the cub pushed Drag back and managed to get him to step back. - The mass regression was a necessary step to achieving the state of nature. - State of nature? - asked Dax to himself. - I don't know what kind of eugenics program you have planned - said Gus. -, but it's either taking us to the responsible or taking us out here! - I fear I'm not in position to do either. You kids must die here - said the cub, with his ax prepared, about to attack. Drag prepared to defend, so did Gus and Dax. The fox attacked with the ax, swinging it against Drag, hitting the dragon on the arm, but it didn't open a big wound; Drag is simply too "thick" to be cut by a kid who barely reached his shoulders, even if they were wielding an ax. - See if you like! - said Drag, throwing a punch to the kid. The fox jumped back, dodging. Gus ran towards the fox, while Dax watched. The fox noticed Gus coming and prepared to defend himself. Drag spun and tried to hit the fox with his long and heavy tail, but the fox hit Drag's tail with the ax. Immediately, Drag teared up, but suppressed a scream of pain, holding his muzzle shut, but a hiss managed to escape. Gus jumped and tried to hit the fox with his foot-paws, but the fox, again, used his ax to defend himself. Gus, seeing the blade about to touch him, closed his eyes and tried to avoid it while his jump was in the making. He managed to avoid being killed by that very second, but his thigh now had a big cut. Dax looked around for something to use as weapon, but all that he found was rocks and sticks. He
walked towards a rock and picked it up. - Are you okay, Gus? - yelled Drag, seeing his friend on the floor, holding his leg. - Pay attention! - said the fox, hitting his ax against Drag's side. If Drag wasn't a thick, fat dragon, he would be cut in two. Drag held his side, tearing more and grunting. Gus was unable to do anything at the moment. Dax, shaking, threw the rock with all the strength he had. It hit the fox on the head, but no damage was dealt. It only served to attract the attention of the fox, who now walked towards Dax. Dax picked a stick up, shaking, his diaper already soaked. With his ax, the fox tried to hit Dax, who managed to dodge, but received a small cut on the cheek. - Hey, fox! - shouted Drag. - Leave him alone! Aren't you ashamed of yourself for attacking someone younger than you? Come here and fight me! Drag got up, recovered from most of the pain. The fox looked at Drag. - If I win, you kids will be my prisoners in the dungeons. Understood? - he said. - Deal - answered Drag, preparing himself again. The fox ran towards Drag. Drag responded with a punch that dig down the fox's muzzle, pushing him back. "The true threat is that ax", thought Drag, "I'll try to make him drop it". Enraged, the fox hit the ax again, on Drag's fat side, right upon the first wound. Drag was also enraged, so he wasn't minding the pain anymore and tried to grab the fox by his arm. Seeing what drag was up to, the fox dodged, swung his ax and hit Drag on the other side. The dragon yelled in pain, but nothing beyond that. Drag kept his plan of holding the fox to make him drop the ax, but he was impressed by how a puny-looking fox could deal so well with such heavy weapon and heavy armor. Again, the fox dodged, by ducking, hitting his ax on Drag's leg. The pain that was now piling up made one of Drag's legs give in and he was almost on his knees. In the position, the little fox could hit his chest and head. Drag tried to jump forward to catch he fox, but, again, the fox graciously jumped, this time over Drag's attempt of charging on him. Drag hit the floor by the moment the fox landed. The fox hit Drag's tail, that was near. Drag again yelled. Fed up, the dragon then quickly got up and turned to the fox, then jumped on him, finally managing to grab him by his arm and neck. He tried to make the fox drop his ax by twisting his arm, but the fox also showed great resistance to pain and could compete with Drag in strength. "This is obviously magic, for God's sake", Drag thought. The fox tried to pull back, his neck being trapped by Drag's arm and his arm being held by the wrist, of course without success. Drag shifted his position, going behind the fox, holding his arm up. Keeping him in that position for a while, the fox's arm was under great stress and numbness ensued. The fox was unable to escape Drag's grip and he could barely feel his own paw holding the ax. The ax started to slip and eventually fell to
the ground. The fox noticed and tried to break free once more, but without success. Drag kicked the fox forward and grabbed the ax from the ground. - Ha! - shouted the dragon. - Not so manly anymore, huh? The fox recovered, looked at Drag and tried to kick the huge dragon, but Drag's belly bounced him back. It surely hurt, of course, but the fox was now puny again. - Now... I'm gonna cut you into pieces! - Drag rose the ax. The fox closed his eyes and prepared himself to die, but all that Drag did was to throw the ax into the lake. It went all the way down, to never be wielded again. The fox noticed that the attack was taking too long to hit and ventured to open his eyes, seeing the wound dragon smiling down at him. - You... - muttered the fox. - Don't talk; I hate to hurt younger cubs - said Drag. - It's unfair. Indeed, Drag won the battle without dealing damage. The fox admitted defeat and apologized for his behavior, plus thanked Drag for letting him live. - My name is Max - said the fox. - And I'm sorry for everything I did. - Why sorry? You wanted to kill us and was convicted that would profit from it! - yelled Gus. - Just because you lost the fight you won't magically turn to our side! - But this dragon... - Max looked up at Drag with tears on his eyes. - He could have killed me. Yet he did not. It goes against everything I learned! - Oh? - asked Drag. Max got up. - You kids... - Max corrected himself: - You guys want to meet the responsible, right? The three other cubs nodded. - I'll take you there - said Max. - I am not sure... - Gus commented. - We have no choice - argued Drag. - Plus, he is harmless now. Let's just follow him.