Shrunk with the Louds

The man woke up with one heck of a headache. His sight was blurred as he felt his arms and legs tremble, and his pants went now completely dirty. He swayed back and forth slightly as he held his head to the side, whatever happened for him to get to this point must have been one heck of a moment.

He started to get an anxiety attack; his mind wasn’t giving him any signs. He couldn’t remember anything that happened before now, including who he was, his professions, and even hobbies. He panicked as he struggled to find out anything that still survived. A name? Brian. Age? Fifteen maybe. He sighed with relief knowing he still knew those details. Anything else? Some life basics came up along with his language, and his current attire of a black shirt and blue pants. English? He just spoke some earlier. Black colors flashed through, could that have meant something?

“Come on, is there anything left?” Brian said to himself as he rubbed his temples. Unfortunately, that was it, nothing left in that head of his.

His vision cleared as he noticed just what he was standing in. His mind may still be empty, but he knew for a fact that he was standing in what could possibly be the largest mud puddle in existence. No wonder his blue pants felt like they were submerged in muck. He looked up and saw, with wide eyes, that not only was the ground all mud, but there were what appeared to be dozens of buildings and skyscrapers around him that were also made of mud, even down to the small details like windows and cars. He waltzed over to one of those cars and was amazed at how many details it was covered in. The headlights, license plate, and even the interiors looked like something only a sculptor could perfect. One lacking detail of the area he was in was that there seemed to be no civilians along the streets and sidewalks, also looking like they were sculpted from mud.

Brian started to get chills, something was definitely not right here. Just what the heck was going on? With nobody around anywhere, he knew he wasn’t going to be getting any answers anytime soon.

He would have continued to panic with himself if he didn’t feel sudden tremors. He stopped himself as they kept happening at a steady pace. Whatever this place was, it was going to go through something fierce. The area suddenly went dark as Brian looked up to see what it was.

If a single word could describe the Loud House, it would definitely be chaos. A family of eleven children really brings the word out, but that would only be the cherry on top. There was always something going on inside with that many people, from sibling fights to individual professions, nothing is average with the Louds. From the couple of Rita and Lynn, there was Lori, the oldest and most mature of the bunch, Leni, the second oldest that’s not exactly the smartest one around, Luna, the everyday musical rock star, Luan, the stand-up comedian with a knack of the entertainment business, Lynn, the one that enjoys all sports and shares a name with her father, Lincoln, the only boy of the family that tends to get into “situations”, Lucy, the egotistical goth that doesn’t get noticed much, Lola and Lana, two twins with the former always acting like a spoiled pretty princess that looks down upon others and the latter always going outside to get down and dirty, Lisa, the child genius that does nothing but drown herself in studies, and finally Lily, the one baby and youngest sibling.

As the many Louds did their interests inside the house for today, Lana stayed outside for most of the day. She was trying to perfect a model made of mud that looked like a miniature version of Royal Woods for a specific reason, all that was missing were some makeshift civilians. She left the model alone for a moment as she went inside to find a worthwhile substitute, trying to avoid any interactions from her siblings as much as possible. When she couldn’t find any, she settled for something else. Going into her bedroom that she shares with Lola, she hastily rushed over to Lola’s side of the room before grabbing a bunch of her dolls and running back outside. Thankfully for her, nobody in the house cared to notice the little stunt.

“Heheheh, that’s a relief. Well, what Lola won’t know won’t hurt her, including a few dolls.”

She waddled over to her makeshift mud model with the many dolls in her arms. After setting them down gently, Lana stuck the dolls at certain points in the model while making sure they stood up straight. She wanted to have maximum satisfaction for what she wanted to do. After checking over everything one more time, she decided to finally start having her fun.

Brian was speechless. The first person he saw since he found himself here was a young girl, but she was about the size of one of the mythological titans. She didn’t seem to be noticing him either as she placed what looked like dolls for girls, which appeared a bit bigger compared to him. He shivered a bit as to what the girl had in mind before she started to walk onto the model, making roars and yells like she was a mythical kaiju.

Brian ran in the opposite direction of where the chaos was unfolding, although it was a bit troubling with the ground being all mud. Splats of mud flew everywhere as Lana destroyed mud building after mud building, some just barely missing Brian by a hair. The dolls Lana stationed at various points were covered in the filth, some collapsing onto the ground below. To Brian, it was like the apocalypse just hit and he was in the middle of it. Brian turned a corner just barely missing another splotch of mud his way, taking a quick breather from the adrenaline rush, but it was shot lived as the giant sized Lana smashed right down on the building behind him, causing a lot of mud to fall in his direction. He only had a split second to get out of the way, which he took in an instant nearly avoiding more splats of mud.

“THAT’S RIGHT; ALL OF YOUR BUILDINGS ARE NOTHING TO ME! I WILL DESTROY ALL OF THEM! RAAAAWWWR!” Lana exclaimed.

Things escalated for Brian as he avoided more coming for him. It probably would have gone on for several more minutes if he didn’t end up tripping over one of the collapsed muddied dolls. Brian could only close his eyes as he was finally swamped by a torrent of mud. He held onto the doll for dear life just so he wouldn’t get washed away, wishing for it to all end. Thankfully for him, it only lasted a few seconds before it all died down. Brian checked himself to make sure he was still in one piece. Completely filthy, but nothing was wrong. He breathed a sigh of relief.

“Dear lord, I felt like I was dancing with death back there!” Brian said to himself. “Just what is going on with me right now?”

Now that he finally had the chance to think clearly, he sat on the collapsed doll’s torso as he watched Lana roll around and make angels in the collapse of her mud model. He saw her laugh and giggle at how she destroyed it all while getting herself more dirty in the process. It was all fun and games for her, but for Brian it was torture.

“Hahahahah, I really got to ring up the giant lizard in that movie! Who knew destroying whole cities could get so…exciting!” Lana said while lying on the ground. “Of course there’s also that pink haired girl. Not sure why she’s the expert on it all, but whatever.”

Lana picked herself off the ground looking over the dolls she placed at certain points. She got a slight chill seeing Lola’s dolls muddied up and messy, but she knew she could probably clean them up before Lola notices their absence. As she walked over to pick up the dolls, Brian knew that if he wasn’t quick he would most certainly be spotted. He turned around to get off the doll he was sitting on.

Brian’s heart sank upon hearing those words. Hoping she wasn’t talking about him, Brian got off of the doll hoping to lose Lana. Before he could scurry off somewhere else, he found himself bounded by Lana’s dirty gigantic fingers. He was lifted off the ground as the rather curious Lana held him up to her face. The tiny boy was likewise terrified at what might happen to him now.

“I don’t recall seeing anyone like you in our yard before. You look like you were sleeping in the ground waiting for summer and whatnot. Oh wait, that’s bears.”

Lana turned Brian around a few times while rummaging up his hair with one of her fingers. The more she looked over him, the more confused she got. Brian kept himself quiet still being very terrified.

“Well, whatever you are, you have a good taste in filth. You look almost as muddy as I am, I’m pretty shocked! If my sisters see you, they’ll definitely flip out! Of course, there’s also my frog and Lucy’s bat friend…”

“I’M NOT A BUG!” Brian shouted out, being unable to keep his terror under wraps any longer. Lana was taken completely by surprise, not expecting the “bug” to suddenly speak of all things, causing her to gasp and drop Brian before taking a few steps back. Luckily for Brian, the muddy ground cushioned his fall for the most part, although it did cause him to get dirtier than before.

Lana took more steps back with her eyes on Brian as the tiny boy flailed to get back on his feet.

“Did…did I just hear you speak?” Lana asked. “I must have still got mud in my ears!”

“Uhhhhhh, yes…I spoke…” Brian stuttered out. Now knowing that she wasn’t hearing things, Lana slowly walked up to the tiny Brian. She was still a bit startled over her initial reaction, but she was now more curious than ever over just what she was seeing. She got on her knees before slowly reaching down and wrapping her fingers around Brian. The tiny boy was letting up just a little bit, but was still worried for himself.

“Wow, you actually DO talk! This is incredible! Are you some sort of alien?! Can you show me where you hide your UFOs?! Do you have a-”

The outburst came out of nowhere, catching both Brain and Lana completely off guard. In came the snooty young princess herself and Lana’s twin, Lola, and she was FURIOUS. She looked over at the pile of muddy dolls next to Lana before looking at her twin with fire in her eyes, seemingly ignoring the tiny Brian in her twins’ hand.

“THOSE WERE SOME OF THE LIMITED EDITION PREMIUMS I SCOURED FOR AGES LOOKING FOR! EVERYTHING RELATED TO MY DOLLYS IS OFF LIMITS!”

Lana frowned as her eyebrows pointed down. She always had to deal with Lola’s bellyaching over every single activity she could come up with, and this was one of those times.

“Oh please, you have piles of those stuffed animals lying at every corner on your side! At least have the guts to share them every once in a while!”

“I DON’T NEED TO IF THEY ARE MINE!” Lola exclaimed. “DO I NEED TO REMIND YOU OF WHAT HAPPENED TO LUEY? ALL THAT WAS LEFT OF HIM WAS A PILE OF FLUFF AND A POPSICLE STICK!”

“That thing actually had a name? He sounded more of a Chuck to me, considering what happened.” Lana replied. “Heheheh, your screams were priceless that day…”

“ALRIGHT, THAT’S IT!” Lola shouted as she tackled her twin to the ground. The two scuffled in a cheesy cartoon dust cloud as they were at each other’s throats. Lana struggled to keep holding onto the tiny Brian, but she couldn’t do it for long as Lola pinned her to the ground, letting go of Brian in the process. The tiny boy flailed about in the air as he found himself tumbling below, thankfully landing shortly afterward.

Lola got off of Lana as she ran around the yard with her hands on her head as she tried to get Brian off. Brian however was back to being scared as he held on for dear life with his eyes closed, not wanting to freefall for a second time. Lana wasted no time running over trying to pluck the tiny boy from Lola’s head, easier said than done as Lola was running all over the place freaking out.

As the twins kept at it, going into another cartoon cloud in the process, the back door opened as the child genius sibling entered the area. She was jittering all over and looking very eager while watching one of her gadgets, which looked like a combination of a large calculator and a satellite dish. The single dot on the device’s small screen was beeping and flashing rapidly, making the girl giddier in the process.

“Yes, oh yes, an anomaly has finally graced it’s presence upon the very soil of our premises!” Lisa said with joy. “They all said I was an ignoramus for believing in what they called ‘rubbish’ and ‘food for the narwhals’, but who’s the one receiving the signal NOW?! Whatever this object is, it’s one for the science books!”

Her thoughts were interrupted as she saw Lola and Lana going at it again, with the satellite atop her gadget pointing straight at them. Lisa stood confused for a second as her gadget insisted that the anomaly was right there among the two, but in order to investigate further she knew she would have to break up both Lana and Lola. Lisa frowned and rolled her eyes before walking over to the scuffle and pulling out an air horn. She put on some headphones before honking it, finally getting the twins to be quiet and draw their attention to her. Brian himself fell on his back as he cupped his now constantly ringing ears from the noise.

“Alright clear the premises you two, I just got a signal and I’m not going to let this moment go to rest.” Lisa said. Lola pointed a finger a Lana.

“Then tell Sludge McGrudge over here to keep her grubby paws off my dollys!” Lola exclaimed.

“I already explained myself princess; I don’t need to say it again.” Lana replied, while closing her eyes, tilting her head down, and crossing her arms. Lola growled angrily at Lana’s defiance before Brian started to lose his grip and slide down Lola’s head. He was immediately noticed by Lola and things began to go on repeat.

This was quickly followed up by another honk from Lisa’s air horn, stopping her from running around the yard again and calming her to a certain point. Noticing Brian almost immediately, Lisa swiftly picked off the tiny boy from Lola’s face before things could escalate. The satellite from Lisa’s gadget changed its course and immediately pointed right at Brian now situated in her grasp. Now feeling that Brian was no longer on her face, Lola breathed a sigh of relief before looking down at Lisa’s catch.

“See? That’s the insect that nearly messed up my perfect face!” Lola exclaimed, clearly very angry. Lana walked over to give her insight on the subject.

“It’s not an insect, it’s an alien! It actually talked to me and said it itself! It was just about to tell me where it’s hiding its UFO-”

“Okay you two, I’ll take it from here!” Lisa exclaimed. Lana frowned in frustration as Lisa proceeded to look over the tiny Brian in her hands. For Brian, having three sets of eyes look at him constantly made him pretty nervous. He was pretty tired out of all of the fear he’s been getting and now there was almost none left. Lisa didn’t seem to want to injure him at the moment, which was a small step up a staircase of emotions as she lifted his shirt, ruffled his hair, and tickled his feet. She occasionally looked back at her gadget’s monitor and satellite to make sure it didn’t malfunction and end up pointing to him because of a fault.

Lisa adjusted her glasses a bit before moving onto the one final part she didn’t check yet. She used one of her fingers to slowly take off Brian’s pants, to which Brian couldn’t let that happen.

Lisa and Lola gasped from the sudden reply, making Lisa unintentionally let go of the tiny boy. Thankfully for Brian, the fall didn’t last long as Lana quickly grabbed him out of the air before he could impact. She smiled as she had Brian in her grasp again, for she was already interested in knowing more about him. Aside for the short adrenaline rush, Brian wasn’t hurt from it all.

Lisa possibly had on the biggest pupils imaginable as she shivered from the shock while Lola took a step back with her hands over her mouth.

“I told you it did, didn’t I?” Lana said. “Now can I please just find where it parked that UFO before it thinks otherwise?”

“First off, I’m not an alien I’m human, and even if I did have a UFO, I’m sure piloting one would surely be more than it’s worth.”

Lisa and Lola, now with their emotions under control, went up to Brian more curious than ever, especially in the genius Lisa’s case. Lola went in to get a closer look, her eyes glittering once she noticed his details.

“Oh my, now that I can actually see your face, you actually look ADORABLE at that size! Do you think I can have some tea time with you later? I have some special acquaintances that would DIE to meet you.”

“Is that why you almost tried to turn him into a stain on the ground?” Lana asked with certain sarcasm. Lola stood there dumbfounded for a second before blushing slightly.

“Heheheh, FORGET THAT EVER HAPPENED.” Lola replied with a small dark undertone while looking at Lana angrily. Lana glared back after giving off a large snort, and as for Lisa, she was too into writing words on her gadget’s monitor, still extremely giddy about the new discovery, so much so that she began to ramble to herself.

“Oh wow, oh wow, oh wow, there are SO many questions I want to ask and so many theories surrounding me waiting to be uncovered! This could completely rewrite certain reports I keep in my closet to a whole new world of possibilities! Ooooooooh, my genius has struck a gold mine! There’s that machine in that back that could…yes, definitely work on the specimen! Evolution may have taken a different turn for this one, and I’ll be the very first to fully decode the secrets AND document them personally! This could completely blow back Amanita’s work, young computer genius down the toilet I say! This is one for the-”

Lisa’s thoughts were interrupted, as well as Lana’s and Lola’s, by a sudden call from inside the house, sounding like a father figure of sorts.

“All right everyone, thanks to a sudden…emergence, we’re having pizza tonight. DON’T TAKE THIS THE WRONG WAY; WE’RE BACK TO OUR REGULAR DIETS TOMORROW!”

The three sisters’ eyes suddenly went huge while Brian was confused. For their parents to resort to that, something very wrong would have had to happen, not because of their other siblings. It was probably something personal, but the sisters didn’t care. They didn’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth.

“OHYESMYWISHESHAVEBEENANSWERED!” Lola shouted rapidly, wasting no time zipping inside to get to the dinner table as fast as possible. Lisa and Lana ran behind her before Lisa stopped at the doorway before turning around to Lana.

“Hey, what gives?!” Lana exclaimed. Lisa pointed her eyes to the tiny Brian still being held by her, who was still confused about what was going on.

“Once we’re done indulging ourselves I would like to personally run a few examinations on that tiny human and possibly learn more about his predicaments, if he has any that is.”

Brian was a bit surprised. This certain young girl seemed to know a lot, so could she possibly find out why he’s tiny in the first place and maybe even get his memories back? I was a long shot, but Brian had a spark of hope in the back of his mind that maybe he will find the answers he’s looking for.

“Really, you’ll help me out?” Brian asked. “I didn’t even explain myself yet! How are you so certain that something is not right with me?!”

“I have my leads. It’s all in the numbers…and the glossy blue print.” Lisa explained before looking back at Lana. “I would like for him to stay under wraps for now, for I’m sure the others would have interest if he were found out anytime soon.”

“I’m definitely on it!” Lana replied. Without any hesitation, Lana took off her backwards baseball cap before planting Brian right on her head. Before Brian could have a say in this, Lana placed her cap right back on her head, putting Brian in the luxury of hair and darkness, making him slightly nervous.

“I’m not sure this might be the finest solution available!” Brain said from under the cap.

“Well I don’t have any other places to hide you!” Lana replied. “Actually, I could stick you in my pants if you really-”

Because of a big mistake made by their father, which he didn’t want to talk about but involved a “set of shattered drums and cymbals”, the parents had to leave early and set dinner to be pizza for the night, consequently also leaving Lori in charge. Because she was a bit “strict” when it came to babysitting, everyone was ordered to be quiet in their rooms once dinner was done. At the table, Lori was texting Bobby, Leni was confused over why there weren’t any meatballs on the pizza, Luna was enjoying herself to music from some headphones, Luan was cracking a few jokes in preparation for a child’s birthday party in a few days, Lynn was talking about a dirt bike race she effortlessly won today, Lincoln was enjoying his pizza with some earplugs on that didn’t completely drown out the sound, but enough so that it wasn’t annoying him, Lucy was struggling to come up with a word that rhymed with “orange” for a poem about the moment going on, Lola, who just arrived to the table, wasted no time grabbing her pieces before casually putting glitter them, which nobody cared to notice because of their own agendas, and finally Lily sat in her baby chair getting messy from not eating her baby food.

“…and then the one next to it says ‘Oh my gosh a talking muffin!’ Hahahahah, get it?” Luan said to everyone. Lori’s phone rumbled as a new notification came up. She opened it before turning to Luan.

“Hey sis, that Pudding chick still has you beat on the charts, whatever that means.”

Luan frowned as she silently pulled out a toothpick under the table before snapping it angrily. Whenever somebody asked who this Pudding girl was and why Luan was so worked up every time, she always said that she was “not as funny.”

“Guys, I think this pizza got mixed up. Where are the meatballs on it?” Leni asked. Luna looked over after taking out one of her earphones.

“No, this is pizza. I know noodles when I see them!” Leni replied. Luna sighed.

“I actually mean that meatballs go on spaghetti, not pizza. You’re mixed up dude.”

“Ohhhhhhhh, that makes total sense!” Leni replied. “But what goes on pizza then?”

Luna slapped her forehead at Leni’s stupidity. This was going to take a while to get into that skull of Leni’s. As Luna went into great detail about what Leni wanted to know, Lynn continued lecturing Lincoln about the dirt bike race, as much as he wanted to ignore it and get back to his pizza.

“…then I hit the big ramp which launched me into the sky and landed like a pro! That had to be the most exciting bike I ever rode on! Oh, and then came the run over the pond, which was particularly amazing!”

“Yeah, I’m listening.” Lincoln replied with his head in his hand as he took another bite of his pizza. He sounded absolutely bored of what he was hearing. He heard this kind of story some many times from Lynn that he practically knows which sequence she will take about next. First is always the rocket start, then the airtime, followed by the on track hazards, the worthy rivals, and then finally the finish. Of course, he didn’t want to disrespect his sister, so he listened to her while also zoning out from time to time.

As for Lola, she was chowing down on her glittered pizza without any interruption, something she wished could happen more often.

She nearly dropped her slice as Lucy suddenly appeared next to her, with her monotone voice and all. Lola was likewise not happy.

“Dang it Lucy, I was in the middle of my own personal fantasy thank you very much! What do you want now?”

“I can’t think of a good enough word that rhymes with orange. My poem can’t go further without a solution and Lisa isn’t here yet…”

“So you’re expecting me to be the know it all when the Brainiac isn’t here?!” Lola exclaimed. “Ugh, you even made me tarnish my perfect dress! I can’t walk around with a pizza stain!”

Infuriated, Lola got out of her seat and stormed over to the living room door. Lucy watched as Lola accidentally opened the door so quickly that a certain part slammed against her arm.

“OW!” Lola exclaimed before she checked on her arm. Other than a few easy red marks, it was nothing serious. Still, she wasn’t happy.

“I’m definitely complaining to mom about that door hinge later.” She said to herself as she left the room. Lucy took several looks between her incomplete poem and the door hinge that struck Lola before finding out the words she was looking for. She quickly went back to her seat as she began writing again.

Just as Lola left the room, both Lisa, who put her anomaly gadget away temporarily, and Lana arrived after a short delay. Lana sat in the empty chair next to Lori while Lisa sat next to Luna, getting slightly splattered by baby food from Lily in the process. Lisa took it easy with her slices while Lana wasted no time taking as much as she could.

After, quite easily, failing to explain to Leni the differences of two certain pastries, Luna quickly turned to Lisa after noticing that she finally arrived at the table.

“Just where were you to be this late to the party? Did your Rock Translator going haywire again?” Luna asked. Lisa looked and Luna with stink eyes.

“I’ll have you know that the machine is just getting out of the prototyping phase, just need to give it a few kinks before finalization.” Lisa explained. “Besides, new studies have just come up and I’m quite eager to get to the bottom if it, so I had to do some extra time to make a few documents before coming here.”

“Yeah, I should have known it was more research shenanigans when it comes to you mate.” Luna replied before putting her headphones back on. Lisa rolled her eyes as she got back to her pizza slices.

As for Brian, he could smell the fumes of the pizza even from under Lana’s hat. His stomach rumbled, he never did eat anything since he woke up after all. He hoped that either Lisa or Lana could spare him a small piece when things iron over. Maybe in a small room somewhere he could situate himself so nobody could easily see him? His train of thought was disrupted as the surface under him tilted downward as he heard what appeared to be Lana scarfing down as much as she could, consequently smacking him with multiple strands of hair under the dark. He assumed Lana was a big eater judging from the noises, and with her being in the mud earlier he could easily see her as being the “human pig” of the bunch.

“Heh, she’s a good kid. Can’t say I’ve been the same though.” Brian said to himself before sighing deeply. Suffering from amnesia was pretty depressing for him, and being reminded that he was very miniscule among these girls wasn’t helping things either. Questions from all over clouded his brain that could never be answered unless he had the memories, if it was possible to get them back at this point. He knew there was a sliver of hope with Lisa, but by how much?

Things for Brian then took a drastic turn as Lana’s head tilted downwards even further, nearly making it harder to keep his footing. He actually had to grab hold of a nearby strand of hair to keep himself from falling. He could still hear Lana scarfing down on pizza, so what the heck was she doing to put him like this? He got rocks in his chest as he continued to think about it, but it wasn’t long before the surface of Lana’s head completely went to the side, causing Brian the fall right out of Lana’s cap. Before he could even get a chance to scream, he landed right on another surface, miraculously without injury.

“Dang it Lana, NOT AT THE TABLE!” Lori exclaimed before pulling Lana’s head out. Lana’s face was covered from head to toe in cheese and pizza sauce as she had on one of the biggest grins imaginable. All eyes were on her due to her ridiculous figure.

“I’m just trying to savor the moment. You know this only happens when the pigs fly!” Lana replied.

“Well the only thing I have ever seen you clean is your plate. Hahahahah, get it?” Luan said. It was met with slight groans from the others.

Brian shook his head a bit to get rid of any sort of dizziness before looking at where he landed. His face went colorless as he figured it out.

Nobody seemed to have noticed his fall, for they just went back to their normal businesses after seeing Lana’s messy face. Not only that, but both Lisa and Lana were unaware that he was no longer in a safe zone. He struggled to shout and get them to notice, for Lisa wanted him to be a secret from anyone so they wouldn’t get involved, and doing so would sure draw the others’ attention.

He knew he didn’t have long, but he didn’t know HOW long before he found himself being hoisted into the air as Lori’s gigantic face loomed over him, unaware that he was stuck on her slice. She didn’t seem to be paying attention to him at the time as she texted Bobby a few more times before putting her phone down. She sighed slightly as she looked back at the table.

“Shame that I have to wait a year, but hopefully I don’t think about it too hard.” Lori quietly said to herself. Brain began to intensely sweat as he saw Lori’s mouth open wide. He needed to do something STAT or he was going to be going alongside Lori’s dinner.

His shouting was cut short as Lori chomped down on the spot right where he was standing.

Lola took a few minutes upstairs, but eventually the pain and faded away as her dress was now sparkling clean. She was set on nagging to her parents about that troublesome door hinge later, hopefully to convince them to replace it with one that doesn’t cause any injuries. Of course she also wanted Brian to herself, for someone as small as him would make things way more interesting among her dolls. She definitely had plans when it happens.

“Stupid door, stupid door! I can still feel a bit of a sting there too.” Lola said to herself before briefly covering her arm.

She walked down the stairs before arriving back in the kitchen. Everyone was still busy doing their own thing, although Lincoln noticed her less than stellar attitude.

“Yes, I’m just PEACHY.” Lola replied with a bit of harshness in her voice. She walked back to her seat just as Lily hit Lincoln in the face with a clump of baby food. Lincoln wiped it off looking very disappointed as Lily giggled innocently.

Lola looked down at her glittering pizza and thankfully noticed that nobody snuck in a bite or two while she was out. Of course everyone in the house knew that she took “an eye for an eye” very seriously when anyone messed with her, which she used to her advantage at certain points. She watched with disinterest at what everyone else was doing. Lily was still pelting Lincoln with baby food, which caused him to get absolutely covered before he fell to the floor humorously, Lynn immediately took notice and pounced on Lincoln to wrestle him, as much as he wanted to or not, Lana was pigging out on her plate, Lucy was in her own little world as she wrote her poem, ignoring the insanity around her, Luna tuned everyone out with her microphones, Lisa was silently listing every single ingredient pizzas are made out of to herself, Luan was giving some colorful commentary while slipping in a few jokes for good measure, Lori was about to eat her tiny Brian, and Leni was-

Lola quickly looked back in shock just to see the tiny boy suddenly get eaten by her unaware oldest sister. She swore she could hear him scream for help just as Lori closed her lips right over him. Lana and Lisa didn’t seem to notice the sudden turn as they thought he was still safe under Lana’s cap.

Like a mad animal, Lola lunged and tackled her oldest sister, forcing her to the ground. Lori couldn’t talk because her mouth was full, but due to the facial expressions she was making, she looked like she was taken by surprise at first before getting very angry as Lola had her against the floor. This obviously didn’t go unnoticed, as everyone else at the table watched with very dumbfounded looks, although Lynn and Lana quickly wanted in on the action and humorously belly flopped into the carnage like they were the next wrestlers of the year.

…only for Lynn to pull him into the carnage. With five people now in the scuffle, things began to get hectic, with the spectators getting the most amusement.

“Wow, I didn’t know limbs could bend that way!” Leni said with a goofy smile.

“They don’t.” Lisa replied. “It’s just an excessive amount of force being applied to one’s own-”

“I want to try!” Leni interrupted as she tried to bend her arm behind her head. Luna looked at how unsuccessful she was, knowing full well she wasn’t going to pull it off. She secretly pulled out a phone behind her back before doing a quick snapshot of everything.

“Heheh, this might be worth a laugh later.” she thought before putting the phone away without anybody noticing.

“Well that’s one way to make a fruit punch, you give it boxing lessons! Hahahahah!” Luan said as she watched everything go on. Lily laughed like the baby she was as she said “Poo Poo!” to herself, while Lucy stayed silent watching the carnage unfold as she wrote something on that paper of hers.

Inside Lori’s mouth, Brian was doing everything he can to avoid everything in the veil of darkness, including mushed up pizza globs, mashing teeth, and especially the throat in the back. Likewise, Brian was terrified as he was this close to losing his life as long as he was stuck going along with Lori’s dinner. Saliva drenched him all over at globs of mushed up pizza stuck to him like glue, making it even harder to see everything around him.

“Nononono, NONONONONO!” Brian thought as he panicked to himself. He struggled to keep himself up as he felt Lori’s tongue under him begin to push him backwards. He was getting forced to the throat, and with so many globs sticking to him, he struggled to get up. He could see her uvula dangle over his head as the esophagus was inevitable at this point. He closed his eyes so he wouldn’t see his digestion when it happened…

…but it never came, the tongue stopped all of a sudden right before he could be swallowed whole. Brian had a few moments to collect himself and look over what could have happened before suddenly feeling the gravity change forward. Brian didn’t have enough time to think about it as he was sent reeling straight into the front teeth. While it did hurt a bit upon impact, the multiple pizza globs stuck to his body cushioned the damage somewhat. The sudden gravity change was only the start as Brian found himself diving into every spot and crease of Lori’s mouth, causing him to get dazed and see stars upon every smack.

“Ughhh…what…the…heck…is…happening?” Brian said to himself with continuous bumps and whacks going against him between each word.

After what seemed like forever bouncing around everywhere, the maw finally opened and Brian went flying straight into the dinner table, skidding a bit on his face but was unhurt. He stood dizzy for a second before taking a look back and noticing Lori finally shaking off everyone that was on her before eyeing Lola like she had a death wish.

“Alright, WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT ALL ABOUT?!” Lori exclaimed. Lincoln, Lynn, and Lana quickly went to the sidelines to not get into the argument, since they were also wrestling Lori at the time. However, Lola wasn’t intimidated in the slightest as she pointed a finger straight at Brian.

“You almost swallowed my brand new dolly!” Lola replied. Even though she wasn’t expecting much, Lori, along with everyone else, looked over to where her younger sister was pointing, and she was quite taken aback at what she saw. The Louds all laid eyes on the tiny Brian, making the boy a bit frightened being in the center stage. Lisa and Lana looked with slight disappointment as the secret was now out, especially Lisa wanting to study him almost immediately.

The tiny boy now stood on the coffee table in the Loud’s living room, being curiously watched by eleven pairs of curious eyes looking all over him, making him a bit intimidated by the looming premises. Getting here was a different story however, for the instant Leni laid eyes on him back at the dinner table; she immediately wanted him dead thinking he was some sort of tarantula. She even took off one of her sandals and held it vigorously as she attempted to slam it right on him, and it nearly took every other sibling to hold her back. Of course, she still didn’t get the memo even after everyone calmed her down, which they knew was pretty common when it came to her. When he finally arrived at the coffee table, Lisa quickly took out her gadget from earlier as she pushed numerous buttons all over as she quietly studied Brian in secret.

“Wow, talk about being in a SHORT situation! Hahahah!” Luan said as she looked at Brian.

“I…I can’t believe it myself.” Luna said. “How can guys be THAT tiny?! He’s almost as big as my guitar pick!”

“My calculations are still far from finalized, but from what I currently gathered, he’s probably the only one that’s like that.” Lisa replied. “I have my theories as to why that I would like to keep to myself, thank you very much!”

Brian took a few steps back as he was a bit frightened at all of the attention he was getting, which Lori caught on to.

“Well you did just nearly introduce him to your stomach back there.” Lana replied. Lori did a mean glare at Lana.

“You would be doing the same if you didn’t know there was something stuck in your food, so I suggest you be quiet.”

“Let the boy speak first.” Lucy said in her monotone voice. With everyone agreeing on that statement, the siblings went quiet to make Brian more relaxed and not scared as much. Now feeling that order was restored, Brian carefully walked up to the front of the coffee table into the eager faces of the Louds, as much as he didn’t want to.

“Okay, well…hello to all of you I guess?” Brian started. “Sorry, I can’t exactly think normally with all of the situations I’ve been going through since I found myself like this.”

“I can imagine that pretty clearly.” Lincoln replied. “You have a name?”

“That name suits you if I say so myself.” She replied before pointing to her other siblings and listing them off. “I’m Lori; this is Leni, Luna, Luan, Lynn, Lincoln, Lucy, Lola, Lana, Lisa, and finally Lily.”

“Well, it’s very nice to finally know all of you.” Brian replied before looking down in slight depression. “I wish I could say the same for myself though…”

“Well I claimed ownership of him being my dolly before you even knew about him.”

“Let the boy finish.” Lucy spoke up. Her monotonic voice piercing the ears of all of the Louds caused them to once again go quiet and focus on the tiny Brian.

“Well, not only did I find myself at this size, but I can’t remember anything up to that point. Other than some social basics and whatnot, I don’t know who I am, including hobbies, interests, you know, those sorts of things.”

“Dang, you’re going through amnesia as well? You must be taking it rather hard man.” Luna said. “I can’t imagine myself in your shoes without personally feeling the blues in my soul.”

“This is why I would like to personally study his figure for any anomalies, if all of you will let me.” Lisa replied. “I could possibly reverse the process on Brian, both size and memories, in a few hours without issue.”

The words hit Brian like an angelic choir. His top priority when he found himself in his current state was to cure himself as soon as possible, and with the Lisa girl not only wanting to study him for oddities, but she might also have the skills to undo it all? It almost seemed too good to be true!

“But I wanted to have a special tea time with the tiny dolly after this! Don’t take the moment away from me!” Lola exclaimed.

“Hey, I was going use him in a new comedy routine! Mr. Coconuts needs some company for he’s been a bit WOODEN recently. Hahahahah, get it?” Luan said.

“Wait a minute; I was planning on showing him off to Bobby over the phone! I’m the oldest, so he’s going to be with me!” Lori replied.

The Louds then got into a major argument over who will get ownership of Brian, as much as Brian didn’t want to be OWNED like someone’s pet in the first place, including Lana wanting another mud session with him, not as lethal like the one from earlier though, Lynn wanting him for some crazy sports ideas she had in mind, and Leni wanting him to open jars of mayonnaise for some bizarre reason. The moment didn’t last long as Brian of all people was the one to break things up.

“HEY!” he shouted, causing all of the Louds to once again go quiet and lay eyes on him.

“I know all of you are excited to get your grubby mitts all over me and my tiny stature, but I have needs too you know. I’m not an animal for Pete’s sake, I’m a human and I have priorities. I’m certain that if you were in my shoes, you would want to get normal again since, well, you saw what happened back there with me almost getting eaten right?”

The Louds, with Lisa being the exception, all looked at each other with a bit of guilt in their eyes. They knew he was right, he wasn’t any sort of pet that they could play with any time they wanted, he was a free-willed human just like them, and if he wanted to get back to normal in an instant, they shouldn’t get in the way of it.

“Darn, you’re right mate; I didn’t think how hectic it is being at the size you are at right now. I understand you wanting to be normal again, you got support from me.”

“Don’t forget me either!” Lori chimed in. “Just make sure to let me know when you’re normal sized so I give you my proper apologies for almost eating you, okay?”

“Hey Brian, when you’re normal sized again, let’s roll around in the mud again, well, the completely safe way this time!” Lana said.

All of the other Louds expressed their regrets for getting greedy with wanting Brian for themselves, which the tiny boy gave his thanks in return. With that said, Lisa took hold of the tiny boy as she made her way upstairs, Brian taking one final look back at the family before finding himself upstairs. He hoped that the next time he sees them; he’ll be at a more reasonable size.

Once he arrived in Lisa’s room, he wasn’t expecting a sight like this. While one side of the room was normal with a baby crib near the entrance, near the back was where the interesting stuff was. A large sprawling lab table with thousands of beakers, test tubes, and even some objects that Brain didn’t know about situated itself all over the back. Some beakers were actually still active while some were completely in pieces; thankfully no shards of glass were on the floor. There was a closet on one side near the crib, but it was blocked off so Brian didn’t know what it held.

“Well Brian, this is where you will hopefully be cured of…whatever it is you have.” Lisa explained. “Just don’t mix your atoms with any of the elements or chemicals during the procedure, although a brain dead monkey would probably know that already.”

“Uhhhhh…okay?” Brian replied. As Lisa approached the table with Brian, she looked down at him before cracking a slight smile while shivering and giggling to herself.

“Errrr, ummm, yeah…I’m fine.” Lisa replied. “It’s just…I never actually got a grip on someone that actually had a lesser height than my short stature. You have no idea how many remarks have come my way about me being a genius in a small body. While small animal subjects are a given, a young genius with a short elevation actually holding a tiny human of all things seemed like an impossibility, so it’s understandable for my current feelings to be justified.”

“It’s inevitable for a prodigy like me.” Lisa replied. She set Brian down on the lab table before pressing a button on the underside, causing what looked like a refurbished arcade cabinet to pop out of the floor to the right of the table, even sporting recognizable joysticks and buttons that geeks would guzzle over. Brian couldn’t see the monitor, but it was probably something he couldn’t understand anyway. After Lisa pressed another button on the underside of the lab table, a glass box sporting orange colors suddenly appeared behind him, catching him a bit off guard. Lisa picked up Brian gently before removing the top of the box and placing him inside.

“Alright, I’m going to be conducting a series of examinations while you situate yourself in a comfy way in that box. The only request I have is for you to cooperate when I need it, okay?”

Brian nodded in agreement as Lisa started her studies on him. She did all kinds of wacky and unorthodox procedures on him as he was situated in the box, including covering him in what she called “a slice of carbon dioxide and seaborgium”, pinching his buttocks with a pair of clothespins, very lightly and not hard thankfully for him, and even thrusting a live earthworm right in front of his face. Whenever Brian asked if these were necessary, Lisa always responded with “They are required for the results to go through.” The process seemed like it was going on forever in Brian’s case, but in actuality it only took around thirty minutes of odd experimentations.

Brian was completely tuckered out from doing all sorts of things for Lisa to obtain important data, almost collapsing from exhaustion. Lisa was at her cabinet pulling at the joystick and pushing buttons while it made weird beeping noises. Before Brian could ask what was going on, Lisa walked over to the orange windowed box and picked Brian out of it, holding him gently in her hand.

“Okay, I got all the information needed to deduce the irregularities going on with you. All that’s left is for my machine to calculate it into a usable answer.”

“I assume it won’t take long?” Brian asked. Lisa sighed in disappointment.

“It would if the machine worked like it should. I got that heap of wires and circuits with most of the major components completely missing from its innards, so I had to work with some less than usable substitutes during repair. While I would have the results by now if I had the correct mechanisms, with the ones I have now, it would require about…forty five minutes at best.”

“Let me stop you right there, small subject.” Lisa interrupted, leaving Brian a little confused.

“I know you want to know if it’s possible to go downstairs and hang out with my siblings in the meantime, which I have to heavily advise against. I don’t want to risk losing you when the possibility of curing you is just around the corner. Do you even know how much potential there is to lose your life at the size you are at now? I’m still coming up with some as we speak, and even so, I would like to keep your existence out of the knowledge of my parents, for already everyone is scrambling to get access to you, and I would like to keep the numbers minimal to easily handle things.”

“I guess that makes sense.” Brian replied. “So you want me to stay in this room until then?”

“The success rates are over ninety percent from my calculations, so affirmative.” Lisa said. She placed Brian back on the lab table as the tiny boy watched Lisa walk to the room’s door before turning her back to him.

“Just stay right there until the forty five minutes are up. My parents should be back here in about seven minutes twenty seven seconds fifty three milliseconds, so I’ll be locking the door as a safety precaution. Most of the time when I do it they thing I’m undergoing a dangerous experiment, so you should be safe for now.”

“So stay in here until you come back in forty five minutes?” Brian asked. Lisa nodded sternly before opening the door and leaving her room, but not before locking it up first.

With that, Brian finally had time to himself since his arrival, which seemed like a rarity with eleven kids in the house at once. He was eager to get back to normal as quickly as possible, and it seemed like the Louds were also anticipating his restoration, and find out what happened for him to appear like this. It was too peculiar for only him to suffer a loss in size and nobody else, but he wasn’t worrying about it that much as Lisa seemed to know what she was doing and he knew his memories would come back when he was cured. No more getting fought over, no more dangerous situations, everything would be back to normal when-

Brian was immediately scared out of his train of thought by the sudden intrusion. He quickly looked up to notice the goth girl of the family looking right at him, and like the others, appearing incredibly huge from his point of view.

“Dang, you nearly gave me a heart attack!” Brian exclaimed. “How did you manage to get in here anyway? I thought Lisa locked the door!”

“I have my ways.” Lucy replied. Her monotone voice was sending slight chills down Brian’s spine as she kneeled down and set her arms on the table.

“Oh, so that’s your name.” Brian replied. “Having to memorize the names of everyone in this house can be a bit difficult with, you know, the numbers.”

“Well thank goodness for that then!” Brian said, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. “So as I was saying, why are you suddenly here in the first place?”

Now it was Lucy that was rubbing the back of her head as she stuttered slightly before getting back at Brian. He couldn’t see her eyes, but even Brian knew that Lucy didn’t think this completely through.

“Well, it’s a bit of a weird one.” Lucy explained. “Ever since you showed up among us in that tiny stature, certain…things began to stir in me. I’m not sure if its emotion, organ failure, or something else, although I heard clotted blood is a likely situation. Hopefully I’ll get bitten by a vampire if it is actually that.”

“Sooooo?” Brian asked in curiosity. Lucy lifted one of her hands before lightly tapping Brian’s front with the top of one of her black fingernails. He lightly fell onto his behind before getting back up in a small rage.

“What the heck was that for?” Brian said. Lucy stood silent for a few seconds before replying.

“Sigh, there it goes again. I may need some more insight into this; maybe writing about it will get me back on track.”

She disappointingly dipped her head downward as Brian watched more confused than ever. While he could easily see Lucy stand out from her siblings, he didn’t think by this much. She seemed to be on a completely different state of mind to the others, but he only just got to know her right now so he couldn’t conclude on any specifics. She appeared to be good hearted despite being a goth, so whatever was going on with her currently was probably nothing major despite what she thought earlier.

“Maybe…just maybe…” she said to herself. Brian still stood confused out of his mind as Lucy looked back at him. Brian watched as she laid her hand open flat against the table.

“May I?” she asked. Brian didn’t need to think twice about what Lucy wanted him to do now, and like he thought before, she was a good but very different kid, so he complied and walked onto Lucy’s hand before she lifted him off the table and up to her face. Because of her seemingly inexpressive look, Brian didn’t know if she was feeling any sort of emotion at all. She lightly tapped his back and front with her fingers again and again as Brian held back getting angry about it for a second time, poking him like a harmless lab experiment. He thought this was all she was going to do to him, but then he saw her flip a side of her hair before grabbing a handful of it and straightening it out with her other hand.

“You want me to actually hold on to your hair? Am I some sort of fat Tarzan or something?”

“Please do it.” Lucy replied. Despite her voice being monotone, Brian felt like she was actually being sincere. She really did want to find out what she was going through and wasn’t doing it just to be a jerk or anything. Not wanting to deny her, Brian did as instructed and took hold of the strands of hair, causing him to swing back and forth like a king of the jungle. He didn’t want to admit it, but swinging on Lucy’s hair was actually kind of enjoyable for the tiny guy. He felt a lot younger than he thought he was, but unfortunately any specifics were still locked behind his current amnesia, which he didn’t think that the goth girl of the family would be the one to bring the thoughts out. He swore he saw the giant sized Lucy smile for a split second as he swung one last time before she plucked him out back into her hand.

“You look satisfied.” Lucy said after she noticed Brian was in a better mood.

“Errrrr, yeah, I guess that was kind of…enjoyable.” Brian stuttered, being a bit embarrassed that he actually did what he did.

“Well, it stirred up again as you were doing it.” Lucy said. “I may now know what’s going on with me, so I don’t need your assistance for now.”

“Thank you for cooperating with me; I just need some confirmation from her. I’ll make sure to let you know the rest.”

As Brian blinked once after asking, Lucy vanished from the room. He got a slight chill from the ordeal before thinking to himself.

Lisa arrived back in the room a little after forty five minutes with a small phone in her hand, which Brian noticed right away. She looked like she was texting someone judging from the fact that her eyes glared at it and the fact that he could hear the noises of buttons being pressed. Brian was very eager to change back to what he was before this, so naturally he perked up once he saw Lisa.

“…and I’m a way better genius than you ignoramus! Signed Lisa Loud.” Lisa said as she texted the words before inevitably sending them.

“Don’t like someone?” Brian asked. Lisa quickly put the phone away before walking up to the tiny boy.

“It’s just another wannabe Albert claiming to be a better genius than me. Everyone should already know by now to never challenge my superiority of knowledge.” Lisa replied. “That stupid Ami had it coming…”

“You say something?” Brian asked. Lisa immediately went flustered as she comically had sweat go down her forehead.

“No no no, nothing at all!” she replied with an obvious guilty look. “Let’s just check what came up, shall we?”

Lisa laid her hand on the table so Brian can hop aboard, which the boy hastily did so. With Brian in her grasp, Lisa walked over to the cabinet next to the lab table before pulling up a stool and sitting on it. She looked down at Brian for a moment before getting giddy and shivering slightly.

“You’re not going to let the ‘being big for once’ fact down aren’t you?” Brian asked.

“How can I not? I’ve been waiting for a moment like this since I gained my knowledge!” Lisa replied.

She pressed a button next to the many joysticks of the cabinet, causing the monitor to suddenly come to life as paragraphs of random green symbols appeared on a black background. One look at them immediately told Brian that they weren’t of any font he knew about. Each one seemed to take random turns and angles with some even having dots around them, and to even make things more confusing, there was even tiny doodles that looked like they were made by an infant at some points in between.

“Don’t think about the symbols everywhere, it’s my own custom writing style to stop any low level brains from taking credit for my experiments. Plagiarism can get pretty heated among competitors at events.”

“Makes sense.” Brian said. Lisa them went silent as she read through the apparently illegible science log as Brian could do nothing but wait until she was finished. He saw her smile, frown, and even her eyes go wide as she silently read to herself. This just got him more curious as to what the machine calculated on his behalf. After about a minute of silence, Lisa deeply sighed as she looked back at Brian. He wasn’t sure why, but it set off red flags in his head for some reason.

“Okay, I got information on both sides of the spectrum. Which do you want to hear first?”

“That’s a wise choice.” Lisa stated. She shut the monitor off before walking over and placing the tiny Brian back on the lab table.

“What my mechanism found in you was something that even I cannot deduce. It didn’t look like any infecting microbes, so you are safe on the healthy side, but you have light amounts of purple…stuff, I can’t believe I had to say that word, completely covering every inch of you. It’s invisible to the naked eye, but the machine picked up on it and took a few internal snapshots, which I might need to look over later. Whatever it is, that’s what’s keeping you at the size you are at now, which is half an inch mind you, and giving you a severe case of amnesia.”

“Wait, so whatever is covering me is responsible for BOTH?!” Brian exclaimed.

“Affirmative.” Lisa replied. “Thankfully my machine detailed that it’s incapable of spreading, so you won’t have to worry about accidentally making anyone suffer the same fate you are going through. As another positive side note, your memories aren’t completely lost. I did a brain scan and not a single one was out of place, but this…thing, dang it why are these words popping up, completely covering your body is putting them in some sort of paralysis. They aren’t expired, just completely inactive and immobile, so if we solve your size problem, your memories should return as well.”

“Oh, well that’s great!” Brian said positively. “So you got something that can get rid of it?”

Lisa bit her lip as her skin began to look clammy. She looked down and drummed her fingers against each other as she began to sweat slightly, causing more red flags to pop up in Brian’s head. It made his mood slightly dip down.

She struggled to get the words out. It wouldn’t be until about ten seconds later that she finally came clean.

“Ummmm, like I said before, I have never seen anything like this in any sort of study, so I have absolutely nothing to go off of. I have a few theories, but deducing them to facts would not be any easy task that I ever did. As much as I want to investigate it further, one thing is certain: This won’t be going away anytime soon.”

Brian felt like rocks were falling into his stomach. He didn’t want to hear it, and it looks like it was coming.

He was shot; he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. His hopes have all crashed and burned into ashes, and his ticket to being normal was immediately shanked away from his reach. His face went blank as he found himself to his knees, with Lisa watching over and feeling the immense sorrow that the shrunken boy was currently feeling. She slowly walked backwards to her bedroom door before making her exit, not wanting to make things worse than they already were.

Brian wept silently for what seemed like an eternity in his eyes. He knew he shouldn’t have gotten his hopes in the first place. He wasn’t going to be looking at anyone straight in the eyes now, just their giant toes as he wished it didn’t have to be that way. Was this natural for someone like him? Too bad his memories were also locked tightly behind the wall of amnesia. He seriously thought he would be like this forever as everyone else was utterly titanic compared to him and he seriously doubted he would be able to survive long enough to get cured. There were so many ways he could die in those months, being squished, crushed, eaten…

The very sad boy looked up through his pouring eyes and saw that all eleven Loud siblings were standing right next to him.

“We were told everything about your predicament from Lisa, and we know you are taking it rather hard.” Lynn said.

“Does it even matter at this point?!” Brian exclaimed through his tears. “I’m practically stuck as a dust mite! I can’t look at all of you like a normal person, I can’t do anything without death breathing down my neck, and I still don’t know who I am! What makes you think I could survive with these handicaps?!”

“Because we always look out for each other.” Lori replied. “Look, I know you are going through a rollercoaster of emotions right now-”

“There’s a rollercoaster in our house? I call first dibs!” Leni interrupted.

“Quiet Leni!” Lori sternly said. Sensing the sudden tension, Leni did as ordered and shut her mouth with a slight frown.

“As I was saying, you are breaking down right now and I get it. You have wanted to get back to normal size only to have it taken from you for what seems like forever, but you are with us, and if there’s anything we know how to do, it’s to always be for each other, half an inch tall or not. You are going to see this through, trust me.”

Lori’s words perked up Brian’s body a bit. She really believed he could make it for eleven months not even the size of one of her toes, which actually gave him a slight sliver of hope. Of course, the other Louds also gave their two cents as well.

“Come on Brian, cheer up! They say laughter is the greatest medicine after all!” Luan said.

“That statement can be highly exaggerated at times.” Lisa replied. “As for you Brian, I’m putting your rejuvenation as a top priority for my studies. I feel really bad that I can’t cure you right now, but it will happen in those months, I swear!”

“As for your issue on amnesia, don’t worry about it for now dude.” Luna said. “You should use this time to make some new memories! I always wanted to know how my drum sets look from your angle after all!”

“But I wanted to use him as an extra set of eyes for when I’m doing motocross!” Lynn said. “I can always fit him under my helmet!

“Hey, he’s still my dolly! My other dollys are practically begging to meet someone like him, so I should use him first!” Lola said.

“Then I’ll get him for one of the greatest mud fights of all time! I owe him one from earlier!” Lana said.

“Poo Poo!” was Lily’s response as she happily clapped to herself innocently.

“Guys, I think we should let Brian decide for himself. He is the focus after all.” Lincoln said.

In a rarity for the Loud house siblings, they actually agreed with Lincoln and looked at the tiny Brian in anticipation. The shrunken boy didn’t know what to think, he was basically made of glass at half an inch tall, but the Louds were set on making sure nothing bad would happen in those long months. Maybe, just maybe, he might be able to tough it out. He still didn’t know anything before his arrival here, but like Luna said, he can make some new memories while waiting for the cure to be made, and with eleven kids in the same house, there’s definitely many to be made.

He had finally made up his mind. Wiping the remaining tears from his eyes, he looked up at the eager Louds as he said:

“I really thank all of you for wanting to look out for me, especially what I’m experiencing right now. I guess I may actually have a better chance of actually living through all of this with all of you giving your support, and while I may not know just how, you seem pretty keen on keeping that promise. I’m not sure what the future holds for me right now, but I don’t want to make all of you as depressed as I am, so I guess I’ll stick around for a bit…”

Before Brian knew it, he was suddenly grabbed off of the lab table by Lynn as all of the Louds shouted with glee and gave him possibly the biggest hug in history. He nearly was squashed by all of the bodies around him, but as if the Louds knew of his fragility, they didn’t force a lot of pressure. Brian couldn’t help but smile with tears of joy; they really did mean what they were saying on looking over him. He may not be related to them in any way, but he actually felt like he was part of their family now, even with all of them towering over him. So many positive thoughts echoed through his head, but one thing was certain: the proceeding months were going to get hectic with him in the Loud House.

“Uhhhhhh, can I finally speak up now?” Leni wondered aloud. She was quickly met with groans all over the room.

With Brian officially becoming a resident, the Louds wasted no time doing activities with him, from Lola finally having her much wanted tea party with him, since he was the perfect size to fit in with her dolls, Lana getting him dirty and covered in mud, and even Lori taking dozens of pictures of his shrunken stature to send to Bobby. Brian felt happy to actually not get tossed aside immediately like some old toy, but a part of him was still greatly depressed. While he would love to actually hang out with everyone normally, his shrunken handicap prevented him from doing so, and even though he was still very thankful for the Louds taking him in, he still wished for Lisa to hurry up and reverse the process on him. The siblings obligated to keep Brian a secret from their parents to not get them involved, since Lisa said before to “keep numbers minimal” so things don’t get overcomplicated.

It has only been a few days since Brian arrived, and now he’s currently watching Luna do an extra-long drum solo from the view of her bedroom floor, which made it appear, you guessed it, gargantuan. While Brian was absolutely mesmerized by how good Luna was on the drums, the view constantly reminded him of how small he was and how he wasn’t going to be seeing any of the girls eye to eye for a long time, putting him in a less than stellar mood. He sighed deeply under his breath as he looked down in sadness just as Luna finished.

“Woohoo, thank you Loud house!” Luna exclaimed, throwing her hands, and consequently her drum sticks, into the air. She smiled heartedly as she looked down at Brian to get his opinion.

“Well little dude, was that an epic solo or what?” Luna asked. Brian looked up and tried to hide the fact that he was slightly depressed.

“Oh, yeah that was definitely one for the books I’d say!” Brian replied. Of course, Luna could see right through him as she noticed how less enthusiastic he was.

Luna squinted her eyes like a makeshift detective before reaching down and picking up the tiny boy, holding him in the palm of her right hand. She wasn’t buying his act.

“Sorry dude, but I know you have something on your mind. What are you thinking about?”

Brian knew he couldn’t back down now, especially from someone as friendly as Luna, so he came clean.

“It’s just…I know you and your siblings cheered me up for the most part about being as tiny as an ant, but there’s still a part of me that’s upset about not being the size I should be at. There’s so many activities that are practically barred off to me because I’m so tiny, it’s like I’m fighting with one arm tied behind my back. I just wish to actually be able to do these again, to be…regular sized.”

“Aww, cheer up little guy, we can still do those activities, shrunken size or not!” Luna replied. “Don’t keep worrying about what you can’t do; you should focus on what you CAN do. That’s one of the factors that makes me what I am today! Here, let me give you an example for someone like you.”

She placed Brian on one of the drums of her drum set, much to the confusion of him. Before Brian could think of what she had in mind, Luna slammed one of her drum sticks right near where Brian was standing, causing the tiny boy to get launched straight up into the air. He shouted as he flailed about in the air before he began to notice that he was falling. He saw Luna watching with glee as he noticed where he was about to land, bracing himself for impact. Thankfully though, it was a safe landing as he impacted right into the confines of her brown hair without injury. Luna joyfully laughed as she plucked the little boy from her head and back into her hand.

“See? There’s something your tiny size gets access to, big drum trampolines!” Luna said. “You like that little dude?”

“Well, it’s something at least.” He replied. “Just make sure to give me a heads up next time you do something like that.”

“You got it!” Luna replied. A beeping noise occurred shortly afterwards, causing Luna to quickly pull out a watch she was holding on to. Upon seeing what time it was, she was taken aback slightly.

“Oh shoot, the concert is in ten minutes!” she said to herself before getting back to Brian. “Sorry little dude, I just got these tickets to the next SMOOCH concert and I don’t want to miss it. You think you can handle yourself?”

“Sure, I can hold until one of your sisters can take over watching me.” Brian replied. Luna put on a thankful grin.

“Thanks Brian, you’re a pretty cool guy despite being so small!” Luna said. She hastily set Brian down upon her drums as she grabbed her signature rock guitar and bolted out of the room, not wanting to miss her deadline. Brian put on a half-smile as he watched her leave, it made him feel good inside to know that someone cares for you. There was still the very depressing feeling holding him back from fully being happy, constantly looming over him and keeping him bound in emotional chains. Going to a concert with Luna would yet again be another activity that he couldn’t do without being normal sized.

His thought process was interrupted as a phone in the opposite corner where he was began ringing. He jumped up a little bit as he got startled before he saw Luan come into the room and pick it up.

“Funny Business Inc., your fun is our business!” he heard her say. While he couldn’t make out what the person on the other end was saying, he had a few hunches as he heard Luan’s responses.

While she was smiling when she started, Brian saw Luan slowly begin to frown in a sad way during those last few “ohs”, although then she started to put on a curious face.

She hung up the phone looking slightly disappointed. Brian would have spoken up and asked first if Luan didn’t turn around and notice him first, catching her in slight surprise.

“Oh Brian, I didn’t see you there.” Luan said. “Nice to see you on a SHORT notice.”

“Heheh, I have to admit that was pretty good.” He replied. “So what was happening with that phone over there?”

“Oh, it’s nothing much. I got an entertainment job at another birthday party, but the little kid there is going through some tough times. Her mom was hoping if there were any special acts that would cheer her child up, and while I have plenty, I feel like I need to make this near perfect for the sake of the kid.”

“I’m ALWAYS excited to entertain kids.” Luan said as she turned away slightly. “It’s just that I need an act that would really cheer that kid up, for if anyone is not enjoying themselves at a party, I tend to feel that way as well. I just need something, but what? It’s happening tomorrow, and with such a small schedule to work with-”

Luan stopped herself mid-sentence as a realization struck her. She quickly looked over to Brian with big eyes and a smile, making the shrunken boy somewhat uneasy, before zipping over to him and getting on her knees. She made him turn his body around as her fingers went over nearly all parts of his body, making the boy bounce slightly from one of Luna’s drums he was still standing on. While it didn’t take long, it made Brian feel a bit uncomfortable to be like an experiment of the sort.

“Wait, what?!” Brian asked in astonishment. Luan got all up in his face as if an epiphany just came to her, and with Brian’s tiny size, she appeared gigantic to him.

“How about you become part of my act at the birthday party? Nobody has ever seen a person as small as you, and you have been extremely kind and nice ever since you came in!”

Brian didn’t know what to say. While he did hear from the other family members that Luan was a very talented entertainer, Brian was basically made of glass. There was a chance that if anything went wrong, he would be the first to get the ax. As harmless as Luan made it sound, Brian felt like the grim reaper would be breathing down his neck if he actually agreed.

Luan slightly frowned before hitting him on the back of the head with one of her fingers.

“First off, that joke was terrible, and about the acting, don’t worry about it. I’m doing the majority of it; you just cooperate when I need it. Pleeeeease?”

Brian was still unsure. He wanted to help, but he also didn’t want to accidentally die from a trick if it went wrong. He stuttered as he conflicted with himself, which Luan caught on to. She pushed him closer to her face with one of her fingers as she asked the question:

The words came with a tone of sincerity, something Brian wasn’t expecting from someone like her. He didn’t think she had the feelings to go this far, for she always seemed to be in a positive mood every time he saw her, but it was a good reminder that she had emotions just like he did. He didn’t want to suddenly dance with death like the incidents beforehand, but he didn’t want to let Luan down. There was also the child that she talked about earlier…

“Well, I can’t deny a face like that now, can I? Alright, alright, I guess I can help you out.”

Before Brian could even process it all, he quickly found him bound in a very grateful hug from Luan, nearly crushing him from the pressure.

“Oh thank you thank you thank you, you really are one of the nicest people here! I’ll make sure to repay you somehow after you give your LITTLE support! Hahahahah, get it?”

Brian couldn’t help but smile at the support he’s giving to the giant sized Luan. She really wanted her act to not fail this time, so she needed everything that she could to keep things going smoothly, but he hoped she wouldn’t get carried away and remember that he has a life that he wanted to keep. He was no actor, but Luan seemed to know what she wanted to do, so he didn’t worry about it that much.

After embracing him in a hug, Luan kept Brian in her hands as she explained a few things.

“Okay, you can’t do this looking like an everyday person, you need some special clothes made for the small clown you are. I just so happen to know someone of the sort, but convincing her may be…difficult.”

Since Luan wanted to personally prepare herself as soon as possible, along with her assistant Lincoln, she ended up leaving Brian in Lori’s and Leni’s room in a quick haste, which proved to be a terrible decision. Leni wasn’t exactly the sharpest tool in the shed, and combine that with a severe case of arachnophobia; it was pretty obvious what was going to happen when she laid eyes on him. Heck, if Lori wasn’t also in the same room, texting to Bobby no less, to hold Leni back, Brian would have probably been a red stain on the rug.

Brian narrowly avoided another stomp from one of her gigantic feet, getting his cardio for the day in the process, before Lori rushed in front of her sister with her arms out.

“Did you seriously forget that we now have a tiny boy in our care?” Lori said. “Why don’t you take a look first before going crazy?”

Lori got on her knees before lowering her hand onto the floor so Brian can climb on. He wasted no time getting on Lori’s hand before she lifted him up and brought him into Leni’s line of sight. As if a switch flipped in her head, Leni suddenly put on a big smile.

“Oh nice to see you Brian! Did you see a nasty spider speed by on your way here?” Leni said. Lori rolled her eyes at how oblivious Leni was as she looked back down at the tiny boy in the palm of her hand.

“Alright, explain yourself. There’s definitely a reason if you put yourself at risk like that.” Lori said. Brian took a moment to catch his breath before answering.

“Well, to put it bluntly, I kind of need a new set of clothes, and from what I heard, Leni is the fashion expert.”

Lori’s eyes opened up a bit as her eyebrows went up, not expecting that statement. She looked over to Leni would still had on her goofy smile as she watched Brian, and while it looked like she wasn’t listening out, she apparently was.

“You…you need fashion advice…from me?” Leni said in amazement. “I can’t believe it…I never thought a boy would come to ME for information on clothes!”

She pulled out a dozen magazines out of nowhere and placed them next to her. She picked out a random one as she eagerly flipped through the pages.

“Okay, first off, the hair always complements the style, so starting there would be the easiest way to-”

“He actually wants you to make clothes for him sis.” Lori clarified. Upon hearing so, she put the magazine down before suddenly throwing the rest of the magazines into their closet, rather clumsily by the way.

“Oh, well why didn’t you just say so? I practically know every style in the book, including martial arts!”

“Wrong style there.” Lori replied. Brian just watched the scene unfold before his eyes. He found it hard to believe that Leni of all the siblings in the Loud house would be the one that knew everything about fashion, but since he knew everyone in the house was crazy already, it didn’t surprise him much. Lori constantly looked at him from nearly every angle as Leni was getting the various fabrics from the closet, making Brian a bit weirded out as she was the one holding him.

“Ummmm, you alright there Lori? You are kind of invading my personal space.” Brian asked. Lori formed a slight smile as he swore he saw her blush for a split second.

“Sorry there, but I have to admit you look kind of cute as tiny as you are.” Lori replied. “Not as good as my Boo Boo Bear, but very cute nonetheless.”

“Ummmmm, thanks?” Brian said. He didn’t know what to say, but Lori acted first as she poked his little belly with one of her polished pink fingernails. He could tell she was enjoying herself despite being older than him and having a boyfriend, but if she did have one why wasn’t she meeting up with him? It would make sense instead of messing with the body of a shrunken boy again and again. Was there something she wasn’t telling him?

He didn’t get to think long as Leni finally came out of the closet with multiple pieces of fabric, still sporting that goofy smile.

“Alright, I’m ready for my tiny boy debut!” she said as she made her way back to the two. “What look are we going for? Tropical? Classic?”

Brian clammed up. He knew his request was going to sound stupid, but Luan did want him looking the part. He was going to have to come clean.

While the request did cause Lori to giggle a bit, Leni was being Leni and didn’t get it.

“Rainbow hair and red noses sis.” Lori replied. This somehow got Leni to understand what Brian wanted, and the instant it happened, she fell onto the floor in a massive laughing fit like she was the next best hyena. Brian and Lori watched not exactly impressed by the show Leni was putting on, but it didn’t last long as Leni got on her legs and wiped some loose tears from her face.

This time Leni wasn’t laughing. She put on a serious look as she eyed Brian with Lori keeping him in her hand.

“You really are serious about that aren’t you? I don’t want to embarrass you especially with how tiny you are now. Even I have standards you know.”

“I know, but I kind of have no choice.” Brian responded. “I need to look the part since Luan wants me like that for her act tomorrow.”

Leni glared at Brian with an intense sting. He knew it wasn’t out of something terrible, but she wanted to make sure this was what he really wanted out of her. So many thoughts echoed through his mind as her eyes made contact with his, including if she was holding back or actually looking out for him, and Lori wasn’t giving her two cents either, probably so she wouldn’t upset things.

It took a while for Brian to get into some fitting clown clothes. Not only was his size an issue, but the lack of certain materials made it quite hard to replicate specific aspects. Some very thin string was used to make the rainbow hair and some cotton for the round red nose, and everything else Leni had prepared. Brian was still amazed that the clumsy sibling ended up being the fashion expert, for she seemed to match everything nearly perfectly. She did need Lori’s help to help with measurements since numbers weren’t her strong suite, but her sister did sneak in a few interactions with Brian when Leni wasn’t looking including more pokes with her fingers and a few quick pictures from her cellphone, obviously sending them to Bobby. Eventually, the outfit was complete. Brian didn’t really appreciate the stuffy yellow jumpsuit, white gloves, and bright red loose shoes, but they were the most common aspects of clowns and consistency was key in his eyes. He did get mistaken for an actual shrunken clown by Leni for a bit before Lori chimed in to state the obvious. While making the outfit took up the rest of the day, Brian now looked more than ever like an actual performing clown.

On the day of the big show, Luan went step by step on how the show was going to go all while putting the formulaic clown makeup all over Brian’s face using only one cotton swab because of his size. He did need to be reminded of a few steps a couple of times as Luan got her own clown outfit on, with Lincoln suddenly coming in the room looking very tuckered out from forgetting about the business for today. He hastily got on his black suit and headset before any remark could go his way. With everyone now ready, it was time for the birthday party.

The party was being hosted by a family of four, the couple of Mr. and Mrs. Carson and their two daughters, Sally and Darcy. Sally was the birthday girl for today, turning six years old, making her more of a big sister to the two year old Darcy. The party was held outside as a crowd of her closest friends were all invited to the festivities, including a bounce house and bobbing for apples, with they were all happy to be with their friend on her special day. The star of it all however wasn’t in the best of moods. While she didn’t want to admit it to anyone, she occasionally read stories on the internet by an author that went by the name “Barbie”, and what was so special about them was they always involved a girl growing to immense size. Her favorites among the G section, since even she knew she wasn’t ready for the more intense ones, were ones where the girl grew to defeat a giant monster and save the city, which she thought was very interesting. This unfortunately cast a shadow over her mind where she didn’t feel like the big sister to Darcy. She could easily look out for her if she was like the heroes in the stories, being fifty feet tall to stop anyone from harming her sister, but being six years old meant she wasn’t exactly big for now. She hoped the aging process would accelerate for the sake of looking over Darcy…

“Hey Sally!” a tan skinned boy called out. She lifted her drooping head to see one her friends running up to her with a smile on his face.

“Come on; let’s play one more time in the bounce house before the big show starts!”

“But it’s your birthday! Aren’t you just a little bit happy?” Will asked.

“I wish that was the case.” Sally said. Will understood that Sally was upset, but she never exactly told anyone why, so he didn’t know how or even if he could help her out of her sadness.

“Ummmm, well okay, but if you need me don’t hesitate to ask!” Will said as he rushed over to the bounce house like the energetic kid that he was. Sally just sighed as she watched Will enjoy himself; she just couldn’t get those thoughts out of her head. She wanted to feel like the big sister, so how could she at only six years old? She looked down with a very sad frown until her mother came up to her.

“Hey birthday girl, the entertainment just arrived! Maybe that would make you feel better!” her mother said.

Sally looked at her mom hoping she was right about that. Because she didn’t want to be late, she strolled on over to the makeshift stage just as her other friends were taking her seats.

Behind the stage were the three entertainers finishing up with their outfits and props. Lincoln sorted all of the props to make sure none were missing while Luan had Brian in her hands as the tiny boy took a peek through the curtains. He almost felt his heart stop at the sight of how many were watching making it more intimidating if he messed up in any way. He started to get second thoughts about performing when Luan pulled him back up to her clown face.

“Don’t worry; I’m doing the hard stuff. You’ll feel better when you’re actually on stage, trust me.” Luan said.

“I sure hope you are right.” Brian responded. Lincoln walked up to the two and handed Luan a conventional top hat.

“You’re going to be great, just hang in there.” Lincoln said as he walked away to sort more props. Just as he left, a common white rabbit popped out of the hat’s opening with a big smile. Brian was a little startled by the sudden animal, but Luan explained.

“Oh that’s just Gary; he’s a very friendly rabbit. Actually, you are going to be with him during a part of the first act!”

“Just make yourself comfortable on top of his back, and I’ll do the rest.” Luan replied.

Brian shivered a little as Luan placed the tiny boy on top of Gary’s back. His fur was soft and smooth, almost like a pillow, but Brian knew it wasn’t time for snoozing. He spread his arms as he grappled Gary’s back so he wouldn’t fall off, which Gary didn’t mind at all, just as Luan suddenly covered both him and Gary under a black cloth. Brian started to get worried, but Gary turned his head around and gave him a content look, as if to tell him that there’s no need to get worked up. Mirroring the bunny, Brian calmed down and decided to let Luan handle the rest.

Back in the audience, all of the party attenders finished seating themselves, including the birthday girl Sally, and were waiting for the show to start. Sally’s little sister Darcy sat next to her big sister, giving her a very toothy grin before turning her attention to the stage. Sally sighed as she was still not in the best of moods, but seeing her sister did lighten her spirits a little. She was suddenly drawn to the stage as Luan appeared from behind the curtains in her clown getup. She had on her titular smile as she waved to the crowd.

“Hi everyone, are you ready for my big show?” Luan said. The audience roared with shouts and praise from eager little kids, although Sally stayed silent still in her bad mood.

“This is all for the great birthday girl Sally Carson! Boy have I got some stuff today, including a really good SHOWSTOPPER I prepared for you! Let’s get this show on the road!”

Seeing his cue from backstage, Lincoln took out two medium size suitcases that had wheels on the bottom and pushed them onto the stage. Luan stopped them in front of her and picked one up.

“I think I should go to Indianapolis first, take a rest stop in Miami, and then finally arrive at Tokyo…oh wait, WRONG ROAD!”

While normally this joke would cause any adult to roll their eyes, the kids quickly ate it up as they laughed at how absentminded Luan was acting, including a few chuckles from the droopy Sally. Luan kept the acts coming as she opened the suitcase and pulled out a typical magician’s top hat from it. She watched it with a look of confusion.

“That’s strange, I don’t remember having this!” Luan exclaimed. The audience watched as the girl clown tilted her head before taking a peek inside the hole. What happened next took the onlookers by surprise, for dozens of different colored balloons suddenly flew out of the hat! Luan reeled her head back quickly, looking as surprised as the audience was.

“Oh my, just what kind of hat is this?” Luan said. She took another good look inside the hat before reaching inside it with her right arm. Her arm seemed to completely disappear as she felt for anything that could be in it, making the kids watching even more intrigued and curious.

“Oh, I think I got something everyone!” Luan relayed to the crowd. The kids watched as it looked like Luan grabbed something big, but to the surprise of many for a second time, she pulled out a docile looking white rabbit! Luan smiled as the kids applauded with joy, and the white rabbit seemed happy about it too. Sally didn’t exactly feel one hundred percent, but she had to admit that trick was pretty nice. However, what happened next was something she didn’t even expect.

“Hmmmm? There seems to be something stuck to your back there!” Luan said. Reaching and feeling along the white rabbit’s back, the kids were awestruck as what appeared to be an incredibly small clown came up right in her hand. This sudden revelation quickly got Sally interested. She didn’t expect there to be someone as small as that, actually perking her up and causing her to vaguely smile.

“You left me back at the train station, so I had to hitch a ride on something else!” the tiny clown responded.

“Well, all I can say is HATS off to you!” Luan said as she giggled. The kids watching all laughed at the joke, even causing a few hearty chuckles from Sally.

“Say, now that you are here, want to perform with me? I’m sure the audience really appreciates you!” Luan asked as the kids shouted to give their support.

“Of course, anything for a fellow clown!” Dinky Shrinky replied. The kids cheered as Luan held Dinky Shrinky just as he struck a pose. Even Sally was beginning to get into the action. She felt her negative feelings going away as she felt like she didn’t need to worry anymore, much to the joy of her parents.

As for Brian, under the alias of “Dinky Shrinky” by Luan, he felt overjoyed. Luan was correct about everything changing while under the spotlight, although he wasn’t sure how she managed to go from putting him under a black cloth to inside a top hat. He didn’t think about it too much as he was still a bit nervous for the acts coming up, but he had a feeling that Luan wasn’t going to be missing anything soon. At least the clown suit he was in was comfy to wear and easy to move around in.

Gary made his way off stage to let Brian take over as Luan dragged out a handful of deflated balloons. Before Brian could deduce what she was going to do with them, Luan quickly dropped him inside one before inflating it and forming it into many different shapes of animals. She made a dog, with Brian being inside the head section, a turtle, Brian inhabiting the tail that time, and even a pterodactyl, after Lincoln swiftly handed her an extra balloon before making his way off stage. Brian was situated in the section of the dinosaur’s belly, which Luan touched up on.

“Geez Dinky Shrinky, when did you get put on the menu?” Luan said. The kids applauded for the amazing trick as Luan formed the creature back into a regular balloon before letting the air out and pulling Brian out. The sequence seemed to have gone by so fast in Brian’s eyes that he was a bit dizzy after the whole thing. He recovered though as he got up with a smile.

“I must have tasted funny back there!” Brian said, making the kids laugh at how corny the joke was. While she could have let it last a bit longer, Luan had more ideas she wanted to do, and the next one would be a doozy. Lincoln came up rolling a rather large size circus ball before giving it to Luan, going backstage afterwards to keep the spotlight on her.

“I learned this from a turtle with rainbow hair.” Luan whispered to Brian. Before Brian could call her crazy, he was suddenly tossed into the air as Luan got on the ball and spectacularly kept her balance. Throwing up some extra small balls, Luan juggled all of them along with the tiny Brian. While it brought joy to the audience, it made Brian a bit motion sick. He did catch a pretty impressive view of the yard every time he was tossed up in the air though.

“Hey kids, what did one plate say to the other?” Luan said. They didn’t need to ponder long, for as quick as a flash, with Brian at the peak of his thrown height, three long sticks each with a perfectly aligned spinning plate on each tip, one on each of Luan’s outstretched arms and one on her head, all while still balancing on the ball impressively. Brian just so happened to land on the one on her head.

“Lunch is on me!” Luan answered. The kids cheered and applauded with enthusiasm as Luan cheerfully laughed. As for the other clown, it wasn’t so hot. While he appreciated being atop a spinning plate for Luan’s act, the constant spinning and rapid colors zipping were taking a toll on his stomach. He head felt like a two ton weight as he stumbled around to keep his footing while keeping his lunch down, but the motions were too hard to ignore. He didn’t know where he was as he tried to stay on the plate, but before he knew it, he was plummeting towards the ground. The mood in the audience quickly switched from impressed to surprise as they saw the tiny clown fall off the plate, even catching Luan off guard. Thankfully though, she kept her happy face on as she jutted her face forward, and as unexpected as it was, saved the tiny clown as he made landing right on her big round nose. Just as Brian’s head was clearing up, he stood up and took notice of where he was while looking at the expressions of the crowd watching.

“TADAAAAAAA!” he shouted with a big smile and his arms outstretched. The kids, and even the adults, all roared with praise and applause. Luan herself was also shocked as he made it through unscathed, but she kept it to herself as she, slowly but surely, caught the spinning plates as she made them fall to the ground. Not a single one hit the floor and shattered, so Lincoln rapidly made his way on to the stage and took the plates with him to the back of the stage.

With that act done, Luan had one more trick up her sleeve, but to make things more interesting for the kids, and coincidentally herself, she kept Brian atop her big red nose.

“Hey kids, do you know why clowns are never bored? Because we’re good at keeping occuPIED!”

Without missing a beat, Lincoln, keeping himself hidden behind the stage and holding a pie in his hand, threw a pie straight at Luan’s face, and since Brian was still standing on her red round nose, he took it as well. He only had a split second to react before his vision was covered in creamy custard.

Brian found himself in a world of misty purple swirls. He couldn’t see himself or his body through the thick haze, and the more he tried, the denser in became. He could hear whispers from all directions that sounded like the same voice, but he found himself to be unable to move as if he were paralyzed.

The voices pounded through his head. It sounded like someone was in tears and breaking fast and it hit him deep. He tried to speak up, but it was as if he was shouting in the emptiness of space. Nothing emitted, but the voices around him could be heard clearly.

The sound of applause brought Brian back to reality. He shook himself a few times as he noticed custard all over him. Luan’s face was also likewise completely covered in the same thing, having possibly one of the biggest smiles she could put on.

“Thank you everyone, it’s been a pleasure performing for all of you!” Luan exclaimed with glee. She bowed in thanks, and not wanting to be left out, Brian bowed as well from the area of Luan’s red nose.

“Oh great clowns, you were so awesome! I want to be as great as you when I get older!”

“Of course you can birthday girl!” Luan said. Brian didn’t get a chance to speak up, but if he did he would have accepted anyway. The clown girl plucked Brian off of her nose and extended her reach to Sally’s eager open hands, to which Brian stepped into. As happy as a young new six year old could be, Sally gave Brian one big smooch on the cheek. Brian’s spirit perked up as he blushed slightly under all of the clown makeup.

After the party was over, the two clowns and prop assistant made their way back home with all props used in tow. Luan rode on a unicycle all the way there with Brian resting on one of her shoulders. They knew the mission of cheering the little girl up was a major success, much to the relief of Luan. Lincoln and Brian could see it in her face, for if the kid ended up happy she was happy as well. Brian did feel a bit ashamed that he couldn’t help with carrying some of the props, but Luan said to not worry since he was such a good partner on stage.

Once they made it back to Luan’s and Luna’s room, Luan assisted in helping Brian get the clown makeup off and his clown clothes, along with hers as well, while Lincoln put away the props while also cleaning out a spare top hat that Gary pooped in earlier. Once they were finished, Luan held Brian in the palm of her right hand and couldn’t help but express her mind.

“That…was…GREAT!” she exclaimed. “I didn’t think you would be that good at doing what I told you to do! You are the perfect definition of stage partner!”

“Oh well, it was nothing…” Brian responded, shuffling his feet a bit while blushing slightly. “You did save things from going south with that quick thinking with those plates.”

“Oh yeah, THAT almost went terribly.” Luan replied. “Thanks for covering that up with your acting by the way.”

“Yup, definitely!” Luan said. “Oh, that reminds me, I have something for that great performance you put on…”

Brian stood with confusion as Luan walked over and pulled something out from the pile of props next to them. The tiny boy’s eyes went wide as he laid his sights on the biggest piece of chocolate cake he had ever seen. To Luan it was just a regular sized piece, but for Brian at the size he was, it looked like it could fill him up for an entire year.

“Here’s some leftover birthday cake just for you! I always get sent home with leftovers, and I can see you already want to go spelunking.” Luan said. Brian rapidly nodded his head as he was mesmerized by the chocolate goodness. Not wanting to hold him back any longer, Luan set him and the piece down on top of one of her drawers, and like a rabid animal, Brian zipped straight into the cake and started chomping down on everything in sight.

Brian paused from his mouthful of cake as he looked over to Luan, who was looking down and shuffling her feet.

“Well, that performance was so exciting and fun to do with you, despite you being so small and being unable to do much because of it. I know it was meant to be a one-time deal, but, errrrrr, can you…continue to perform with me at birthday parties? Funny Business Inc. could really use the extra support from someone as enthusiastic as you were back there.”

Brian was surprised for Luan to ask that. He didn’t think he performed that well compared to Luan back there, but the lead herself just said he went through it effortlessly and he did have close to a dozen months before Lisa could possibly cure him. Besides, how could he reject a cute face like Luan’s?

“Since I have a long way to go before I get back to normal size, I can see why not!” Brian replied.

“Oh thank you thank you thank you Brian! Things will be so much more exciting with the great Dinky Shrinky working alongside his big partner!”

Brian felt a warm feeling in his heart upon seeing Luan’s eagerness. He didn’t know why, but he felt like he actually had a friend now that understood him. Of course there was way more girls in this one house, but it was a start.

There was one thing looming in the back of his mind though. Those screams from when he was hit with that pie at the party were echoing everywhere in his head. He was certain that he wasn’t imagining things, he did actually hear something, but what was it? He decided to not tell Luan about it and keep it to himself. If anyone would be the first to know he would probably go to Lisa first, but for now, he wasn’t going to tell anyone about those nightmarish shrieks.

He went back to his cake to shake off the feelings for now, but he knew something was off.

Brian had trouble sleeping the next few nights, those eerie and painful screams were giving him terrible nightmares. He didn’t think they would feel so genuine even though it lasted for around a minute, and even then he was in the middle of a void to nowhere at the time. Just why was he so worked up about it? He probably would have ignored it if he was any other person, but something was giving him the creeps about it and it wasn’t pleasant.

He jolted awake after hearing the screams in his dreams for the third time. He was spooked out; even noticing his skin was all white with a coat of sweat all over. He would have paid attention to it more if he didn’t notice the sudden change in scenery. He was atop a giant bed with a small cabinet next to it which had a freakish figure of a sort situated on top. He didn’t know what it was, although he knew it was some sort of statue, but his attention was still drawn to the area around. There were some eerie posters on the wall next to him and a stray wall lamp above him as well. He didn’t know where he was and how he ended up here, but he wasn’t in the mood to find out soon.

The boy was scared out of his wits as the statement hit his ears. He jumped up slightly before turning and noticing the Goth girl of the family, Lucy Loud, was standing right next to the giant bed he was on, still as emotionless and monotone as ever.

“Geez Lucy, at least give me a signal before making a grand entrance!” Brian said.

“You’ll get used to it.” Lucy replied. Once the tiny boy recovered from his mini heart attack, he knew he needed answers.

“Okay, first off, where the heck am I? I was freaking out over here not knowing where I was!”

“You’re in me and Lynn’s room.” Lucy responded. “We have the room to ourselves since Lynn is getting ready for school.”

With that answer, Brian realized it actually made sense. The gloomy nature and general depressing atmosphere of the room perfectly fit Lucy’s personality and interests, and there was a second bed on the opposite side that he just noticed. As he was piecing things together, Lucy slowly got on the bed and laid down on her stomach, both hands holding her head as she eyed the shrunken boy.

Brian groaned. He just got done doing a great favor for Luan, and now he was getting thrown into another, this time for the least noticeable one. At this rate he might as well become the Louds’ personal tiny butler, something he didn’t want to turn into, but on the other hand, he didn’t want to be a jerk and ignore everyone.

Just as he finished that statement, he was quickly poked in the back of the head by one of Lucy’s gigantic fingers. Before he could ask what that was all about, Lucy spoke up.

“Sigh, it’s still there. I thought I had it figured out but fate had different plans…”

“Wait, the last time you were with me, you said you had it figured out. Are you still uncertain?” Brian asked. Lucy slowly nodded her head in Brian’s direction.

“Unfortunately, yes. I consulted with her to hopefully bring it to a conclusion, but it didn’t go exactly as I wanted it to…”

“Wait, who’s her?” Brian interrupted. As much as Lucy didn’t want to be interrupted, she let it slide this one time.

“I’d rather keep that to myself.” Lucy said. While he didn’t get the answer he wanted, Brian understood privacy, so he decided to not ask more about it. Besides, Lucy still had some explaining to do.

“Anyway, as much as I don’t want to ask you again, I’m going to need you to be with me. I still need to figure this out and you are the only one that triggers it.”

“If it’s going to be like last time, then sure go right ahead. It was only for a short time anyway.” Brian said.

He noticed Lucy began to stutter under her breath as she looked at him like she was nervous. Brian looked at her being a bit puzzled as to what was going on, but Lucy broke the tension.

“Well…ummmmm, it…won’t be that short this time…” Lucy stuttered out. This only made him more puzzled, making him tilt his head and cross his arms.

“I need more exposure to what’s going on with me, so I want more than today to be around you. I talked with Lisa about it, so I at most need…this entire weekend.”

Brian’s eyes went wide and if his jaw had the capabilities of hitting the floor, it would be doing it right now. He did sneak a peek at one of the calendar’s around the house so he knew today was Friday, essentially meaning that Lucy wanted him to be with her, with only her and nobody else, for three straight days. Managing only a couple of minutes was one thing, but this was far beyond those few moments before. Not only that, but it was with the sibling he knew the least about, and from the few glimpses he was exposed to she had the most creepy and dark personality of the entire house. He was very unsure if he would be able to handle everything she planned to do with him, but she was pretty gentle the first time and she seemed to be set on figuring out what the problem was. It appeared that the giant Lucy noted that Brian was conflicting with himself on what to do, so she brought him closer to her face for some pep talk.

“Sigh, I know it seems like much, but I really need this time with you. I promise I won’t do any activity that would harm you in any way, and if you manage through it I could possibly get some insight on those nightmares you have been getting recently.”

Brian snapped back to reality upon hearing about his nightmares. He swore he was keeping them to himself and was only going to inform Lisa about them later, so…

“How the heck did you know about those?!” Brian exclaimed in astonishment. “Were…were you spying on me?!”

“Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t. Let’s just say I already know.” Lucy responded. “I know a special method to possibly reveal more about your nightmares but I need you to help me out first. Three days with me then I’ll help you out. So, do we have a deal?”

Brian didn’t know what to say. All of those thoughts from before still surged through his mind, but with Lucy possibly knowing a way to look into what has been going on with his dreams he came to a pretty shaky decision.

“Well, I don’t real feel one hundred percent being with you on this, but…I guess if you are going to help me out I should return the favor.”

Brian swore he saw Lucy’s face light up just as he finished. Just being in her presence was giving him chills all over, but seeing a possible shred of joy gave him a slight sliver of relaxation. While these next few days with her could possibly be terrible, there was also the possibility of it going the other way. His life was now in the hands of Lucy Loud for these next few days.

“I am very thankful of that decision.” Lucy said. Brian thought her voice now was a slightly higher pitch from her monotone voice before, or he just might be going crazy already from being around her so long.

“Don’t worry if my other siblings might get suspicious of your absence, Lisa told everyone that you caught a disease and must rest in those few days. Other than her, please stay out of sight and keep this all between us, okay?”

“Thank you. Now, I have to go to school now with my other siblings, so I’m going to place you in the coffin I keep under my bed until I get back. You won’t suffocate in there; there are a lot of holes for air to go through.”

“Ohhhhhhh…kay?” Brian said. He was pretty unsure that being in a giant makeshift coffin was alright, but he didn’t want to deny Lucy after agreeing to her massive favor. After carefully getting off the bed, Lucy reached under the bed and, just like she said, pulled out a large coffin that looked comfy on the inside. Brian was amazed that something that huge could fit under a table, and when Lucy laid an open hand on the bed he knew what to do. He stepped on it as Lucy lifted him off the bed and up to her face.

“I’m certain my parents won’t look in there while I’m gone, so you’ll be safe. Oh, and before I forget…”

Before Brian knew what was happening, Lucy opened her mouth wide and tossed the shrunken boy straight inside. Brian current emotions were quickly replaced with panic as he suddenly found himself inside another mouth of one of the Loud siblings. His body swished back and forth as Lucy’s tongue kept him on top. The uvula in the back leered at him like a makeshift guillotine as Brian struggled to stay away from it. He grasped the tongue as best as he could as he continued to repel himself away from the back as much as possible. Unlike the inside of Lori’s mouth, Lucy’s was much smaller, so Brian had less room to work with, and with chomping teeth surrounding him, Brian was even more restricted. Was this it? Was this going to be how it all ends? He thought Lucy wasn’t going to do anything to harm him, but it sure looked like she was fibbing and all she wanted an early human lunch.

He closed his eyes in immense fear so his demise wouldn’t be seen before suddenly finding himself launching outward back into the light. He looked down at himself and noticed that he was completely drenched in saliva, but more importantly, he was back in Lucy’s hand. She just spat him back out.

Brian’s fear was immediately replaced with rage as he looked at Lucy with fire in his eyes.

“WHAT ON EARTH WAS THAT FOR?!” Brian exclaimed. Despite being yelled at, Lucy remained emotionless in front of him.

Not wanting to ignore Lucy’s orders, Brian did as instructed and laid low in her large coffin until noon, although Lucy did sneak him a few crumbs of pancake from breakfast earlier. He was thankful that there were holes inside to let the air flow through, but in return the area was pitch black. Just how did Lucy deal with it every time she went in this, and maybe this is what vampires deal with when they go inactive? Considering the time he spent inside waiting for Lucy to get back, it was like he actually was a vampire waiting for night, something he didn’t hesitate to wrench out of his brain. His mind went blank shortly afterwards out of boredom, which considering his worries earlier, it was more than likely needed for someone like him.

Time seemed to go over his head as the hour finally arrived. He heard footsteps come his way and just as expected, it was his temporary playmate. She opened the coffin lid and noticed how distanced he was at.

“I would ask how you went, but it appears I already know the answer.” Lucy said.

Her voice jolted Brian back to Earth as he suddenly sprang awake. He looked up and saw Lucy looking straight at him.

“If I’m not a vampire yet, you are definitely not one.” Lucy responded in her monotone voice. She reached inside the coffin and pulled Brian out before hastily putting the coffin back under her bed.

“Okay, with school over for now, it’s time for the activities. I already got an idea, but we can’t do it here, so I’m going to need you to hide in my hair until we get there, alright?”

Brian nodded. He didn’t think he would be sent into the sea of Lucy’s black hair this soon, but she was now temporarily in charge and he didn’t want to turn her down. Lucy raised her hand holding Brian above her head so he could make a safe landing, and with not a moment to waste, Brian stepped off and into the jungle of black strands everywhere. While he did get to enjoy playing in Lucy’s hair a few days ago, he wasn’t completely surrounded by it. Where he was now, he now more than ever felt like fat Tarzan among the denseness of the jungle, if the trees and vines were pitch black that is. They were so tall that he couldn’t see the ceiling of the room, making him wonder how Lucy can even live with this kind of hair.

“I need you to stay right where you are in there, for when we get to the place I’ll know where to get you.”

“Okay!” Brian exclaimed. He wasn’t sure if Lucy heard him or not through the strands, but he sudden felt the ground below him start to move and bob up and down. It almost made him lose his footing so he held on to one of the many long black strands of hair to keep himself from flying off. While he could see what was going on, he could definitely hear countless voices. There was a mix of Lori and Leni shouting at one point followed by a large tearing noise, ending off with the sound of a door slamming. He got chills from the order of those sounds; he didn’t want to encounter those two girls for the next few days. He next heard the creaking of stairs followed by Lisa’s voice with a distinct pitch and a voice that sounded like…Lincoln’s? He couldn’t deduce the second one in time before what sounded like an explosion erupted through his eardrums. Before he could worry about what just happened, Lily’s bubbly upbeat laughter soon followed by Lisa’s and what sounded to be Lincoln’s voice doing a deep sigh of what was probably relief. Brian giggled under his breath for he had a feeling that he knew what just happened, and if it was, he knew the two would probably need to bathe at least three times a day for the next week.

When he saw the light around him go black, making him almost unable to see Lucy’s black strands of hair around him, Brian felt uneasy. I didn’t last long however as he noticed the movements around him cease. When he saw Lucy’s hand lying flat next to him, he deduced that she finally arrived to wherever she had in mind, so he climbed on to Lucy’s open hand as she took him out of her hair and back into the world. He should have known the spot where Lucy wanted to go; what looked to be the house’s attic. He saw one side of the place having light shine through and illuminate the area, but the side he was on was the one where there was very little light, almost making it appear like a dark cave. He wouldn’t be surprised if he managed to get nyctophobia after staying here for more time than he needed.

“As much as I didn’t want to, it’s the only place I could think of where we could do the first activity without worrying about space.” Lucy answered. These sent signals in Brian’s heads as to what she had planned. Whatever it was, it required space.

“Just what exactly did you want to do with me?” Brian finally asked. Lucy turned her face away for a few seconds for some reason. Embarrassment maybe? Brian couldn’t deduce it.

“It’s, well, a game I don’t…usually go for, but you appear to be the perfect size. It’s hide and go seek.”

Brian didn’t really seem surprised by that exposure. With his current size and the wide space in the attic, it seemed like the perfect spot to go hiding. The constant darkness did cast some unwanted emotions over him though.

Lucy placed him on the floor to get started, giving Brian a brief glimpse as to how small he was to her at full height. Compared to him, she was a mythological titan and he was the god slayer, for he didn’t even reach the top of her shoes. He shuddered to think that if he were any smaller; his voice would fall on deaf ears.

“In case you were wondering, I will be seeking you. I am quite the expert when it comes to hiding, so I’m quite curious as to where your hiding place will be. I’ll start looking on the count of ten…”

She turned around to face the wall while putting her hands over her eyes so she couldn’t see. Brian knew he had a head start, but there were so many good places in this place to hide he struggled to find a definitive area.

The sudden start caught Brian off guard, for he didn’t even get to think of the perfect hiding spot at the time! Not wanting to waste any more time, Brian ran off as much as his legs could handle. Due to it being an attic, there was constant dust in his way that he had to rush through, sometimes obscuring his view of the area around him. He looked left and right unable to find somewhere decent.

The next part of the countdown echoed through Brian’s head as he continued searching. There was a chair with a creepy looking doll sitting on it, he was definitely not hiding there, a few cabinets near the back, no way he would be able to climb up there in time, some stacked cardboard boxes, he made note of that as a backup spot…

Crap, another number down. He went over to the boxes and tried to find a rip somewhere he could enter. Unfortunately they all seemed to be in perfect condition.

He was really starting to get desperate now. You would have thought being half an inch tall would grant you so many opportunities to hide, but here just gave off the most obvious of hiding spots. He needed somewhere unexpected, especially for someone like Lucy.

He needed to hurry up with Lucy now at the halfway mark. As he rushed around the room, he ended up tripping over a certain floorboard. It looked a bit loose, immediately giving Brian a wicked idea.

He lifted a portion up as much as he could to make a hole big enough, and once it hit the right angle, Brian slowly made his way under.

He accidentally bonked his head against the side. While it did hurt a bit, he hoped the noise wouldn’t give away his hiding spot.

Brian made his way under the floorboard into a small space below it, making sure to close the entrance tight to not raise any flags.

He shut the entryway in a very constricted way as he silently move to a corner of the space inside and curled up to make himself less visible. He then heard some of the floorboards creak with Lucy’s voice coming afterwards.

He could hear Lucy’s footsteps as she walked around looking for him. With the game now started, Brian only moved slightly so he won’t give himself up through noises. Her footsteps reverberated all over each section of the room, making it somewhat difficult to pinpoint exactly where she was above ground. However, if what she said to him earlier was any indication, Brian knew this was only the tip of the iceberg. Suddenly, he heard the noises getting closer, something that made him a little unsettled, until it quickly ceased. Brian was confused for a quick second before Lucy’s giant fingers wiggled straight into his hiding spot. He kept himself from gasping loudly from the sudden scare as the fingers felt the ground around him. Lucy must have not known where he was quite yet, and Brian intended to keep it that way for as long as he was required. Lucy’s fingers then went over to just around Brian’s spot, giving the boy a clear view of the giantess’ dark black fingernails right in front of him. He kept the thoughts to himself, but Brian had to admit that even with her constantly into fake blood and dirt next to gravestones, Lucy did make sure her hands were consistently clean after she was finished. Just as it looked like they were about to snatch him and call it a day, the fingers withdrew from the area and consequently the floorboard, making Brian do a mental sigh of relief as he heard Lucy’s voice again.

“Hmmmm, not bad wherever you are, but I will find you. I’m won’t lose easily.”

Her monotone voice sent more chills down Brian’s spine as he heard Lucy’s footsteps go to another part of the room. A few shutters of some cabinets and cardboard boxes opening then emitted through Brian’s ears as Lucy thoroughly went through every inch of the attic, at least that’s what Brian was thinking from the noises. He smiled as he felt like he was winning the game…

After around two minutes of no noises, Brian got confused. Did she just leave out on him? Does that mean he won? He started to get some nervous undertones as he wasn’t enjoying this sudden silence before beginning to suffer dread. What was going on up there to…

…a hand then dived right above his hand and quickly snatched the boy in its grasp. Brian felt like he just had a heart attack as he inadvertently flailed about not knowing what was going on. The hand suddenly pulled him out of the small space and into the room above, and before Brian could scream, he saw Lucy’s face covering up his vision.

“Found you.” Lucy’s said in her monotone voice. Seeing a friendly face and knowing he wasn’t in any danger got Brian to calm down somewhat, but he still had some in him.

“Dear lord…it’s only you…” Brian replied between deep breaths. “What the heck…was that for?”

“Oh, I knew you were hiding in that spot when I reached down there with my fingers. I wanted to make sure you wouldn’t forget it.” Lucy said.

“Well…it won’t be long forgotten now!” Brian responded. He was clearly angry as he tried to get himself to calm down, but then his eyes caught what looked to be Lucy smiling for a quick second. While he swore he also saw it before when Lucy played with him then, this only made him more confused on the Goth’s emotions. It only got weirder as Lucy looked away from him and shuffled her feet a bit. He didn’t know what was going on in her head, and he probably didn’t want to find out anytime soon.

“I…have to admit…that was actually pretty fun. You…want to do this again sometime?”

“Well you still have me for the next few days; just don’t send me to the hospital with that last stunt.” Brian said

“Duly noted.” Lucy replied. “Besides, I already have the next one planned out, but I’ll save it for tomorrow.”

Despite what it may have seemed at first, Brian actually had a worthwhile sleep in Lucy’s room. He ended up having to sleep in the coffin from before, with Lucy putting him in it ahead of time so Lynn wouldn’t notice the extra roommate. Ever since he was taken in by the Louds he ended up taking refuge in Lisa’s room, which she also shared with Lily, and the child genius’ solution for where Brian could sleep was…less than manageable. He ended up inside one of the drawers of her experiment table and the wood that it was made out of wasn’t exactly purposed for REM cycles. It usually took hours for him to fall asleep thanks to the hard flooring, but Brian knew it could be much worse. With Lucy’s coffin though, it was a completely different story. He had to be sleeping on a cloud instead, there was no way this was a coffin. It was so cushy, so much so that Brian ended up falling asleep in only a few minutes. At least he knew that sleeping wouldn’t be an issue these couple of days.

When the alarm clocks went off, Brian drowsily woke himself up as day two of his time with Lucy has arrived. He heard some banter between her and Lynn that he couldn’t fully distinguish before hearing some footsteps go out the door. He wasn’t sure what just happened between them, but before he could think about it, he felt Lucy pull the coffin out from under her bed. The lid opened as light poured in, Lucy’s emotionless gaze fixed right on him.

“I assume you slept well?” Lucy asked. Brian looked at her with a smile before nodding.

“Good. I already have today planned out, but let me get you some food from downstairs first.”

Lucy set her hand on the floor so Brian could get on as the boy did so. He put the coffin back under the bed using her feet before setting Brian down on the cabinet between the beds. She left the room for a minute before coming back holding a very small piece of what appeared to be scrambled eggs, enough so that Brian can hold it in his tiny hands.

“Gee, thanks a lot!” Brian said before taking a bite of the delicious egg crumb.

“It was nothing. I hardly get noticed anyway.” Lucy said pretty bluntly. “After you are finished, I would like to-”

A beeping noise rang through hers’ and Brian’s eardrums before she could finish. Brian watched, while taking a few bites out of his breakfast in the process, as Lucy walked over to her bed and flipped over her pillow revealing an average sized stopwatch with a werewolf design. She seemed to stare at it for a bit leaving Brian confused as he didn’t know what she was thinking at the moment. Before long, Lucy took the stopwatch and stored it away before coming back to Brian.

“Sigh, I know I had to leave you before, but I have to take this.” Lucy said. “The spirits of the special cards have finally arrived, and I don’t want to miss this one of a kind chance.”

“Just stay where you are until I get back, this should hopefully not take long.” Lucy said. She hastily left the room as Brian finished up his crumb. Whatever she was talking about must have been a big deal to her, whatever these ‘special cards’ she was saying to him were, making him a bit surprised that he didn’t go insane from being around her for this long. Shortly afterward however, the doorknob began to turn, and Lucy said to stay hidden so the other siblings wouldn’t notice that he’s currently with her, so he took refuge behind a tall lamp that was conveniently sitting on the drawer he was on. He did a small peek from his hiding spot and noticed the door opening to a rather athletic looking Lynn. She even had on a special jersey with a large picture of a chipmunk on the front, which made Bryan a little curious. He quickly drew back as Lynn looked in his direction, seemingly not noticing him.

“Oh yeah, I’ve been waiting for this game for weeks! The piranhas got nothing the chipmunks already have!” he heard Lynn say. He overheard the girl zip over to the drawer he was on, nearly making it so he couldn’t move or else he might get spotted, and open the compartments. He couldn’t see what she was getting out of it, but he could deduce them thanks to Lynn’s choice of words.

“Darn, running out of good socks. I think these are the most durable for now, but I’ll have to ask mom for better ones later. Wait, I forgot my special shoes!”

He heard Lynn rush out of the room to get her footwear, giving the shrunken boy a massive relief of not getting spotted. He walked out from behind the lamp and sighed with great relief, but then he heard some very unsettling noises behind him. He turned around slowly and what he saw made his face turn almost completely white; it was one big and ugly arachnid. It was easily three times the size he was at, and it looked at him with its many eyes like a predator. Brian was shocked as he slowly walked backward hoping to not arouse it, but the spider eerily took some steps forward in return. Because he was paying attention to the spider, Brian failed to notice where he was backing into, and with one final step he suddenly started falling right off the cabinet. He screamed as wind rushed through his hair before seeing what looked like a bat swoop in and snatch the spider off of the surface. Brian didn’t get time to think about it as he landed right on the floor, miraculously without any injuries whatsoever. He tried to get up, but found that was tangled in some sort of white cloth and his vision above was covered by stretches of white cloth as well. Before he could determine where he was, he heard the door open as Lynn entered the room once again. Wherever he was, he hoped Lynn wouldn’t find out where he was.

“Alright, now we’re talking! These lucky shoes will definitely give me the help I need! Just need to put on my socks first…”

Brian’s stomach immediately was filled with rocks as he now knew where he was. He tried to get of the fabric as much as he could, but just as he was getting loose he felt gravity lift upward. He saw the opening to where he could get out get covered by a massive foot, which not only blocked the only way out, but darkened the space around him and made it harder to see. Brian couldn’t move out of the way in time as Lynn’s foot slid right under him and planted him firmly on top. The cloth now binding him from moving, Brian’s face planted firmly downward on top of Lynn’s giant foot. He hoped it wouldn’t get any worse, but then the lights around him completely vanished as he knew Lynn was now putting on her shoes. The gravity shifts finally stopped as Lynn’s foot now laid flat, telling Brian she was now finished putting her shoes on.

“Okay, now I’m ready! Entering Lynn Loud, morning soccer extreme extraordinaire! Victory, here I come!”

“As if things couldn’t get any worse…” Brian thought. He felt the gravity shifts again as Lynn walked out of the room. He felt it harder to breath as the stinky foot fumes filled his nostrils, and with his body stuck to the top of Lynn’s foot, his face planted firmly down against her skin preventing him from speaking, he wasn’t sure he would be able to survive this one. One thing was certain though.

Lynn’s soccer match occurred early in the morning, much to the dismay of her other siblings that wanted to sleep in on Saturday. Lynn was already up and about ready on her team’s bench with her teammates, with her family watching from the bleachers. The playfield wasn’t that big due to being a little league game, so the bleachers were somewhat close to the action, and the Loud family, minus Lucy since she was doing some “spiritual business” and couldn’t come along, among the many other spectators were pretty tuckered out being up this early. The only exceptions were their parents and Lisa, with the latter wearing something that looked like a combination of a wristband and a coffee mug that kept her wide awake with some pretty humorous results. Rita and Lynn Sr. continuously demanded that their kids stay awake to not disrespect their sibling, who just so happened to be eagerly chatting with her teammates on the bench.

Eventually after a few minutes, the speakers near the stadium’s scoreboard went live as two middle aged men seated themselves in the announcer’s booth and began speaking.

“Good morning Royal Woods! We’re here today for a rivalry of the ages, the Chipmunks against the Piranhas, and the teams are looking fierce!” the first announcer said.

“Indeed!” The second announcer replied. “I got my forty winks and am ready for some good old fashioned soccer! Got any select picks?”

“Well you can’t get any further than the rich Nicole Couch. As someone who’s taking a break from snowboarding of all things, she puts up quite a fight on the field!”

“I think Lynn Loud might give her a run for her money today. Kid’s been practically giving one hundred percent since she joined; she’s a really animal out there, in a good way!”

“We’ll just have to see if you are right on that. Let’s welcome our teams!”

All of the members of each soccer team made their way onto the field, looking back and waving to the crowd in the process, causing applause to erupt. Rita and Lynn Sr. forced their children to wake up and give their support as Lynn set her eyes on her family.

“Couldn’t you have just waked us up a little bit later? I can hardly keep my eyes open!” Lincoln said, eyes drooping from drowsiness.

“I didn’t even get time to put on my mascara! I probably look hideous right now!” Lola chimed in.

“All of you will cheer for your sister, tired or not!” Lynn Sr. said. “Besides, I wore this special chipmunk tie just for the occasion, and it sings!”

His tie began to sing just as he said, in a rather squeaky tone by the way, causing the drowsy Loud siblings to groan. Lisa was wide awake thanks to her invention over her arm, which also had the other side effects of drinking coffee. She was jittering all over as she began to message someone named “Wendy Lane” about her superior knowledge, her extremely wide eyes and fidgety nature causing her to miss a few keys when typing.

On the field though, Lynn smiled to the spectators, even seeing her family among all of them, as she took formation in the middle of the field. She was usually the top pick for the starting face off, having a quick set of feet that are known for taking the ball in an instant. She noticed her opponent was a girl with a blonde ponytail around the same age as her, and she wasn’t about to let the ball go away that easily.

Meanwhile, under the surface of one of her shoes, Brian was not having the best time. Lynn wasn’t even aware of the situation inside one of her socks, which was getting worse for the tiny boy the more he stayed in there. No matter how much he tried, Brian could hardly move his body from being planted firmly on Lynn’s foot, not that he could see it with his face embedded into the skin. He didn’t want it to end like this, but time was running out quickly with the lack of any sort of air and the intense stink of everything around him.

“Oh man, if only I just had a little bit more extra room…” Brian thought. It was like he was being bounded by a boa constrictor, and he was just about to succumb and become its next meal. He knew everyone would be up in tears once they find his lifeless body. He wasn’t a genius thinker like Lisa, but how could he get out of this position before the grim reaper arrives?

While the sounds outside were muffled, a whistle echoed through his eardrums immediate gravity shifts vented everywhere along with some other noises. Brian knew this could only mean one thing, and he wasn’t going to like it. If Lynn kicked the ball at the exact spot he was, he wasn’t sure if he could survive the impact. He heard a few impacts and almost felt Lynn’s kicks just inches away from him, but then he noticed a sliver of hope come up. The first few kicks actually loosened the binding grip from Lynn’s sock a little bit, and while it wasn’t much, it was enough for Brian to lift his head out of the top of Lynn’s foot. While he couldn’t see much because it was completely dark inside, he was glad to actually move his head and have his vision not clouded by the image of Lynn’s skin.

“I swear I’m getting the case of athlete’s foot.” Brian thought. If he could facepalm at the moment, he would have done it right now. He was getting too exposed to Luan to come up with very corny jokes like that. Then, a realization hit him. Didn’t Lynn say earlier that her socks were pretty bad? If it was as bad as she said, he could maybe rip a hole at one point and escape. A long shot, but it was Brian’s best hope at the moment. While he couldn’t see through the darkness, he could feel so he stuck his hands out as he felt his was while crawling across the giantess’ foot. The process took a really long time since he was still restricted a bit, making his crawling way slower than normal. He barely managed to avoid more soccer ball impacts from outside, and the constant exposure of noises wasn’t helping either. Lynn’s foot even began to sweat at one point, making it even harder to crawl through. He did have to admit that other than the sweat, the skin on Lynn’s foot was smooth and easy to crawl on, feeling almost like a wet tube of a water slide.

Once he accidentally almost fell into a space between two of her toes, he knew he was over halfway across. He steered away from the crease and began to feel the skin going very slightly rugged, finally moving on to one of her toes. He barely missed another impact just an inch away from his head, but Brian was too focused on getting out to pay attention to it. Eventually, the surface went flat and very even. The fact that it was also stiff told Brian he was now on one of her toenails. Because there wasn’t anything to pull on to, it was way more difficult to crawl across, costing Brian more time than it should have. Eventually, near the top of the toe, he felt a weak spot in the sock. Brian grinned as his torture was almost over, grabbing the fabric and tugging on it as much as he could. Once a hole was made, he could quickly get out.

After a short while, the fabric peeled away and Brian’s exit had made an appearance, but what happened next was something Brian himself couldn’t have predicted. Outside, the soccer match was down to the last few seconds with both sides at a stalemate, just one more goal and the game was theirs, and Lynn currently had the ball. Her teammates covered her as she was just about to kick the last shot before time was up. Before a player of the opposing team could intervene, Lynn swiftly reeled back and kicked the ball. Right at the same time, her shoe immediately opened up just as Brian opened a hole in her sock. The ball smacked all across his front and even made him stick to it, making his scream like a pansy as his vision was filled with rapidly changing colors. The goalie didn’t even get a chance to react as the ball sailed right by him, and as if things couldn’t get any more awkward, the ball sailed through the one opening in the net and landed some distance behind it. The audience shouted with praise, including the announcers, at the last minute shot as the Chipmunks have won the match. Lynn was then crowded by her teammates as they expressed their gratitude.

A few minutes later, after both teams exchanged “good game” between each other, Lynn volunteered to go get the winning ball despite her tarnished shoe. She ran over to it, noticing the great amounts of dirt on it, while giving herself praise.

“Yes, nobody does sports better than the all-star Lynn Loud! Yeeeeeaaaah; and the crowd goes wild!”

She grabbed the ball before turning it around to see if any damages were done to it. As she viewed the other side, a very dizzy and dirty thing entered her view. She recognized it almost immediately.

The tiny boy put up a toothy grin and gave a thumbs up, still dizzy and out of it. Lynn smacked his face with one of her fingers to snap him out of it, while still taken aback that he somehow ended up at the game closer than usual.

“Oh man, that smarts…” Brian said. “I think I may have blown out my lungs back there…”

“I think there’s a more obvious elephant in the room right now.” Lynn replied. “For example, HOW THE HECK DID YOU END UP ON THE BALL?!”

The rest of the time in celebration of the Chipmunks winning for Brian was spent inside one of Lynn’s pockets, after explaining himself to her of course. Even though it was against Lucy’s wishes, he kind of had no choice after become an extra at the game, although thankfully Lynn was the only one that knew. He remained quiet as the Chipmunks, along with the families of the players, went out to lunch at a restaurant, for apparently the win at the game meant they would move to the playoffs much to Lynn’s excitement. Even though the other Louds were also there, minus Lucy, Lynn was a trusting girl and kept him a secret from the others like he wanted, even sneaking in a couple pieces of food for Brian to nibble on. Nobody even bothered to comment on Lynn’s busted shoe. During that time, the other Louds were being themselves. Lori found a special taste with one of the foods and immediately texted the picture to Bobby, Leni was confused about the concept of silverware and was wondering where the “gold clothes” were, Luna waited extra-long for her so called “McSwagger Salad and Mangoes”, Luan was wondering why the tomatoes didn’t “ketchup” quicker, Lincoln was the only one who was actually being chill and enjoying his order of pasta, Lola spent her time pouring glitter over her food before eating, Lana accidentally lost Hops among everyone and spent most of the time chasing after him, and Lily was busy flinging her baby food everywhere.

As for Lisa? Well, her “staying awake” machine around her arm didn’t exactly have a quick shutdown period, so…

“OHMYGOSHDIDANYONEKNOWTHEACTUALNAMEFORTHESEFISHISCALLEDTHESLIMEHEADRESTAURANTSGIVETHEMDIFFERENTNAMESTOMAKETHEMSOUNDMOREAPPETISINGANDALSODIDYOUKNOW-”

Once the dinner was over, the family went back home, with Lynn immediately going to the kitchen and grabbing a water bottle for later. She then went up to her room and took a much needed break on her bed, but not before pulling Brian out from her pocket and speaking with him.

“I assume you are satisfied now? You definitely deserved it after what you just went through.” Lynn said.

“I guess you could call it that.” Brian replied. “I’m still a bit shaken up over all of it.”

“I really wish I could have known about that sooner though.” Lynn said “You would have been out of my shoe a lot quicker and not so fatigued. Speaking of which, you didn’t catch athlete’s foot while you were stuck to me right?”

“I kind of already thought of that earlier.” Brian said. “I really need to get away from Luan huh?”

The two laughed under their breaths from the corny joke. Despite not being as one into jokes as Luan, Lynn did get her funny moments from time to time.

Both Lynn and Brian had a mini heart attack from the sudden intrusion as they noticed Lucy seemingly pop up next to them with her signature emotionless face. The shrunken boy’s attitude changed from happy to nervous in an instant for he knew what he was supposed to be doing for these few days, even though it really wasn’t his fault that he went along with Lynn’s soccer match.

“Look Lucy, I know what this looks like, but it was all an accident I swear! I didn’t mean to-”

“It’s okay Brian, I understand.” Lucy interrupted. “You’ve been trustworthy since you have been here, so I knew when I couldn’t find you that something must have happened accidentally.”

Brian was surprised that Lucy didn’t show any signs of relief or thanks in those words of hers. He expected her to show some sort of the emotion considering she didn’t know where he was for a couple of hours. Not even the possibility of him dying out there? A thought in the back of his mind really enticed him to slap her across the face to get any sort of emotion out of her, but he knew that would be too much especially at the size he was at.

“Yeah, he kind of went on a wild ride on top of my foot, as much as I don’t want to say it. You’re okay now though, right little guy?”

Brian smiled at Lynn and gave her a thumbs up. Lynn smiled back as Lucy replied.

“It’s good that you managed to survive whatever you just went through, but you still made a deal with me. I hope you didn’t forget about that.”

“Oh definitely, I still remember.” Brian responded. Lynn, also knowing about the deal since Brian had to explain himself earlier, didn’t want Brian to leave her just yet.

“If you had time with him then I deserve some as well. You can’t just have a privilege like him for three whole days, he’s everyone’s playmate! What makes you so special?”

Brian perked up upon hearing himself in a new light. He knew he was being as light hearted and kind as he could, but he didn’t think it would be on that caliber. He didn’t think about it too hard, as he needed to break the ice between the two girls.

“Lynn, I’m going to need you to let me go.” Brian said. Lynn looked at the boy in her hand with surprise as Brian explained himself.

“Look, I know you had a heyday with me because of today’s accident and you don’t want it to end so soon, but I kind of owe it to Lucy. She’s going to help me out with a problem of mine in exchange for helping out with one of hers, you know, the ‘I scratch your back and you scratch mine’ mentality. Besides, it’s still a LONG way before any sort of cure can be made for me. Remember the nine to eleven months? You’ll definitely get more time with me until then, but for now, Lucy kind of needs my time.”

Lynn frowned. She knew he wasn’t a toy of any sort, but it was so much fun to do all sorts of activities with that tiny size of his. He was pretty keen on keeping his promise to Lucy, and while she could match her attitude, Lucy could easily get cold and bitter if she ever got upset. For the sake of Brian, she came to a conclusion.

“Darn, well okay, since Lucy called dibs earlier. You owe me some time though!”

She slowly reached her arms out and dropped Brian into Lucy’s outstretched hands. Giving Lucy one final stink eye, with the Goth staying emotionless as ever, Lynn walked out of the room before sticking her head back into the room and saying:

She then closed the door leaving just Lucy and Brian in the room alone. Brian looked at Lucy feeling greatly intimidated if she was going to do something to him for unintentionally leaving her, and at the size he was at, any minor thing could be catastrophic to him.

“Okay, if you are going to punish me make it quick. I don’t want the sense of dread to be hanging over-”

Before Brian could finish, Lucy drew him up close before doing something even he never thought she would do. Brian’s face was covered completely as Lucy gave him one of the biggest hugs imaginable, putting the boy in a state of shock.

“Oh Brian, I was gravely worried about you. As much as I embrace death, I didn’t want that reality to happen so soon to someone like you. My siblings would never let it down, and I’m glad you survived whatever you just went through. If I could, please let me watch over you more closely so something like that doesn’t happen the rest of today or tomorrow.”

As much as his head was covered, Brian could hear Lucy’s voice in a slightly different tome, even with a few cracks here and there. Was she actually…happy right now? One side of his mind agreed while the other was the total opposite, putting him in a slight state of confusion. Just the need for more answers from the emotionless one, something he wasn’t going to enjoy.

Lucy pulled him back out as Brian shook off the slight daze he had. After that display, he didn’t know what to say. Lucy was really bringing him in for a ride, that’s for sure.

“Ummmm, soooooo…you have something planned? I think you said it last night.” Brian asked.

“Oh, yeah I do. You up for it though? I wasn’t sure if you needed more time to recover from Lynn earlier, since she can get a bit…hyperactive.”

“I’ve kind of already had my share of her for today. We did go to a restaurant after all of it, so I did get some relaxation.” Brian replied. “Sorry your ‘cards’ situation prevented you from coming.”

“Oh, it’s alright.” Lucy said. “The spirits were restless and needed my voice.”

Before Brian could ask what that was about, Lucy placed him on the bed before going to the cabinet in the room and opening the drawer. She reached inside and pulled out a small bottle of some black substance showing through the glass. Brian was curious and shocked at the same time as Lucy placed the bottle on the bed before carefully getting on the bed as well, her stomach against the fabric and her legs in the air.

“I struggle with doing my right hand, and while Lincoln usually is the one to do them, I’m quite curious as to how someone of your caliber can handle it. Brian, I need you to paint my fingernails.”

“Wait what?!” Brian exclaimed. “You do realize that I’m unable to hold a cotton swab at the size that I’m at, so how am I going to do that?!”

“I’m sure you will think of something.” Lucy replied. With that said, Lucy put her right hand up to Brian’s small figure. He could see the black nail polish over her fingernails having some exposed spots, so it was likewise she would ask someone to polish them, but not someone as small as him. He knew he couldn’t leave Lucy hanging; he needed a way to help her out. He looked over to the black bottle, coming to a conclusion he didn’t want to do. After going over to it and, with a bit of difficulty, pulling the top off, he covered himself from head to toe in as much black nail polish as possible. Lucy looked at him with a bit of a cocked eyebrow as the boy stepped back on the bed, leaving some excess in his wake, and walked back over to Lucy’s fingernails. He shivered a little in nervousness before rubbing his entire body against every exposed spot on each fingernail, covering them quite nicely surprisingly. He thought he heard Lucy giggle as he went on, or it could have been his ears clogging with nail polish.

The entire process didn’t take that long, but Brian sure got tired out during the last few. He had to move to each nail immediately after he thought he finished one, although sometimes he did have to move back a couple of times after he missed some spots. He nearly collapsed on the bed after finishing Lucy’s pinky finger as the giantess lifted her hand back up to see Brian’s work. While there were some parts where he “colored outside the lines”, he did a fairly decent job.

“Hmmmm, not bad. Not as good as Lincoln, but very decent nonetheless.” Lucy said.

“Phew, that was like ten times harder than doing it normally!” Brian replied. “I probably look like a black ant right now with all of this over me!”

Brian underwent a firm washing in the bathroom sink after polishing Lucy’s fingernails with his body. While he couldn’t take his clothes off since he didn’t really have a lot to work with, he did manage to get every piece of black nail polish off of him. Lucy made sure nobody went in during that time, saying that “Charles had a really bad day” every time, which somehow kept everyone away from the bathroom. The rest of the day seemed to pass over Brian’s head as suddenly it was time for bed. Brian slept in the coffin again as Lucy made sure nobody was watching her put him in it, the exception being Lynn since she already knew about Lucy keeping Brian to herself and just so happened to share the room with her. As Brian heard the two drift off to sleep, hearing Lucy’s signature “sigh” like she was snoring, he smiled to himself. Going from completely uncertain to actually enjoying being around her, Brian felt comfortable around Lucy. She just needed a bit more getting used to than the others, and he felt like she could actually be a very close friend now. He was still a bit confused as to what she sort of “thing” she was testing for him to be with her personally, but since tomorrow was the last day she would probably reveal it when everything is said and done. As the thoughts drifted away, Brian soon found himself fast asleep.

As morning rolled in, Brian yawned as he stretched his legs awake. He could hear Lucy “rising” from her bed as Lynn had a bit of an eager awakening. He could hear both Lucy and Lynn walk out of the room for a short while before hearing the door reopen. Lucy opened the lid as Brian saw her emotionless face before the Goth placed her hand on the ground. Brian jumped on as Lucy picked him up and brought the boy to eye level. Brian wasn’t sure why, but he felt as if Lucy was a bit less than enthusiastic at the moment. It was his last day alone with her, but he wasn’t quite sure if that was the cause.

“Good morning Brian.” Lucy said in her usual monotone voice. Brian waved happily to the girl to possibly cheer her up.

“I brought your breakfast as usual. Sigh, I really didn’t want this last day to come.” Lucy said. Before Brian could ask why, Lucy placed him on the drawer before handing him a small piece of what looked like a pancake into his tiny hands. Brian couldn’t wait to dig in as he scarfed down as much as he could.

“Ummmm, when you are finished, I have one final thing I want to do with you.” Lucy said.

“Shouldn’t you save that for later? I mean, we still have the entire day to go on.” Brian said after swallowing a bit of his breakfast. Lucy stuttered and rubbed the back of her head, making Brian believe she was nervous on something.

“Well…I…don’t want to delay you being with me any longer.” Lucy responded with a bit of sorrow in her tone. “I know I’m not like the general consensus of my sisters, so I’m not surprised if you have wanted away from me since the start. You were…adequate when you were with me and I don’t want to end this prematurely, but I feel like this is the best way to handle things. Besides, your nightmares need some observing and you have been waiting on that…”

“That’s actually not true. I think you’re great.” Brian replied, finishing up his breakfast. Now Lucy was the one being surprised as she went up to the drawer Brian was on and looked at him at eye level.

“Well…okay, maybe a little, but that doesn’t change a thing.” Brian said. “You can’t get used to someone day one, time is needed to understand their preferences, hobbies, interests, you name it. Sure I was creeped out by you at the start, but this time spent with you personally got me to understand. You’re a great person Lucy and I hope we can stay friends.”

Brian couldn’t see her eyes, but he could hear her sniff a few times. He wouldn’t blame her to be holding back right now, but as soon as it started it suddenly ended. Dang, she was really good at hiding her emotions.

“Errr, ummmmm…okay then.” Lucy stuttered. “Even so, I don’t want to delay your patience.”

“Okay then, it is you call.” Brian replied. After a slight nod, Lucy picked up Brian off the drawer and, as weird as Lucy Loud usually is, laid down flat against the floor and placed Brian on her body slightly below her abdomen. Before Brian could ask, Lucy lifted her head upward towards him.

“I want to get used to bugs crawling over me when my body gets buried, so I want you to walk over as much of my body as possible except for the obvious.”

“Ummm, okay…” Brian said in question. Even though he knew some stuff from Lucy, her customs seem to come out of nowhere at times. Lucy put her head back down before crossing her arms like she was actually dead, indicating that Brian should start. Once he began walking, Brian was astonished to see the massive body of Lucy sprawling across in front of him, telling him his trip would take a while to get across. He took his time getting across her abdomen, almost falling into her navel since it was covered by her clothes. Lucy wasn’t wincing at all, putting on the “dead” act very well as Brian traveled. Noticing her crossed arms were next, Brian’s face went flat. He was no mountain climber of the year, but it seemed to be the only way past them. Rolling his eyes, Brian grabbed hold of one of the sleeves of Lucy’s shirt and began to pull himself up. It looked like a long shot, but eventually, after taking in some deep breaths at certain points, the boy made it atop the giantess’s huge arms. He nearly collapsed from the way up as he noticed his slightly higher elevation, allowing him to see the entirety of Lisa’s immobile face. He got chills just by looking at it for he knew he had to go across that next, so he easily took his time going across Lucy’s hands, even managing to see the work he did on her fingernails yesterday.

Going up her face was an entire beast altogether. Because of her round head, it was pretty difficult finding places to grab on to. Combine that with his less than average climbing skills, it took quite a bit to finally reach the bottom of her chin. He was surprised for Lucy to stay like a corpse for this long, for he couldn’t imagine doing that without some sort of minor occurrence messing him up. He made sure to be extra cautious when making his way around her mouth, for he was already almost went along with someone’s lunch twice already and he didn’t want to experience it again. After taking his time around her nose and the middle of her eyes, he reached his supposed goal at the center of Lucy’s forehead. He expected the giantess to pick him up before getting up off her feet, but something else happened instead. He felt slight rumbling under him as he heard a few snickers come from Lucy. He looked down and saw Lucy’s cheeks puff up before she suddenly burst into laughter. Brian struggled to stay a foot as Lucy underwent a small laughing fit, forcing him to sprawl his body across her forehead and grip tightly. It wasn’t long though before he saw Lucy’s hands appear before picking him up. Lucy got up off the floor as she calmed herself down the best she could before appearing to wipe tears off her face, which Brian couldn’t see because her hair covered them up. Brian knew his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him; Lucy was definitely smiling at him right now, shunning the boy in a dumbfounded look.

“Heheheh, WOW. You actually managed to break me, and that’s something I don’t normally say!” Lucy said. She spoke to him in a slightly higher tone than usual.

“Wha…wha…WHAT IS GOING ON WITH YOU NOW?!” Brian exclaimed. Lucy chuckled a little at Brian’s overreaction.

“I just couldn’t help it. I was holding that in since you agreed to be with me and it finally slipped through, it’s just…I can’t believe I’m actually looking at someone that’s so incredibly small. It’s just…so fascinating…”

“You’re not alone. Lisa basically expressed the same thing when doing her tests on me.” Brian replied. This gave Lucy the answer she was looking for.

“And that would be?” Brian asked with curiosity. Lucy leaned in close still sporting a smile.

“The fascination of tiny people. What we did these few days was very…adequate to me. While I would tend to steer away from what we did, I couldn’t help but feel enjoyment when it was you and your tiny stature. Heh, imagine a vampire or werewolf fifty times bigger than everything else. I wouldn’t mind seeing something like that.”

“Oh yeah, that would be a sight!” Lucy said, giggling at the thought. “Just…please don’t tell my other siblings about this. I may already be very different from them, but I don’t want them to think I’m that different…if you understand.”

“Thanks for being with me, and now I think it’s my turn to hold up the bargain.”

After another brief trip hiding in Lucy’s hair, Brian found himself in the confines of Lucy’s “secret dark place” as the Goth laid a large purple cloth across the floor. She also brought with her the freakish statue from before, which Lucy explained to the boy was her soulmate Edwin, and a curious bat named Fangs. Brian recognized the bat as it had some remains of an arachnid stuck around its mouth, reminding him of the incident with Lynn beforehand. He watched the bat yawn as it looked seriously drowsy; it was a nocturnal animal after all, while Lucy finished up the preparations for whatever she had in mind. The entire setup of a dark cloth, multiple candles around him, and the dark atmosphere gave Brian some pretty uneven vibes, and the fact that Lucy was now wearing a hat reminiscent of mediums wasn’t helping.

“Okay, you are starting to creep me out…more than what you usually give!” Brian said. “Just what exactly are we going to be doing?”

“Simple.” Lucy explained, back in her usual monotone voice. “We’re going to be contacting spirits. I personally know a few not from around here.”

“What?!” Brian exclaimed. THIS was the method Lucy spoke of to help him find answers?! He knew Lucy was in a state of mind not like her siblings, but this? He didn’t know what to think anymore as he began to freak out.

“Please, keep quiet and calm. I know this seems crazy, but I’ve handled this before. It works, trust me.” Lucy said.

Brian gazed at Lucy between breathes. For some reason, he felt relaxed looking at her emotionless face, like knowing someone will catch you during a trust fall. If there was anything he learned from those days with her it was that you could call anyone a friend, weird traits and all. The boy smiled, as a friend he knew he could trust Lucy.

“Good. All I need from you is that you close your eyes and hold onto my finger the entire time, I’ll do the rest.”

She reached over to him with one of her arm and she stuck her index finger out. Brian did as instructed and, with one of his tiny arms, grabbed hold of Lucy’s gigantic finger, almost seeing his reflection in her black fingernail. As soon as Brian closed his eyes, he heard Lucy start to chant.

“Oh spirits, lend me you knowledge! My shrunken friend wants to know the message behind his nightmares and amnesia! Speak to me the answer!”

While he couldn’t open his eyes, Brian could definitely feel a breeze pick up and the heat behind the candles around him lighting up. He didn’t know what the heck was going on around him, and he was too worried about what he might see to open his eyes. Suddenly, as quickly as it began, it ceased.

“Hmmmm, that’s it? That’s something I wasn’t expecting.” He heard Lucy say. “Oh, you can open your eyes now.”

He did as instructed, letting go of her finger in the process. He immediately noticing the candles were now out and Lucy looking at him as emotionless as ever. Her bat Fangs was perched on her shoulder.

“Time passes by differently when I’m talking to spirits. What was only a few seconds here was fifteen minutes there as weird as that sounds.” Lucy explained.

“As if I need to add another footnote about the weirdness about you.” Brian responded. “So did you get anything?”

“Well…I got something. For some reason when I asked the ghosts I could only hear a single word. I’m not sure if it’s related to your predicaments or not, but that’s what I got.”

“What word was it exactly?” Brian asked. Lucy looked at him closely before muttering:

“Yes, rings.” Lucy replied. “I’m sorry if it isn’t much, but that’s all I could get out.”

“Oh it’s okay, just another piece of the puzzle I suppose.” Brian said. With that said, Brian didn’t know what to do at this point. There was still plenty of day left, but how could he spend it?

“The deal is over Brian, you don’t need to be with me anymore.” Lucy replied.

“I know, but you said it yourself you enjoyed these last few days with me, and technically the last day didn’t COMPLETELY end yet.”

Lucy picked up the tiny boy and held him up to her face with a smile. For someone to actually want to be around her was something unheard of, weird traits and all. Fangs also seemed to be into it, for it flapped his wings in an eager manner.

“Wow, I…would appreciate that.” Lucy replied. She blushed a little as she packed up her stuff to leave the attic with Brian in tow. As the two left the area, Brian thought of the single word Lucy managed to uncover about his nightmares. First the horrid screeches and screams, and now the word “rings”. The situation was more complicated than he originally thought, but he knew he shouldn’t be thinking about it too hard for now. He had the rest of the day with Lucy and he didn’t want to waste it on those thoughts.

He was also going to have to inform Fangs about those spider remains over its face.

Two months later and Brian was still going strong, something he thought wouldn’t actually happen. He didn’t think he could survive that long without dying from all of the dangers his size brought him, more proof that the Loud kids were set on keeping him alive until the cure was made. So many of the kids went through more countless activities with him to keep his spirits up, from Lana putting on the back of Hops for a ride that felt like it could only be rivaled by a rollercoaster, Leni giving him prepped up makeovers, and even Lynn hiding him under her bike helmet for a few motocross assists. A few birthday parties also occurred during that time, and since Luan really enjoyed his company on stage, he went under his “Dinky Shrinky” persona to help her out and make things more interesting for the performances. Of all the siblings however, he didn’t really see Lori that often in those months. While early on he saw her in the hallways a few times, eventually he didn’t really see her much at all, and from what he heard from the others, she mostly locked herself in her room once Leni left. While they did hear some noises emit, the siblings didn’t want to interfere since they knew Lori has a very “primal” bad side if things went the wrong way.

Of course today had to be another one of those days where his size was required, for Lisa had to research something that she refused to tell him. The only thing she needed from him was a snippet of a spider cocoon, making Brian very squeamish. To make things even more awkward, the spot where Lisa pinpointed one was deep inside the air ventilation system, so she outfitted Brian with a tiny headlight and backpack for the trip, something Brian wasn’t enjoying in the slightest. Once everything was accounted for, Lisa sent him off and no less than ten minutes later…

“Nonsense! I mapped out every nook and cranny of this house’s air circulation system, so you should be coming up to the target pretty soon.”

Brian shuddered before continuing onward. Even though he had a headlight, which simultaneously provided light and allowed him to listen in on Lisa, he wasn’t enjoying the looming darkness around him. He hoped Lisa was right with the cocoon being ahead so he could get this over with. His footsteps echoed among the walls of metal around him as he turned another corner, not knowing where the heck he was and if any sort of danger waited ahead. What he did see behind the corner really gave him a fright. A pure white encompass, with strands that stuck out and attached to the wall behind, that had multiple busted holes with several exposed flaps. There didn’t seem to be anything inside, nothing but a shell.

Brian took a few steps back not knowing what to do as Lisa’s voice radiated from his headlight.

“Okay, I can see you’re a bit stunned from the radar, but there should be nothing inside it. Just get me a sample and you can get out of there.”

“Oh, I implanted some harmless circuits into your shirt.” Lisa’s voice replied.

“When did you do that exactly?” Brian asked. He could hear Lisa stammer a little.

“Errrrr, during some free time…” Lisa’s voice responded with a vague creepy undertone. Brian slowly made his way towards the cocoon, arms outstretched, and after what seemed like forever in his eyes, he pulled out a silky clump and carefully put it into his backpack. Just touching it gave him the jitters as he flapped his arms around like an idiot to get any sort of the stuff off his hands. Just as he made sure nothing else was on them, he heard a noise in the distance that sounded like it was coming in close.

“Ummmmm Lisa, there might be a problem here…” Brian spoke into the headlight. He heard a few beeps on her end before hearing her voice.

“Yeah, the radar is picking something up. It shouldn’t be that big of a…oh dear.”

“I…kind of miscalculated the cautionary substances inside there, but don’t worry, it shouldn’t be a-”

Brian never got to hear Lisa finish as a great gust of wind hit him straight in the front, taking him along with it. Brian screamed as Lisa’s voice became muffled through the echoes of the wind. The wind suddenly turned a corner as the metal ahead knocked him out upon making contact with the back of his head.

Brian bolted awake upon hearing that statement. He worriedly looked around to find out where he ended up. He breathed a sigh of relief once he discovered that he landed in Lori’s and Leni’s room on the floor between the two beds, but also noticed that the headlamp he was wearing was completely busted up, speaker included. Thankfully his backpack was still intact. As he looked up, he couldn’t see Lori atop her bed because of his small size, but from the various noises he was hearing on top, he knew she was probably on the phone with her boyfriend. Remembering that she also isolated herself in the room gave Brian some slight chills. He didn’t want to get on her bad side just for disrupting her privacy, so getting out without getting noticed was his top priority at the moment.

Brian made his move. He slowly walked across the floor, making sure he wasn’t causing any noise whatsoever. He did not want to wake the sleeping dragon to save his hide, and he heard horror stories of what happens when Lori gets angry. He accidentally squeaked a floorboard with his next few steps, but thankfully Lori didn’t seem to notice.

And the safety net just collapsed. If he was going to get out now, it wasn’t going to be easy. He treaded more carefully now, but he was nowhere near to the room’s door. He was seriously thinking about booking it and hope for the best until…

“I know you’re there Brian, so you don’t need to act like I’m unaware of your presence.”

Brian slowly turned around with a feeling of dread as he noticed Lori sitting on the side of her bed looking at him with her bare feet on the ground. The fact that her toes towered over him was a harsh reminder of how small he really was to everyone in the house and made it more impressive that Lori managed to pick him out among the floor. She didn’t look to be angry or ticked off, but more of a puzzled state as she saw his tiny stature, wiping all of those negative feelings of angry Lori out of his head.

“I’m going to need you to be a little closer so I can hear you better.” Lori said. Brian watched as the oldest sibling reached down and picked him up off of the ground, laying him down next to her on top of one of her pillows. She then laid down on the opposite side with her head on the other pillow, watching the tiny boy with intrigue.

“Alright, now you can begin.” Lori said. Brian was still in a stalemate with himself. He knew what to say, but Lori’s huge face now up close kept him from saying it. He couldn’t tell it to her, but Lori’s face was stunning up close, completely beautiful even. No wonder her boyfriend Bobby adored being with her, so he respected not getting between their relationship. However, suddenly appearing right after the two were done talking over the phone really made Brian think he was sending her the wrong signals, the feelings of dread slowly whittling their way back into his head…

“It’s not what you think! I was doing something for Lisa when I was suddenly blown in here! I didn’t mean to intrude on anything I swear! I know you wanted privacy and I was set on respecting that, but this was a complete accident! Please don’t take this wrong way, I didn’t mean to intrude on anything! I know you have a boyfriend and I’m not trying to-”

His sudden outburst was stopped as Lori put a finger over his mouth, which at his size was his entire face. Brian’s face was pink as his eyes were wide, stunned as to what was happening as Lori drew her finger away. She smiled at him and giggled under her breath at the fumbling around he was doing, not appearing to be angry at all. Brian was paralyzed, he didn’t know if anything could come out of his mouth anymore.

“Oh, I know you mean well. You aren’t the first to barge into me uninvited that’s for sure.” Lori responded.

“Phew, thanks for understanding.” Brian said. “I’ll leave since you still want your privacy and I’m sure Lisa will-”

“No, I actually want you to stay here for now Brian.” Lori interrupted. This made Brian a bit confused.

“I kind of need some company from a boy my age. There’s something that’s been bugging me for a while and only a mature boy would understand it, as much as I don’t want to admit it. You’re going through your own predicament with you being shrunken and all so I’m sure you can relate. How old are you again?”

“Fifteen I think?” Brian said. “Sorry, some of my remaining memories are still a little fuzzy.”

“That’s close enough.” Lori replied. Lori sighed as Brian noticed her droop down slightly. She wasn’t exactly enjoying the moment, but then she started explaining herself.

“Okay, I’m sure you know by now that I’m constantly talking about Bobby. You do know right?”

“Good. Well, have you not noticed that as much as I talk about him he never actually comes here?”

Brian never actually thought about it that way. When he usually saw Lori talking to Bobby, it was always over the phone, never in person. He never actually got to see what he looked like because of it, but he could come up with a few images because of Lori’s “colorful” descriptions he overheard her saying countless times.

“Well, you want to know the reason for that? As much as it pains me to say, he’s currently living out of state, and the only way I’ll be able to see him again in person is after a full year when I can attend college in the state he’s in. While I’m nearly content on that, for I can just talk to him over the phone, a small part of me wishes to see him sooner. I couldn’t stop thinking about it these last few weeks. That’s why I was locking myself in here until I can contend with those feelings; I just can’t let my family see me like this…”

She sniffed slightly as she looked down with negativity. While this finally answered so many questions for him, Brian didn’t know if he could help her out. Relationships were a big grey area to him, although he wasn’t sure if his memories locked behind the wall of amnesia had any information to help out. He really wished he could help, but it was all coming up blank for him.

“I’m…sorry you feel that way.” Brian said. “I wish I knew a lot on the subject to help you. At least talking about it should let off a bit of pressure right?”

“I guess.” Lori replied still sounding a little depressed. Not knowing a good solution, Brian came up with the next best thing.

“Is…there anything that Bobby didn’t do with you yet? Maybe I can do them to lessen the stress.” Brian said.

Lori looked at the tiny boy still a little sad. Just about everything reminded her of Bobby at this point, so she couldn’t really think clearly to answer. She stretched her legs and felt a few harmless cracks; for she was so tensed up she didn’t get the chance to do so until now. This gave her the situation for Brian to work with.

“Well…” she said before slightly sniffing with sadness. “My Boo Boo Bear never mustered up to give me a good foot massage, but I’m not sure you could handle doing it…”

Normally to anyone that would be as small as Brian that sort of request would get rejected immediately, but for Brian himself he wasn’t so quick to jump to conclusions. He went through so many crazy situations and managed to live all of them, even if they were pure luck. Besides, Lori really needed someone to be around for a bit and there didn’t seem to be anything dangerous about it…

“You sure?” Lori asked. “You’re miniscule compared to me so I’m not sure if-”

“I’ll handle it.” Brian interrupted. Not wanting to deny a helper like that, Lori nodded and laid her hand against the bed. Brian likewise climbed aboard before Lori used her other hand to pick up some small pieces of ripped tissue from the floor.

“Cliff went on a rampage once and ripped this up. I cleaned up most of it but forgot a few pieces.” Lori explained. “I don’t want to get you dirty, so I want you to put these over your hands.”

Brian agreed as he held his hands out as Lori carefully situated the scraps over him tiny hands. Once she was done, Lori bent up a bit and placed Brian down near her colossal sized feet, from Brian’s perspective that is. She laid back down on her stomach and rested her head against her pillow as the rest was up to the tiny boy. Brian shuddered as Lori’s feet loomed over him like skyscrapers, bottom sides facing him, not knowing how he was going to handle rubbing as much as he could. He took a deep breath before beginning at the toes, climbing up the smallest one and rubbing the skin with the tissues over his hands. He held his breath most of the time as he didn’t want the smell clogging his nostrils. It took some decent time going over the toes of each foot and rubbing each one, he hoped the depressed diva was able to feel him. He could hear her moaning, but he wasn’t sure if it was because of the massage or her sadness. Whatever she was feeling, he knew he couldn’t stop massaging her now; there were still the big ones. He looked up to see the stretches of skin that made up the bottom of each foot, making him cringe. Not wanting to waste time, Brian climbed up the folds of each foot and rubbed as much skin as he could. He knew there was no way he would be able to go over every single spot, just enough to make Lori satisfied was his goal. This time it took pretty long, but Lori didn’t seem to mind as she wasn’t moving the often to disrupt things, although the moaning was a bit irritating.

“Oh yeah, I can definitely feel that.” Lori said. “You’re doing great Brian. Get off my feet so I can turn them around for the other side, okay?”

Brian panted. This work was really giving him the exercise for today, but hearing that he wasn’t done did get him a little miffed. Quickly doing what the giantess wanted and getting off her feet, Lori, after feeling Brian no longer on them, did a one eighty and now had her back against the sheets. Her head faced the ceiling as she planted her feet near Brian’s tiny presence, making a slight impact that caused Brian to bounce slightly in the air for a quick second.

“Okay little guy, I’m ready for the next part. You can start.” Lori said. Her tone sounded more upbeat and glad then before. Climbing back up Lori’s bare feet, Brian saw the long sea of skin of each foot that ended off by her five huge toes. Her toenails were also coated in light pink nail polish. Seeing this, Brian knew he had some ground to cover, which thankfully didn’t smell as bad as the bottoms. He made sure that he hit the good spots where Lori could definitely feel his rubbing. Aside from the small hairs that were on the tops he also stayed clear of her giant toenails when doing work on the outsides. This went by a lot quicker than doing the bottoms of her feet mostly because Brian didn’t have to hold his breath from any smelly fumes.

“Oh man, you did great. I didn’t think your tiny arms would put in so much work, but you really gave me a relaxing time. My Boo Boo Bear definitely needs to do this with me if you got the nerve to do it.”

Brian carefully got off the top of one of Lori’s feet sweating buckets. This wouldn’t be that much of a workout for normal sized people, but for the shrunken Brian it felt like he just ran four stadiums and washed each individual chair. Feeling Brian get off, Lori lifted her feet and sat up to see her tiny helper.

“That really made me less stressful, thanks for that.” Lori said. “You look drenched though. Are you alright?”

“Yeah…just…a bit…exhausted…” Brian replied. He wiped some sweat off of his forehead as Lori gently reached down and picked him up. Brian’s vision was filled with Lori’s face as she looked at him with a smile.

“Well for a great job like that I think a special reward is in order. My Boo Boo Bear really loves this part…”

Brian got nervous as he saw Lori pucker her lips. He knew what was coming, but he didn’t know how to act. He never had a-

Brian woke up with a scream, but no sound ever came out. He surprisingly covered his mouth as he noticed where he now was. There was nothing but an endless sea of purple wisps and haze among him, giving him the creeps just by looking at it. Nothing else came into his vision, almost like an empty void.

The words hit his eardrums from all over. It was nothing more than the same unknown voice from before, deducing that he somehow managed to arrive back…wherever this was. He tried to shout for more answers, but like before, words never escaped from his mouth.

The voices continued to pound against his head, causing him to hold his head from a constant headache.

“If…the pain…grrrrrr…fault…fear…desTrUcTiOn…rAgE…nOoO…UrrRGGH…”

The voices began to oscillate to a deep shady tone and the purple environment around him flickered darker and darker as the voices progressed. Brian was getting terrifying frights all over his body and he wasn’t sure why. The knives were getting sharpened and Brian didn’t like it. To further add to it all, some very ominous and cracking noises accompanied the voices soon after.

Everything around Brian suddenly turned pitch black. He tried to get away as much as he could from everything, but it appeared he was getting absolutely nowhere. His face turned pale as small tears dropped from his eyes, he needed some way to escape from this personal heck. He desperately looked back and forth as the voice’s frightening laughter went everywhere, but he couldn’t make out anything from the darkness around him. There was no relief from the utter terror.

Just then, an image began to form. Two giant red crevices for eyes with no pupils followed by two sharp jagged rows of teeth that formed a menacing smile stared Brian down. The boy was at a loss for words, sweat poured from every inch of his body as the image came closer and closer until it was practically breathing down his neck.

“Oh my gosh, you’re awake! Are you okay? Even though it was very short, I was just on the verge of telling my siblings!”

Brian turned his head rapidly in a frantic manner to figure out where he was now. Thankfully for him, he was back in Lori’s and Leni’s room with a very relieved but still a bit shaken up Lori looking down at him. He noticed that he was now sitting on one of Lori’s pillows and breathing heavily from the massive fright he just had, causing Lori to lean in towards him for a closer look.

“Dear lord, you’re as pale as a ghost!” Lori said. Brian wasn’t listening; he was too spooked by the…thing that appeared in his nightmare. While he did get scared the first time he had the similar nightmare with Luan, the additions that this new one had cranked his feelings into overdrive.

“Not again…not again…” he muttered. Lori, despite the size difference, heard Brian’s muttering.

“Again? So this happened before?” Lori asked. She got on eye level with the terrified Brian while having on a look of sincerity.

“Alright, something’s up with you that you aren’t sharing. If I can speak to you about my problems you can speak to me about yours. I am the most mature of the bunch after all, and I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s going on.”

Brian took a moment to look at Lori’s face. She appeared to want to help him out with a heartwarming smile despite being a giant colossus compared to him. His fear began to melt away to the depths of his mind. He wiped a few tears away from his face before watching himself run up and give Lori a wide hug on the cheek. Lori was surprised at first to see the shrunken boy suddenly show affection, but she soon felt a warm feeling in her heart knowing that he trusted her. Brian felt like he couldn’t let go while at the same time feeling like an idiot to be acting like a toddler, but he didn’t want anything but comfort at the moment. He sniffled as he closed his eyes while tears streamed down his face, he just saw the most hideous monster in his closet and he never wanted to see it again.

Lori put an index finger over Brian and lightly gave him some compassionate taps on the back.

“Okay there little guy, it’s going to be alright. Whatever just happened is all over, just calm down and tell me so I can help as best as I can, okay?”

Brian took a gander at Lori’s giant face through his tear filled eyes. She really was acting like a big sister to him, something he heard from the other siblings that was pretty common. From Lana sleeping in her bed because she had a nightmare to settling disputes, she seemed to have all requirements checked out. While he was intent on telling Lisa first due to her genius, he slowly started to change his mind with Lori showing that she really cared for him. Slowly but surely, Brian let go of Lori’s cheek before taking a deep breath and explaining all of the clues that came to him since he arrived. Lori listened through the whole thing keeping her emotions under wraps until he was finished.

Once he got done explaining the nightmare he had when he blacked out, Lori looked slightly shocked as her eyelids and eyebrows went up.

“Wow that sure is a lot to think about. I could see myself in your shoes if I just experienced something like that.” Lori replied.

“And I still don’t know what all of them mean.” Brian said. “I just wish the answer would show itself…”

“I know it must be hard, but like you said to me, talking about it really lifts a burden off of you.” Lori responded. “You feel better now?”

“Yeah, a little bit.” Brian said. Lori still felt like there was still some negativities he was going through, and he did help her handle her discomfort earlier. He was now the one that needed help, and she knew how to do it.

“I think I know what you need little guy. Besides, I feel like I should repay you for helping me out earlier.”

When night rolled in, things got set in motion. Lori explained her idea to Lisa as Brian gave her the cocoon samples she wanted, and while she wasn’t exactly keen on letting him out of her sight, Lisa disdainfully let Lori handle Brian for the night. Because she shared a room with Lori, Leni had to be informed as well, and while at first she went very giddy to have the boy in her room, she quickly ran out of energy and fell onto her bed fast asleep. As Lori made herself comfortable, Brian settled on the pillow next to her as he pulled up as much blanket over his torso as he could. He was surprised that it took this long to finally get to sleep in an actual bed instead of a table drawer or makeshift coffin.

“You sure this is okay? I don’t want anyone to take this the wrong way.” Brian asked.

“Oh Brian, I’ve had to do this way before we found you. I’m more used to this than you think.” Lori replied. “Besides, you need me now. You helped me out so I feel like I should return the favor.”

“Wow, uhhhhh, thanks…” Brian said as he rubbed the back of his head while slightly blushing. Lori giggled as the lights turned off.

“Of course someone with a mind like his would forget one key component. Eat your heart out Dendy and your insufficient IQ.” Lisa whispered to herself as she carefully grabbed the last pieces of the spider cocoon from Brian’s sleeping figure without waking him up. Getting what she wanted Lisa hoisted herself back up into the ceiling with her bungee cord, but on her way up she swore she saw actual visual vibrations, almost as if something bounced on a stretchy surface, form out of thin air. She cocked an eyebrow, since she knew that was not logically possible, not knowing if her eyes were pulling an illusion on her before making her way out. Whatever it was, it can wait until morning.

“Alright, this sibling meeting has officially come to order. Lisa, will you please go over the minutes from the last meeting?”

Brian laid down silent atop Lana’s cap as he let the ones bigger than him do the talking. He heard mutters and whispers about these special gatherings shortly after the Louds convinced him to stay but he didn’t think he would actually be a part of them since he isn’t related. The meeting was called around lunchtime, and Brian never got to finish the small sandwich crumb he was given before suddenly being thrown into the situation. This made him slightly cross as his stomach rumbled from hunger, but he did catch a glance of most of the Loud siblings come into the meeting room, which just so happened to be Lori’s and Leni’s bedroom. He forgot how many heads to count so he wasn’t sure if he missed a certain sibling, but he didn’t want to think aloud as Lisa got out a few sheets of paper.

“Alright, item one: Outshine Fennel. Item two: Go after Rini and her time traveling…”

“I don’t think those are the right notes there sis.” Luna said. After a quick look through, Lisa found out that her sister was right, so she hastily hid the papers behind her back.

“Oh, errrrrrr, slight glitch in the system, heheheh…” Lisa said with a creepy and guilty smile. Brian rolled his eyes, taking an easy wild guess at what Lisa was actually using those papers for.

“I got the bubble wrap ready just in case!” Lana said. “Better safe than sorry!”

“Let’s take the house and push it somewhere else! She’ll never find us!” Leni said.

“Ummm, what exactly is the problem?” Brian asked. The Loud kids all looked at him with a certain look of nervousness and fear, except for Lana since Brian was atop her head.

“Do you know what day it is tomorrow?” Lincoln asked. Brian still wasn’t catching on as he tilted his head in confusion, making Lincoln explain further.

The siblings all shuddered upon hearing those two words, with Lana’s shaking Brian up a bit.

“Not in this house.” Lincoln explained. “For us, it’s a day of avoiding any sort of prank Luan sets up everywhere. She goes nuts and gets a sick kick out of seeing us get pranked by any means possible in that single day.”

“That’s why we come together on the day before to discuss any possible way of avoiding as much as possible, although we haven’t managed to avoid everything…” Lynn said.

Brian was still unsure despite the explanations. In the months since the Louds took him in Luan seemed like a good person, a bit comical with her jokes and performances but still a good kid. She didn’t seem like someone who would go insane and cause her siblings to fear her, but from the descriptions he’s been given and the fact that Luan wasn’t among them for this meeting, the plausibility was there. He took it with a grain of salt for now; he needed some time to think about it.

“Okay, explanations are out of the way so can we please figure out how to stop Luan from filling my hair with cotton candy?” Lola said.

“According to my calculations, there doesn’t seem to be any sort of complicated way to get out of it.” Lisa responded. “I’ll gladly take any idea that doesn’t involve succumbing to that clown.”

“Maybe all of you are thinking too hard. Why don’t you go simple?” Brian asked.

The Loud siblings looked at Brian as he grabbed their attention. Suddenly being thrown into the spotlight, Brian rubbed the back of his head in nervousness.

“Ummmmm, well, how about locking yourself…in your own rooms? I mean, you can easily stockpile the necessities for-”

“Already did that once.” Lincoln interrupted. “She easily lured me out and pranked me to oblivion.”

“Then maybe everyone should do it instead of just you.” Brian replied. “At least camping in separate rooms means Luan can’t focus on all of you at once. Isn’t focusing on each individual separately harder than as a group?”

The siblings stayed quiet for a moment to think about it before giving their opinions.

“It may be primitive, but I’m willing to try anything at this point to save my skin.” Lucy said.

“Same here.” Lana chimed in. “Besides, I have tons of animals to keep me company in my room until the day ends.”

“Just keep those grubby things off my side and I’ll be content.” Lola replied.

After a minute or so of discussion, it seemed the general consensus came up with a decision.

“Okay, so we all agree to pack as much necessities as possible before camping in our rooms for tomorrow. Any disagreements?” Lori said as she raised her shoe in the air. Luna raised her hand.

“There’s the basement.” Lisa responded. “I’ll provide a sleeping bag for you just for the occasion.”

“Do you want Luan to show you ‘the meat sweats’ again?” Lisa asked. The others watched as Lisa huffed and pouted at what Lisa said.

“Grrrr, fine. I’ll stay in the basement for tomorrow…but Brian’s coming with me!”

“Wait what?!” Brian exclaimed. He suddenly was thrown into the conflict like someone just sucker punched him.

“I would highly advise against that.” Lisa replied. “If he were to be hit by any confection that Luan conjured up at the size he’s at now, there’s a high chance of dire consequences. Besides, he usually resides with me in my room for research purposes.”

“But I’m going to have nobody to hang with for the entire day!” Luna responded. “Everyone else has someone to bunk with but me!”

Brian didn’t want to speak up to make things worse. Luna wasn’t exactly a stranger to him, for she did have her times with him the past few months, and he did tough out three whole days with Lucy before. On the other side though, Lisa knew he wasn’t the most durable despite avoiding death multiple times more than likely thanks to sheer luck, and if what everyone said about Luan was true, there would be a high chance of death if he were affected by anything she could conjure up.

“Well Brian, as much as I want to force my ideals, you are a human being and not an inanimate object. It’s your decision.” Lisa said.

Brian shuddered. He went over all of the facts in his head again and went over the many possibilities he could think about at the moment. It didn’t take long for him to come up with a decision.

Like all of them agreed on, it was a mad scramble to obtain all necessities required for surviving in a room for a day, and in a house of eleven siblings, things got hectic pretty quickly. Brian had it pretty easy since he couldn’t carry much because of his small size but it made Luna’s job way harder. Each sibling stockpiled as much as their hands could carry for each trip to their rooms, although some snuck in some “extra” stuff to keep them occupied. Even the kitchen sink wasn’t spared from the process. The only major ones taken were Lincoln calling dibs on their giant TV despite his room looking inefficient at containing it, Lola storing the refrigerator in her room, Lori taking the inflatable pool in the backyard, and Lucy importing her coffin collection for safety. The hoarding of nearly everything almost took the entire day, even their parents taking part at one point. They ended up taking the kitchen stove for themselves. Strangely, Luan was nowhere in sight the entire time, not even the parents knew where she was. This gave everyone slight chills.

Once the hoarding was all finished, Luna went into the basement with Brian. He rode on her shoulder as she carried the sleeping bag Lisa gave her. As she turned on the lights, Brian took his first glimpse of the house’s basement. There was a washing machine and dryer next to the stairs that were currently in action as what looked like a giant furnace sat in the back. Other than a few wooden shelves on the walls, this would usually be pretty barren if it weren’t for the bags of drinks and food that Luna carried down along with some spare musical instruments she wanted to keep for herself.

“Sheesh, isn’t that a little much?” Brian asked as he saw how much she packed into the room.

“Not when tomorrow’s torture is coming.” Luna replied. She laid the sleeping bag on the floor before stretching it out and unzipping it.

“Dude, thanks for agreeing to be with me tonight. It’s always nice to have someone to hang out with.” Luna said. Brian nodded at her response, not wanting to state the fact that he was kind of dragged into the situation by her.

“Sure, go right ahead.” Brian responded. Luna picked the boy off of her shoulder and held him in the palm of her hand to better see him.

“I know you kind of didn’t want anyone else to listen in, but I heard about the troubles you are going through.”

“And what might those be exactly?” Brian asked in curiosity. Luna stuttered.

“Well, you know, those nightmares you have been getting and the ‘rings’ word.”

Brian’s face immediately went pale and the feelings were sucked right out of him. He swore he only told Lori about them, there’s no way Luna could have heard unless Lori told her at one point. So many thoughts echoed through his mind as the sudden reminder put him in a rather terrible mood, but thankfully Luna spoke up and snapped him out of it.

“Before you ask dude, it’s nearly impossible to keep a secret just for one of my siblings. Things easily slip out especially at night, like the one time Lucy was reading a book debating on who the main character should be with. The entire house immediately went into a huge debate over it.”

This got him to calm down somewhat. He should have known that with a household of this caliber nothing was secretive. Still, he didn’t know what to say after that.

“It’s okay Brian; I know they were pretty harsh experiences.” Luna said. “I just want to tell you that all of us have your back bro. When one of us gets in a bad situation everyone comes in to help, including you and your bad dreams. You may not be related to us, but you have pretty much become an unofficial brother to us, and that’s something I’m glad to have dude.”

Brian couldn’t help but feel a warm emotion in his heart from those kind words. She wasn’t exactly Lori in terms of compassion, but Luna came pretty close second. He knew if any of those nightmares came back to haunt him the Loud siblings would be by his side. This also cast an unnerving shadow over him, for his size pretty much put big neon signs over him. That handicap was what gave him attention in the first place, but what if he came across the Louds without it? Would they still give him the attention he’s been getting? It was a very shaky scenario that Brian didn’t want to think about.

“I want to make sure your fear won’t take control no more, and I think there’s only one way to figure that out.”

“Hmmm?” Brian asked. Luna put her face up close to his tiny stature with a big grin.

Before Brian could deduce what she meant, Luna took a grip over him before raising him and plopping him right atop of her head. The answer hit him hard.

“Alright Brian, jump off into the audience below! They want to give their support to a great guy like you!”

“What?!” Brian exclaimed. He leaned slightly over and took a look down. It looked like he was about to plunge off a cliff with no safety harnesses, giving him a severe case of acrophobia. Luna must be insane to think he would willingly jump to his demise despite the ground being a giant sleeping bag.

“Come on bro, it’s not that bad!” Luna replied. “The audience will save you, trust me okay?”

Brian trembled. He was still not feeling up to it, but Luna felt so kindhearted to him and it appeared that she knew he wasn’t in any real danger. He didn’t want to disappoint, so he took a few baby steps towards the edge of her forehead and looked down. It still wasn’t a pretty sight, but…

“Oh, before I forget, make sure to stick your arms up and yell off the top of your lungs ‘STAGE DIVE!’. It always gives me better feelings in the end.” Luna said.

He still wasn’t quite sure about that. It may work for Luna Loud, but he didn’t have that sort of personality in him. Even so, he didn’t want to disappoint her. He closed him eyes quickly and he raised his arms and shouted.

He leaped into the air off of Luna head and felt the wind rush all around him. It managed to pry his eyes open giving him a glimpse of the upcoming sleeping back rushing to him. Brian held back the urge to scream as Luna didn’t seem to notice how he was actually feeling, even though Brian couldn’t see her face now above him. After what seemed like forever, even though it was only a few seconds, Brian were just moments away from impact, but before he could close his eyes so he wouldn’t see his splat over the floor, Luna put her hand right above the sleeping bag, catching Brian safely. The boy was in shock as Luna raised her hand back up to her face to see her tiny partner.

“Well I feel something!” Brian exclaimed with a pinch of sarcasm and anger. “I felt I was brushing death back there!”

“I’m sorry you feel that way.” Luna replied. “It always helps me when I feel sad to get a pump of adrenaline to counteract it, so I thought it would too.”

With those words hitting him, Brian now felt like a huge jerk. He knew Luna just wanted to help him out, but he didn’t want to bite the hand that fed him.

“Oh man, I’m so sorry about snapping at you like that! I’m just being an extremely cautious person since nearly anything can kill me at the size I’m at now!” Brian flubbed out. Luna’s frown turned upside down as she looked back at him and lightly tapped him on the back with one of her giant fingers.

“Apology accepted bro.” Luna said. “Still, you feel like your fear won’t control you as hard now?”

“Maybe a little, that was a big rush of adrenaline you know!” Brian said with a smile. Luna giggled at the mood Brian was now giving off.

“That’s the mood I’m looking for.” Luna said. “And if you’re going through a bad time, feel free to come to ol’ Lunes from comfort. I’m always open!”

Even though he was reminded earlier, Brian could help but feel happy that the Louds were treating him as if he were on of their siblings. He wasn’t an old toy they could just throw away, he was an actual person. As Luna’s words stuck in his mind, the giantess turned the lights off and got into her sleeping bag. She placed Brian on some space next to her head on the pillow before pulling up the covers for him.

Even though it was very dark with the lights out, Brian could see the dread in her eyes. She didn’t need to say anything as the answer could be seen all over her face. She never actually answered the question as she turned her head to hopefully fall asleep without thinking about it too much, with Brian following suite soon after. She swore she saw the air stretch up and down wildly like a trampoline for a few seconds, but she was so tired that she dismissed it immediately.

Brian rocketed awake upon hearing Luna shout, and it was not hard to see what she was worried about. The sleeping bag the two slept in had to be the only thing that didn’t see any sort of change between then and now, but everything else succumbed to some sort of modification. The food and other objects Luna stored for today were all gone, and the walls, ceiling, and flooring had very distinct balloon wallpapers covering every inch. The washing machine and dryer looked like two giant jack-in-the-boxes made for toddlers. Even the furnace in the back wasn’t safe from the redecoration nightmare as gift wrap enveloped it in a combination of pink and blue, making it look like something you would give for someone’s birthday. Luna stood stiffly, absolutely stunned that Luan actually managed to pull this off while wondering in terror if the other rooms suffered the same fate while Brian was more confused than scared. If this was what everyone was warning him about April Fools day, he didn’t see the major issue.

Luna and Brian looked up to see where the voice came from, noticing a pair of loudspeakers in a corner of the malformed room. They easily recognized the voice as being Luan’s as it spoke further.

“You honestly thought you could outsmart me? You should know that I’m always one step ahead when it comes to my favorite holiday! I made sure to make today extra special for all of you, so I hope you enjoy everything and remember this through Pranksgiving! Hahahahahah, get it?”

Luna started to panic the moment the speakers went off. The game was now afoot and she was the guinea pig.

A small click sounded as Luna took a step off the sleeping bag. As if it was a spy movie, hatches opened up out of the walls and shot out cream pies all over the room aiming for Luna. This took Brian by surprise as he ducked to avoid any incoming pies, but miraculously for him any pie that came his way sailed right over his head. He was relieved slightly that his size actually gave him a perk for once, but it was a completely different story for Luna. Brian could only watch as the giantess got pelted again and again by the pies, his size preventing him from doing anything to help. He understood now why the Louds become cowering on this day every year, Luan was a joking monster that enjoyed seeing all of them suffer a cluster of comedic props and jokes while she sat back and watched it all.

Nearly getting completely covered in cream pies, Luna looked at the shocked Brian and, as a last resort, pulled out what looked like one of their pet hamster’s see through exercise balls and tossed it in front of Brian. She explained through the onslaught of pies before Brian could ask.

“Lisa gave this to me just in case things didn’t work out. Get in it quick!”

“JUST GET IN IT BRO!” Luna exclaimed as the pies were now covering her up to her head. Not wanting to ignore the potential to get out unscathed, Brian did as instructed and rushed inside the hamster ball. He watched as Luna picked it up through the pile she was in, reeled back, and then threw the ball right up the stairs and through the basement door. Brian could only not get motion sick and watch as Luna was up to her face in a pile of cream pies before the basement door slammed shut.

“No, oh no, if she can get Luna…” Brian said to himself. He didn’t want to think of the possibilities as he looked around to see what room he landed in. The sight of the cabinets and refrigerator told him he landed in the kitchen. He didn’t see any obvious traps around the area, but from what happened to Luna, anything was possible at this point.

Brian turned over to the source of the voice to see the giant figure of Lana appear near the doorway holding a big stick. From behind her came Lincoln, Lynn, Lucy, and Lisa. Brian was overjoyed to see that there were still some siblings that didn’t get pranked yet, but getting to them wouldn’t be that easy since a trap could spring up at any moment.

“Oh man, am I glad to see you!” Brian exclaimed. “She got Luna and I think I may be next!”

“I warned you that today would be terrible.” Lincoln said. “Anyway, Lori, Leni, Lola, and Lily unfortunately all suffered from pranks already as well as our mom and dad. We’re currently the only ones left, so you should probably stick with us throughout the rest of today.”

“Oh good, I was worried that I would be all alone!” Brian replied as he started to move the hamster ball forward.

“DON’T MOVE A MUSCLE!” Lynn exclaimed. Brian paused immediately and stopped moving.

“Any sort of movements could trigger something and bring us down one person! Anyone have something to send out, you know, like those spy movies?”

“I’ll stay out of this just in case.” Lisa chimed in. With that said, Lana took very small baby steps across the floor while using her stick to feel everything around her in case something sprang out. Thankfully for her, nothing came out of the spots her stick went over, making it a very safe walk to Brian. She carefully picked up the ball Brian was in with a toothy smile.

“Wow, you actually look pretty nice in that hamster ball. I would love to see you and Geo race sometime, that would be epic!” Lana said.

Lisa never got to finish as one of the spots Lana didn’t check, the refrigerator, opened up revealing an inflatable balloon clown object that smacked Lana right in the chest, launching her out of the nearby window while simultaneously dropping Brian. The boy panicked before Lynn acted quickly and did a sports dive to catch him. Brian was shaken up as Lynn went back to the group with him in tow. They could hear very “washy” noises coming from the window Lana went out.

“No, not the soap! I just dirtied these overalls last weekend! Don’t top it off with the shampoo, NOT THE HAIR!”

The remaining survivors shivered as they heard Lana cries. They were already down one, just five left.

“Quick, to the front door!” Lincoln exclaimed. The other Louds agreed as they made a beeline out of the kitchen and into the dinner room with Lynn holding Brian. As if they hit another trigger, sprinklers emerged from the ceiling and began to spray a very sticky substance all over the place. Lynn covered Brian under her jersey as she took a dive under the table, with Lincoln and Lucy following suite. Lisa ran up to take shelter as well but before she could go under the table her feet suddenly got stuck to the floor.

“Oh no, nonononono!” Lisa wailed. The others could only watch as a bag of feathers dropped from the ceiling and burst over her, covering her in dozens of white feathers. Before she knew it, and just like Lana, a floorboard came up and whacked her out of a nearby window. The outcome could be heard from out of the window.

“Ouch, ouch! I’m not the specialized whacking object you ignoramuses! Ow, use common sense! Darn it, not the glasses! I’m not filled with candy! OW, OW, OW!”

Another one down, four to go. Things were getting serious. Lincoln went out first after the sprinklers shut off with Lucy and Lynn following behind. Once they made it to the door they contemplated who should go up to open it first. They didn’t get time to think about it for long though as the floor under them began to fall apart. Lincoln and Lucy got out at the last possible second while Lynn wasn’t so lucky. She tossed Brian up to Lucy as she tumbled into the hole below, making a big SPLAT as she hit the bottom. The others looked down to see if she was okay, which thankfully she was, but she was stuck in a pool of grape jelly and couldn’t get out.

“Go on without me! You need to survive!” Lynn exclaimed as her body sunk into the jelly. Another down, three to go. The remaining siblings made their way into the living room.

“We’re really dropping like flies.” Brian said. “Plus, with that hole blocking the front door, we can’t get out!”

“We’ll need to take drastic measures. Anyone know of a window that hasn’t been booby trapped yet?” Lincoln asked.

Lincoln found himself being lifted by a conveniently placed hook in the ceiling before a baseball bat smacked him into the opposing wall where a fitting large slab of strong flypaper was situated. He went face first into it as a poster of Luan pointing and laughing at the spot came down from the ceiling, just to rub salt in the wound.

“Save yourselves! Get out!” Lincoln exclaimed through muffled speech from the flypaper. Now there was only two left. Lucy wasted no time rushing over to one side of the TV and, slowly but surely, pushed it out of the way to expose the window. She hastily opened the window and was ready to jump out with Brian.

Lucy dropped Brian as a barrel full of bleach poured all over her. She yelled before looking at herself and noticing how hideous she looked, causing her to lay on the ground silently in a fetal position. Brian was horrified before looking up to see who dumped the bleach all over her, but before he could get a good look, a blanket covered the ball he was in, putting him in darkness.

Brian’s sight quickly returned to him in a slight panic, although the environment around him was still pitch black. He tried to move his arms and legs, but they were pinned down by something around his wrists and ankles. He felt himself being flat against a surface along his back, but couldn’t deduce what even though it felt familiar somewhat. He couldn’t help but shudder at what was going on at the moment. He didn’t feel like he succumbed to any prank yet, but he wasn’t getting any good vibes coming from the situation.

Brian turned his head back and forth to deduce where the voice came from, but he didn’t have to wait long before a large spotlight shone on him from above. This gave Brian a clear look at the scotch tape binding his arms and legs and what appeared to be a drawer he was lying flat against. However, it was the spotlight that shone a short distance away from him that really got him worried. It was a chair that looked like a giant jester’s hat with the main attraction sitting on it having on a mix of snarky and devious emotions over her face. She had the family’s black cat on her lap that purred calmly as she stroked his back like a villain you see in TV shows.

The queen of pranks and the duchess of jokes, Luan Loud, has finally made her grand appearance.

“Luan…what’s going on?! I thought you liked my presence around here!” Brian exclaimed.

“Oh Brian, of course I like you living with us, but that doesn’t mean you are safe from my favorite holiday!” Luan explained. “Anyone who sets foot in this house is fair game!”

Brian panicked as he tried in vain to pry the scotch tape off of his arms and legs, but his size held him back as his muscles were too weak. Luan couldn’t help but giggle at his struggle.

“Don’t bother trying to get out of that.” Luan replied. “I know the limitations of you being as tiny as you are, so you won’t be getting unstuck anytime soon. Besides, I have something SPECIAL prepared for you…”

This only made Brian more frightened than he already was. Her words came out with a certain pinch that gave powerful stings across his body; something he didn’t think could come out of someone like Luan.

“But first, I think it would be amusing to educate you for a change. Here’s something, have you ever wondered why all of my pranks just seemed to narrowly avoid hitting you or never even trigger when you went near them?”

That sort of insight got Brian thinking about earlier in the day. While he did immediately recognize that when he woke up the cream pies that were launched never seemed to hit him as Luna took most of it, the other incidents soon came to light. In the kitchen when Lana was holding him, the impact caused her to let go of him saving him from the “washing” outside, and when the glue was being sprayed in the dining room Lynn covered him under her jersey, but even then he did see the drops of glue suddenly thin out when near the floor until they vanished completely which he thought was pretty strange after thinking about it. Then he thought of the hole Lynn collapsed in full of jelly. He didn’t think it was significant at the time, but thinking back on it the floorboard covering it up did look thick enough to stand his current weight but not anyone else, so if he was the first to go walk over it wouldn’t trigger. Finally, the hook that took Lincoln was a bit too short to grab a shrunken boy if it was meant to grab him in the first place…

“Oh those weren’t just strokes of luck tiny boy; I knew those weren’t going to hit you at any point. They were meant for my siblings after all, so I carefully made sure that you went through each completely unscathed. Aren’t I a graceful girl that watches over the little people? Hahahahah, get it?”

Brian wasn’t buying into the message she was trying to give. She was no guardian angel when it came to this specific day; a different state of mind was in her head specifically for him and nobody else.

“I may not be a professional clown, but even I can see through thin jokes like that.” Brian responded.

“Well played Brian, I admit that was very well played.” Luan said. “That wasn’t the reason why I spared you from my pranks. Do you want to know the REAL reason?”

Cliff got off of Luan’s lap and scampered off as she got up off her throne and walked up to the shrunken boy still stuck under her mercy. Brian could feel the sweat rush down his face as Luan got her face up close to him and muttered:

The poison seeped through his body upon hearing those hazardous words escape her lips. She had something planned exclusively for him the entire time, and the dread was starting to kick in. Just that feeling was making Brian very uncomfortable.

“Oh you’re going to LOVE what I have in store, and I bet you are ANXIOUS to know what it is. Well, enough of keeping you in suspense, time for the main attraction!”

She reached down into one of her pockets and pulled out what appeared to be the roll of tape used to keep Brian pinned to the drawer. She quickly broke the suspense and explained everything.

“I couldn’t help but remind myself of that one birthday party where you balanced atop my big red nose, almost as if you loved my adoring face despite the clown getup. Well, I think since you love my face so much you deserve to see it for the rest of the day! You’re going to stick to my forehead, face down, and witness my cute face in all of my glory!”

The string finally snapped. He was suddenly reminded of when he was stuck inside Lynn’s shoe with hardly any air or available movement, and the special prank Luan had for him was nearly a repeat of that horrifying moment. To make it even more dark than it should, the incident with Lynn only happened because of an accident, but Luan was doing only this because it was funny for the sake of April Fools day. Brian’s heart began to race as Luan went up to him with the tape in hand, making him do a last ditch effort to get out, but the current tape around his arms and legs were still too strong to pull free. He even thought he saw a reverb form out of thin air out of his panic.

“Don’t struggle now; I don’t want to stick you where you don’t belong! Hahahahah, get it?” Luan said. She pinned his arms and legs down with her giant fingers as she carefully removed the tape sticking him to the drawer while preventing him from escaping. Brian couldn’t do anything as she wrapped her fingers around his miniscule body, only leaving his head exposed. She forced him to stick his arms and legs out as they were coated in another layer of tape, now there was only one step remaining to put the prank in full swing.

“Please Luan, you can’t do this. This is just cruel and not funny at all; please don’t go through with this!” Brian shouted. His remark didn’t even faze Luan.

“I can’t do that Brian, for I said it earlier, anyone that sets foot in this house on April Fools day is fair game!” Luan replied. Brian was at a loss of words, she was really acting so coldhearted to him. This nearly broke his heart to think Luan actually cared, but she wasn’t acting like it now. He didn’t want to believe, was it all just a…

The reverb he saw earlier finally gave way and burst open, revealing a ripped hazy tear, about the same size as Brian, which began to strongly suck him in. Luan tried to pull him back out of it while being shocked at what she was seeing at the same time, but the suction was too much as her grip on Brian quickly let go as the shrunken boy was sucked right into the tear. Once he fell through the tear immediately shut and faded from existence, leaving only a stunned Luan trying to recollect what just happened. She even failed to notice some similar looking tears appear behind her, but these quickly vanished after a second or two before she could notice.

The tear dropped him off fairly quickly, causing him to plop onto the ground as the tear vanished into nothing. He had a massive headache as he tried to hold his head, but he found out that they were still covered with scotch tape.

“Ugh, what did I just go through, a washing machine?” Brian said to himself. As he cleared his head, he started to take off the tape Luan put on him until he noticed the landscape around him, and it was not a pretty sight. It seemed like he landed in a small wrecked town, dozens of buildings suffered major damage and some looked completely wiped from the map. A slight breeze went through the area as Brian was too shocked at what he was seeing before him, but on a positive note he didn’t see anyone that perished because of…whatever happened. He saw a toppled bag of foods on the sidewalk that still looked fresh, giving him the message that whoever was in this town fled when they could, but what exactly happened to cause this was the real question.

He didn’t have to think long as a familiar roar echoed through his ears followed by a…whoosh noise? Brian couldn’t fully determine the second noise, but before he could think further, another tear split open in front of him and sucked him inside.

Brian landed with a thud. The tear immediately faded from existence afterward, and Brian was getting a bit irritated. He didn’t want to give in to another one of those things but before he could get a chance to think, he saw where he ended up. He was greatly relieved to see that he was back in the Loud house, specifically in Lola’s and Lana’s room on top of Lola’s bed, and he wanted the kids to know that he wasn’t dead as soon as possible. However, once he saw what looked to be Lola having one of her signature tea parties in one of the room’s corners, he got curious and decided to listen out.

He heard her speak as she was pouring imaginary tea for a stuffed lion plushy, and her voice indicated that the girl was definitely Lola. Of course her entire princess look could have given it away, but Brian didn’t want to rely on just the visuals.

“More tea little Leo?” Lola asked the plush. There was a few seconds of silence before she spoke up again.

“I appreciate your kind gesture.” She said after. “It’s nice to have some time with you when things go down.”

“Yes, I’m fine. How dare Luan cause my dolly to go missing! I did claim him before anyone else did, so I hope we find him before they witness why you should never make me mad!”

“Oops, sorry for that you two. Feelings can get a little high at some points…oh? Yes, of course! Here’s another crumpet.”

She handed the plush dolphin an imaginary crumpet as Brian watched. The answer came to him pretty quickly, for he did recall a special “dolly” that she did “claim” before anyone else did.

“Little Leo, did you say something?” Lola wondered out loud as she looked at her plush lion.

“No, it’s me Brian! Look over to your bed!” Brian shouted. Lola did as instructed and turned to face her bed, laying eyes on Brian almost immediately. Her eyes seemed to glisten before she turned to face her two plush animals.

“Excuse me you two, I need to take this recession.” Lola said to them. Once she formally excused herself, she wasted no time running up to Brian and nearly choking him to death in a massive hug.

“MY DOLLY, YOU’RE OKAY! YOU NEVER ACTUALLY LEFT AFTER ALL!” Lola exclaimed with glee.

“Errrr…yeah…choking…can’t breathe!” Brian muffled out. Once she was done hugging, Lola looked down at the tiny boy in her hands with a big smile as the boy recovered from almost suffocating from the pressure.

“I’m so happy to finally have my prized dolly back! I was THIS close to taking all of Luan’s things and selling them off! Just what exactly did she do to you yesterday?”

“No you weren’t. April Fools was yesterday when you suddenly disappeared from the house. All of us thought that Luan did something so we looked everywhere but couldn’t find you.”

Lola couldn’t help herself and gave Brian another hug, with less pressure this time so the boy wouldn’t lose air.

“Thankfully that wasn’t the case, you’re actually back! Do you mind telling me exactly what happened to you? That way I can get back at Luan appropriately.” Lola asked

He explained everything to the Loud siblings during another sibling meeting, although strangely Luan wasn’t with them this time. There was a whole mix of emotions once the kids learned what happened between him and Luan along with the mysterious tears he was sucked into, but out of all of them Lisa was mostly silent. She stayed out of the discussions for the most part and only spoke up when needed, and when the meeting ended she went into her room not telling anyone what she was working on. Brian also learned that he did go missing for an entire day when he was inside whatever place the tear brought him to, even though he was certain he was in there for only a few minutes. Things were just getting weirder and weirder with him around.

When nighttime fell, Brian once again made himself comfortable in Lisa’s lab table drawer. Like the meeting earlier, Lisa didn’t talk much. She just did some quick integers with one of her inventions before lulling herself to sleep. Brian almost followed her example when the lab drawer suddenly opened. He expected it to be Lisa, but surprisingly it was an irritated Luan.

“Ugh, what do you want Luan?” Brian asked as he rubbed his eyes. Luan’s response was poking him in the belly with her index finger.

“Listen up Brian, you may have pulled off a miracle and are now the only person to have avoided to get pranked by me, but know this: it will NOT happen next year. I’ll ramp myself up and make it so you NEVER have the last laugh.”

“You woke me up for that?” Brian said. “It wasn’t that big of a deal.”

“You may not worry about it now, but NOBODY upstages me on my favorite holiday.” Luan replied. “Next year Brian, I’ll get you next year.”

The drawer then closed as Luan made her way out of the room. For the one she was trying to intimidate, Brian couldn’t care less. He knew he wasn’t going to be in any trouble as he drifted to sleep.

Things winded down a bit the next few weeks. Lisa was still being secretive over what she was researching while Luan wasn’t in the best of moods after failing to prank Brian. It took the entire first week to get back to her regular personality and she purposefully tried to avoid Brian as much as possible until she finally got over it. The other Louds got busy doing what they were best at, from Luna rocking on her instruments to Lynn taking on countless sports day after day.

When somebody clogs the bathroom sink, Lana’s on the case. It’s not like it was unknown to her, she fixed toilets and other pipes in the past. For today however, she thought it would be nice to have a backup helper just in case and who she picked was pretty obvious. Lana’s pet frog Hops held down the string as he went up the faucet to where the clog was in the pipes. He didn’t want to do it but he was the perfect size for this type of problem.

Doing what she wanted, Brian knocked on the spot where he was in the pipes. Lana quickly heard where it was coming from and went over to the corresponding pipe with a wrench in hand.

“I’m going to loosen the pipe up just a little bit so you have an easier time wiggling it loose.”

Lana fixated her wrench over a certain spot on the pipe before rotating it bit by bit. On the inside, Brian could see the results as the clog started to lose its grip, causing it to sink downward at a snail’s pace. Seeing this meant that Brian only had a short time to make small gaps around it so the water pushes it out. Because of that, Brian went down and situated himself over the sinking clog before gripping the edges and pulling it inwards. Despite his size holding back his strength; it was just enough to expose gaps to the abyss below which consequently caused the sinking speed to accelerate. Now having to work even quicker, Brian gripped the other two sides of the clog and pulled inwards again. Even more gaps were exposed as the clog began to fall even faster, but even then Brian knew his job was done.

“All loosened up!” Brian exclaimed. “Just let me get out of here before you-”

“Good job, I’ll release the water!” Lana interrupted. Apparently not letting Brian finish, Lana went over to the sink to finally get the water running.

“No, not yet! Let me get out of here first!” Brian said. Unfortunately his voice fell on deaf ears as Lana turned the handle to start the water. Hops knew what was coming and bailed as Brian, still inside the faucet, heard immense rumbling under him. Brian could only muster up a very flat expression as the water suddenly shot out from under him, causing him to fly out of the faucet with the clog behind him. Thankfully Lana was quick on her feet as she ran to the spot where he would have landed and caught him with her bare hands along with the clog. With the faucet now fixed, Hops went up to the handle and turned it to shut the running water off.

Brian sat dizzy in Lana’s hands as Lana felt grateful to have Brian help her out.

“I’d like my surviving…a waterslide badge please…” Brian rambled on speaking through his dizzy head. Hops snickered as Lana giggled at how absentminded Brian was acting. She may have to do this more often with him if this is the result every time even if he wasn’t a jokester like Luan.

Lana, Hops, and Brian were suddenly scared stiff as Lucy appeared into the room from seemingly out of nowhere. Despite being with the Louds for a few months, Brian could never seem to get used to Lucy’s jumpscares, and from the reactions he saw of the other Louds, they weren’t exactly used to it either.

Lucy held Brian in her hand as she took him into her room after Lana agreed to hand him over. Lynn was out doing her everyday sports as usual, so the two had the room to themselves. She didn’t tell him yet about what precisely she wanted him for, but if the incidents with her last time were of any indication, it was probably something he wasn’t going to expect. It was Lucy Loud after all, the one that despite claiming to be the most forgetful was actually the sibling that easily stuck out among the rest in his eyes. He wasn’t exactly sure why though, her creepy interests maybe?

“Sigh, I’m sorry for requiring you again but I really need it.” Lucy said.

“Lucy, I’m not letting Fangs try to suck my blood again. I’m pretty sure he has my scent now.” Brian replied.

“I’m sure you have heard that I’m in my school’s mortician club, am I right?”

“Yes I have. I didn’t want to speak up about it because…yeah…” Brian replied looking nervous as he rubbed the back of his head. He knew Lucy was into dark things and he was completely okay with that, but there were still some things he didn’t want to get involved in especially with dead bodies.

“At least you aren’t cowering from its mere mention. It unfortunately happens a lot when I bring it up.” Lucy explained. “Anyway, I have a close friend in the same club named Haiku that writes poems like I do, and, well, I’ve…kind of been using you as a latest inspiration.”

This surprised Brian. He didn’t think the predicaments he got into since he arrived here were that good to write about, just incredibly unfortunate and nothing else, so hearing what Lucy was doing behind his back was quite an astonishing thing despite the fact that he wasn’t sure how she could have gotten a hold of some of these incidents.

“Now as I finished up my next poem, Haiku asked how I was coming up with these very interesting scenarios. While I denied answering at first, she really wanted to know to possibly help her own literary pieces, and since we’re already very close, I…kind of…”

“What?!” Brian exclaimed. She just broke the sacred rule! If there was one thing the Loud siblings all agreed upon for the tiny boy it was to keep him a secret from everyone so they wouldn’t have to get involved, but now Lucy did it anyway. He started to panic as to what might happen to him now but Lucy interrupted by tapping him on the back with one of her fingers.

“Please don’t take this the wrong way, I really wanted to keep you between me and my siblings but this sort of slipped out. If you let me continue I’ll get to the point.”

This got Brian to calm down somewhat, but he still wasn’t liking the vibes he was getting.

“While telling her would be the end of it, I sort of scheduled something for tonight. I convinced mom and dad to have her here in my very first sleepover, for I feel like I need to have that sort of experience before I reach the afterlife, and…well, instead of trying to hide you and cause dozens of complications, I think…I should just show you to her outright. Yes, I know it’s against the wishes of my siblings but I don’t want to make things hard by hiding you.”

Brian was now more stunned than worried after hearing that. Telling his existence is one thing, but showing off his tiny self was something else. You could easily dispel words, but once you see something it gets set in stone. There would be no turning back if Lucy’s friend sees him, even though Lucy’s descriptions of her seemed harmless.

“Ummmm, you sure there’s no other way? I don’t want to include another person into the circle of my tiny self, I don’t even know them!” Brian said.

“Trust me; she’s a good friend that would never use you for granted.” Lucy replied. “If you can get used to me, you’ll easily get used to her. Please, I need you to go through with this…”

Brian may be unable to see her eyes, but Lucy did look desperate in the other areas. The only other time he saw something similar was when Luan wanted him to perform with her and that ended up working out in the end. Maybe, just maybe, one more person knowing about him would go by easy.

“Well, I know it might be a huge risk and your sisters and brother wouldn’t really like it, but if you say it’s not that big of a deal I…guess I could believe that. Alright, I’ll show myself when the time comes.”

Lucy slightly smiled at Brian’s decision. Despite not showing her emotions that often, except for the one time when Brian “broke her”, Lucy did have feelings. Goths were human after all.

The evening settled in as the dark overtook the skies. Even during that time, Brian nearly got his hands full with many duties. From giving Lola opinions about certain outfits for an upcoming pageant to helping Leni finish a fairly simplistic jigsaw puzzle, it was a huge hassle. He couldn’t blame Lucy for wanting to stay out of everything, but with a friend coming over it wouldn’t be that simple. Lucy kept Brian in her room as she went to greet her friend at the front door, although Brian did hear the chaos of the other Loud siblings in the hallway. From what he heard, Luan was chasing Leni around the house with her rubber spider, Lynn was doing parkour and crashing into Lincoln and Lisa every time, and Luna was doing another jam session.

Before Brian could wonder how Lucy would get through everything the door began to open. He hid behind the lamp atop the drawer as Lucy entered with another girl behind her. She was around the same height as Lucy and had the whole Goth look as well. She had the same gray skin tone but unlike Lucy her eyes were fully visible and her black hair was more “natural” so to speak with one front part sometimes going over one of her eyes. Her outfit however was not even close to what Lucy usually wears, a long purple dress that hid her feet under it along with two purple fingerless gloves over her hands topped with pitch black fingernails. Her entire look made her seem like some sort of horror princess or part of a fear related sitcom but at the same time giving off a sense of realism. She looked like a very interesting girl.

“I brought my books and some movies to watch when things die down.” The girl said. Even though she had a different voice, she, like Lucy, spoke with a monotone pitch. Brian thought this must have been the Haiku girl Lucy talked about earlier, and from what he was seeing of her, she must really have some similar interests to Lucy.

“Yeah, it’s unfortunate.” Lucy replied. “Sigh, just another side effect of having a big family.”

“I understand your sorrow.” Haiku said. “By the way, about that tiny boy thing you said earlier…”

“Yes, he does exist.” Lucy answered. “He’s living here temporarily until one of my sisters brings him back to normal. He’s been…adequate since we took him in.”

“I would like to see him since you piqued my curiosity, unless you have been lying the entire time.” Haiku said. Lucy shook her head.

“You know I won’t lie to you, he really is living with us.” Lucy said with her monotone voice before turning her head towards the lamp Brian was hiding behind. “Okay Brian, you can come out now.”

Brian shivered when his cue came up. There really was no way out of this, so to not disappoint Brian slowly walked out from behind the lamp and into the eyes of the two goths. They didn’t really express themselves upon his reveal, which Brian could understand somewhat, but Haiku did walk up to the tiny boy as Lucy watched. Brian didn’t know how Haiku would react to him now, making him a bit worried as she looked at him with her expressionless eyes. She then got on her knees to look at him at eye level as many scenarios rang through Brian’s head like an alarm.

“Impressive, the doubt in my mind has vanished into dust. To think a spectacle of this magnitude actually exists, I’ve already got some inspirations.” Haiku said.

“He’s already given me some to write about, it’s pretty common.” Lucy chimed in.

“Well, ummmm…” Brian stuttered through Haiku’s gaze. It’s not like was scared of someone bigger than him, for staying in a house full of bigger people got him somewhat used to it, he just didn’t know what to say to Lucy’s friend without sounding like an idiot. He was already looking like one though.

“Errrrr, hi again…” he started up. “My name is…Brian…what’s yours?”

“I’m Haiku.” She replied. “It’s such a spectacle to see someone of your size in this world of ours. I can feel your struggle to survive among the giantesses, very interesting. I might have to put that into a literary work later.”

“Thanks?” Brian responded with slight confusion. She really was almost like Lucy in terms of interests. Do all goths act like this? He knew there had to be some type of variety, but his train of thought was interrupted as Haiku poked his belly with one of her fingers.

“I can’t get over the fact that you managed for months in that condition. Your emotions must be mixed beyond belief.”

“If I may ask, I would like to experience your being in the center of my palm. May I?”

“Feel free to, I’ve did it before.” Lucy spoke up. Brian nodded as Haiku put her open hand in front of him so he could get on. Once Brian was in her hand, Haiku lifted him off the drawer and into her grasp. She didn’t express anything, but Brian was certain that she was enjoying herself as she looked at him.

“To actually have someone’s life in your hands, the futility of life in one’s control, this is all deep stuff I’m thinking of as I hold you. You really are a work of art.” Haiku’s monotone voice said.

“That’s one way to put it I guess.” Brian replied. “You really are a deep thinker huh?”

“Sigh, I hate to break things up, but we have a night to go through.” Lucy spoke up. “I do wish to go through some ideas I had planned.”

“If I could request something, I would like this tiny Brian to take part in this sleepover tonight. He appears to be a very intriguing little guy.”

This made Brian perk up. He expected Lucy’s sleepover to only include her friend and nobody else, but hearing that he interested Haiku into potentially letting him in was a positive note. He was also pretty close to Lucy so that could have also tipped her off.

“Since he is one of the only ones that understand me, I can see why not. Three is the number of half-darkness after all.”

“I appreciate that decision.” Haiku replied also giving off a small smile. With that, things suddenly got interesting for the tiny boy, although knowing the two were not exactly “normal” gave Brian some doubt on just what activities were planned. Thankfully for him, one immediately came up.

“However, if he’s going to be with us, I think he should look the part.” Lucy said.

Brian stood on the drawer as Lucy and Haiku got out the various polishes and hair dye. He knew what was coming, and it did make him a little nervous. He didn’t know if he was going to look like the goth they wanted him to be, but Lucy and Haiku did outfit themselves like goths nicely so that gave him a bit of hope. He hated to admit it, but he hoped they would at least be as good of a fashionista as Leni and not screw something up.

“I wouldn’t worry; you will feel like one of us once we are finished.” Haiku said. Brian shut his eyes and closed his mouth so he wouldn’t see himself get “darkened” by the two giantesses as Lucy brought out a small brush with some black color over it. She went first as Haiku got out some dark purple, carefully stroking the tip of the brush over parts of his face. Once she got the parts she wanted, she tipped the brush with black hair dye and proceeded to Brian’s hair. Haiku finished with her dark purple polish over her brush as Lucy did Brian’s hair, and began work on Brian’s clothes. Finally, after some very quick strokes, Lucy was ready for the final touch. She got out a powder puff with some grey makeup and cautiously went over Brian’s face with it. It was a short process, but due to the size difference it was a lot harder than it needed to be.

Lucy and Haiku pulled back to look at the work they have done and felt a bit impressed.

“Okay, we’re finished. You can look now.” Haiku spoke up. Brian opened his eyes as Lucy got a compact mirror. What he saw in there really astonished him, it was himself but at the same time it wasn’t. The sleek black hair, the black under his eyes, the deep purple shirt and pants, and to top it all off was the light gray skin. He transformed from a regular person to Goth in a very quick span. He didn’t think the two would be able to pull it off, for they weren’t exactly, and he could believe he was thinking this again, the ditzy Leni in terms of fashion. He was now the look they wanted him to be.

“What the, I’M A GOTH NOW!” Brian exclaimed in surprise. He took one last good look at himself before Lucy pulled the compact away.

“You are not exactly what I call a ‘full’ Goth, but you look the part and I’m fine with that.” Lucy said.

“I wholeheartedly agree.” Haiku chimed in. “You would definitely blend in with us if you were your regular size.”

“Then let’s start the sleepover activities, for I think I have held back long enough.” Lucy said. She looked down and smiled slightly at Brian.

The two went up to Lucy’s “secret dark place” in the attic with Brian in tow. The place was as gloomy as always, but Brian didn’t know what Lucy had in mind. Haiku seemed to be following along with what Lucy had in mind even though she wasn’t talking much on the way there.

With Brian in her hands, Lucy looked at Haiku with her usual emotionless expression.

“Okay, I need you to hold on to Brian for a bit.” Lucy said. Haiku nodded as Lucy plopped the shrunken boy into Haiku’s outstretched hands. With her hands now free, Lucy reached into her pockets and pulled out what looked like a grey piece of tissue paper. Before Brian could ask, Lucy spoke up.

“Hold this behind your back.” Lucy said. Brian did as he was told; still a bit confused over all of it, as Lucy did some tinkering that Brian couldn’t see. It didn’t take long as Lucy finished pretty quickly.

“Hmmm, your work has caught the eyes of wondering spirits. They would like to hear what you are trying to do.” Haiku said after seeing what Lucy did behind Brian’s back.

“I’ll explain. Just stay there.” Lucy said. She walked a decent distance away as Brian and Haiku stayed put, turning around after she felt like she had the correct distance.

“I read about this in a novel about a malformed werewolf with bat wings. His elegant glides only to land with grace and splendor, those scenarios chill me to the bone.” Lucy said.

“I agree.” Haiku responded. “I know what book you are talking about and they are quite frightening. I tend to get used to them after a few more pages.”

Of course this left Brian in the dust. He had no idea what the two were talking about, so how was he supposed to know what Lucy had planned?

“Simple.” Lucy replied. “You will be doing the character’s signature Raven’s Dive, because he turns black every time he dives, onto my dead body. The tissue paper I attached to your back will slow your descent.”

This shook Brian up. He looked at his arms to see the tissue paper stretch from his arms and felt it go across his back. Combined with his current gothic look, it made him look like some sort of abridged vampire, and he was basically going to skydive in it. His case of acrophobia began to haunt his mind at the moment, making him very uneasy.

“I would have never thought to achieve something like that, so I will be glad to assist you.” Haiku said. “I take it you want me to throw him upwards?”

“Exactly.” Lucy said as she began to get in her “corpse” pose on the floor. “Just throw him over my body so he can land on it.”

“Waitwaitwaitwait, don’t I get a say in this?!” Brian said in a panic. “I’m not some toy you know, I have a life here!”

“Your life is in good hands. This will go by harmlessly.” Haiku said. This only made Brian more panicked.

Haiku tossed him up into the air before he could finish. The air rushed around his head as he shouted on the ascent but soon found himself quickly descending towards the immobile Lucy. He flailed his arms and legs around as he tried to slow himself before steadily holding himself out. The rushing air pushed in the tissue paper like a parachute causing it to flap, which actually began to slow his descent. Brian was stunned for a moment before looking at the flapping tissue paper around his arms, amazed that Lucy thought of it just for the occasion. While this made him relieved over surviving the fall, he now needed to safely land on Lucy’s body. By adjusting the tissue paper with his arms and by leaning back and forth through the air, he found that he could control where he travels through the air which was convenient as Lucy’s body was coming up fast. He angled himself to land on her stomach as he pulled in for a landing, although it wasn’t quite perfect as his knees touched ground first. Thankfully the descending speed wasn’t extremely quick and Lucy’s body wasn’t rigid or else it could have been worse.

Lucy slowly sat back up, still with her arms crossed, as Haiku was equally as impressed as Brian was at the moment. It wasn’t exactly skydiving, but it was pretty close and Brian felt a rush of emotions go through his head.

“That was wicked.” Haiku said. “Even though it wasn’t perfect, you could have fooled me with that dive of elegance.”

“I can see you playing as the bat werewolf when the inevitable movie comes out. You were a little shabby but it was well executed.” Lucy complemented.

“Shucks, you’re really pushing it a bit.” Brian said as he blushed with an arm behind his head.

“I would like to have him do the Raven’s Dive on me if I may ask.” Haiku asked. Even though he just got a massive thrill, Brian didn’t want to do another makeshift skydive at first, but seeing as how the two giantesses enjoyed him doing it he thought that one more couldn’t hurt.

The night continued on as the three did the activities Lucy planned out. There was the discussion on the book Lucy and Haiku were both reading together which caught Brian’s interest at certain points, the close contacting of spirits Lucy was good at, and even a time where Lucy and Haiku collaborated to create a deep poem with some creative input from Brian. Eventually it was time for a movie and Haiku already had a very interesting one picked out, where four female humanoids with octopus hair rampage through cities and leave them in ruin. This left Brian quite curious to Haiku’s tastes, but he decided against asking. Since movies on the big screen in the Loud house were nearly impossible to keep private, the other Loud siblings were invited to the screening. Haiku explained that she didn’t mind them, she was used to being around crowds which Lucy also agreed on. Lori made some popcorn as everyone sat down when the movie started, which surprisingly the couch in the room was able to handle.

As the movie went on, the destruction the humanoids caused Brian to be reminded of the day when he was discovered. From Lana wrecking mud buildings everywhere only to notice him amongst the mud wreckage he couldn’t blame himself for being a coward in her presence. Sure he was still a worrywart, but over time he knew she was trustworthy along with the other Louds. To think that his attitude changed since that fateful day, he was impressed with himself to get used to the bigger ones around him despite the troubles.

He did notice Lisa get a message on her special phone, thanks to a distinct ringtone, during the movie which she wasn’t exactly happy about.

“So Ami is trying to fight back eh? Well, not if my genius has anything to say about it!” Lisa quietly said to herself as she left the couch. Brian could hear her mutter as she left the room while texting.

Once the movie finished, it was time to finally go to bed. The siblings went to their respective rooms while Lucy got out two giant coffins for her and Haiku to sleep in. They were set in the basement since Lynn didn’t want their room to get too crowded which Haiku didn’t mind. Because Haiku was so intrigued by Brian’s small stature she wanted the shrunken boy to sleep with her tonight, to which Brian and Lucy said it was fine.

“This has been one wicked sleepover. I’m glad to have you as a close friend.” Haiku said in her monotone voice despite her choice of words.

“I’m glad this went by as good as it did. That’s one thing to check off before the afterlife.” Lucy replied also in her monotone voice. “All I need from you is to not tell anyone about the person you are holding. We don’t want too many knowing about him to be on the safe side.”

“Your secret is safe with me.” Haiku said. She looked down at Brian in her hand that was silent until now.

“Ummm, well…” Brian stuttered out. “You…were nice to hang out with. I never thought that someone like you could defy my expectations. I wouldn’t mind seeing you again.”

“You really are something. You have given me so many new ideas for future poems; I commend you for bringing out more potential in me. I might have to drop by often just to see what you come up with next.”

Brian blushed, now she was just pushing it. He didn’t think that much of himself to inspire others, but from the remarks he’s been getting he must have been some sort of celebrity in their eyes.

The two got in their coffins to go to bed, but before they could drift off to sleep, Haiku suddenly spoke up.

“Oh, I almost forgot. I was going to hold this off for your smart sister, but seeing as how Brian actually passed my expectations I probably should bring it up now.”

Lucy sat back up as she and Haiku got out of their coffins. Brian and Lucy watched as Haiku reached into her pocket and pulled out something. It was a photo that seemed to show off a part of Haiku’s bedroom, which was filled with Goth stuff as usual, but Haiku pointed to one specific part of the photo. It was relatively small, but it easily stood out especially for Brian. He recognized that part of the photo almost immediately, and he didn’t like it.

“We kind of do.” Lucy said. “One managed to drag him into some sort of deserted and/or destroyed town before quickly taking him back here. While he told us he was only gone for a few minutes, he was actually gone for an entire day, well, that’s what he told all of us anyway.”

“Interesting revelation.” Haiku said. “This one almost sucked away my book collection before immediately vanishing…but not before it spat out this.”

Haiku reached into her pocket again before pulling out something completely different. They sparkled in Brian’s eyes as the sleek lime complemented each individual piece, although certain points looked a bit sharp. Just one piece could probably sell for tons but that wasn’t the main focus for now.

“Yes it did.” Haiku responded. “I don’t recall hearing about granites that look like this, so this is unknown territory for me. One thing is certain though: the end is coming.”

“Call it a goth’s sixth sense.” Haiku said. “You may shake it off for now, but it’s coming. Remember it well.”

“I’m certain we’ll think of something.” Lucy said. As for Brian, he was more stumped than worried. Haiku didn’t sound crazy but he wasn’t sure how some clear lime shards of rock indicated that the apocalypse was coming. Just another thing to inform Lisa about later, hopefully she could put all of the clues together for some answer.

Time flew by as many more weeks passed until it was the middle of May. As the summer heat began to creep in, so did the excitement of the Loud siblings. How could they not get excited with the end of school fast approaching? Brian was one of the lucky ones that didn’t need to go, but that was mostly from his usual tiny stature and the fact that he needed to stay out of sight. He easily understood the eagerness of everyone though, for now they could get to do anything within the bounds of their parents without worrying about the educational system. While that may have been the good news, something else brewed in that allotted time. While they were pretty rare early on the weird tears slowly started to appear more often, although thankfully they were still too small to suck in anything big. Lisa was hard at work trying to figure out just what exactly was going on, having to put research on the cure for Brian on hold several times because of it, which thankfully paid off as she noticed certain patterns and traits that she refused to tell anyone about. Even so, the Loud siblings had to deal with multiple tears suddenly appearing to try and take away their valuables, including Lori and her cellphone and even Luan almost losing Mr. Coconuts. Even after each incident, the parents were completely oblivious as the kids did everything to hide the fact that weird stuff was going on.

This didn’t faze Lincoln though; he was too focused on the upcoming summer vacation. He already had things planned for him and Clyde while also explaining his plans to his other friend Ronnie Ann. Since she lived in another state though, he could only video chat with her over a computer. He didn’t mind however, he still got to talk to her.

“…so we had to pretend to like the fruitcake. Blech, it tasted like shaving cream!” Lincoln said.

“Maybe she should have worked at a barber shop then, which would have been way better!” Ronnie Ann replied over the computer. The two laughed at the corny joke.

…and Luan suddenly got a cramp in her side a few rooms over. She didn’t know why, but she felt like pranking Lincoln greatly tomorrow.

“Man that was great. By the way, remember when Bobby was obsessed with tortillas?” Ronnie Ann asked.

“I could never forget after he pigged out at that restaurant.” Lincoln said. “He spent half an hour after that moaning in the bathroom saying he would never do it again, and he even caused a line to form outside!”

Brian rolled his eyes as he sat on the sidelines out of Ronnie Ann’s view, arms crossed with a slight pout. Ever since Lucy showed him off to her friend Haiku, Lincoln had slowly but surely wanted to show him to his friend Ronnie Ann. While the other siblings, including Brian, didn’t want yet another person in on the secret, since Ronnie Ann was in another city and wasn’t coming anytime soon, it was decided that it wouldn’t do any harm if she brought in on it. Brian just sat in listening on Lincoln’s and Ronnie Ann’s conversation until his cue was called. He wasn’t angry or anything, he was just suffering from boredom with nothing to do but wait for his call.

“By the way Ronnie Ann and I know this might sound a bit…weird coming from me…”

“Lincoln, you go through weird things all of the time. I’m completely used to it.” Ronnie Ann replied. “So what is it you want to tell me?”

“Well…” Lincoln started. “You know that I keep talking about the boy we took in that just so happens to be half an inch tall?”

“It’s kind of hard to forget that with all of the incidents you inform me about.” Ronnie Ann said. “They were really nice short stories with interesting outcomes.”

“They actually happened!” Lincoln suddenly rambled out. Ronnie Ann cocked an eyebrow looking slightly weirded out through the computer monitor.

“Okay, now you’re just pulling my leg. You’re saying that a half an inch tall boy, currently living with you, actually was almost eaten by Lori, got trapped in Lynn’s sock during a soccer match, AND went missing for a day after getting sucked into something that formed out of thin air?”

“Yes, that all happened! He’s been through it all!” Lincoln responded. He quickly glanced over to the stationary Brian, who was still bored out of his mind, which was likely the signal for him to make an appearance. He got up and took a deep breath, not sure how this was going to end up.

“Sorry lame-o, but I think you have been hit in the head by Lynn’s footballs too much. I’ve seen some weird things out of your family, but something like that? I don’t think that is-”

“Oh, it’s real all right.” Brian suddenly spoke up as he walked up and came into view. Once the tiny boy entered her sight, Ronnie Ann immediately paused. Her eyes went wide as she seemed to be absolutely shocked, even causing her to get up close to the computer monitor to see if her eyes weren’t playing tricks on her. She sat there stunned for a good thirty seconds before speaking up again.

“Is…is this some sort of sick joke?!” Ronnie Ann said still in awe. “You…you can’t actually be existing and-”

“Oh, I exist all right.” Brian said. “I’ve been staying here for a few months now.”

Ronnie Ann rubbed her eyes as she tried to calm herself down from the sudden revelation. She did cool herself somewhat, but she was still bewildered and amazed that the tiny half an inch tall boy Lincoln talked about actually existed. Lincoln grinned as he knew Ronnie Ann now knew he wasn’t completely crazy, even though she didn’t completely get him at some points.

“Wow, just…wow.” Ronnie Ann said. “I can’t believe I’m actually seeing this.”

“You aren’t the first.” Lincoln replied. “I practically went through the same steps when I first saw him. At least you weren’t Lori, for, you know, I kind of told you about that…”

“Unfortunately, they did.” Brian replied. He drooped a little, for being reminded of his near death experiences kind of put him in a bad mood. Ronnie Ann noticed this and looked at him with a similar look.

“Woah, I’m sorry you ended up going through those. Those must have been pretty rough to escape.” Ronnie Ann said.

“You have no idea.” Brian responded. “Knocking on death’s door is not something you want to go back to, and I lost count of how many times I almost went through.”

“I can imagine.” Ronnie Ann said back. “You look like a pretty swell guy despite that and, well, the obvious size difference. Darn, this curiosity is making me want to see you in person!”

“I kind of have that relationship with people I meet. You aren’t the first!” Brian replied.

The three of them laughed as they continued to chat with Brian now being brought into things. He eventually spoke on about the weird occurrences with the randomly appearing tears along with his nightmares and the signs he was getting, to which Ronnie Ann didn’t think would get as complicated as it was. Of course Brian was asked many questions during that time to which he answered with the best of his ability. Eventually, Ronnie Ann wished Brian the best of luck to finding the answers he needed before signing off and telling Lincoln “Smell ya later lame-o!”

“See? She’s definitely someone that you can look up to. You’re making friends Brian!”

“I know I am, but it’s a weird feeling.” Brian explained. “While on one side I appreciate the notoriety the other side brings up warnings to letting people know about me when clearly we initially wanted to keep numbers minimal. I’m split to both sides.”

“I’m sure it will get better in the long run. You have been making the best of your shrunken height you know.” Lincoln replied.

Brian would have responded on that, but immediately Lisa opened the door in her pajamas with dreary eyes.

“It’s nearly time to lay rest to the senses so I’m going to need Brian.” Lisa said.

Brian groaned. The table drawer he slept in her room wasn’t the most comfortable, but it was the only good place to hide and sleep. Besides, he managed to endure there since he arrived so it wasn’t completely horrible. Despite it, Lincoln agreed with Lisa as he let her pick up the boy into her hands while giving Brian one final look.

“Of course.” Brian replied. Lincoln nodded as Lisa exited the room and shut the door. He could feel the obvious “big girl” shudders as she walked down the hall, silently rolling his eyes behind her back. Even in those months she still didn’t get over that certain giddiness, but he understood where Lisa was coming from. It must have been pretty down to have to look up to everyone especially with someone as smart as Lisa, and now to finally have someone shorter must have been a breakthrough for her.

“Ummm, I guess it’s nice to actually get attention around here.” Brian replied. “I was expecting to get forgotten the first couple of days I was here.”

“And yet the numbers keep growing, that’s what I’m worried about.” Lisa said. “The higher it goes, the higher the possibilities of risks. I do not want to see your tiny stature end up somewhere we wouldn’t be unable to check up on you, so PLEASE don’t let anyone else know about you.”

As she said those last few words, Lisa really did look worried in Brian’s eyes. She was really devoted to keeping him out of trouble, or maybe it was just so she wouldn’t lose her only good test subject for various experiments. He still felt the itches from the “tub of mosquito spit and chlorine” experiment a few days ago, not a pleasant feeling.

“Well, I think your siblings are done introducing me for a bit, so I’m sure the numbers will be good at least for a while.” Brian said.

Hearing the cry almost immediately, Lisa put Brian on her shoulder and hastily rushed her way to the source. It was coming from inside Lola and Lana’s room, and once Lisa came in both her and Brian were quickly hit with an image of both Lola and Lana tugging away at one of Lana’s reptiles that was getting sucked into a random appearing tear. Lisa placed Brian on a nearby drawer as she grabbed the twins both on the backside and assisted by heaving with them as much as she could, which was surprisingly effective despite the height, while Izzy himself wasn’t expressing much due to being a lizard. It looked like a long shot, but eventually after what seemed like forever the siblings showed their strength as they successfully pulled Izzy safely out of the tear while falling backwards onto themselves at the same time. The tear itself, along with some weaker ones around it, suddenly faded from existence as the three got up and brushed themselves off.

“Oh my gosh, are you okay Izzy?!” Lana desperately said. Izzy gave Lana a blank stare before crawling on top of her head.

“I take that as a yes.” Brian said from the drawer. Lola shivered as she saw Izzy move.

“I’m going to have to disinfect my hands after that.” She said. “I really don’t do well with scaly animals.”

“Technically they are reptiles but who am I to judge.” Lisa replied. Lana looked at the two with a big smile.

“Thank you so much! I don’t know what I would do if Izzy was sent somewhere else by that…thing!”

“That’s what sisters are for, even if it was VERY gross.” Lola answered. “Ugh, I’ve had it with those stupid holes! Can’t they just stay away so we DON’T risk losing our stuff?!”

“I’m currently analyzing their form and protocol as we speak.” Lisa explained. “Once I can deduce a probable solution I’ll make sure to let you know as soon as possible.”

Lana stopped herself before all three siblings looked at the listening Brian, who began to have serious thoughts. The thoughts casted a mean looking shadow over him as they surged through his head like electricity. It was true, the tears did start showing up once he arrived, was he really…

“Oh man, no I didn’t mean it like that!” Lana said. Lola gave Lana a snarky look as she picked up the depressed boy into her hands.

“Of course there’s no way my dolly is causing this crazy stuff! He would never do something like that to a princess like me!”

“I’m afraid that’s not completely conclusive.” Lisa said. The twins looked at Lisa, not understanding what she was saying, while Brian watched with a hard rock in his stomach.

“I lack current samples to put any sort of theory to rest for now; it’s a very complicated and sensitive project. Until I can finally understand what these tears are coming from, well…nothing is out of the realm of possibilities.”

“So, there’s a possibility that…” Brian slowly said. He really felt like he was getting stabbed in the chest. He couldn’t be the mastermind behind it all, but even so those nightmares, those signs, and his amnesia all gave pretty negative vibes all over. They were sucking the emotions right out of him.

“Aww, don’t be down little guy, it’s not that bad.” Lana said as she noticed how depressed he was. The other two looked at her like she was crazy.

“Well, I mean, we never have had something like this happen before! This has given us a mystery to perhaps something much bigger, and for us to be in the middle of it? You have to admit that you can’t help but get eager to find out the true meaning behind everything. Just don’t think about the negatives, okay?”

Brian looked at Lana’s caring eyes. He did admit he felt somewhat eager to finally figure things out and put everything to rest, but the possibility was still there. Still, he couldn’t feel upset to adorable eyes like hers.

“Well, I guess thinking things positive would be better for me…” Brian said. Lana nudged Brian in the elbow with a finger.

“That’s the Brian I know!” Lana replied. Izzy took a peek over Lana’s head at him, almost as if he was giving his support.

“Just to let you know, I still firmly believe all of this isn’t your doing. No dolly of mine would do something like that!” Lola said.

Lisa took Brian back to her room to finally get to sleep. After glancing at Lily to make sure she was sound asleep, which she was, Lisa dropped Brian off inside the usual lab table drawer. The two wished each other good night before Lisa shut off the lights and drifted off to sleep. Brian had a harder time, for even if he was somewhat used to sleeping on something akin to sheet rock, the thoughts from earlier still haunted him.

The pestering thoughts began to sting causing Brian to shiver in his sleep. There were just too many negatives to think about any sort of opposite. The complements and recognitions fell on deaf ears as the insults and offenses took center stage and reigned. He started to feel cold, helpless, and alone. Gusts formed around him as the chilly winds rocketed behind him, but strangely it felt like something from outside. Unable to handle the low temperatures any longer, Brian bolted awake and definitely felt the winds now. He turned around to see where the winds were going to, and he was not excited once he saw it.

Brian landed with a THUD against the ground as the tear spat him out. Not happy to have been taken into another tear without warning, Brian got up and brushed himself off as the tear faded away. As he looked down to adjust his pants, he was astonished. The green grass on the ground looked…normal, and once he looked up his assumptions were confirmed.

He held back the urge to scream with happiness, his number one goal has finally been reached. He no longer needed to hide himself around others massively huge over him, he didn’t need to eat crumbs off of the floor anymore, and he could finally look at the Louds square in the eyes. It was a great feeling, so much so that Brian almost failed to realize his surroundings. Everything around him looked eerily similar, as in it looked like a complete replica of Royal Woods, but different at the same time. Behind him was the infamous Loud House, not as big as it once was before, and everything around it looked like a perfect imitation of the other houses and greenery. There were two things that set flags off in Brian’s head though. One was the oddly colored pinkish orange sky, for even he knew that sunsets were unable to achieve that color, and the other was the lack of any sort of person anywhere, giving off a very eerie and strange feeling. Still, Brian was too excited to finally be at regular size to pay attention to detail, he needed to tell the Loud siblings as soon as possible. He was certain they would be eager to see him now that it was all over.

“Brian, there you are! Come on, we’re literally going to miss the ceremony!”

Brian was just about to enter the house when he heard a familiar voice behind him. Turning around, Brian smiled to see that it was Lori in her usual attire. Just by looking at her straight in the eyes felt like a milestone. No longer was she gigantic to him, she was a regular sized person.

“Oh my gosh Lori, I can actually speak straight to your face now! Look, I’m back to normal size! Aren’t you happy to actually-”

“No time Brian, we’re going to be late if you keep stalling like this!” Lori interrupted. She grabbed Brian by the arm as she forced him down the sidewalk, making Brian confused. She wasn’t excited to finally see him back to normal? What could be so important that she needed to get there without a moment to waste? So many questions went through his head, and there was very little time to ponder on them.

Once he reached the center of town, his jaw nearly hit the floor. A very long stretch table that easily equaled the length of several streets combined overextended in the center of Royal Woods and not only that, there looked to be hundreds if not thousands of people seated at each chair, which there didn’t seem to be a limit to. Past a few houses on the sides and at the opposite end of the long table was what looked like a pure gold chair or throne with a red cloth covering the backside and a giant red pillow on it for comfort. Brian almost flipped around as dozens of formal looking butlers in elegant black tuxedos whizzed past him to lay down piles of silverware and dishes across the long table for each individual person.

“Let’s go Brian; she’s literally going to be here any minute!” Lori egged on. She dragged Brian over to an empty chair as she took a seat next to him. Thankfully for him, the people around him were the other Loud siblings, and even their parents sat with them. This was actually the first time Brian saw the two in full without having to hide anywhere, so he felt best to introduce himself. Before he could do it though, more red flags erupted in his head. Everyone seemed eerily content with happy faces and joyous attitudes, even Lucy across from him had the expression. Plus there was that gigantic chair in the back, for it to be there something had to be coming and Brian didn’t like it.

The people all around him smiled as they looked towards the giant chair. Brian didn’t get what it meant until he felt quakes across the ground. Brian started to get worried about what might appear to get everyone this riled up, and after a few more quakes the answer appeared. Upon seeing who, Brian knew he wasn’t in the Royal Woods he thought it was, for there was no way that person could have changed that much in one night, yet alone what looked like over two hundred feet.

The “protector” took a seat in her chair and looked at all of the tiny people near her feet.

“Ahhhhh, it’s nice to see all of you so happy. It feels great to know that everyone is safe.” The giantess Ronnie Ann said to the crowds. The people cheered as Brian had to cover his ears from the immense noise.

“Now, now, as awesome as I am, I can’t help but appreciate your support. You keep me motivated to keep monsters off our turf!” Ronnie Ann announced. “Don’t worry though, I got your food covered for today, I just need your gifts of appreciation. Can’t break the routine now can we?”

Brian’s heart sank. Not only was he in some twisted place but now he was required to give something to the giantess. The problem though was that he had almost nothing on him since the tear sucked him in here. He wasn’t sure what would happen if he didn’t have anything and he DIDN’T want to find out.

As the lines formed, with the Loud family forcing Brian into one, the people offered their appreciation gifts from drawers, kitchen utensils, and even parts to an automobile for some cases. However, despite most of the offerings being of no use to her, Ronnie Ann wasn’t really picky and seemed to be playing it cool. It was like she didn’t mind what they were, but just happy that the people were showing that they still trusted her. The people didn’t even look terrified to offer things up, but Brian wasn’t completely buying it.

After some time, the inevitable came. Brian was now front of the line with all eyes on him, so he walked up to Ronnie Ann’s huge feet feeling more nervous than ever.

“Well, you got something?” Ronnie Ann asked looking slightly disinterested. Brian shook as the crowd around he started to express worry, as if he was the one person who didn’t have something prepared. He needed to think of something and fast. His shirt? No way could she fit in that. Pants? Same thing. Darn, he really was getting a case of stage fright.

Wait, that might just be his saving grace. He knew hanging around Luan for a long period would pay off at one point, and it was now or never.

“Ummmm, well…I heard news today that, ummmmm, a man swallowed whole by a whale, errrrr, escaped today by running to the very end, uhhhhhhh, until he was POOPED OUT!”

While the joke did sound very corny, the dominos easily collapsed as Ronnie Ann couldn’t help but laugh which predictably caused the people around Brian to fall down laughing as well. Brian breathed a sigh of relief knowing he just dodged a bullet on that one.

Ronnie Ann wiped the small tears from her eyes as she looked down at the boy with a big smile.

“Heheheh, that was a good one, I’ll have to make a note of that for later.” She said. “What’s your name little guy?”

This made the onlookers express surprise and shock all over their faces, as if they never seen this sort of reaction from Ronnie Ann before.

“Errrr, its Brian…” Brian replied. The girl leaned over and squinted her eyes to get a closer look at him, making Brian shudder a bit. Curiosity was clearly getting to her, for she looked over to the people watching and said:

“I’m going to put the rest of the gifts on hold for now; something just came up and caught my interest. Sorry everyone!”

The crowds and lines of people understood immediately as they quickly dispersed back to their seats around the long table. As for Brian, he didn’t know what this version of Ronnie Ann was interested in him for, but he did stay still for her as she positioned her right hand under him, scooping him up and making him eye level with her.

“Alright, who exactly are you? I’m pretty sure I never heard of that joke before, especially coming from a figment.”

“Ummmm, I just said my name is Brian.” Brian responded with a pinch of nervousness. “Also, what do you mean by figment?”

“Isn’t that what everyone calls anything that gets made in a dream? I’m pretty sure I imagined you from the video chat earlier, although I’m not sure if that was the correct figure for you. Oh well, it’s good enough.”

Dream? Did this Ronnie Ann say it was all a dream? Brian started to slowly but surely put the pieces together, and when he did awestruck suddenly came. There was no way a tear could bring him to somewhere like this, places that are practically nonexistent and could only be conjured up by…

Brian felt sick to his stomach. Reality was no longer a factor, anything was possible. The tears that kept appearing seemed to no longer care about logic, for if they were able to bring stuff to places like this, he dreaded the day when something this crazy would happen again. Everything crammed into his brain like a day before an exam and he was getting very dizzy.

“Errrrgh, ugghhhhh…” Brian sputtered. “There’s no way…no way this is happening to me! I can’t be stuck in this girl’s dreams, I have to find my way out of here and-”

His babbling was stopped by Ronnie Ann slapping him across the face with one of her fingers.

“Calm down there drama queen, I can’t help you out you keep saying nonsense.” Ronnie Ann said. “Now what exactly is going on?”

Brian forced himself to calm down as much as he could, and while it wasn’t much, it was enough to stop blabbering about.

“Ummmmm…” Brian started. “Well…you said this is your dream right? You know you’re asleep?”

“Yes, I know I’m out cold and dreaming right now.” Ronnie Ann replied. “I get these dreams a lot, especially this one. Why are you asking me this? You are a figment of this dream so you should already know this!”

“Oh really?” Ronnie Ann asked. “Then how did you get here in the first place?”

“One of those tears I told you about during our video chat opened up before I could fall asleep. I’m not exactly sure why it brought me here of all places, but I wasn’t expecting this sort of outcome!”

Ronnie Ann looked at Brian with a certain sting that caused the boy to shiver. She still wasn’t quite sure if he was fibbing or not, she needed one final confirmation.

“Tell me one more joke that I don’t know about. If what you say is true, you should already have one by now.”

Brian didn’t want to deny the giantess if it meant she would believe him. It didn’t take long for him to come up with another joke he heard Luan say a few times.

“Well, okay.” Brian said. “Ummm, research shows that stairs should never be trusted because they are always UP to something!”

Brian could see Ronnie Ann hiding her laughter, even letting out a few giggles now and then. He knew she really enjoyed that one.

“Heheheh, that was a good one.” She said. “To think someone like you could barge in here and-”

She suddenly came to the realization that Brian was trying to explain all along. Her eyes went wide as she looked down at the boy in her hand with excitement.

“Oh my gosh, it really is you! I really am seeing you in person, even if I’m not my physical self, and actually holding you! Dream or not, this is so cool and amazing!”

“I’m kind of having trouble believing this myself.” Brian responded. “Besides, I need to find a way back before the night ends. I don’t want to find out what happens when you wake up and I’m still in here.”

“Come on Brian, what’s the rush? You’re in my dream, so I can make basically anything happen! Besides, you just got here! You can’t leave so soon and not at least have your time with me!”

Brian wasn’t so sure. Time was of the essence before the sun rises and he didn’t want to know what will happen if he was still in here by then. However, he didn’t want to feel like a jerk and leave without giving Ronnie Ann some time with him, even if it wasn’t actually real. He sighed as he came up with a decision.

Ronnie Ann wasted no time with her time with Brian. She first had him seated with the thousands of people at the table before the butlers came out with the food. He expected the food to be nonexistent, since this was a dream after all, but surprisingly they were completely solid and felt like the real deal. There were a few misconceptions with some of the food that was presented, but Ronnie Ann explained that because she didn’t have it that often she wasn’t completely solid with remembering those features. Either way, Brian had his fair share along with the “figments” of people around him. He found them to be a bit creepy but understandable. They were conjured up from Ronnie Ann’s subconscious after all and not the real thing.

Once Brian felt like he had enough the people around him finished as well and expressed their thanks to their great protector.

“Thank you everyone, I couldn’t have wished for greater followers!” Ronnie Ann said. “Would the follower named Brian come up to me for a minute?”

Brian slowly got out of his chair, belly bulging out slightly, and walked up to the giantess’s feet. He looked very satisfied.

“Don’t get me started.” Brian said. “Did you have to imagine all of the foods that make me…big boned?”

“Hey, you have to admit that they are very tasty.” Ronnie Ann said. “Okay, I already have everything planned out. First, I want to-”

Brian was shoved out of the way as a miscellaneous woman rushed up to Ronnie Ann’s feet. The giantess rolled her eyes as she listened out on what the woman had to say.

“The…the…the Molossus has appeared to destroy everything!” the woman exclaimed while looking very flustered. “I already lost my radio and stereo to that thing, please save us great protector!”

Rumbling began to occur through the streets soon after. Suddenly feeling danger afoot, the people and butlers around the area fled in every direction, including the woman. The only ones that weren’t running away were the giantess Ronnie Ann, and Brian down by her feet.

“Whawhawhawhawhaaaaaat’shaaaaaaapppppeeeennniiinnnggg?” Brian stuttered out through the rumblings.

“You want to know why I am known as the protector here?” Ronnie Ann said. “You’re about to find out.”

Suddenly, the ground behind Brian burst open as the creature made its appearance. True to its name, it was a giant hairy mole, about the same size as the giantess Ronnie Ann, with a big whiskered nose and tough padded feet. Its two giant claws were curved and hollow like shovels and its mouth was big and jagged. The only thing that wasn’t big on it was the two dots above its nose, which appeared to be the creature’s eyes.

The Molossus roared loudly as it used its claws to knock over a nearby construction site and woodwork shop. Brian tried to keep his footing, but soon found himself bound inside a protective bubble. It floated high to a safe part of the sky as Ronnie Ann looked at him from below.

“Can’t let you get caught in the crossfire little guy.” Ronnie Ann said. “This shouldn’t take long.”

Brian was unsure with that statement, but he watched closely as Ronnie Ann approached the Molossus anyway. The Molossus started to waddle away to some other part of the town before Ronnie Ann cracked her knuckles and leaped straight on the monster. She grappled its fur tightly as the Molossus tried to shake her off. Ronnie Ann kicked its back a few times before she backed off and pulled a baseball bat out of thin air. She whacked the Molossus with it straight in the buttocks as the monster went sailing through the air into some skyscrapers. Brian wasn’t surprised that she was able to get objects in an instant, for this was her dream after all.

The Molossus shook itself off before drilling underground in another direction. Ronnie Ann cocked an eyebrow in slight confusion before the Molossus came out and destroyed a bunch of tow trucks and a few cement trucks. Ronnie Ann didn’t want to waste any more time as the baseball bat vanished with a long rope in its stead. She gripped the rope tightly before running up and tying the Molossus by the neck. The Molossus flailed about as Ronnie Ann held her end of the rope like holding a leash, planting her feet firmly into the ground so she wouldn’t get pulled away.

“Urrrrrgh, what is with this one today?!” Ronnie Ann exclaimed. “It doesn’t usually come out until night!”

Now it was Brian that was confused. If what Ronnie Ann said was true, then why did the monster come out in broad daylight? If it was a nocturnal creature it should be asleep at this point…

It immediately came to him. It completely ignoring Ronnie Ann, the specific things it destroyed, not looking like it wanted to fight…

Ronnie Ann wasn’t too sure on what Brian had in mind, but she was struggling with the Molossus and any sort of idea would be good at this point. Taking Brian’s advice, Ronnie Ann imagined up some soundproof earmuffs and held them in her other hand. In one swift motion, she let go of the rope and pounced right on the struggling Molossus. The monster roared before Ronnie Ann wedged the earmuffs over its head.

The results instantly became apparent as the Molossus suddenly slowed down before coming to a stop, almost like an abrupt shock. Ronnie Ann kept her distance as the Molossus turned around with a big goofy smile. It slowly walked up to her before giving Ronnie Ann a big happy lick across the face.

“Eeeew! Okay there big guy, you’re welcome!” Ronnie Ann said. The Molossus’ tail thumped up and down for a bit before the Molossus itself burrowed underground and left the area in peace.

Once the threat was neutralized, all of the little people came out of hiding and crowded themselves around Ronnie Ann’s feet giving their praises. As they did so, Brian’s bubble came down from the sky and popped right over the giantess’s shoulder where he safely landed.

Brian couldn’t help but smile along with Ronnie Ann. This dream was a great way to escape reality and listen to positive notes. He now understood why this was the most common dream for her, for this was a great alternative every night since she wasn’t in the same state as Lincoln anymore. He wished his dreams could have been as good as this instead of constant nightmares.

“I can easily see that.” Brian replied. “I can also see why Lincoln has you as a best friend.”

“Hey, you’re my friend too you know.” Ronnie Ann said. Brian perked up upon hearing that.

“Really? We’ve only just met and I still don’t know everything about you!”

“Well you did just put up a good first impression.” Ronnie Ann said. “I hope whatever is going on with you gets cured. Heh, then I will finally get to see you at normal size.”

“Thanks.” Brian replied. He was so happy to get recognized as a friend that he failed to notice the rushing wind behind him at first. When the force got stronger, Brian looked behind him and saw that another tear just opened up. It was his ticket back to reality.

“Ummmm, I’m sorry about this Ronnie Ann, but I can’t stay here any longer.” Brian replied. Ronnie Ann turned her head towards him and saw the tear trying to suck him into it, which she didn’t exactly like seeing.

“Oh man, really? I didn’t even get to the stuff I had planned!” Ronnie Ann said. “Can’t you just ignore that for once and stay here a bit longer?”

“I really can’t.” Brian answered. “I don’t want to be in here when you wake up, for I’m pretty sure I’ll fade from existence like this dream. Besides, all dreams must come to an end at some point, but maybe you will get lucky later and another tear will bring me into another one of your dreams.”

“That would be sick!” Ronnie Ann said. She frowned before looking at Brian then over to the tear, switching back and forth for a bit before coming to a decision.

“I…guess you’re right. I don’t think I could forgive myself if you vanished from existence, and I don’t think Lincoln and his sisters would like that either. Just make sure you can find a way back here so I can do more stuff with you, okay?”

“Duly noted.” Brian answered with a nod. The suction of the tear started to get intense until it quickly swept Brian off his feet. He caught a glimpse of the giantess Ronnie Ann and the tiny people around her waving goodbye before the tear enveloped his vision.

Brian landed with a smack as the tear disappeared above him. Once his vision cleared he saw that he was back safely in the Loud house, but unfortunately his regular size didn’t carry over. He felt pretty sad to immediately go back to being half an inch tall, he was going to have to get back to looking at others’ gigantic feet instead of face to face. Just more reminders that he wasn’t quite cured of his condition just yet.

The ground under him rumbled as he looked down to see where he landed. Once he saw what it was he felt pretty embarrassed as a giant hand picked him up from the back.

“You do realize that I don’t need a wakeup call, I can keep track of time myself.” Lisa said as she yawned and rubbed her eyes with her other hand. “What are you so excited about?”

“Oh, well, it kind of wasn’t an accident.” Brian explained. “I’ll explain once everyone is accounted for.”

“Another tear incident?” Lisa asked. Brian nodded his head as Lisa slowly got out of bed and put him on it to clean her glasses. Seeing the sunlight through the bedroom window told Brian that it just hit morning, meaning he left Ronnie Ann’s dream just in the nick of time. He was going to tell the others about it at a better time when they weren’t just getting ready for the day.

As if on a whim, all of the Loud siblings, with Lisa carrying Brian, bolted awake and made a beeline towards the source of the noise, which came from Lori’s and Leni’s room. What they saw was a very freaked out and worried looking Leni, sitting straight up eyes wide open. She was breathing incredibly fast and was twitching all over. Lori sat up in her own bed on the other side just as confused as the others were.

“Woah Leni, what happened here?” Lincoln asked. She looked at him with her terrified eyes.

“A really…really…awkward nightmare, so many of those things…oh so many…”

“Take it from the top sis.” Lori said. Leni didn’t look like she was in the mood to talk. Whatever nightmare she had must have been pretty terrifying to make her into a nervous wreck. However, just as it was thought that she wouldn’t explain, she spoke.

“Okay, okay, here’s how it went. Well, I was having the greatest day ever as ‘Queen of the Mall’ and I got to try on all sorts of clothes and accessories for free! It was totes great and everyone there loved me, and then… well, these rainbow thingys popped up and started dropping off these blue humpy guys!”

Brian cringed from Lisa’s hand. Thanks to his experience of being sucked into Ronnie Ann’s dream, he knew the “rainbow thingys” Leni was talking about were none other than more tears opening up. Turns out Leni was another victim of the tears dumping things into dreams, but he had no idea what were the “blue humpy guys” she was talking about.

“They kept saying that their names were ‘Tyrone’ or something and started rushing at me! I tried to fight them off of my clothes, and while all of them can easily fall apart from a few simple touches, there were too many of them. Even with no arms they managed to tie me up and started to take me to…THE OUTDATED SECTION!”

She put her face into her hands as she began to cry. Her sisters and brother closed in around her for comfort, for even if it wasn’t that big of a deal to them, it was to Leni and she was scared out of her mind.

“Of course they go screaming when I come to the rescue!” Lynn also chimed in. The other Louds gave their condolences as well, causing Leni to wipe off her face and smile happily.

“Awwww, thanks you guys! It’s nice to know that I always have all of you to look out for me.”

“Well apparently you weren’t the only one.” Lisa spoke up. Brian was caught by surprise as Lisa looked down upon him.

“Wait, you want me to explain what happened now?!” Brian asked in disbelief.

“Well everyone is already accounted for like you wanted.” Lisa replied. Hearing this, the other Loud sibling also looked to the tiny boy with intrigue. Just because he wasn’t related to them doesn’t mean his troubles should be ignored, and with the crazy stuff that’s been happening since he appeared it was bound to be interesting. Besides, it was nearly impossible to keep secrets to yourself in this house.

“Well okay, I’ll talk about what happened to me last night. Yes, Leni wasn’t the only one that suffered something with these tears that keep popping up, and I’m sure Lincoln would get a kick out of what I’m about to say.”

“Ohhhhhhkay?” Lincoln replied in confusion. With that said, Brian began talking about his weird experience since the tear sucked him in last night to all of the Loud siblings. He knew Lisa would appreciate it the most to help with research, and maybe the others would also help him in the future.

…although Lincoln was suddenly catapulted outside into a pool of pink dyed water early on thanks to a loose floorboard, causing him to become the color pink all over. Luan stuck her head out of the window soon after to see her very disgruntled brother.

Summer was vast approaching, and everyone in the Loud house was getting pretty hyped up over it. Just one week left and they could do nearly anything within the bounds of the house without having to worry about the tedious educational system. Because of that, things started to slow down a bit, and for a certain someone it was like paradise.

“Oh my dear love, I know being together brings toxic through my veins, but I will find a way to make it…non-lethal. Raven’s Dive!”

“You aren’t alone Pierce, love hurts oh so much. You will make it through, I know it.” Lucy said to the TV. She had been watching the new hit show, “Pierce in the Dark”, for a few weeks now and she was already hooked onto how dramatic it could get in a split second. Even though she knew it was based on the hit book series she’s been reading with Haiku, she was always on the edge of her seat when the show came on even though she never expressed it. The show also liked to deviate from a the books a bit to tell its own story for certain episodes, and while this would cause some devoted fans to draw back from the show, Lucy thought it was a great way to expand the world and give it more personality. She really enjoyed the show for what it was; a good and original take on the book series of the same name.

“Blech, blech, I think I got some polish in my mouth! You sure you can’t do this?”

Lucy looked down at her bare feet to see the shrunken boy completely covered in black and standing on top of one of her big toes.

“I can’t really do certain parts to complete perfection, and my other siblings are doing their own things, so you were the only one available. Besides, I’m curious if you can handle my toes the same way you handled my fingernails, and you don’t like to shy away from helping others out despite your…tiny stature. I’m certain you can handle it.”

Brian groaned under his breath. Handling Lucy’s fingernails was one thing, but doing her toenails was completely different. Not only did he need to coat himself in black nail polish again, but now he needed to spread his entire body flat against each nail like an abridged snow angel. This got him dirtier than before thanks to all of the excess things around her feet immediately sticking to him. He wasn’t exactly enjoying this job even if Lucy enjoyed having him around. On the bright side though, he was doing better than the fingernails job.

Brian continued mashing his body against each hard surface of Lucy’s toenails as the giantess watched her TV show peacefully. Once he was just finishing up one of the smaller toes, Lucy’s show went to a commercial break. The giantess looked down at Brian’s work as the messages went by, impressed at how effective he was doing this time. Just to mess with him a little bit, she wiggled her toes and watched as Brian bobbed up and down trying to not fly off.

“What the-” Brian said as Lucy’s toes went up and down. He ended up getting smacked in the face by Lucy’s toenails a few times, which wasn’t a pleasant sight, before the giantess thought that he had enough and stopped. Brian looked up at Lucy as she giggled under her breath.

“I see you’re enjoying this more than usual.” Brian said with a slight smile.

“It’s kind of inevitable when you have someone that tiny living with you.” Lucy replied. “I’m still fascinated over your existence. To think that you actually enjoy being around me really makes me…pleased to have someone to hang out with.”

He was just about to get back to doing her toenails when a certain announcement came on TV. He certainly didn’t expect something like it, especially during the certain show Lucy was watching.

“Hello everyone in Royal Woods! Do you have what it takes to be the world’s prettiest doll loving angel? Then participate in this year’s Polly Fashion Pageant for the first time taking place in Royal Woods Michigan! Not only must you be as prepped and prettied up as possible, but also you’re tiny companion doll! Each contestant is required to have a doll that’s as cute as the one owning it, and to help us out this year with doll observation, talented writer and doll lover herself, BiggerBetterBarbie, will be a guest judge! The winner of this special pageant will receive a season’s amount of ice cream straight from the concessions of Dairy Land amusement park, so what are you waiting for? Sign up and show how much you love your dolls today!”

Once the commercial ended, Brian’s mouth was basically a waterfall of drool. He never actually had anything dessert related since he arrived, for not even the Loud sisters were willing to give up any sort of chocolate, and with a competition offering up something to THAT amount he practically struck a gold mine. This was a time where he didn’t mind being as tiny as he was, for food at his size could practically fill him up for weeks. He could easily play the doll for the competition; he just needed a Loud sister to take part with him.

His train of thought was interrupted when Lucy wiggled her toes again; smacking him against her toenail again and bringing him back to reality.

“I can tell you are interested in taking part in that pageant.” Lucy said. Brian looked up at Lucy from her foot as he wiped his face of excess drool.

“I’m guessing the waterfall coming out of my mouth tipped you off?” Brian asked.

“So you’re going to participate with me?” Brian asked with a hopeful tone. Unfortunately, Lucy shook her head.

“I’m not exactly the pageant queen you are looking for.” Lucy said. “However, there is one currently living in the house that may help you out. I can take you to her if you want.”

Brian felt like an idiot after thinking about it for a moment. If there was anyone in the house that essentially did pageants for a living, it was the fashionista princess. She’s done so many of them and got in first place countless times, with her participation getting the season’s worth of ice cream would be a snap. He just needed to convince her to…

Lucy took Brian to Lola’s room to hopefully get her to sign up for the special pageant, but to Brian’s surprise, her answer wasn’t good. Here was Lola Loud, pageant queen extraordinaire, refusing to attend one she could easily win. There was nobody else in the house capable of doing as good her, so if she didn’t attend there was no good chance of winning. Because Lana was out rolling in mud with her friends, Lola and Brian had the room to themselves.

“Come on Lola, I finally have a chance to accomplish something and you’re the only one that’s good enough to do this with me! Besides, you have wanted to give me a makeover since the start!”

Lola looked at the shrunken boy sitting on her bed while not in the best of moods.

“Dolly, I’m taking a break from pageants for a bit to focus on the upcoming summer vacation. Do you know how hard it is to find the most stylish swimsuit? I practically sand off my fingers looking through the catalogues! Besides, you’re not exactly what I call ‘normal doll height’ if you know what I mean. You are a bit too tiny to pass off as one for the judges.”

“I’m sure you can make me look like one with the right accessories!” Brian replied. “We get to share the ice cream reward if you win, isn’t that enough?”

“I’m already going through a season pass of licorice from a previous pageant, I don’t need another.” Lola said before pulling out a licorice stick from her pocket and chomping on it.

“Do you really want me to drop down and beg?” Brian asked. “Pleeeeeeeeeease Lola, I really need this!”

“Sorry dolly, but the answer is still no.” Lola replied. She sat down in a corner of the room and pulled out a swimsuit magazine to hopefully find the one that makes her stand out. Brian couldn’t help but get on all fours and look down, completely helpless. Without Lola he couldn’t enter, and if he couldn’t enter there was no way to win that ice cream prize.

“Dang it, I thought things were going to work out in the end, but I guess life isn’t all sunshine and lollipops. What am I going to do now? Maybe I could get Lana instead, she would definitely want to help me out, and hopefully she could do her stuff for that Barbie judge and somehow catch her-”

Brian was suddenly interrupted as he heard a magazine slam shut. He looked up to notice Lola was staring right at him with her eyes wide open. Something definitely caught her attention and Brian felt a bit uneasy about it.

“Did…did you just say…Barbie…as in…BiggerBetterBarbie?” Lola stuttered.

“Ummmm, yes I did. Why is that important?” Brian asked. Lola zipped up to the shrunken boy looking slightly shocked.

“BECAUSE SHE’S ONE OF MY GREATEST IDOLS!” Lola exclaimed. To further accentuate the point, Lola picked up Brian into the palm of her right hand before reaching under her bed and pulling out a poster. It was filled to the brim with photos of the special person; most of them appeared to be cut out from various magazines and newspapers. She appeared to be a pretty woman with long brown hair and brown eyes, while also wearing a white tank top and gold metal glasses. He could easily see Lola obsessing over the pink sandals the woman was wearing as well.

“I have always wanted to meet and tell her how much her stories get to me, but she lives all the way in the south. I don’t know where she gets these crazy ideas, but they always seem to work! I especially like the ones where she includes that pink haired one, as if she knew what my favorite color was!”

“You have no idea.” Lola replied. “For her to sign this poster in her own handwriting would be one of my greatest achievements! Until now, it was only a fantasy.”

She put her other hand on the poster and felt it while her eyes glistened and glittered. Brian was a little weirded out by the sudden reveal, but he could understand why Lola adored the author. From what Lola said, her stories really strike a chord with her. He assumed it must have been about princesses and the color pink, but it was a very rough guess as Lola was pretty vague with the details. Either way, this could turn things around for him.

“Well, she’s going to be a judge at the special pageant, so does that mean-”

“Of course I’m entering, dolly!” Lola interrupted. “While I’m not interested in the ice cream prize, actually seeing BiggerBetterBarbie in person has to be one of the greatest privileges ever! Maybe she will sign my poster, oh that would be a dream come true!”

“Thank you Lola!” Brian exclaimed before running up and hugging one of Lola’s giant fingers. He had happy tears in his eyes as he really felt like he was going to win first prize for sure now, for Lola was a pageant powerhouse with her mere presence forcing competition to step up or risk losing.

He was snapped out of it by Lola tapping him on the back with one of her fingers.

“Get yourself together, we have to prepare!” Lola said. “I’ll put you back on my bed while I get the doll accessories and Lincoln, okay?”

“He’s a good coach.” Lola responded. “He’s also read most of the pageant queen books and knows what to look out for.”

Lola put herself on overdrive in the days leading up to the pageant. She practiced each step, each speech, and wore dozens of clothes to make sure she was up to perfection. This didn’t mean Brian was out of the water though, for Lola wanted his outfit to give the most eye candy to make up for his “shorter than usual” height to most dolls. It wasn’t easy, but Lola found the perfect set of doll clothes for him to wear. It was a regal tuxedo with an elegant red tie and classy sleek gentleman shoes. She would have attempted to find a fake moustache if there was any his size but unfortunately there wasn’t. Lincoln read each step of a pageant straight from the books like any good coach and reinforced certain procedures to fill in any cracks and iron them out. While Lola did each one flawlessly, Brian wasn’t so lucky. Since he had to be the doll, all he needed to do was stay motionless and let Lola do the movement for him, which was easier said than done. Although Lincoln suggested to “turn off your brain” for easier execution, he still found it a bit difficult. He hoped it wouldn’t be too noticeable as the judges look at Lola a majority of the time.

Eventually, the day arrived. The Royal Woods Theater got pretty packed as dozens poured in to witness the special pageant take place here for the first time ever. Some of the seats were a bit dusty here and there since there was almost never this great amount of people in the building at once, showing just how important this event was. As the people seated themselves, the judges prepped themselves up. One was a stern British sounding guy that simply went by the name “Cowell”, another was what looked like an old sea pirate, something that didn’t quite mesh well with the whole pageant outlook but was actually quite an expert in the craft, named Captain Greengums, and the final judge was easily the most recognizable, the story writer herself BiggerBetterBarbie. She had on her usual attire as she had multiple rare dolls around her desk, being very eager to actually get the pageant started.

“This is going to be SO interesting! I can’t wait to see what these girls have in store!” B.B.Barbie said as she held her hands up to her face with sparkles in her eyes.

“Now, now, they still need to set up. Give them time.” Cowell replied. “If there’s anything I know its talent when I see it.”

“Ay, ye strike a good point there.” Captain Greengums chimed in. “At least ye have a good set of gums. I once had the greatest set of gums on the seven seas, but then I got the scurvy. It was terrible, so I had to replace me gums with…giant pickles!”

Cowell had on a flat expression as B.B.Barbie looked at the two like they were crazy. They were a really colorful set of judges for the pageant, giving it some sort of personality.

B.B.Barbie looked down next to her podium to see the young genius that was Lisa Loud holding an envelope.

“This is for her. I would really appreciate if you could deliver it since I’m bound here by my parents.”

“Ummmm…sure, little girl.” B.B.Barbie replied as she took the envelope. She sat there confused for a moment as Lisa walked away, holding back a wicked smile. She spent most of last night writing about her superiority in science and technology through some very selective words she was allowed to say in the house. She was definitely going to enjoy seeing the response.

Meanwhile, behind the curtains, Lincoln was just putting on the finishing touches for both Lola and Brian. While Lola was used to it, Brian was quite nervous about actually acting like a doll. He needed to be completely still to pull it off, just one slip up and his secret would be out. It didn’t help that the other contestants around him had dolls that appeared much better looking in his eyes. He knew it would be close.

“Okay Brian, remember about turning your brain off. It will work, trust me.” Lincoln said.

“Just let me do the work dolly. They’re going to be looking at me most of the time after all.” Lola said.

Brian looked up at Lola, still unsure about the whole thing. Even though he couldn’t see her fully, since he was being held in her hands, she really did look gorgeous for her age. Even though the changes were slight, her long blonde hair complemented her adorable smile and pink dress, while her signature tiara really was the icing on the cake. She was one hundred percent set on winning and wasn’t going to give up easily.

The lights around the stage dimmed slightly as some poppy music started to play over the speakers for the pageant was just about to start. The audience began to buzz about as a spotlight produced on the center of the stage. From the curtains came a formal looking elegant man holding a microphone, who addressed the audience right away.

“Hello and welcome everyone to the great Polly Fashion Pageant, for the first time taking place in Royal Woods!”

“As all of us know, when we grow older our dolls get thrown to the wayside and get forgotten about. As tragic as it is, we aim to show the world that with the right amount of love and dedication they can be just as fashionable and up to date! I don’t want to delay any further, let’s meet the little sweethearts and their loving dolls!”

The audience got hyped as the contestants slowly began to walk out one by one upon their names being called. Brian shivered as he watched the girls and their dolls go up. Being a doll could be the easiest thing or one of the hardest and Brian was baiting on the easy. He really wanted to use the “Get out of Jail Free” card right now, for he was getting very nervous at the point. Maybe he should have stayed away from the ice cream prize and…

Brian went flat upon hearing what name Lola gave him. He could have thought of a way better name than that, except that Lola never spoke up about it.

“Okay Brian, put on your best doll face and smile for the cameras!” Lola said.

It was time. Brian gulped as Lola made her way on stage as the lights shined in his eyes. He only had a split second to make the generic doll face, so he did so…rather effectively. He couldn’t see his face obviously, but the fact that the audience seemed to be taking it showed that he did it rather well. He saw Lola strike a rather cute pose for the judges while sticking out one of her pink shoes. They took it rather well and scored accordingly.

“Ay, that wee lass has a unique style. That doll of hers may be a shrimp, but the look speaks for itself.” Captain Greengums said.

“I agree. It complements her look very nicely.” B.B.Barbie replied. “I don’t think size matters on this one as long as it looks well.”

Lola walked back up the catwalk as she knew her appeal was successful. Brian was quite impressed with himself that he actually didn’t raise any red lights. He acted like a doll and went through scot free. As Lola disappeared backstage, more girls were called up to show off their outfits and dolls.

Lincoln raced up to the two as Lola brought Brian out, who immediately got out of his doll face.

“Of course I do. I’ve done this a million times already, it’s nothing special.” Lola replied. Lincoln then looked down at Brian in Lola’s hands.

“You did well too. I swear I almost mistook you for an actual doll out there!” Lincoln complemented.

“It…felt really awkward to be honest.” Brian answered. “I may need to take you advice on turning my brain off, whatever you mean by that.”

The next part of the pageant was the obligatory question and answer segment. Cowell took one last glance at his paper of questions, Captain Greengums adjusted the pickles in his mouth, and B.B.Barbie wrote down some last minute questions on her paper before the segment started. Lola was scheduled to appear near the middle of the contestants, so Brian got to watch some of the other contestants go up to answer some question. They were mostly questions he expected to come out of pageants like this such as world crises and epidemics that needed to be solved along with some others like opinions on education and hobbies. All of the contestants answered with the best of their ability, although one did cause Cowell to belt out “Horrible, absolutely horrible!” in his thick British accent.

Eventually, it was time for Lola again. Brian shuddered because he had to go out there again, but he hoped that taking Lincoln’s advice would make things easier for him. As the spotlight went over Lola again, he tried his best to think of absolutely nothing as he put on his doll face. It was difficult, but when he cleared all of his thoughts he really felt it. Nothing but a stupid smile and completely immobile limbs, that was how he made himself look like a doll.

“Lola, what could six year olds do when the economy goes down?” Cowell asked reading from his piece of paper. Lola put up an adorable smile before answering.

“A lot actually. From selling cookies to looking over the animals, there’s a lot of stuff us six years olds are capable of.”

“What about ye education? Ye think they can handle youngins’?” Captain Greengums asked.

“We are always willing to look after them like they were our families.” Lola replied as she made teary eyes face while sniffing a few times. “Just like our mommies always do. I love you mommy!”

Some parts of the audience couldn’t help but get teary eyes like Lola at how devoted she was acting.

“If your doll could talk, how do you think it would react to hearing all of this?” B.B.Barbie asked. If Brian could roll his eyes freely, he would easily be doing it right now. She had no idea of the reality going on right now. Lola gripped over Brian’s body and held him in front of her chest like a soulmate as her eyes glittered in the spotlight.

“Oh, he would wholeheartedly agree and help out in any way he could. Just because he isn’t alive doesn’t mean he has the potential, and I firmly believe he can make a difference.”

This caused the previously teary eyed audience to burst out crying. Her answers and attitude on stage really tugged on the heart strings of the audience. She really was good at acting that genuine of those sorts of devotions, making the audience cry even more.

Lola nodded as she made her way off stage with Brian in tow. Once she made it backstage, Brian snapped back to reality as Lincoln made his way over.

“Did you really mean all of that about me? I think you got me fooled as well!” Brian asked.

“Of course I did, you are my dolly after all.” Lola replied. Brian’s eyes glistened as he smiled at her. He really was like a part of their family without being related in any way. Lincoln wiped the sweat away from Lola and Brian with a tissue.

“Okay, I sure hope you know what you’re doing for the talent portion.” Lincoln said.

If there was one part of the pageant Brian feared to do it was the talent portion. It wasn’t like they didn’t have anything to go off of, for Lola definitely had something and they practiced on it the days leading up to this, it was just there was one part of their act that Brian wasn’t too keen on doing. He did get to see some contestants do their talents before it was Lola’s turn though, and he had to admit some were pretty enticing to watch. There was even a girl that even brought in an actual cannon before blasting herself and her doll through the roof and back on stage, which the judges seemed very interested in and scored accordingly.

Then, for the final time, it was Lola’s turn. She made a motion to Lincoln before walking on stage, which he understood as he pulled out a large stereo from behind him. Hitting the play button, some very poppy music began to play through the theater as Lola pulled out some very decorative batons while putting the doll looking Brian on her shoulder. Without missing a beat, Lola twisted and turned in rather dazzling fashion as she did her special dance. As Brian watched while keeping his balance, he couldn’t help but get mesmerized by Lola’s deep elegant moves. He could clearly see that she had done this nearly a dozen times before this, and the audience already looked as captivated as ever. Even the judges were smiling and watching with intrigue, but little did they know that things were just starting.

Suddenly, without warning, the batons erupted from the top as two very long pink ribbons came out as the poppy music started to pick up in pace. The maneuver was just about to come up and Brian didn’t like it. Lola put one of her batons in Brian’s static arms as her dance continued, with Brian giving his immobile support. Lola actually looked like a professional dancer with all of the moves she was performing; making the crowd more attracted to what might come next.

Then it was time for the showstopper. He wasn’t expressing it, but Brian was a nervous wreck through the façade of his doll smile. If Lola messed up just slightly, well, he might end up in a coma. Lola looked down at Brian with a certain face as if to calm him down before finally executing what they trained for. She tossed Brian high up into the air as Brian gripped his baton as much as he could. He refused to pay attention to anything as the wind rushed around him while Lola made her move and rushed over to the spot. It was only a few seconds and Brian was bracing for impact, but just when he thought he would become a stain on the floor, he felt a sudden cushy landing. He couldn’t believe it, but Lola pulled it off. As the music stopped, the audience exploded in applause as the judges were also impressed and wrote down their score. Lola put on an adorable smile and did one last wave before going backstage.

“That…was…AMAZING! All of that practice actually paid off!” Lincoln said.

“I know what I’m doing Lincoln.” Lola replied. “I’m surprised my dolly managed to stay still the entire time, especially near the end. Right dolly?”

Brian was completely stunned from surviving the stunt earlier, making himself completely frozen like a statue with big wide eyes. Lincoln and Lola look down at him with confusion.

“Ummm dolly, you alright?” Lola asked. Her response was met with a completely shocked Brian falling on his back and fainting on the spot.

Everything began to wrap up as it was now time to announce the winner and pageant queen. Every contestant walked on stage holding their dolls, with Lola holding onto a doll acting Brian, each having big smiles as the announcer from earlier made his way on stage. The shrunken boy himself grew nervous for he wasn’t sure if everything Lola did would have worked out in the end.

“Well, well, well, it has been quite the sight show for this year’s Polly Fashion Pageant, possibly one of the greatest ever. Unfortunately, as per tradition, only one pretty princess and her small servant can become this year’s queen. Let’s give a hand to our fantastic judges!”

“Now without further ado, the scores have poured in, and our new fabulous pageant queen is…”

Nearly everyone in the theater clenched themselves as the anticipation was too much.

The audience blew up with applause as Brian nearly felt his heart skip a beat. He couldn’t believe it, Lola won with flying colors. He held back the urge to applaud with the crowd as the other contestants, while they were slightly upset for not winning, clapped with everyone in the theater as Lola made her way to the front of the catwalk and put on one of her signature smiles.

“Would BiggerBetterBarbie come up here and give the pageant queen her crown?”

Brian could feel Lola’s heart rate increase as the famed writer herself got onstage with the crown in hand. He was so focused on not screwing up that he forgot that Lola wanted to meet with B.B.Barbie face to face. Looks like the young diva finally got her wish.

“You did great out there. You definitely deserve this.” B.B.Barbie complemented as she placed the crown on Lola’s head. As if a string just snapped, Lola quickly got up in B.B.Barbie’s face looking like an obsessive fangirl.

“THANK YOU SO MUCH! I’VE ALWAYS WANTED TO MEET YOU IN PERSON, PLEASE SIGN MY POSTER!”

Lola immediately pulled out the aforementioned poster from earlier and held in straight in the writer’s face. B.B.Barbie looked shocked for a quick second before feeling very embarrassed.

Once everyone was all said and done, Lola immediately went back to her dressing room and nearly strangled her now signed poster. Brian was allowed inside the room while Lincoln stayed near the stage to pick up the extra accessories Lola used for her appeals. The shrunken boy watched dumbfounded as Lola practically put her poster in a headlock. She finally got the autograph she wanted, but he wasn’t quite sure she should be that obsessed with it. Either way, she was still way younger than him and had different priorities in life, so he didn’t think about it too hard. Besides, he got the season’s worth of ice cream that he wanted and he was planning on chowing on that the instant he gets it.

“I can’t believe her autograph is mine! I’m never going to wash this ever again!” Lola said.

“Glad to see that you are happy.” Brian responded. “You probably should hide it from Lana just to keep it intact.”

“You think I don’t already know about that?” Lola said. “I already have somewhere picked out that not ever she would even think of looking.”

“Sure you do.” Brian said with a hint of sarcasm. Lola sighed as she put her poster away before picking up Brian in her hands and leaving the dressing room.

“So, not so easy being in a pageant now, huh?” Lola asked with a toothy grin.

“Don’t get me started on that.” Brian replied. “I have no idea how you do it, but pageants aren’t meant for someone like me! I think I’ll skip out on those commercials from now on, even if the first place prize is that enticing.”

“I swear that you were about to snap during an appeal and walk out. You were basically a ticking time bomb out there, a very funny one, but still a time bomb. I can’t imagine staying still for that long until finally snapping.”

She pretty much nailed it with how he felt. Lincoln’s advice only worked for so long until wanting to break out and forget about it. Brian had to restrain himself in his head just so he wouldn’t suddenly burst out and go insane. If dolls had actual minds and feelings, he would wholeheartedly understand the burden of being immobile. He wouldn’t blame himself for going to therapy after this if he was regular size, but as long as he was as tiny as he was he needed to stay out of sight.

Brian was about to respond to Lola when he thought he saw a foreboding presence in the dark behind her. He thought at first that his eyes were pulling tricks on him, but then he saw something move around in the same area. He got the shivers, something wasn’t right.

“Ummm, you alright there dolly?” Lola asked as she looked at Brian’s face. The boy couldn’t help but ignore Lola as the eerie presence became more visible. His skin felt clammy and his heart felt like an engine. The digits first appeared with tips that looked like talons while the teal colored base came up soon after, easily over twice the size of any Loud sibling. Something appeared to glitter in two areas which Brian couldn’t determine from his current angle, but the entire thing loomed over Lola behind her.

Brian’s face went pale as his eyes nearly came out of his skull. He began stuttering to try and get Lola to notice, but the young girl still didn’t understand.

“Sheesh, what’s got you so worked up? You’ve been hanging out with Lucy haven’t you?” Lola asked.

Lola turned around just as the sharp talons grabbed her from the waist. She couldn’t help but scream as she kept a firm grip on Brian while the thing started to drag her away to another part backstage. To make matters worse, every area around it was barren with no one in sight. Wherever this thing was taking both of them, it wasn’t going to be good.

“PLEEEASE, SOMEONE HELP ME! HEEEEEEEELP!” Lola yelled. She began to cry as desperation settled in; she didn’t want to be forcibly taken somewhere. Brian began to yell and get desperate as well; eventually going through the same emotions Lola was going through. There were still so many mysteries surrounding him and it looked like he wasn’t going to be able to see the answers.

Just as things seemed hopeless, something shattered and exploded at one of the thing’s sides, which the sudden shock caused it to drop both Lola and Brian. Lola held Brian, still utterly terrified at what just happened, as she looked to where the projectile came from. She was completely thankful that it was both Lincoln and Lisa holding nearly a dozen beakers as she hastily made her way over to them.

“Back, back you monster!” Lisa exclaimed as she and Lincoln threw more explosive beakers. Eventually, the thing recoiled and looked like it suffered enough so it fell back and withdrew around a corner. The three Louds ran after it, but once they turned the corner it was gone completely. There wasn’t a single trance of that thing left, although Brian did feel a slight breeze quickly diminish.

“Thank you so much! I was scared that I was never going to see you again!” Lola exclaimed.

“It’s okay Lola; we’re always here for you.” Lincoln replied. “Although, to be pretty blunt, you were lucky we noticed you being taken right away AND the fact that Lisa always has chemicals with her at all times.”

“Mmmmmmph, choking, not breathing!” Brian said through the middle of the hug. Suddenly being reminded that she was still holding Brian, Lola quickly let go to give Brian some air.

“It’s…okay.” Brian said after taking a deep breath. “At least you noticed.”

Lisa looked down at her remaining beakers before looking back where they saw the thing appear and frowned.

“Just what sort of insanity is occurring these last few months?” Lisa asked herself. “First these tears pop up and now a giant hand appearing? The more that comes up just makes this more complicated than I thought, although I feel I’m not going to like the answer.”

“Don’t worry; I’m sure it’s going to come up at some point. Right Lisa?” Lincoln asked. The young genius looked at the two with a slightly nervous face.

“I’ll…see what I can do. I’m going to need more time to think about it though.”

Brian quietly listened from the sidelines. The giant hand clearly took everyone by surprise, but what did it mean? He watched as the three Louds, with Lola still holding onto him, made their way out of the theater without saying anything further, and he couldn’t blame them. They will need to tell their other siblings about the incident just in case, but the stakes have risen with it. No longer was he the only one to almost get taken away, the privilege spread to the Louds and looked to be getting dangerously bigger. If the answer didn’t come soon…

Brian ran as fast as he could and dived behind the leg of the bed. He quickly stood up as he breathed heavily with sweat pouring down his forehead. Her footsteps boomed through his eardrums as she searched every nook and cranny for her small captive, so he had to find a new hiding place. The cabinet near his current spot looked decent for a quick break, but before he could attempt to dash over there he found himself bounded. He flailed about hopefully get free, but it was no use. Getting dragged out from under the bed and into the air; Brian knew the game was over as the giantess turned him around so he could see her face while having a tight grip on him.

“Please Luna, not like this!” Brian pleaded. She had on a different getup than what she usually wears. She had a black suit with an outline of a skeleton over it along while having some face paint to make her head look like a skull and to match the outfit.

“You know I can’t just leave someone as special as you unattended. You are too fun to play around with.”

“It’s too late for that.” Luna said. “Now what shall I do with you now?”

Brian continued to try and wrestle free from Luna’s grip as the giantess thought of what new activity she could do with him. It wasn’t long before answer came…

Realization settled in, making her eyes go wide for a second, as the giantess looked back at Brian with a sinister looked face. Brian caught on rather quickly to what she wanted now.

“Oh, I would.” Luna replied with a devious smile. “A way to satisfy myself until that time, a little snack never hurts. I also never realized that you…look like a piece of candy.”

“Too bad little guy, your fate is sealed.” Luna responded. Brian was now as terrified as ever as Luna slowly opened her mouth wide, showing the darkness of where he will end up. Desperation kicked in as Luna moved his body towards her gaping maw, but no matter how hard he tried he couldn’t break her grip on him.

Right after it was said, she tossed Brian straight into her mouth. He tossed and turned everywhere inside as he couldn’t see anything, trying everything that he could to stay out of the back. His head clashed against her teeth again and again, which thankfully missed chomping on him, as he grappled the tongue hoping it would make him survive at some point. Unfortunately, the saliva was everywhere causing his body to slide down the tongue’s back, forcing him backward. He couldn’t keep his grip much longer until it failed all together. He could barely see the faint image of a uvula over his head before inevitably falling into the chasm below. He heard Luna gulp as the muscles of her esophagus pushed him downward to where every lunch ends up. Eventually, the passage opened up as an intense stench filled Brian’s nose before suddenly dropping him off above a feeling of intense heat.

He could hear Luna’s voice one final time before he took a splash into her gastric acids.

Brian woke up with a scream. He breathed heavily a few times as he tried to get himself to calm down. Ever since Lola nearly avoided that mysterious giant hand taking her away, the Loud siblings were a little on edge these past couple of weeks. If something like that could happen to Lola, they could easily be next. At least summer vacation was now here to help ease their minds off of things. Lori could now be on the phone as long as she wanted, Lynn and Lana could basically play outside the entire day, you name it, and they could do it. As for the shrunken boy, he easily took the majority of the worries. He ended up getting terrible nightmares of rather brutal ways he could perish, all out of worry that something might happen to him like what Lola went through. As much as he knew that secrets couldn’t be kept in this house, he held back talking about what each nightmare was about. He knew that not even someone like Lori could stomach what he witnessed every night, for some things were better left behind closed doors.

Once he got himself in a more suitable mood, he opened his eyes to start the day. What happened instead was a sight of dozens of little screens focused on the same spot. Suddenly getting spooked all over again, Brian tried to back up into a corner but found that his legs weren’t in the same spot. He tried to shout out to Lisa but no sound came out, although he found out that turning his head changed the positions of the small screens. Something was definitely off.

The voice sounded like Lisa’s. Brian turned the screens around everywhere before an image of Lisa’s huge face showed up.

“Oh man, am I glad to see you Lisa!” Brian said. “What is going on with me? I can’t see and I-”

A leg? Why not just one of his hands? Brian thought that she must have had a screw loose somewhere, but not wanting to deny her, he raised his back right leg into the air, while at the same time feeling it to be bizarrely lighter for some reason.

“Sweet Einstein, it actually worked! I can’t believe I actually managed to pull off a transfer before anyone else! I’m going to have to-”

Her eyes glanced over to where Brian was. He was still completely oblivious to what she was talking about and the fact that she was on multiple screens just confused him even more.

“Oh, I…probably should explain what I did, for I’m certain you’re going through some rather peculiar features that you know are weird.”

“Good. Well, my little test subject, I kind of, how should I put this…transferred your mind.”

“What do you mean by that?” Brian asked. Lisa’s image on the screens got up close.

“If you are attempting to speak, that won’t work.” She said. “Arachnids lack vocal chords for speech after all.”

Brian took a moment to think about what she was saying, and once he nailed it down his heart sank. If what she was saying was true, then…

“I’m just going to let your reflection speak for itself.” Lisa said, pulling up a small mirror in front of her. Once the images hit the screens, his assumptions were confirmed.

Brian shrieked even though it fell on deaf ears. The eight legs, the fangs, the hairy abdomen, it was all there, and those weren’t TV screens he was seeing, those were his eyes. He tried covering them to hope this was just another nightmare of sorts, but all he saw were two hairy legs. He ran all over the lab table, while tripping over his many legs a couple of times, in a massive freak out as Lisa put a finger in front of him to try and calm him down.

“Okay, I know it’s a lot to take in right now, but rest assured your actual body is safe and sound.”

She pointed over to the opposite side of the table and when Brian looked there he was shocked to see himself sitting on his back, appearing fast asleep. So Lisa didn’t exactly turn him into a spider, she just transferred his mind into one like she said earlier.

“LISA, WHAT THE BLOODY HECK?!” Brian yelled. Like before, his voice never went anywhere.

“Alright, now you know that I can easily change you back. All I need is for you to stay like this for a little longer so I can write this information into my research notes. Once that’s done I’ll transfer you out of the dead spider and back into your regular body, okay? Raise a leg if you agree.”

If Brian could express himself, there would be a flat expression over his face. Not only did she transfer his mind into a spider, but it was also a DEAD spider. He could hear the endless amount of jokes Luan had for something like this, but that wasn’t the main focus now. He wanted out of this body NOW, there’s no way he would willingly stay like this for any reason. However, Lisa was still way bigger than him so he kind of had no choice.

“Lisa should really get another guinea pig for her experiments besides me.” Brian thought.

Unhappy and unnerved at his look, Brian slowly raised one of his back legs for Lisa to notice.

“Oh thank you so much little guy! I know it must be disheartening to stay like that, but I’ll make it up to you I swear!”

“You better be.” Brian replied even though he knew she couldn’t hear him. Lisa hastily got out her science notes for some quick research, but before she could start a familiar ringtone emitted. Reaching into her pocket and pulling out her special science phone, she smiled with glee once she notice who was calling.

“Oh yes, the letter finally got a response! Oooooooh, this is going to get very-”

Brian rolled his dozen eyes as Lisa eagerly ran out of the room in haste. Seems that even research could be interrupted by random priorities, and it happened at one of the worst of times. As he was now in the body of a spider, anyone he would come across, Loud sibling or not, won’t know who’s really taking the reins. Still, he wasn’t going anywhere as long as he was like this and Lisa always made sure to lock the door when she left, so everything sounded okay until she came back.

That is until he felt the fluttering of wings behind him. Suddenly feeling frightful, Brian slowly turned around only to notice Lucy’s pet bat staring right at him with a hungry look.

Fangs snatched him off of the table before flying back out of the window. Just after it all happened, Lisa strutted back into the room.

Immediately looking over to the table she noticed Brian wasn’t there, and once she glanced over to the open window, she knew that the one percent possibility just happened.

Fangs flew through another open window and seated himself on a drawer in Lynn and Lucy’s room. Unfortunately for Brian, Lynn and Lucy weren’t in their room at the time leaving only him in the clutches of the bat. Fangs looked down at him with a toothy smile as he licked his lips at how tasty Brian will be, while Brian was utterly terrified to actually be a morsel for Lucy’s bat of all things. So this was how he was going to die, in the clutches of Lucy’s pet as a previously dead spider. If he could strangle Lisa for putting him through this, he would be doing it right about now. For now though, he needed to find a way out of this, and he needed to be quick as Fangs was getting closer to ripping him apart.

Even though Fangs couldn’t hear him speak, he did notice Brian turn his spider head and point out of the window with one of his legs. As stupid and out of place as it was, Fangs got curious and turned in that direction, giving the moment Brian was looking for. Without wasting any time, Brian opened his jaw and crunched hard on Fangs’ talons, causing the flying mammal to yelp before suddenly letting him go. What Brian failed to check for however was a place to land after, so because of this he started falling through the air, eventually falling through a loose hole in the wall. As for Fangs, after seeing that nothing bad happened from the bite, he suddenly realized that he let his free meal get away. Getting very upset, Fangs flew off to find Lucy for comfort.

Brian lost track of how many times he tumbled downward before finally stopping. Once he had regained his footing, Brian had no idea where he was now. He was still somewhere in the walls, but the darkness around him made it difficult to see and deduce things.

“Ugh, well this is just great.” Brian said. “How the heck am I getting out of this travesty?!”

He didn’t have to think long about it. The Loud kids were used to seeing him, but in the body of a spider, not so much. Lisa was the only one who currently knew the truth, but the others? He quickly ruled out Lori and Lily, as he knew people like Lori hated bugs and Lily was an oblivious baby. Luan and Luna sounded like probable cases but he didn’t want to chance it. Lola? Definitely not. Lynn? He didn’t want to tread in on one of her sports and accidentally get squished. Lana obviously didn’t mind bugs so she was a safe bet and Lincoln…maybe. He seemed like someone who would think before squishing. Lucy was another obvious one as she loved the dark and creepy, which finally left Leni.

If there was anything Brian learned about Leni since he was taken in, other than the fact that she wasn’t exactly “bright” in lots of areas but a brilliant fashion expert, was that she had a severe case of arachnophobia. He heard about times where Luan would chase her around the house with a rubber spider, it wasn’t a pretty sight. She had a can of bug spray on her at all times just for these situations, and he didn’t want to find out how she used it. If he ever came across her now…

This meant that the only safe options were Lisa, Lana, Lincoln, and Lucy. If he came across any one of them he was home free. The main problem was getting to them, so at least he will get used to walking with eight legs until then.

After fumbling in the dark trying to figure out where he was, even coming across a briefcase containing a blanket with American symbols all over it, which he was going to ask Lincoln about later, a light shown above him through a crack big enough to squeeze through. Brian tried to unsuccessfully grin as he crawled through it, finally finding out where he currently was.

“Ugh, he’s not picking up. Great, I’m literally going to get bored to death.”

He ended up right in the living room where Lori and Leni were sitting on the couch watching TV. Great, now he needed to find a way past them, especially Leni. Taking a wild guess for Lisa or the other reliable three to be upstairs, Brian looked around for any sort of cover to avoid getting spotted by Lori or Leni, to which he only found one. However, it required speeding under the couch.

“If I was back in my own body right now, I would definitely be shedding a few pounds.” Brian said to himself.

Once the two giantesses had their eyes on the TV, Brian rushed out from the hole and under the couch. While it wasn’t as dark as when he was in the walls, there were various objects such as loose change and batteries everywhere that Brian had to walk around. He did also see the dangling feet of Lori and Leni near him as well, making him shudder from the thought of being at the end of one.

“I can totally see you as her if you switched places.” Lori’s voice replied.

“Whatever those two are watching on TV must be pretty extreme.” Brian thought as tried to make his way past their feet. As he was trying to make his way past Leni’s huge feet, in a way Brian didn’t see coming, they suddenly swung back towards him causing his eight hairy legs to stick right on it. Brian was taken by surprise as he unexpectedly found himself hanging upside down from one of Leni’s sandaled feet. Thankfully though, she didn’t notice him.

“Okay Leni, I think you are literally taking this a bit too much.” Lori’s voice said.

“But it’s so flashy and cool! Those cute laser dogs get me every time!” Leni’s voice replied.

“Yup, you would definitely fit in that show.” Lori’s voice said as a series of beeps followed, probably from her texting over her phone.

As he hanged from under Leni’s sandal, Brian carefully looked towards the ground. Leni gratefully didn’t have her feet that far from the ground, especially near the heel. As he turned around, catching a small glimpse of Leni’s sky blue toenails in the process, Brian cautiously waddled to the back of Leni’s sandal before dropping himself off. He landed safely before making a beeline away from her feet to the other end of the couch from under it. Now the second problem came up. While he was safe from being noticed under the couch, once he sets foot out of it he was back in the open, and at the size he was at, it would take ages to climb up the behemoth that was the stairs. He needed a quicker option.

“Oh shoot, my phone is literally about to die! Ugh, back to the charger then…”

The answer came up for him. He knew the charger for Lori’s phone sat comfortably in her room upstairs, and since she was wearing her signature light blue shoes, hitching a ride on them was the best option. He heard Lori get off of the couch towards his hiding spot, but he needed to be quick. The instant he saw Lori giant shoe fill his vision, Brian hurried over and leaped straight to the front, miraculously landing without injuries as Lori made her way upstairs.

“Phew, I wouldn’t be surprised if I qualify for the Olympics after this.” Brian said as he held on tight to Lori’s shoe, while also hoping that she would keep her head up so she wouldn’t notice him.

In an ironic twist, just as Lori made her way upstairs, a very anxious and nervous Lisa entered the room with an extremely large magnifying glass. She walked with caution as she kept her eyes on the ground, so much so that she accidentally bumped into Leni watching TV.

“Oh, hi Lisa! Come to watch the butterfly princess destroy evil with me?” Leni asked.

“Oh, ummmmmmm, not exactly…” Lisa nervously stuttered, trying to hide the fact about what she did to Brian earlier. She obviously knew about Leni’s arachnophobia and didn’t want her to know.

“Oh this?” Lisa replied as sweat dripped down and her skin clammed up. “I’m, well…searching for certain isotopes! I…accidentally did a miscalculation and, uhhhhhhh, am missing a few!”

Lisa tried to pass herself off through a very cheesy smile, making her look guilty at the same time. Luckily, Leni wasn’t the brightest and just smiled back.

“Well good luck on sewing those topes! Hopefully you can make them into a nice sweater or, oh, even some long pants!”

“Ummmmm, sure! I’ll…keep that in mind!” Lisa replied before rocketing away to search another area. Leni, completely oblivious to everything, went back to watching her show.

Once Lori reached the top of the stairs, Brian got off of his ride and let the giantess get in her room. As he looked around the hallway, in a rarity, it was completely desolate. Usually there would be some activity going on here, but not today. In a more serious note, none of the four siblings Brian was looking for appeared to be up her. He expected at least Lisa to be in her room at this point, but the door was clamped up tight. If he was to get to Lisa, he needed a way past the door. There wasn’t any space under the door, so that was out of the question…

“Okay, one, two, three, darn I’m missing a few. I don’t know why Lisa wants these, but at least I’m not an AIR HEAD! Hahahahah!”

Brian crawled over to the source of the voice and peeped inside the open room. It was Luan holding a bag that appeared to have more than a dozen whoopee cushions, ready to be delivered to Lisa. This was his chance to get to Lisa scot free but he needed to hide somewhere. As he saw Luan drop a couple of whoopee cushions on the ground before bending down to pick them up, he saw the ticket to hide. Luan was too distracted by picking up the whoopee cushions to notice the small spider run up to her feet. They weren’t Brian’s target though, for he had his sights set on the dangling hairs of Luan’s ponytail.

“I’m really sorry to be doing this Luan, but I need to get out of this mess.” Brian said as he used his hairy spider legs to grab hold of the hairs and crawl up them. He was really thankful that Luan was too distracted to notice him climbing up, eventually arriving in the depths of her ponytail hair. He knew he should be safe in here until Luan makes the delivery and unwarily drops him off inside Lisa’s room.

Once Luan was done picking the loose whoopee cushions up, she got back on her feet which Brian easily felt even from her ponytail. Holding the large bag of whoopee cushions in her arms, Luan exited her room and proceeded towards Lisa’s. Brian thought he was going there scot free, but then another sister came up in front of Luan, and he wasn’t happy to see who it was.

“Oh sorry Luan didn’t see you there.” Leni said as she almost bumped into her.

“Oh, no worries. I just need to take these to Lisa.” Luan replied. Brian carefully stuck his head out of Luan’s hair to see what was going on.

“Wow, is she getting into the comedy game too? Oooooh, I wanna take part!” Leni said as she started to get giddy.

“No Leni, she just needs these for…actually she never told me what she needs these for.” Luan responded. Brian watched as Leni got out her compact before gasping.

“Nonono, that spot is getting worse! Excuse me Luan, but I have to patch this up!” Leni said in haste before speeding past her and into her bedroom. Brian breathed a sigh of relief knowing Leni was out of the picture for now as Luan shook herself off before arriving at Lisa’s bedroom door. Just as she was about to knock, to her surprise, Lisa herself ran up the stairs still having the giant magnifying glass in her hand. Both Luan and Brian were thankful to see her as she scanned the ground thoroughly.

“Oh Lisa, I got those whoopee cushions you wanted!” Luan said as she continued to hold the bag.

“Errrr, ummmm, thanks Luan! Just, uhhhhhhh, set them near the door for now!” Lisa spouted out in a hurry. This caught Brian by surprise, for if Lisa was not in her room but out near him he could get out of this mess in a snap. It was going to be risky, but he knew he had to make a leap of faith and hopefully land safe on the ground. He prepared to jump, but before he could do so, Luan placed her large bag on the ground like Lisa wanted which made the comedian turn her head, consequently making her ponytail swing. The sudden motion made Brian lose his footing and smack straight into the close wall. Thankfully for him the impact wasn’t serious but it did begin to make him fall towards the ground. Luan and Lisa didn’t seem to notice him as Lisa wrapped up her search around the area. She sighed deeply.

“There you go Lisa, hope you don’t become an air head! Hahahahah, get it?” Luan said.

“Thanks Luan, I’ll…check on them later!” Lisa replied after doing one final scan of the hallway. Luan went flat before leaving to her room as Lisa made her way carefully downstairs. By the time Brian reached the ground, without injury, the two were already gone.

“Nononono, I was soooooo close!” Brian said to himself. “I guess maybe I should just stay in this one spot and hope one of siblings that don’t mind spiders come across me. Ugh, can this get any worse?”

Just as Brian said that, karma reared its ugly head as the arachnid worrywart herself exited out of her room putting the finishing touches on her face. She felt fabulous as she put her powder puff away.

“Phew, that was like one of the biggest emergencies I ever had to go through! No breakouts will happen to this fashion expert! I so totes have to send a picture to-”

Then the beast caught glimpse of her greatest fear. She seemed to lock eyes with Brian’s current dozens as the possessed arachnid felt dangerous winds whisper around him. He was petrified as the one situation he wanted to avoid was opening through the curtains, and he couldn’t move his legs. He stood quiet as Leni did the same. It looked like the moment would last for a minute or two…

Leni freaked out and, in an instant, whipped out the bug spray. Brian was quick on his feet though, for before Leni could spray a cloud on him, Brian ran towards her and straight through her open legs as the spray narrowly missed him. Because the only room open at the time was Luna’s and Luan’s, Brian crawled straight inside for safety, but to his surprise, Leni came after him. He hid under a nearby cabinet before Leni could make it inside and easily see where he is.

Luan, who was also in the room and reading a joke book for future quips, looked at Leni with a cocked eyebrow.

“Not now, a big icky spider came in here and I want it dead before I find it in my sleep! I don’t want that gross thing in this house!” Leni exclaimed. Luan rolled her eyes.

“Sheesh, you’re really getting tangled in its web aren’t you? Hahahahah, get it?” Luan replied. “But seriously, I need this silence.”

“NOT NOW!” Leni exclaimed like a bloodthirsty animal. Luan widened her eyes in shock as Leni looked all over the floor for Brian’s sorry hide. For Brian, he couldn’t have been in a worse position. Having someone out to get and kill you was the one scenario he hoped would never come across him, and it was with the stupid one of all things.

He didn’t get a chance to think for long as the nozzle of the spray can stuck under the cabinet where he was hiding. Brian’s heart raced as he made his move and barely escaped as the cloud of insecticide sprayed everywhere. Just a millisecond too late and he would have perished, but now that he was flushed out, he needed to find somewhere else.

More sprays coming his way and Brian had no time to lose. He was grateful that Leni wasn’t the best shot, but any sort of contact with it would kill him in an instant. He rushed under Luan’s bed with Leni in hot pursuit, which consequently moved Luan’s mattress up causing her to fall off of it.

“WOOAH!” Luan exclaimed as she made contact with the floor. She wasn’t hurt, but she was getting ticked off at Leni’s antics.

“I’M NOT LETTING THAT ICKY SPIDER RUN AROUND THE HOUSE WHILE I’M SLEEPING!” Leni exclaimed.

Leni’s yelling eventually caught the attention of the other siblings, as all of them crowded around the doorway with interest. Whatever spider this was to get Leni this riled up had to be something.

As Brian ran further and further away, he smacked himself against the corner of the room. Realizing he’s now trapped, Brian could only watch as Leni glared at him with a piercing gaze, spray can pointed straight at him.

“NOW YOU DIE STUPID SPIDER!” Leni exclaimed. Brian covered his multiple eyes so he wouldn’t see his death, his life ended by a spider scared idiot with bug spray. If that wasn’t the most “what the heck” ways of dying, he didn’t know what was.

Hearing the sudden outburst, Brian curiously opened his eyes only to see Lisa standing right between him and Leni with her arms outstretched. The Loud siblings on the sidelines watched with intrigue as Leni wasn’t taking it.

“Lisa, I know there’s more in my head than just air, but even I can tell Brian from an icky spider. Just stand aside and let me do my thing!”

“But it is him!” Lisa replied looking a bit nervous. “I kind of maybe…transferred his mind into one. Heheheheh…”

The other Loud siblings, including Leni, looked down at spider and noticed that it was waving its legs around and pointing them at itself. The spider had to be really smart to actually understand what Lisa was…

The transfer process didn’t take long, and once it was complete Brian couldn’t have been happier. He was still in a shrunken state, but at least he had two eyes and legs again. As for the other Louds, they weren’t exactly happy for Lisa to have put him through that, so they decided to put her through a “process” that they never told Brian about. It could easily have been a bit cruel to do it to their own sibling, but when you do something to nearly get another killed they have to take drastic measures.

While Lisa was undergoing what her siblings had planned, Brian sat in her room on the lab table awaiting her arrival. It wasn’t long before he heard a knock on the door.

“Come in.” Brian said. When the door opened, Brian saw that it was none other than the one that almost killed him. She had her head down with a look of guilt all over her face as she made her way over to him.

“Uhhhh, hi Brian…” Leni said as she knelt down to be eye level with the lab table.

“You okay? You don’t look so well.” Brian replied. She looked down and fidgeted a little.

“It’s just…to actually think that I almost killed you…it’s a very terrible feeling you know? It’s like this was entirely my fault…”

“Don’t blame yourself; it was Lisa that made me like that in the first place. I probably would have done the same thing if I was you.” Brian said. He knew wasn’t entirely telling the truth, for he wouldn’t freak out that much if he saw a spider if he was regular sized. He didn’t want to tell Leni the feelings he had for spiders at his current tiny size to not freak her out again.

“I appreciate the comfort, but I really shouldn’t have acted the way I did, Lisa’s fault or not. I still feel a bit responsible, so…I’m sorry okay? You really didn’t deserve that craziness back there.”

“Apology accepted.” Brian replied. “If it makes you feel better, I could always try to open that jar of mayonnaise you keep having trouble with.”

Leni sniffed as she formed a slight smile. She may not be the smartest, but she had feelings like any other. He wasn’t related to her, but he didn’t want her to feel down after what just happened especially since she didn’t know it was him at the time.

“That…would be great.” Leni responded. “Actually, I have some ideas for dresses that I need some opinions on if you wouldn’t mind later.”

“I’ll definitely be there.” Brian said. Leni giggled as she got up and slowly walked back to the open door. She took one more look back at Brian.

Lisa came back not long after Leni left. She had red marks all over her face and her glasses were missing a few parts, making Brian nervous if he should ask what she just went through. He heard her mumble about “not being filled with candy” which gave Brian all he needed to figure it out. He did feel a bit sorry for her, but he didn’t want to get into sibling matters at the size he was at.

“Don’t worry about my predicament, I deserved it.” Lisa said. “Young minds lack the comprehension to pay attention to the world around them.”

“I don’t understand what you mean by that, but I probably shouldn’t think about it too hard.” Brian replied.

A beeping noise resounded through their ears causing the two to turn towards a corner of the room where Lisa’s analysis machine, the one that looked like an old arcade cabinet, sat in the background. It whirred to life as Lisa, in curiosity, walked over to it and looked at the monitor. Even through her damaged glasses, she looked quite surprised to see what was on it.

“Wow, it got done analyzing the granite now?” Lisa wondered. When Haiku came over the one time, she gave Lisa the mysterious shards she found before she left. Lisa put them in her analyzing machine to see what it was made of, and for it to take this long really caught her off guard.

“I…think you should look at this.” Lisa said. She went over to the lab table before setting her hand down for Brian, which the boy didn’t hesitate to do. Once she made it back to her machine, Brian saw her custom writing language all over the screen, but then Lisa pressed a few buttons causing the gibberish to form back into regular roman letters which Brian could read.

“Unable to determine. Lists of possible elements.” Brian read. What followed after was a long list of words and phrases Brian couldn’t understand.

“You don’t need to read further, that’s for me to look through.” Lisa explained. “It appears that whatever these shards are a part of can’t be determined.”

“A lot actually. It could be a newly discovered element; it could be from outer space, etcetera. The countless possibilities are there, I just need to pinpoint it to one specific result. That’s not what I found interesting however. Read the section right here.”

Lisa pointed to a part of the notes that appeared shorter than the others. Brian took a look and read the following.

“Object covered in particles. Half corrupted. Harmless. Not Similar to Test E5HA. Rest unable to determine.”

“That describes a certain supplement the shards were covered in.” Lisa explained. “Sounds like the same type of…thing, why do I keep saying that, that’s covering and crippling you. You know the one that’s keeping you half an inch tall and giving you amnesia?”

“It’s kind of hard to ignore.” Brian replied. “So whatever is covering that is the same as what I’m covered in?”

“I’m getting to that part.” Lisa said. “Anyway, while the two situations appear similar, they have completely different structures. The substance covering the shards seems ninety nine percent similar to what covered you every time you exited a tear. It’s highly unlikely someone of your caliber can cause these states of matter to constantly take in and spit out objects.”

A massive weight was suddenly lifted from Brian’s shoulders. Lola was truly right the entire time; he never was the trigger for the tears, but if that’s the case then what was? There was clearly more to all of it than this.

“I can tell you are relieved just by looking at your face.” Lisa spoke up. “Also, as another note, this also indicates that you weren’t brought here by one of those tears. That’s another mystery I’m hoping to solve with science.”

“Wow, thanks for support Lisa.” Brian answered. “I would have thought you would move on to something else.”

“And miss an opportunity to possibly uncover a much BIGGER discovery? That’s like ignoring a possible way to resurrect a dinosaur!” Lisa said. “There’s no way I’m turning back on something like this! Speaking of which, I need to message a ‘friend’ about this.”

She placed Brian back on the lab table before leaving the room and pulling out her phone. Brian rolled his eyes as he could easily guess what she meant by that, but at least the discovery was a massive exposure to him. Not being the cause of the tears? Music to his ears. Didn’t actually appear from a tear? That’s something that will probably get revealed later. For now, he could finally relax and hang out with the Louds without think too-

Brian suddenly jolted out of his thoughts as he unexpectedly noticed Lucy sitting right next to the lab table looking at him. No matter how much he thought he would get used her jumpscares, he never did.

“I need to know how you felt as a spider. You are so lucky to actually become something as creepy and weird, I would die to have an involvement like you just did. Please tell me everything, I must know.”

A hint of embarrassment went through the back of his head. He knew Lucy lived for the dark stuff, so it was no surprise that she wanted to know everything when Lisa transferred him into the dead spider.

As the summer heat swept through Royal Woods, the Louds spent more and more time outside. There were water balloons, hoses, and even a huge inflatable pool at one point. Brian was forced to stay on a humorous rubber ducky every time he wanted to go in the pool for safety, which he wasn’t too thrilled about. Everyone else was able to go into the water except for him, yet another thing his shrunken handicap prevented him from doing freely. At least it didn’t last too long thanks to a “fecal incident” that Lily did. However, this was only the tip of what summer had in store for the Loud family.

On this particular day, the kids were all excited to hear they were going to Grand Venture State Park to spend time outdoors, which they had to explain to Brian since he was clueless on the place. It was a huge natural park with various landmarks typical of outdoor activities such as picnic tables and private lakes, although they also had some exclusives like caves to explore and a unique geyser. Even though the girls told him that the geyser never erupts anymore, Lincoln actually said he saw it erupt for him once which his sisters easily doubted on. Once everyone was inside the family car or “Vanzilla” as they liked to call it, the Louds set off. Brian had to stay under Lana’s cap to avoid getting spotted, but from what he heard outside it was pretty chaotic. He heard Lisa going over all of the potential dangerous ways of car travel, Lynn playing a game of “Auto Attack” with Lincoln that involved…sounds of punching, and Lori gurgling before hearing…a noise he didn’t want to receive. This was definitely one of the moments where he was glad to be out on the sidelines.

Eventually, he felt the car stop. Once he heard the car doors open he knew they arrived, but he stayed under Lana’s cap until the kids informed him that it was safe. He heard them buzz around before their parents spoke up.

“Okay, I want all of you to be on your best behaviors as always. We don’t want a repeat of what happened that one year.” Lynn Sr.’s voice said.

“Come on, I thought you would back me up!” Lynn Sr.’s voice said. “It was just ONE poke!”

“That ended giving us stings all over our backs.” Lori’s voice responded. Brian heard Lynn Sr. sigh.

“Fine, I guess I’ll have to behave myself as well. Let’s just get inside the park.”

Bran held on tight as he felt Lana walk with her family. Being ever curious over where they ended up, he peeked ever so slightly from under Lana’s cap. There were multiple logs horizontally sticking out of the ground with many cars situated in front of them to park as many trees formed around them. A giant archway with a sign under it saying “Grand Venture State Park”, which hanged under it near the top, sat in front as the family trekked under it. He couldn’t make out anything else thanks to the angle, although something hit his eardrums pretty quickly.

“I’m telling you, this place needs to be temporarily shut down! It will eat you alive!”

Brian’s attention, along with the others, was soon drawn to a conversation between what looked to be a park ranger and a much messed up man. The man’s eyes were basically huge dinner plates as he had sweat all over him and a topless body.

“Excuse me you two, but what exactly is going on?” Rita asked. The park ranger stepped up.

“It’s nothing. This guy just got spooked by something while hiking around the park. Not a big deal.”

“IT TOTALLY IS A BIG DEAL, FOR THERE’S ABSOLUTELY A DINOSAUR IN THIS PARK! YOU NEED TO SHUT THIS PARK DOWN!” the crazed man exclaimed.

Most of the Louds raised their eyebrows at the statement while the park ranger rolled his eyes.

“Ummmm, did you just say a dinosaur is here?” Lynn Sr. asked with confusion.

“Of course I did!” the crazed man replied. “I was just minding my own business walking down the trails when that monstrosity entered my vision! The sharp teeth practically spoke for themselves as it began to walk up to me, so I had to throw my shirt to the side to distract it long enough to slip away! If you value your life, please don’t go into the park!”

“Ugh, I’ve just about had it with you and your false accusations.” The park ranger said as he pulled out a radio and pressed some buttons on it. As quick as a flash, two very buff park rangers grabbed the man from the sides and proceeded to carry him out as the ranger who called walked behind to keep an eye on him.

“I’M TELLING YOU, STAY OUT OF THE PARK! IT’S FOR YOUR OWN GOOD!” the man shouted one final time as he was dragged out of the area. The Louds couldn’t help but look at the display with awe.

“That guy must have been conked on the head a few too many times.” Rita said. “I say we just pretend like that never happened.”

“Agreed.” Everyone else, except for Lily and the hiding Brian, said at the same time including Lynn Sr.

“With that out of the way, I’m going to the front desk and getting a map of the place. Rita, if you could-”

“Yes, I’ll back you up.” Rita interrupted. “Just stay here kids, we’ll be right back.”

The Loud kids all gave their condolences as their parents left for a quick trip to the rangers’ station. With the coast now clear, Brian stuck his head out from under Lana’s cap before Lana picked him up and held the tiny boy in her hands.

“Phew, I’ve been in there for way too long! You have no idea how stuffy in can get in there while under a veil of darkness!” Brian said.

“I can understand that.” Brian responded. “At least I can still peek out from time to time.”

“You are going to enjoy this place, trust me.” Lori said before Lynn spoke up.

“By the way, what about that crazy guy screaming dinosaur? You think it’s probably a new ride here?”

“Highly doubt it.” Lisa said. “It doesn’t actually fit this place if you ask me. I’m taking his words with a grain of salt.”

“Awww, I didn’t even bring any salt!” Leni responded. The rest of the Loud kids groaned at her stupidity before Lynn spoke up again.

“You do realize that all dinosaurs are extinct, you’re basically hoping to find something that doesn’t exist anymore.” Lisa said.

“For all we know it could have just been a guy in a costume.” Lincoln spoke up. “That’s my closest guess.”

“We won’t know unless we go in and find it, and I want to be the next to see!” Lynn said with glee. “I just need all of you to cover for me while Brian and I go looking.”

“Wait, wait, wait, why am I suddenly in this?” Brian asked while being a bit flustered. “There’s no way I’m stranding away from everyone to find out if a crazy person was true or not!”

Brian frowned. He knew what Lynn was talking about, and he didn’t think she would hold that sort of thing for this long. Just what made this time special than the other times he hung out with her? He really wanted to bail out and call it a day, but he knew Lynn was persistent. If she wanted to do something, she would hang it over your head until it eventually happened.

“Ugh, fine. I guess since I STILL owe you…” Brian begrudgingly said. Surprisingly, two more voices came up after him.

“I’m coming with you, just because I know you are full of rubbish and will enjoy myself after I prove you wrong.” Lisa said.

“Ooh, ooh, I wanna come too! I love reptiles, especially dinosaurs!” Lana chimed in. “Pleeeeeeeeeeeeease?”

“Hey, all family is allowed here. Sure, you two can come along.” Lynn said. The siblings that didn’t speak up looked at Lynn with stink eyes.

“Of course I am!” Lynn replied. “I just need you to cover for us when we walk off. Lincoln, you’re navigating!”

“Wait, when did I say I was going?!” Lincoln answered. Lynn, with a smug face, waltzed up to Lincoln before whispering something in his ear. His eyebrows rose as his face went slightly pale before Lynn backed off.

Once the parents made it back, the family wasted no time with the activities. Brian had to hide under Lana’s hat again for safety, but even then he could easily take in the scenery. The lush trees, the calm air, it was almost too much for him to handle. He really wanted to jump out and experience everything for himself, but he didn’t want to give himself up. He watched as everyone hiked up the side of a cliff, witnessed wild forest animals, and even took a dip in a fresh water lake. Once everyone, except for Brian, was in the lake Lynn and the others made their move. As their other sisters kept their parents busy, Lynn, Lincoln, Lisa, and Lana made their move and quietly walked out. The tiny boy felt uneasy for them to be doing this to their parents, he hoped the others would cover for them until they got back.

“Well, here’s the gateway.” Lincoln said as he looked at the cave. “Once we make it through here we’ll reach the deep parts of the park.”

“I told you before; I want to rub it in your face when you don’t find anything!”

She ran into the cave with her hands in the air like a maniac. Lincoln sighed as he slowly made his way after her followed by Lisa. Lana pulled Brian out of her hat as she felt him shake a bit.

“I…I’m still not sure about this…” Brian sputtered. “It’s pretty dark in there…you sure there isn’t another way?”

“As much as I don’t want to say it, I don’t think there is.” Lana replied. “Don’t worry; it’s not as bad as you think. We have all been in there and nothing bad happened. You want to ride on my shoulder if it makes you feel better?”

Brian rapidly nodded like a frightened toddler. With that answer, Lana lifted her hands as she placed the frightened kid on her right shoulder before proceeding into the cave after the others. It didn’t take long for everything to become pitch black. From normal to coward, Brian clutched Lana’s face. He wasn’t sure what might pop up and possibly bring him to his knees. Lana herself kept a normal attitude as she walked ahead and gave a few hearty taps on Brian’s back to try and calm him down.

“It’s okay little guy, everything will be all right. Like all of the reptiles in my pants, I won’t let anything happen to you. Just stay calm and we’ll make it through this.”

Brian tried to look up and see Lana’s caring face, but the darkness everywhere prevented him from doing so. He pictured Lana to still have on that smile of hers, one that described “wild child” quite easily. She didn’t really give off vibes of passion or care like Lori or Luna do, but she could always peel away and show it off when support is needed. He did feel quite connected to her, for she was the first one to notice him when he found himself behind the house after all. He really felt the need to hang out with her more once this incident goes through.

Just then, Brian felt Lana bump into something in front of her. It didn’t take long to figure out what.

“Sorry Lisa!” Lana said. The black everywhere prevented Lana or Brian from actually seeing her, but they made a mental note that she was in front of them.

“That’s it, I’m ending this charade.” Lisa said. With one small flip, a burst of light came out from Lisa’s hand. She held a flashlight as everyone could finally now see themselves in the dark. Brian breathed a sigh of relief, he now felt more comfortable with a source of light. He saw the four Loud kids close together so they wouldn’t lose themselves.

“Phew, now we can finally see where we’re going.” Lincoln said. “Anyone know how far we are inside here?”

“Easy you two, I already have a well-rounded hunch.” Lisa spoke up. “Judging by how long we have walked and the type of ground near our feet, they all point to being in the central cavern. If we walk the same amount as we got in here, we should arrive at the exit.”

“I’m surprised we didn’t run into any bats yet.” Lana said. “They usually stick to the ceiling around the entrance and there was none!”

As the Louds discussed which direction to go to next, Brian listened quietly until a drop of water splashed against his head, which made him soaking wet at the size he was at. Attempting to wring out his hair, Brian looked to see where it came from. He wasn’t exactly thrilled at what he saw.

“Uhhhh, guys? You may want to look up…” Brian stated. Once all of them heard him, the Louds suddenly went silent as Lisa shakily pointed the flashlight upwards. Their suspicions were confirmed as the eyes of the swarms opened up and looked down at them.

“Awwww shoot.” Lynn said. The bats screeched as they dive bombed at them, which gave everyone the signal to get out. Lynn took off in a random direction with the others right behind her as the bats got in their faces. Lisa tried waving her flashlight to scare them off, even if it proved ineffective, while Brian held on firmly to Lana’s face. Unluckily, a stray bat swooped behind him and snatched him off Lana’s shoulder and into its talons. Brian screamed to get the kids’ attention as more bats quickly noticed the boy and tried to pry him off of the bat currently holding him. Lincoln was quick to notice Brian’s turmoil as he hastily picked up a small lone rock on the ground and chucked in in the bats’ direction. While he completely missed hitting any, the sudden projectile startled the bats enough that the one holding Brian let go. Brian closed his eyes out of fear of what might happen next as other bats swooped down to catch him out of the air, but Lynn wasn’t going to have it. She ran in and did a baseball dive as the bats appeared to be a few hairs away from grabbing Brian. It was close, but Brian barely made impact with Lynn’s hands before the bats got him. She kept Brian enclosed in her two hands as she ran back after the others. It wasn’t long before the exit came within sight, and with one final rush the four Louds escaped as the bats refused to fly out of the cave in daylight.

“Oh man, I think I threw out my spinal cord.” Lisa stated as she slowly tried to catch her breath.

“Sheesh, I’ve never…seen them that agitated…” Lincoln said between breaths. “Just what…has got them so…riled up?”

“Maybe they were spooked by something?” Lana replied also nearly tired out. “They were all grouped near the center. If I was scared I would also try to go to the safest spot available.”

As for Lynn, she plopped right on the ground all tuckered out from the adrenaline rush. She opened her hands to see how Brian was doing after she rescued him, and she didn’t expect what she saw. The shell of the boy, pale as a ghost, all curled up into a frightened position. Lynn sat up and looked at him in slight confusion.

“Ummm, you okay little guy?” Lynn asked. For Brian, that incident nearly felt like heck breathing across his back. The atmosphere, the situation, the emotions, it all wrapped together to form something Brian didn’t want to be reminded of. He was so scared out of his wits that he watched himself run up and grip Lynn’s chest in a hug, wanting as much comfort to get over the fact that he could have been a bat’s meal. He cried a little bit as he sniffed quietly, not saying a word as Lynn was shocked to see him acting like that.

“Guys, I think Brian’s broken.” Lynn said to the other three. The other Louds came over and witnessed what was going on.

“Man, he looks terrified.” Lana said. “Those bats really screwed him up.”

“Can you see what your wild goose chase is doing?!” Lisa said to Lynn, not exactly in a happy mood. “You almost made him bat chow! Let’s just head back and forget about this stupid search.”

“No way!” Lynn exclaimed. “We got this far, so going back is not an option! We’re finding that dinosaur and I’m not heading home without it!”

The Louds looked down and noticed that Brian was actually speaking through his horrified mood.

“Please…don’t make me…go through that again…so terrible…nearly saw the light…”

He clenched Lynn’s chest even harder, although she never actually felt anything. Nothing mattered to him, just comfort, as his eyes watered up again.

“Everything is going to be alright Brian, it’s over.” Lincoln said. “Just hang in there for a little longer, you’re among friends.”

“We’ll get through this little guy, you’re with me remember?” Lana said as she rubbed his back with one of her fingers. “Like I said before, I won’t let anything bad happen to you. Why don’t you stick with me until this is all over okay?”

Brian looked up from Lynn’s chest and over to Lana through water filled eyes. She really was the only one really getting him at the moment, even when he was in the cave. He slowly nodded as Lana smiled before picking him up off of Lynn and into her own hands. He immediately waddled up and gave Lana a very heart filled hug, which made the giantess happy.

“Th…thank…you…” Brian squeaked through a cracked voice. Lana couldn’t help but lightly hug back. She felt good knowing that she became guardian of the day, especially to someone like Brian. He really was acting like one of her frightened reptiles, which thankfully Lana knew how to handle.

While Lincoln and Lynn couldn’t help but watch with heartwarming eyes, Lisa was the only one strapped to reality.

“Okay, I know everyone wants to be in high hopes but we are currently in uncharted territory. Anyone want to figure out what to do next?”

“Well…” Lynn said with an obvious sarcastic look. “I MAY have smuggled a few things from the family picnic basket, but I’m not sure if anyone is hungry yet…”

Once things settled down, the five of them sat down to munch on the food Lynn “pilfered” from her family. Gratefully she didn’t get any rotten or gross foods. Lynn and Lincoln had turkey sandwiches, Lisa chose to only eat a single apple, and Lana got a burrito. Since the food was too big for Brian to handle, Lana shared some parts of her burrito with him, which cheered him up a little bit from the scare earlier. He was still a little squeamish, but progress was slowly being made to overcome it.

“You couldn’t have snagged even a smidge of a drink? I could really use a juice box right about now.” Lincoln asked after taking another bite.

“Sorry bro, this was the best I could do.” Lynn replied before swallowing. “Besides, I wouldn’t want to know how it feels to keep a drink in certain spots. I wouldn’t want one spilling in the front of my pants.”

“I would imagine it would be highly irritating.” Lisa said. She took a bite out of her apple before Lana spoke up.

“Ooh, I wouldn’t mind! I get down and dirty all of the time! How about you Brian?”

Brian quietly chowed down on a few crumbs of Lana’s burrito before being brought up.

“Well, ummm…” Brian said still a bit uneasy. “I guess…it could get a little uncomfortable…maybe depending on the pants.”

“I couldn’t agree more.” Lincoln responded. Lisa rolled her eyes as Brian scooted over closer to Lana’s face. As of now, she was still the most comfortable person to be around with in his eyes. He needed her currently to get him back in the right mood so he gave her another small hug on the cheek which didn’t go unnoticed. She looked down at him after chomping on her burrito with an encouraging smile.

“You’re going to be okay, trust me.” Lana replied as she rubbed his back with one of her fingers. Just as she did that, Lynn finished her sandwich before standing back up, only to sit back down clutching her feet.

“Ow! I must have sprained something!” Lynn exclaimed. “I think I need someone to give me a quick rub down!”

“Eew, no way I’m doing that!” Lincoln revolted. Lisa simply shook her head for her answer.

“I go through some gross things, but even I have to pass that up.” Lana replied. With three down, Lynn set her sights on the final person.

“Guess that leaves just you Brian.” Lynn said. The tiny boy hastily shook his head.

“Unh, unh, no way! I’m still trying to recover from being a bat’s lunch!” he replied.

“I don’t think you have a choice.” Lynn said. “Forget that you owe me from a few months ago?”

Brian pouted. She really was holding that incident over his head and not letting it go. He was told that Lynn had the tendency to do so and hold it for an extremely long time, although he wasn’t given exact numbers. She would probably continue to bring it up until he did something to her that equaled in value, so if he did it now she would easily let it go. He looked at Lana before nodding his head, so she placed him down on the ground where he made his way over to Lynn through the grass.

Lynn smiled as she took off her shoes and socks before placing her huge bare feet in front of the shrunken kid.

“Okay, give me the best you got!” Lynn said. Her feet loomed over Brian as they greatly intimidated him. These were the same two feet that almost suffocated him to death a few months ago, and now Brian had to deal with the behemoths yet again. Unlike Lori’s feet the one time, Lynn’s stank to high heavens from all the time she spent outside, and he could smell it. Brian held his breath as he slowly walked up to the walls of stink before planting his hands on one of them and proceeding to rub it. The other Louds couldn’t bear to see the grossness, especially since they were eating, and turned away as the process continued. Even though he forbade himself to use his nose, the noxious fumes caused his eyes to water up, but he gently kept at rubbing the bottom of the foot.

“Gee, you did great on that one. It wasn’t much but I could definitely feel it. Can you go over to the other foot now?”

Brian snorted before catching himself and waddling over to the other foot. Holding his breath a second time, the process continued all over again. He swore the other foot was smellier than the other, for even though he didn’t open his nose his watering eyes seemed to come out quicker. He didn’t think much about it as he pretty much sanded off his fingers working on Lynn’s other foot. He wasn’t sure if he was doing a good job since Lynn wasn’t giving him any signs, but he kept at it anyway.

“Oh yeah, that definitely hit the spot. If you weren’t so tiny, you could easily become the next best masseur!”

“Eh, you learn some things down the road.” Lynn replied. Thinking that Lynn wanted him to stop, Brian backed off which finally got his nose working again. Before he could even think, Lynn dumped a bottle full of water over him, drenching him all over. He was just about to yell at her when she spoke up first.

“You do realize this isn’t the same right?” Brian responded as he tried to wring himself out.

“Well I must have missed one!” Lynn said. “At least I didn’t carry that in my pants!”

Lincoln became very cross at Lynn’s attitude, for he knew she was messing with him. Before an argument could erupt, a loud deep deafening noise rang through everyone’s hearing. Brian and Lincoln even got the shivers once it finished.

“No it wasn’t…” Lisa replied equaling her brother’s expression. Lana quickly picked up Brian for safety as she too was nervous, but Lynn was the only one not succumbing to fear.

“Oh my gosh, something is definitely here! I’m going to be the first to see, WOOOOO!”

Lynn raised her arms like maniac as she ran towards the source of the sound. Not wanting to be left out, the other Louds rushed eating the rest of their food before following, with Brian riding on Lana’s shoulder. They had to push away a few brushes of leaves and grass as the greenery got longer and larger, but they kept their eyes on Lynn so they wouldn’t lose her. Once they came to a corner around a large rock, Lynn suddenly stopped which caused the ones behind her to accidentally charge into her.

“Ow, what gives?!” Lana asked as she and the other two got up off the ground. Lynn stayed completely immobile as her sights were fixated in one direction. Her eyes were basically two large dinner plates as her mouth with widely agape. She began shuddering as the others were wondering what the heck was going on.

“Ummm, what’s got you so looking like a deer in headlights?” Lincoln asked. Lynn started to mutter as she struggled to get the words out.

“That’s it, I’m looking for myself.” Lisa stated. The other three Louds, along with Brian, took a peek around the corner of the rock. What they saw clearly was completely unexpected. Nearly all of them mimicked Lynn’s reaction as the sight hit their eyes, except for Brian who began to fear for his life.

There it was, a humungous form of the extinct reptilian race standing before them, fully up and alive before their eyes, except there was a few things that made it stand out. While it had the structure and features of the common large types, such as sharp pointed teeth and two short arms, it was covered in very light blue scales all over, somewhat of an uncommon color. Countless rugged silver spots and stripes decorated its body and legs, especially two giant triangular ones above its eyes that pointed backward. The stripes spread over its back, at the base of both feet before the thick talons, on its two short arms before the claws, and even some small ones around its heavy tail. The underside was a bright cream color that also covered its lower jaw, with its two standard yellow eyes complementing it nicely. Luckily for the kids, it didn’t appear to notice them as it was busy drinking from the lake in front of it.

“I…I…I can’t believe I’m seeing this…” Lincoln said with awe. “That man…wasn’t crazy after all…”

“Wow…an actual living dinosaur…” Lana said. “It’s…SO COOL! I want to see it up close!”

As for Lisa, seeing the dinosaur really began to mess with her brain. She began to doubt what was possible and what wasn’t, for there was no reason for an extinct reptile of that caliber to still be roaming in this day and age. She went into a fetal position on the ground as her pupils shrank and her mouth formed into a crazy smile.

“This…this…so crazy…is life even…of course it is…but what I see before me…hahahahah…this can’t be reality…it’s obviously some kind of joke…hahahahah…yes, kept telling yourself that…hahahahah…”

“Oh, there’s the culprit right over there.” Brian said while pointing as something caught his eye. The Louds that weren’t Lisa looked in the direction Brian was pointing and, lo and behold, it was yet another tear, but this one was much bigger than any other one they have seen, just big enough for the dinosaur to slip through.

The exposure didn’t faze Lincoln though, for he was still worried out of his wits.

“Not until I get a picture of this!” Lynn replied. She instantaneously pulled out a camera out of nowhere while she had a big smile and aimed it straight at the dinosaur.

“Everyone else is going to be jealous that they never saw this beast in person! I can’t wait to rub it in their faces! WOOO!”

“DON’T DO IT!” Lincoln, Lana, and Brian all exclaimed, but it didn’t change anything. Lynn snapped a photo with the flash going off, which proved to be a grave mistake. This went noticed by the dinosaur, turning it around until its eyes fell right on the kids. It didn’t take them lightly as it roared loudly in their faces and glared immensely.

“LET’S GET OUT OF HERE!” Lincoln exclaimed. The others didn’t need to be reminded twice as they took off in the other direction with him, with Lana having Brian on her shoulder and Lincoln dragging the delusional Lisa by the legs. The dinosaur was no slouch though as it kept pace with them using its thick legs. Adrenaline pumped as they winded around trees and mounds with the dinosaur in hot pursuit, eventually taking cover in a crease from a pile of rocks that was too small for the dinosaur to get in. It tried to stick its head inside as the Louds stood terrified, but it quickly drew back. The kids could hear it snort before the felt tremors of its feet fade away.

“I…I think it’s gone.” Lincoln stuttered. “One of you go out and check!”

Lana suddenly found herself pushed out by the others. While she was initially angry at first for her siblings to offer her up, she gazed around for any sight of the dinosaur, with Brian providing backup from her shoulder.

“All clear!” Lana responded. The others took their time to make it outside in case their sister missed something, but eventually they came out.

“You don’t need to remind me!” Lynn replied. “At least I got my picture though!”

“Well that picture almost got us killed!” Lincoln said. “Now let’s get out of here before it comes back!”

As the words flew out, Brian sat on Lana’s shoulder trying to calm down. He really felt like snuggling up to Lana again just for the support, for getting forced to see another anomaly come out of a tear was never a pretty sight, especially something as extinct as a dinosaur. The menacing teeth, the giant legs, the erratic eyes, all of it was a-

Lana just stood there watching her siblings go at it from the encounter before she felt a tap on her shoulder. Turning her head and noticing it was Brian, she asked:

“I am too, you’re not alone.” Brian replied. “I was just wondering if your reptiles get twitchy and hyperactive at times.”

“You have no idea.” Lana explained. “El Diablo in particular practically slithers into a corner and threatens to bite if anyone comes near. I never showed him horror movies again after that.

“You think something like that could happen to its ancestor?” Brian asked. Lana didn’t get what he was trying to explain at first, but it quickly came to her. She wasn’t Lisa in terms of smarts, but she did understand her reptiles and knew how they handled. She just needed the others to listen.

“I don’t think it wants to eat us, as out of it as it sounds, it’s more than likely horrified and scared of being here! It wasn’t lowering its head to the ground as it was chasing us and it immediately left us alone in that crease and didn’t come back. It was probably just trying to scare us off since it isn’t in its regular habitat and doesn’t know what we are!”

“If that was the case, than why didn’t it eat us when it had the chance?” Lincoln asked.

“Well it did come out of that huge tear and I don’t recall hearing about a dinosaur that had that unique look.” Brian spoke up. “I don’t think that’s any normal dinosaur, and if it was we would probably be dead by now. It’s not running on instinct.”

“We’re going to need to herd it back into the tear before it disappears, as crazy as it is.” Brian said.

“WHAT?! I’M NOT HEADING BACK OUT THERE!” Lincoln exclaimed in astonishment.

“You won’t need to.” Brian said. “I’m pretty sure Miss Still In A Mental Crisis has something to do the job.”

He pointed over to the young genius that was still in a fetal position conflicting with herself. It was quite a surprise that she managed to stay like that the entire time even during the chase, but now she was needed to be back to her regular self.

“…is this all a fraud…illusions all over…my life a lie…possibilities…oh so much…”

Getting rather annoyed, Lynn went up to her and slapped her right across the face. It seemed to do the trick as Lisa immediately stood up with wide eyes.

“WATCHOUTTHERESADINOSAUR!” she shouted as she snapped out of it. All eyes were now on her.

A few preparations later, everything was ready to be set in motion. Lisa, the one that nearly always keeps inventions with her, did have something for the situation that she kept under wraps. There were two parts to it, a large circular pod that looked to be two feet wide in diameter and an old projection camera that had dust all over it. As the dinosaur was still by the lake being very uneasy, the others stood in hiding as Lisa set everything up. When Lisa asked for someone to be the one to go on the pod for activation, Lynn actively forced herself over everyone else despite Lana really wanting to do it.

“Okay Lynn, just keep standing there as this machine warms up.” Lisa said as she pressed a few buttons to start it up.

“Oh man, this is going to be sweet!” Lynn exclaimed. “Lynn Loud going toe to toe with a dinosaur, it’s the match of the century! Hurry up and get it going already!”

“Fine MOM.” Lisa said while rolling her eyes. Lincoln and Lana stayed on the sidelines while Brian watched from Lana’s shoulder. The tiny boy noticed a small sticker on one side of the camera that had words on it.

“That’s not important!” Lisa interrupted as she tore off the sticker and threw it away.

“It was sent from somewhere in a New York area. I took its source code and modified it for my liking.” Lisa answered.

“Errrrrr, something like that…” Lisa slowly replied as she chuckled lightly with a guilty smile. Before words could be exchanged further, the machine suddenly whirred as Lynn began to get capsulized under some light glass.

“Affirmative.” Lisa replied. “Just let the circuits run its course and it should work.”

While the machine did the finishing touches on Lynn, the others watched the dinosaur from their hiding spot in case it went somewhere else. It was currently taking a nap by the lake thankfully, and Lana couldn’t help but stare in awe. As she was a lover of reptiles, seeing one that big was quite an astonishing sight. She wrestled gators before, but if she were to grow to the same height, wrestling a dinosaur would be a great feat for her. Lincoln kept sight on it from a safer spot just in case he needed to save his skin.

It didn’t take long before a brilliant flash blinded nearly everyone around Lisa’s machine, consequently waking up the dinosaur in the process. Once it vanished, a gigantic form phased in a good distance away from the dinosaur, around the same height as well, and the ones watching were shocked to see what it was.

“Ugh, my head is spinning…” the giant Lynn moaned as she held her head. The dinosaur didn’t take its new guest lightly as it started roaring at her. Lincoln, Lana, and Brian swiftly turned their attention back to the machine to see how it pulled the maneuver off. As it turned out, Lynn actually was still in the domed pod but was on the ground flat on her back in a sort of sleep stasis. While she slept, the projector turned on and formed the giant sized Lynn before them. This indicated that the giant Lynn was nothing more than a projection of her while her actual body was immobile, although her actual being must have been temporarily transferred to the projection as the signs of her personality surfaced on it.

When her vision cleared, Lynn was ecstatic to see everything around her smaller than usual.

“This…is…AMAZING!” Lynn said with glee as she jumped up and down with her hands up. Normally this would cause a few quakes for someone at that size, but since she was just a hologram it didn’t happen. The others huddled around Lisa by the pod as she spoke through a speaker next to it.

“Ummm, somehow I can.” Lynn’s voice boomed through their ears. “How is that possible exactly?”

“I installed a speaker by the pod where your body is for easy communication.” Lisa responded. “Remember that there’s a limited amount of horsepower behind this, so you won’t be that huge for long, and that you are just a hologram. Those things are unable to touch anything, although I’m hoping to possibly fix that in the future.”

“Blah, blah, blah, all I’m hearing is useless junk.” Lynn’s voice boomed again. “Can I just beat up on the dinosaur now?”

“You can’t touch the dinosaur for starters, I just explained that!” Lisa exclaimed. “Just lure it back into the tear before something happens!”

“Ugh, fine. Your explanations are boring anyway.” Lynn’s voice said. With things about to heat up, the others Louds, including Lisa, ran over to spectate from the sidelines just as the dinosaur began to walk over to the giant Lynn while roaring immensely. However, since Lynn was now equal in size to it and that she couldn’t get hurt, she wasn’t backing down any time soon.

“No way, I ain’t backing down this time pretty boy!” Lynn said. “You are not scaring me off now, show me what you got!”

The dinosaur roared again as the Louds near the ground shivered at the sight. With the fact that Lynn wasn’t going to be scared by its roars, the dinosaur went physical. It charged forward with its head tucked in, but at Lynn’s level it was pretty slow. This made it very easy to sidestep out of the way as the dinosaur whiffed past her. Lynn laughed as the dinosaur turned back around angrier than before. This time it opened its maw and tried to bite her around the face while running forward, keeping Lynn on her toes as she had to back up to avoid the sharp teeth.

“Hah, you must really not get out much to be this slow!” Lynn taunted as the dinosaur’s head missed her by inches.

“Less talking, more herding!” Lisa’s voice echoed through her head. “The tear is right behind you, so get it in there!”

“Fine, fine, Mrs. Bossy!” Lynn replied. Because Lisa kept nagging her to do so, Lynn taunted the dinosaur one final time with a “come at me” gesture. This made the reptile furious as it put all of its strength into one final charge. Unlike before, Lynn stayed put as the dinosaur came closer and closer. Lynn was ready though, for when the dinosaur looked like it was about to make impact it just phased right through her body. This made the dinosaur stumble before it fell over into the tear behind Lynn, disappearing inside before the tear instantaneously vanished.

“And with that, it’s another win for Lynn!” Lynn exclaimed. The spectating Louds breathed a sigh of relief as the trouble was now solved and another tear bit the dust.

“Phew, glad that’s over.” Lincoln said. “I will never think of dinosaurs the same way again.”

“Are you kidding? That was amazing!” Lana replied. “Lisa, can I PLEEEEEASE use that hologram thingy later? I want to actually be Girlzilla this time!”

“No can do.” Lisa said. “I don’t want the publicity of this machine to spread; especially to…I’d rather not talk about it.”

“Oh man, you guys look like ants down there! I’ll say it again, being this huge is awesome!” Lynn said.

“Glad you enjoyed it.” Lisa responded. “With the threat neutralized, I’m going to have to wake you up and bring you back.”

“Awwwwww come on, can’t I be like this for a little longer? I already have so many ideas to-”

“I just said I don’t want this machine to gain publicity, so I have to decline!” Lisa interrupted.

Lynn frowned. Even if it was only for a little bit, she already enjoyed being the “big sister” for once, even if she couldn’t touch anything being a hologram. She didn’t get to think about it long as Lisa flipped a switch, causing the giant Lynn to slowly phase away. It was only for a few seconds, but then the giant Lynn completely faded from existence. The glass dome around Lynn’s actual body dissipated around her as everyone else crowded around to see Lynn slowly stir awake.

“Hey Lynn, you back to reality now?” Brian asked from Lana’s shoulder. Lynn’s eyes flipped open and she wasn’t happy to see that her height was normal again.

“Well this is just great! Now I have to look at you chumps in the eyes again!”

“On the plus side, you got to see the dinosaur.” Brian said. “Besides, you still have me to look down upon.”

“I guess that’s true…” Lynn replied. “At least just tell me that the picture I took went through.”

“Ummmm, well…” Lana said as she brought up the camera before taking out the picture. Lynn didn’t exactly like the result.

“I think you kept a finger over the lens.” Lincoln said as he saw the photo.

“DARN IT!” Lynn shouted. “Now nobody will believe that we saw something as big as that dinosaur! I want a do over!”

“Speaking of which, I think our siblings have covered for us long enough.” Lisa said. “We should probably head back before our parental units notice our absence.”

Lynn huffed angrily before she stomped off to the path where they came in. Lincoln followed soon after, but before Lana could follow Brian spoke up.

“Hey Lana, can you leave me with Lisa for a second? She has to put her machine away so I think this would be an appropriate time.”

“Hmmm?” Lisa said to herself as she got started putting the machine’s parts away.

“Sure little guy!” Lana responded. “Just make sure she doesn’t lose you.”

Brian nodded as Lana picked up Brian off of her shoulder and into Lisa’s outstretched hands. Lana nodded back as she made off after Lynn and Lincoln. Once she went out of sight, Lisa cocked an eyebrow as Brian quickly looked back at her.

“Alright, what did you find out this time?” Brian asked. Lisa was a bit surprised.

“What?! You expect after an incident with an extinct reptile that I immediately discover something about those tears?! Sheesh, and I thought you had some good IQ.”

“Come on Lisa, I know you are hiding it from me. What is it?” Brian asked. Lisa looked to the side before letting out a huge sigh. He wasn’t as oblivious as she thought.

“Darn, well…fine. I had a scanner running in the background to potentially find a pattern in the tear that showed up, and it did pick something up. It was a very particular similarity to the previous tears that appeared before, and even nearly identical to…a certain project I have been keeping away from the others.”

“And that would be?” Brian asked. Lisa bit her lip as she really looked like she didn’t want to talk about it. She shuffled her feet before looking back at Brian.

“I…really don’t think I should be speaking about it now. Can I discuss this to you in a week or so? A sibling birthday is coming up and I’m not sure if you can handle the information I have JUST yet.”

“How can I not handle something as simple as information? Just tell me what it is!” Brian said.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t.” Lisa replied. “After the sibling’s birthday party in a week, for I think it’s best if there is a calm period before the storm. At least give it that then I will tell you.”

Brian wasn’t sure why Lisa was being so defensive. She didn’t want to say what she discovered about the tears, but why? Questions clouded Brian’s mind, but if Lisa was doing this for safety he might as well wait until the day she wanted.

“Well……fine, I guess I can last until then.” Brian disappointingly replied.

“Trust me; you are going to thank me later.” Lisa said. With that said Lisa picked up the last of her machine before putting Brian on her shoulder and proceeding to run after the others.

A week had passed since the close encounter with the dinosaur, and Lisa stayed secretive about her discovery at the time. The other Louds were all over the place for today where miraculously they kept Brian out of. It wasn’t like the shrunken boy always was in center stage every day, he did have moments to himself, and he really needed a moment for today. He couldn’t stop thinking about what Lisa was hiding from him if it was THAT dire to keep to herself. Sure, she was going to inform him about what it is today, but the dread was all over him. He sat down on the living room couch and tried to watch TV to try and get out of it, but the feeling continued to linger over his head. He didn’t need to worry about getting spotted by the adults, for they were out doing their jobs at the time, but being able to not stay hidden didn’t exactly change his mood.

After nearly getting a workout session changing the channels by jumping to the respective buttons on the remote, Brian slumped back down on the couch. Nothing on TV was helping him out of his current feelings, it was just too much.

“Ugh, I think I know how Lucy feels.” Brian said to himself. He wasn’t feeling one hundred percent; the dread was getting to him hard.

The sudden voice startled him. He was trying so hard to pay attention to the TV that he didn’t pay attention to anything around him. He turned to the right to see where it came from and noticed that it was the clueless baby of the family. Her innocent eyes watched his less than average mood as she slowly crawled her way toward him, but for Brian he didn’t know how to feel. All this time he spent staying in the Loud house and not once did he even consider doing anything with Lily, but it was mostly of him being cautious than anything else. He knew that as a baby, Lily was more oblivious to situations and didn’t know the difference between right and wrong, so Brian only went around her when an older sibling was nearby for his own safety. However, with nobody around this time there was no safety net, so seeing the gargantuan baby crawl near him set off alarms in his head.

He tried to back up but ended up hitting the left arm of the couch instead. Emotions of fear and his current dread clouded his mind as Lily was practically next to him now, having a curious face as she looked at his small figure.

“Errrrr, I’m not…feeling myself right now Lily, I kind of need…some time to myself.” Brian stuttered. Lily got down on her stomach as she continued eying him with an insensible face. It was going to be a dice roll on what Lily was going to do next, and Brian was baiting on an outcome that wouldn’t go sour.

“Byyyyyyyyyynnnn?” Lily muttered with a hint of curiosity. Brian could feel his heart accelerate as Lily reached out and grabbed him around the waist. She sat back up as she now had a firm grip on him, with Brian still worried out of his mind as he couldn’t read her emotions.

“Lily please, I’m not a toy! Please let me down, I’m not in the best of-”

Lily put on an innocent happy smile as she giggled. Brian was about to shut his eyes just so he wouldn’t see what happened next, but before he could Lily did what he thought was unthinkable for her. She pulled Brian in and held him close to her exposed chest, squeezing him in the biggest baby hug he ever had.

She fell onto her right side, still having on her loving baby grin, as she snuggled the boy in her arms like a precious doll. For Brian, his face was paralyzed as he thought his heart just stopped. Despite all of the odds forming in his mind, Lily handled him with care like she knew he was an actual member of the family. He did hear from the family that Lily was a gifted child and a fast learner, and to see her do this to him of all people gave him a warm fuzzy feeling inside. Sure, he knew Lily could still be unpredictable, but for now he actually felt safe and relaxed in her thick arms. He felt himself crying happily, for it felt like Lily actually accepted him.

“Th…thank you Lily…I really needed this…” Brian muttered quietly. He closed his eyes as the negative feelings from before washed away. Lily felt so warm, making him feel like he was sitting on a cushy cloud. Leave it to the baby of the family to calm someone older like Brian.

He was so comfortable in Lily’s arms as the baby continued to cuddle him that he failed to notice Lori come in the room.

“Brian, we’re doing another sibling meeting and…AWWWWW, that’s literally one of the cutest moments I have ever seen!”

“You have no idea how grateful I am right now.” Brian replied as he looked up at Lily’s smiling face.

“Byyyyynn! Nynee Byyyyynn!” Lily said. She held Brian up to her face before making him nuzzle across her cheeks. Brian didn’t mind this change as Lily seemed to be enjoying herself, and Lori even brought out her phone before putting it behind her back and taking a picture of the moment without alerting Brian or Lily. She knew Bobby would enjoy the adorable eye candy when it shows up in his inbox.

All Loud siblings, and also Brian, huddled together in Lori’s and Leni’s room to discuss another urgent topic. It felt nice for the shrunken boy to actually be included in these sorts or occasions, even if he was an unofficial family member. He sat by Lucy on Lori’s bed, with her making sure nobody accidentally sat on him in that space. He made sure to count heads this time, quickly noting the absence of Leni as Lori brought in the signature podium and one of her shoes.

“Okay, I call this sibling meeting to order.” Lori announced. “I assume everyone knows what today is?”

The other Loud kids raised their voices in agreement, although Brian had a different response.

“What’s there to explain? It’s Leni’s birthday obviously!” Lynn spoke up.

This made Brian perk up. He did have his moments with Leni from time to time, and to hear that it was her birthday made him happy inside. Sure, she wasn’t exactly in the “smarts” department, but she had special qualities to define who she was. He did remind himself of when she almost killed him while he was in the body of a spider, but that was mostly on Lisa for putting him through that in the first place so he didn’t think about it that hard.

“Okay then.” Brian said. “So I take it that you have everything planned?”

“Right down to a T!” Lori replied. “Alright, here’s what everyone is going to do.”

She pulled out a stack of large paper and placed it on a stand next to her, flipping back each sheet to show a drawing of what everyone was instructed to do.

“Once mom and dad come back with Leni, since she’s out at the mall for now, and once we get to the party store I want Luna to go to the music section to pick out the right music piece…

Lori flipped to the next picture only to see a huge photo of a particular pink haired girl with a denied stamp over her face and…

“NOT IMPORTANT!” Lisa hastily spoke up as she immediately snatched the photo off the stand. She chuckled weakly before putting on an obvious guilty smile as the others looked at her like she was crazy.

“Okay?” Lori said in confusion before shaking it off. “Well anyway, Lucy and Lisa are to assist in picking out the cake…

Lucy nodded as Lisa stuffed the aforementioned photo in her pockets, trying to wipe the incident under the rug.

The other girl Louds all spoke up knowing what they needed to do, although this left out the one boy of the family and the shrunken one. Lincoln and Brian raised their hands.

“Oh right, you two.” Lori quickly realized. “Don’t worry; you get the most important job.”

She flipped the papers one more time to reveal one last drawing, which Lincoln and Brian weren’t exactly excited about upon seeing it. There was even the sentence “Just get Lincoln and Brian to do it” in the bottom right corner.

“You two have to keep Leni busy while we get everything from the store. If you could keep Leni in this room the entire time that would literally be the most optimal solution so we could start decorating without having to waste time bringing her back to this room.”

“We can’t risk you getting spotted or losing you in the store.” Lori replied. “Besides, she’s taken a liking into you hanging out with her. I’m certain she will listen to you.”

The shrunken boy groaned. He was essentially being appointed as the janitor of the operation while the others got the more important jobs. Sure, he needed to watch Leni so she didn’t get spoiled early, but he was at the worst possible size if she wandered off. He was working with Lincoln though even if he did tend to get irresponsible at times. Brian knew he just had to go with it and work from there despite the odds.

“Don’t worry; I’ve had to do this before. You easily get used to it.” Lincoln responded

Once the parents arrived back with Leni, it was time to put things in motion. After unloading everything Leni got from the mall into her room, the other Louds, minus Lincoln, got into the car and drove off telling Leni that they were going to see a presentation on the history of spiders, which Leni easily took the bait and refused to follow through on it. This left only Leni, Lincoln, and Brian as the only ones, minus the pets, in the house, so Lincoln started up easy by asking about the major differences between different fashions, which Leni easily took him up on. Brian just sat on the sidelines and watched Leni ramble on about clothes to Lincoln.

“…and that style comes with the shorter sleeves and thin lining. Uncomfortable, but manageable.” Leni explained.

“I understand that…” Lincoln replied as he tried to keep his eyes open. Leni talked about fashions for thirty minutes straight, and while it was impressive for Lincoln to stay awake through all of it, boredom was clearly taking its toll on him. Even Brian started to fall asleep as he swayed back and forth slowly as he tried to stay awake. Leni didn’t seem to care as she was too into her explanations to pay attention.

“…and that’s all I know. How’s that?” Leni finished. Lincoln and Brian forced themselves awake upon hearing it.

“Thank you! It’s great to actually have someone listen to my fashion, uhhhhhh, knowledge!” Leni replied. “Too bad everyone else had to leave out on me, especially on my birthday.”

“I can’t believe everyone would just ditch me like that! They didn’t even throw me a party! How could everyone forget about me on my special day?!”

Leni sniffed as she sat in a corner curled up, sighing deeply as she glanced at the ground. Of course Lincoln and Brian knew the real reason why everyone left the house, but they couldn’t just spoil it for her. Even so, Leni didn’t exactly seem thrilled that only they were with her at the moment, and it should be a day all about her. Lincoln and Brian knew that had to come up with something.

“Well…at least you have us right?” Brian spoke up. “How about we do something together, you know, like a game you play at parties? That should get your attitude up some.”

“That’s not a bad idea there.” Lincoln replied. “But what exactly do we play? We have dozens of board and card games, so what-”

Leni, Lincoln, and Brian immediately sprang up as they noticed Lucy suddenly in the room. Even when they thought they could get used to it, Lucy’s jumpscares always manage to get through.

“What the, Lucy?!” Lincoln started. “You’re supposed to be out getting-”

Brian gave Lincoln a certain look while making a slashing motion across his neck before he could finish, which Lincoln understood and quickly went quiet. Thankfully, the sad Leni failed to notice.

“I mean, uhhhh, you’re supposed to be at the movies with the others!” Lincoln hastily changed. Lucy didn’t need any indicators to get in on it, she acted right from the get go.

“Lisa wanted to get the ‘popcorn’ all by herself with certain ‘toppings’ everyone would agree on. Besides, the movie was terribly juvenile and I wanted to give my support since…you ‘go through’ easy.”

While it may have sounded normal for Leni, for Lincoln and Brian they understood the actual meaning behind Lucy’s words. Lisa wanted to pick out the cake herself, probably one filled to the brim with chocolate, and the others couldn’t trust the two to stall Leni by themselves. Even though that was the case, what wasn’t explained was why Lucy was chosen to go back and not someone more…mature and understanding? It was up in the air for now.

“At least you had the ability to come back for me! Everyone else forgot my birthday!” Leni exclaimed as she began to cry lightly. “I feel so useless!”

“Now, now, Leni, I didn’t come empty handed.” Lucy explained. “I brought something we could all play together.”

She pulled out a box with a particular label in front and showed it to everyone. Lincoln and Brian cocked an eyebrow as Leni seemed to be more intrigued than the others.

As Leni and Lincoln were setting up the game, although Leni had to be told several times how it worked, Lucy kept Brian close on one of the beds. She constantly gazed at him in her hands, making Brian a little uncomfortable. He knew Lucy has been interested in his tiny stature ever since he arrived, but even then there were some things he didn’t know about her. He feared what he might find if he dug deep enough, for Lucy had a clear interest in dark subjects and he didn’t want any sort of severe trauma to come to him. She was the sibling that stuck out the most for him, but there were some things he never wanted to come across from her.

“I’m sorry, I can’t help it.” She replied giving a slight smile. “Despite all of those months you have stayed here, I’m still fascinated about someone so incredibly tiny living with us. So many trials, so many different views, it really gets to me.”

“I can see that coming from someone like you.” Brian replied. “From my perspective, not even the tallest buildings in the world would get close to your height right now. Would get pretty hard to avoid stuff then, huh?”

“Heheheh, I wouldn’t mind that.” Lucy replied. Something clicked in Brian’s mind.

“I’m talking about when the others wanted someone to come here to back us up, you willingly offered yourself just so you could watch me. If I was with everyone and had the opportunity, I would vote on someone more…orderly and just, mostly likely Lori. No offense, it’s just my two cents.”

Lucy tilted her head down and turned away from Brian with her other hand against her face. He may have gone a little too far with that statement, but before Brian could apologize, Lucy quickly turned back.

“…maybe I did, maybe I didn’t.” she stated before switching things around. “Well…okay, you got me. Curiosity got the better of me, especially since it was your shrunken self. You have also been the closest one in this house to like the things I like, and I…don’t want that to change.”

“That’s what has gotten you so worked up?” Brian questioned. Lucy slowly nodded her head, giving Brian the impression that she was a bit sad.

“It’s okay Lucy; I’m not changing my interests in the slightest. As dark and gritty as you are, you are always welcome to have me to yourself, and I’m sure your siblings will too if you inform them first. As for you willingly coming here, you may not be as demanding as Lori, but I’m glad you came instead of some of the…less demanding ones. I sure you know who I’m talking about.”

Lucy couldn’t help but change her frown back into a smile as Brian smiled back and felt a small light in her dark persona. He always seemed to catch her when she fell down, and knowing that she always had access to him made her pleased that Brian currently lived with her and her siblings. He was going to change back and go back to where he came in due time, but for now he was living with her and Lucy couldn’t have been more…adequate.

Lucy and Brian turned their attention toward Lincoln and Leni where the Twister mat and spinner had been set up. Lucy walked over with Brian still in her hands as Leni looked as excited as ever.

“I kind of had to spend a few minutes explaining the rules to Leni since she couldn’t quite get it.” Lincoln said. Even though he wondered how Leni couldn’t get a simple game like Twister, Brian reminded himself that this was Leni he was talking about. It was just another typical moment for her.

“Actually Brian, we came up with a way for you to join in.” Leni responded. This caught Brian’s attention.

“While we spin the wheels and see where to put our arms and legs, you stay on the mat and try to avoid getting on the same color we place them on.” Lincoln explained. “While we lose if we fall over each other, you lose if you go on the same space as one of our hands and feet.”

“Wait, I can’t do that without the dangers of getting crushed looming over me! I’ve made it this far as tiny as I am already!” Brian exclaimed.

“Don’t worry; we’ll take things a bit slow. We’re not some cruel organization or anything.” Lincoln replied.

Despite what he said, Brian wasn’t quite sure. He was in the hands of death so many times already and he was practically waltzing his way into another. The weights on both sides sat at an even playing field, dipping up and down to get the edge on the other. However, the extra pound one side needed came into fruition. It was Leni’s birthday and nobody was currently around to celebrate with her, she needed all of the support she could get for now.

“Well, as much as I want to be cautious, I can’t say no on Leni’s special day. I’ll do it.” Brian said.

“Okay, then let’s get started.” Lincoln said. Lucy placed Brian in the center of the mat as she huddled up with the other two. As much as she didn’t want to do this, she didn’t want to disappoint Leni on her special day.

To start, Leni took the spinner and twirled the two pointers. They landed on two respective spaces.

“It means you have you place a right hand on a yellow space.” Lucy explained.

“Oh right!” Leni replied. As it was the first turn, Brian had it a bit easy as the right hands came down. There was still a lot of space, so he had no trouble avoiding them as he made it out of the way.

“Left foot blue!” Lincoln announced. Things began to get a little tougher, so Brian had to hasten up as Lincoln’s, Leni’s, and Lucy’s right foot went down on their respective spaces. Even this early on, the three bigger players were already having a hard time not getting tangled up with each other. Leni was practically over Lincoln and Lucy was looking at Leni’s behind.

This was when things started to get hectic. Brian ran all over the place to avoid the humungous feet being planted around him, and while he did nearly avoid all of them, it left him kind of stuck in the middle of all of it.

“I think now it’s getting a bit…crowded.” Lincoln stated as he tried to get his head out from under Leni.

“At least you aren’t me. I’m usually not this flexible.” Lucy replied as her body got stuck under Lincoln.

“I don’t mind this, it’s nice!” Leni stated as she seemed oblivious to it all. She spun the wheels again, and it was a doozy.

Brian bolted the moment Lucy’s hand lifted up for him to go through, giving him an escape from being boxed in. It was just in time too, for Lucy couldn’t handle the pressure anymore and collapsed on the mat, which thankfully missed Brian.

“At least you lasted longer than I thought you would.” Brian responded. “You did really well.”

Lucy carefully made her way out to not disturb Lincoln and Leni. With her out, she spun the wheels this time.

Despite the less body parts to avoid, Brian wasn’t taking it lightly as Lincoln’s and Leni’s hands came down upon him. He was almost caught off guard as Leni’s hand nearly missed him, but then the domino effect happened. Leni’s hand slipped making her go off balance, and since Lincoln was under her, was caught in the misalignment. She suddenly couldn’t take the change as she buckled down and fell, taking Lincoln with her. Brian dove for cover from the impact, which thankfully missed him, and began to breathe heavily from fatigue. With the three bigger ones down, this meant that he ended up winning the game.

Leni slowly got back up as Lincoln also did so and looked at the same spot, seeing Brian on it as well.

“If you continued to stay up you would have.” Lucy replied. “I guess Brian wins then since Lincoln fell down too.”

“But Brian ended up landing onto the same space my left hand fell on, so he didn’t win either!” Lincoln explained. “That means…”

“Nobody won.” Brian finished. Everyone in the room looked at each other with weirded out expressions before suddenly bursting into entertaining laughter. Even Lucy chuckled from the sidelines. Everyone was the loser of the Twister game, but they didn’t care. Nobody saw that outcome coming.

“I don’t mind.” Lincoln responded before turning to Brian and Lucy. “How about you two?”

“Sigh, I guess I should join in again…” Lucy said in her typical tone. She was about to walk back over to the others when a gust of wind began to pick up. Before anyone could figure out what was going on, a section of the air above them burst open as a medium sized tear opened up containing a mess of purple haze. As soon as it appeared it spat out something before disappearing in the blink of an eye. Whatever just appeared fell right on top of both Lincoln and Leni while Brian had to get out of the way before he could get crushed.

“Another tear just opened up!” Brian replied. “Although it’s gone now.”

The voice came from the thing that just appeared. Lincoln and Leni got startled and scrambled away from under it, with Lucy quickly running up and scooping up Brian in her hands before going back. The creature got on its two feet as the others noticed that it wasn’t an object, but a girl. She appeared to be the same height as Leni and wore a pink striped shirt and two pink pointy shoes. Her face had two pink rosy cheeks and, surprisingly, no nose in sight. Her most distinct feature however was the LARGE amount of green hair she had. It was wide enough to hold her entire body and it extended all the way below her knees. You could easily mistake her for a walking bush if you faced behind her.

“I feel like I just got sucked down a kitchen drain…” the girl said before her head cleared up. Immediately locking eyes with the Louds, her expression went flat.

“Alright, where did I just end up?” she asked with a pinch of disappointment.

“You…ummmmm…landed in our house…miss…” Lincoln stuttered. The girls turned her gaze around the room as the others didn’t know how to act so they stayed put. She turned back toward the louds after taking note of everything.

“Hmmmmm, from what I’m seeing this must be Earth, but not somewhere I’m familiar with.” the girl said. She cocked an eyebrow as the Louds were still extremely nervous and looked too worried to move.

“I’m not a monster you know, so you can relax.” the girl said. The others weren’t quite so sure on that statement, but she didn’t seem lethal at a first glance. They let themselves up a little bit, but still kept a precaution in the back of their minds.

“I’m someone that wants to get back to my own world if that’s what you mean.” the girl said. “So if you can lead me in the right direction I…”

The girl failed to notice him earlier, but as she looked closer at Lucy’s hands she saw the tiny figure of Brian, and that quickly caught her interest.

“Is…is that a tiny human in your hands?” the girl asked. The Louds noticed she was talking about Brian.

“Are you…talking about me?” Brian stuttered. The girl curiously walked up to the others, putting them more on edge, before bending down to get a closer look at him. For Brian, he was more intimidated by the two giant planets now staring at him. Her eyes squinted, and once she got a clearer picture she smiled.

“Wow…you’re so cute!” the girl said. “I would love to take you back to my world with me!”

“Wait what?!” Brian exclaimed in disbelief. Lucy pulled him away from the girl as Lincoln and Leni supported her.

“He’s with us lady.” Lucy sternly replied in her monotone voice. This didn’t bode well for the girl, because she frowned and didn’t look happy.

“I’m going through a rough time and I’m in an unknown world, I kind of need all of the comfort I can get right now. Can’t I just hold him for a few seconds?”

“Even I know to not trust strangers at first.” Leni responded. The girl’s mood was getting more negative by the second. She put a hand to one of her hips and wasn’t going to take that for an answer.

“You know what? That’s perfectly fine, I understand. So you just spit at me and ignore my presence, especially when I need it? You really are terrible people…”

What happened next went by very quickly. The girl lunged at Lucy and got into a scuffle with her as Leni and Lincoln strived to pull the girl off their sister. Lucy tried to keep her grip on Brian as much as she could, but due to the girl being taller and naturally stronger she ripped Brian straight from Lucy’s grasp. Brian screamed, but the girl got what she wanted so she wriggled her way out of the pile she was in and rushed out the door with the shrunken boy in her grasp. Not wanting to lose Brian to a stranger, the three Louds ran after her.

The chase went through the entire house at least twice even with the girl being faster than the three Louds. They had to avoid the family pets multiple times as they accidentally got in the way, including Lincoln stepping on Cliff’s tail causing the cat to go in a scratching rampage with his face. Even though it looked hopeless, it was three against one. Eventually, the girl took a dive into the attic and wedged herself into a corner behind some boxes that couldn’t be seen easily. Finally having a moment of relaxation, the girl opened her hands to see her prize, and the tiny boy wasn’t happy.

“Okay, tell me how to get out of here before they find me.” the girl quietly demanded.

Before Brian could finish, the girl coiled her fingers around him and squeezed him hard. So much pain erupted through Brian’s body as he felt his bones and muscles constrict with the pressure all around him. He couldn’t even scream as his lungs felt empty from the girl’s grip.

“I’m not asking I’M DEMANDING.” the girl sternly said. “Tell me how to escape this world or see your life literally get squeezed out of you.”

“I…I don’t…know…” Brian croaked through his deflating lungs. “I’m…trying to…find out myself…”

Despite the nearly inaudible voice, the girl made out what he was trying to say. Her angry attitude was suddenly replaced with one of curiosity, something she wasn’t expecting.

She let go of her grip on Brian as she made her hand flat so Brian could have some breathing room. Her grip was so tight around him that he had to go on his knees to take some deep breaths. After taking a few seconds to recuperate, he slowly got back on his feet to respond.

“Well, I was also brought here against my will, but I’m still trying to figure out what it was. At least you know you were brought here by one of those tears that opened up; I’m still scrambling to find out what happened to me. Once I do I’ll know where to go.”

“So I’m not the only thing that was forced into this world?” the girl asked. Brian nodded.

“Well, I’m glad to know that I’m not alone being stranded. I was just minding my own business until I was suddenly sucked in and brought here. Combined with another incident, well, life really hates me right now.”

“At least you actually remember what happened.” Brian spoke. The girl looked at the tiny boy slightly puzzled.

“It’s a bit of a long story.” Brian answered. The girl sat down in a more relaxing way and had on a satisfied face.

Brian shivered. He just got kidnapped by this strange girl from another tear and now she was relaxed wanting to hear everything that happened to him? It sounded crazy, but Brian feared that if he didn’t do as she wanted she might actually crush him to death. Because of that, Brian knew he had no other choice. He explained from beginning to end his experience with the Louds from where he started to now. As he spoke to the girl, he slowly started to warm up to her and not fear her as much, and the girl seemed to get in the same mood as well. He admitted that the girl looked pretty cute when she smiled. Maybe that was what she saw in him at first before taking him? Surprisingly, the three Loud siblings looking for him never showed up the entire time. The hiding spot she picked out must have been a pretty good place to evade capture.

Once Brian finished his tale, both of the girl’s eyebrows were raised in astonishment.

“Wow, those experiences…those are impressive feats.” the girl said. “And you don’t know who you are or what is going on around here?”

“Yeah, it’s a bit unfortunate.” Brian explained. “At least one of the family members here is investigating all of it for research.”

“Lucky you.” the girl replied. “I can’t imagine being in your shoes without going insane. I mean, I know I was dragged here and-”

The girl caught herself mid-sentence as realization set it. She put her other hand on her forehead and shook her head.

“Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, I can’t believe I just did this! Forcibly taking someone so I can bring him back with me, what was I thinking?! I’m getting caught up in so many things that I can’t think straight! Ugh, why does this-”

“Easy there miss, just what has got you so worked up exactly?” Brian asked. The girl looked up upon hearing Brian interrupt her, and while she wouldn’t take it kindly upon it, she was already in a mess so she let it slide.

“I had to deal with a similar situation, and I heard that talking about your problems to someone else helps.” Brian answered.

The girl wiped a few droplets from her eyes as she looked at the boy. He seemed like someone who would help if given the chance, so she came clean.

“Okay, you want to know what’s going on with me? Well, I kind of………broke up with my boyfriend.”

“While we did break up multiple times and quickly got back together, this time it’s for real. I’ve somewhat moved on from it, but there’s still one part of me that…I can’t really explain but it’s very bad. I just want some relief from these heavy feelings.”

The girl sniffed as Brian stood quiet. This was almost like what he had to deal with Lori some time ago, and yet it was also very different. Like before, relationships weren’t one of his strong traits, but the girl was in need of some assistance to get over it, so he tried the best he could.

“Wow, I’m…really sorry you feel that way. I can kind of understand why you took me, but I wish I could do something to help. At least talking about it helped a bit, right?”

“It did ease a little bit off me. I’m sure I’ll get over it soon, but it’s going to sting for a bit until then. I just hope I can keep my emotions stable for now, separation really does a number on you.”

The girl and Brian yelped as they found Lucy suddenly right next to her, but the girl kept a grip on Brian so he wouldn’t fall to the floor. The pile of boxes in front of them parted way as Lincoln and Leni showed themselves. Lucy walked back over to them as the girl got on her feet.

“Please take it easy on me; I’m so incredibly sorry for taking this tiny human away from you! You can have him back, just please don’t punish me hard!”

Surprisingly, the three Louds didn’t look angry anymore. They smiled at the girl as they explained.

“It’s okay, we understand now.” Lincoln said. “You’re not doing that well so you let your emotions get the better of you, we have all been there.”

“We listened out from the other side of the boxes.” Lucy explained. “We pinpointed where you were early on but when we heard you speaking to Brian we listened out.

“I guess I know where Lisa gets that from then.” Brian thought to himself. The girl opened her arms out so one of them could pick up Brian, which Lucy did as she now kept the boy cradled in her hands.

“If it makes you feel any better stranger, how about you join us for my birthday today? The more the merrier!” Leni asked

The girl suddenly perked up while the others, including Brian, looked at her a bit weirded out.

“Wait, you actually want ME, someone who was brought her unintentionally and is going through some hard times, to join you in celebrating your birthday? I thought you didn’t trust strangers!”

“That is true, but from what I heard you sound like a really nice person.” Leni replied. “Besides, it’s always nice to help those in need, especially for someone who recently broke up with someone.”

The girl’s eyes glistened as she slowly formed a smile. Even after attempting to take Brian back with her, the Louds knew the girl was just being misunderstood after listening out. She may be from another world, but even she knew when there were friendly ones around her willing to lend a hand.

After a few more humorous games of twister, which Leni insisted on doing since she liked playing it, the rest of the family arrived back at the house with all of the party stuff. It took a bit of convincing to keep Leni in the room as they set up the decorations and cake, but eventually after thirty minutes everything was set in motion. Lincoln and Lucy convinced Leni to come out of the room for a moment, although Lucy had to hide Brian in her hair so he wouldn’t get spotted, and when Leni made it downstairs…

Leni couldn’t have been happier. The entire time today she thought everyone forgot about her special day, but they never did. They got all of her preferences perfectly. The cake was her favorite flavor, the decorations were her favorite color, everything fit her and she loved it. As for the parents about the new girl showing up, Lincoln and Lucy explained that she was one of Leni’s close friends that didn’t come often, which the parents easily took.

Even after Leni blew out the candles the activities didn’t stop. The piñata Lola and Lana picked out just so happened to be in the shape of boots from the 60’s, something Leni wasn’t exactly fond of, but that was the point. After spinning her around and putting the blindfold on her, Leni was eager to whack those shoes into oblivion with a baseball bat, which was easier said than done. She smacked the couch a couple of times and even hit Lincoln in the…weak point. He spent about fifteen minutes in the bathroom after that stunt. She did eventually break the piñata and tons of candy fell out, much to the pleasure of certain sisters. Lola stockpiled as much as she could in her arms while Lisa scrambled to get everything chocolate related.

The party continued for the rest of the day until it was nighttime. While the parents were cleaning the rooms, the Loud kids, along with Brian in Lucy’s hands, went into the backyard with the new girl. Lincoln and Lucy had to explain everything to their siblings so they wouldn’t get confused and ask questions later. As for the girl, since she knew that there currently wasn’t a way back to her own world for now, she had different plans.

“You sure you don’t want to stay here? I could totally stylize that wad of hair to your liking.” Lori asked.

“It’s okay, I’ll be fine.” the girl responded. “Besides, I don’t exactly look normal to everyone else here. Don’t want to suddenly end up at a research center somewhere.”

“But where will you go? There are not really any good spots to hide out, at least that I know of.” Lana asked.

“I’ll figure something out, you don’t know the other half of me after all.” the girl said. “Since I’m stuck in this similar but strange world, I might as well check out the sights you know? Don’t worry though; I’ll keep in touch with all of you in case you find a tear back to my world.”

“Also, if I find out something about the weird phenomenon going around here I’ll make sure to let all of you know. This is something that I might be familiar with, but I have a feeling that this may be more catastrophic than you think if those tears can pull me here.”

“Wow, it’s really nice that you are helping us out!” Brian responded. “It’s nice to know that not all things the tears bring here are out to kill us!”

The girl nodded as she turned her back to leave. However, she turned back around for one final statement.

“By the way, my name’s Kelly. I was so caught up in everything earlier that I completely forgot to introduce myself. Sorry I didn’t do it earlier.”

Immediately following her statement, something quickly popped out of her hair that caught everyone off guard. Compared to Kelly, it basically looked like a clump of her green hair with eyes and a mouth, but this one had six lanky arms on its sides.

Nearly all of the Louds recoiled back in surprise, but for Kelly her face just went flat.

“That was your boyfriend?!” Luna exclaimed. “What’s he doing in your hair dude?!”

“Hey, it’s comfy in there and I like it!” Tad replied. Kelly pouted to herself before explaining.

“He was SUPPOSED to move out after we broke up, but he’s being a butt hurt worrywart and refuses to come out. It gets REALLY annoying at times.”

“I may be annoying, but we’re now stuck in this world together.” Tad answered. “Face it; you’re with me until we find a way back. I listened out while you were hanging out with your new friends so I know the situation.”

“You think I don’t know that?” Kelly replied. “Just get back in there, we’ll talk later.”

Tad rolled his eyes before doing what she wanted and went back inside her hair. The Louds were speechless and dumbfounded at what they just saw, making Kelly a bit nervous.

“Heheheh, I’m…just going to take my leave now…” Kelly said. With that said, Kelly made her way to the other end of the backyard before cleanly jumping over the fence. She was very athletic despite the looks.

“Something about a hairy guy living in that Kelly girl’s hair?” Lynn answered. “I…think I might need to sleep on this one.”

“Agreed.” The rest of the Louds said as all of them walked back inside the house. Once all of them made it inside, Kelly slowly peeked back over the fence.

“Hmmm, one of those voices…do I know that from somewhere?”

The Loud kids all got ready for bed some time later, which meant that Brian had to be stuffed inside Lisa’s lab table drawer. As much as he disliked sleeping in there since he arrived, it was the only guaranteed spot to sleep without getting spotted since nobody wanted to get near any of Lisa’s work for they could get…explosive at times. Once Lisa was done brushing her teeth, she carried Brian back into her room and prepared to open the drawer.

“I’m not surprised. Craziness happens all of the time in this household.” Lisa explained. “Besides, I was hoping you would be in a better mood before now, but I guess it’s better than pure negativity. Brian, it’s time for me to tell you what I found out last week.”

Wait, that was right! Lisa was supposed to inform him about what she discovered when that dinosaur showed up! He wasn’t sure why Lisa wanted to wait for him to be in a better mood before explaining, but she wasn’t exactly happy about it.

“This might be quite an information dump, but it is what I found.” Lisa said before explaining. “First off, the project that I have been working on…the tears has almost the exact same signature…no, that’s not the most proper name for those things…”

“What are you talking about?” Brian asked. Lisa twiddled her fingers as she looked at the tiny boy.

The words socked Brian right in the gut. He knew Lisa was a genius, but not like what he just heard her say. A project of that caliber could have massive scientific breakthroughs, but his thoughts were stopped as Lisa continued.

“Yes, I have been researching intensely on the subject but I didn’t want to tell my siblings just yet, for they could easily get in the way and potentially mess things up. That’s not the kicker though. I’ve actually…made a very early prototype and spread it across the house.”

“You know how I keep in touch with certain…smart people from my phone? That’s due to an early prototype of my dimensional research. I even snuck it into my other siblings’ phones and the TV in the living room. You know that show Leni is in to? That’s my prototype tapping into that respectable dimension. It’s a TV show here, but an actual dimension in another reality. It’s the multiverse theory at its finest.”

“So you and your sisters can contact people from other dimensions? Sheesh, that’s deep.” Brian stated.

“Yes, it is. That’s why I needed you in a positive attitude before explaining all of this; it’s a lot to take in.” Lisa described. “Anyway, my research is still very early as you can’t actually travel to those dimensions, just listen and contact with them, but then those tears started appearing. I think you can put two and two together with this.”

It didn’t take long before Brian figured out what Lisa was talking about. Her secret research, the tears…

“Those tears are actually pulling things from other dimensions and dumping them everywhere!”

“Exactly.” Lisa stated. “I think the term ‘rifts’ fits them more nicely than ‘tears’ so I’ll describe them like that. Anyways, while we can herd everything that comes out of these rifts back into them, it won’t stop the continuous outbreaks that are happening right now. If too many things from other dimensions get dumped here, well…this happens.”

Lisa reached into her pocket and pulled out a regular number two pencil but there was something ominously wrong with it. It looked like its figure was fazing in and out like it was being displayed on an old TV, but it didn’t last long. The pencil slowly got more distorted and disfigured before it suddenly popped out of existence faster than the speed of light. This made Brian very uneasy.

“Did…did that just fade from existence?!” Brian exclaimed. Lisa frowned as she slowly nodded her head.

“I found that on the floor after I saw a spoon in the kitchen go through the same thing.” Lisa said. “That will happen to everything here, including us, if these rifts continue to come up. It’s causing an unbalance in our reality and any other dimension that’s also going through this, for I feel we aren’t the only ones experiencing these rifts. Our reality is slightly tilting for now, but who knows before it finally topples over. I do know one thing though, this isn’t natural.”

“Affirmative.” Lisa replied. “As for what, I’m not sure yet, but whatever it is we need to find out before it’s too late. I’ll tell this to my siblings at a later date, but I felt like you should be the one to know first. You may not have been brought here by one of those rifts or are the one creating them, but something isn’t right and I’m going to find out what for the sake of my family.”

Brian was flabbergasted. All this time, with those “tears” suddenly appearing and getting more frequent, they were taking stuff from other dimensions and dropping them off somewhere else, including here and different dimensions, consequently destabilizing the dimensions where they were dropped, with more alien objects the rifts drop off accelerating the process until…it all collapses. He now understood why Lisa wanted him to be in the best of moods before listening to her exposition, it was a lot to take in and understand, but there was still the unnatural element to it all. Whatever is causing these instabilities, they needed to find out or they could be next.

“I understand.” Lisa said. “Just don’t tell my siblings about this yet, I want to be the one to explain so I can tell them all of the details in full.”

“Oh…okay…” Brian stuttered. Lisa nodded before picking Brian up and putting him in the drawer for the night. She locked it and got into bed before Rita came in and put Lily in her crib before turning off the lights. Even with all of it, Brian knew he wasn’t going to sleep well tonight.

Red shrouds covered his eyes as Brian floated in empty space, trying to drown out the insidious laughter. There was no way he was prepared, it hammered against his skull again and again.

Brian wanted it to stop, it was too much. There was no relief, nothing. It was just him and that sound…

Brian bolted awake. It seemed that with each passing day the nightmares continued to get worse and worse with no chance of stopping. He was at least happy that the Loud siblings have his back when these things happen, but if they wanted specifics…they were better off not knowing.

“Ugh, I feel awful. These nightmares are really getting to me, and I don’t…wait, where the heck am I?”

Upon waking up Brian noticed immediately that he wasn’t anywhere familiar. In fact, he couldn’t see anything around him, everything was pitch black. His back felt wet from lying on the ground which slightly sunk into the ground from his weight. Wherever he was, it gave him chills.

This gave him chills and the feeling of déjà vu. This was almost like when he first found himself in the Louds’ backyard, shrunken and tiny amongst them all. At least he didn’t lose his memories this time; he still remembered the times with the Louds up to this point, although he was struggling to remember how he got to this pitch black area in the first place.

The sudden voice spooked him upward slightly before a light turned on around his wrist. It was a special watch Lisa made for when she needed him to do special “experiments” so to speak and keep an eye on him. Brian had no idea why he was wearing it now all of a sudden, but Lisa’s face did show up on the face of it like normal.

“Lisa, am I glad to see you!” Brian said. “I have no idea where I am and I can’t see a thing!”

“I don’t know where you are either, that’s why I called you!” Lisa replied. “I would have talked earlier but I had some business to attend to.”

“Explaining you superiority to other genius girls from other dimensions?” Brian asked with a smirk. Lisa’s eyes squinted as her skin lightly clammed up.

“Errrrrr, something like that…” Lisa responded through an obvious guilty crooked smile. Brian playfully rolled his eyes and Lisa got back in her regular mood.

“Anyway, since you don’t know where you are situated I’m going to have to resort to something else.” Lisa said. “Do you remember anything that happened earlier that may have led to this?”

“I can literally picture that. I don’t usually get along with those types anyway.”

Lori continued to chat with Bobby over the phone on her bed. She tended to do this for hours, and today was no different. Some of her siblings label her as a weirdo when she does this, but she was quick to point out their weird habits in a pinch. Therefore, they immediately left her alone after that.

She wiggled her toes in excitement, making it almost a rollercoaster to the one standing on them. He ended up getting smacked in the face with one of her toenails in the process.

“Ugh…” Brian said to himself. Wiping some excess nail polish off of his face, he then gripped the bits of cloth around his hands before getting back to work. Because Lori didn’t want to do two things at the same, she appointed Brian to polish her toenails while she got off easy with Bobby, which Brian hesitated to do at first. He didn’t want to be known as the “nail polish guy” since he also did it with Lucy some time ago, but with this progress he seemed to be that type of person already. Doing it a single time was one thing, but with Lucy’s and now Lori’s toenails, he slowly got irritated with the whole thing. Not only that, but Lori wanted absolute perfection with her toenails so Brian couldn’t completely cover himself and get it over quickly like he did with Lucy. Instead, he was given two scraps of cloth and forced to use those, nearly tripling the amount of time he needed to work on them. He handled each of the edges carefully and made sure no extra spots were exposed. Nearly all of the time he spent on Lori’s toenails, he had on a very flat and unhappy expression. He just wanted it to be over.

After wiping light pink nail polish over the last few spots, consequently finishing his job since he also did the others, Lori finally hung up and put her phone to the side. When she saw the impressive work Brian did, she couldn’t help but smile.

“Wow Brian, you perfected all of it just like I said!” Lori said. “I literally can’t thank you enough!”

Brian turned around sweating buckets as he walked off of Lori’s toenail and onto her foot. He still wasn’t happy he had to do it, but at least it was over.

“It was tiring…but I managed.” Brian stuttered. “You owe me for this you know.”

“Duly noted.” Lori replied. “Let me sneak you some food from the dinner table first.”

“Really? That’s what you remember?” Lisa asked. “That doesn’t exactly help with figuring things out!”

“Well it was the first thing that popped up!” Brian responded. “I know that there is more, but the details are still a bit hazy.”

“Ugh, it’s something I guess…” Lisa responded. “Maybe you should try finding a way out of there until the answers come to you. Don’t worry; I’ll be with you every step of the way.”

“Thanks Lisa.” Brian responded. Using the light of the watch, Brian glanced around the room he was in now that he could see, although the sights made him sick to his stomach. Bright rosy walls and floor everywhere that appeared to pulsate every few seconds. Something about them rubbed Brian the wrong way, but at least he seemed to be the only one in the room. He noticed to his right was a large visible cut in the wall that looked to be spewing out a clear liquid at a slow pace. Judging from everywhere he scanned the room that looked to be the only escape route.

He slowly walked over to it, his feet lightly sagging into the ground, but as he approached it Lisa suddenly spoke up.

“Don’t tell me you are actually thinking about going in there.” Lisa said. Brian looked down at Lisa’s image on the watch.

The next thing Brian knew he was spat out to somewhere different. He coughed a little from the liquid getting in his mouth as he got up to find out where he landed. It was taller than the last room, but it actually had stuff in it unlike before. There were various liquids overhead connected by weird crimson tubes that went in and out of the room quickly. There was an exit upwards near the vertical middle of the room that the liquids sometimes went through. As for the walls and flooring, they sported the same rosy outlook the previous room had.

“Woah…” Brian said to himself. “It’s like there’s an entire network of these things. What the heck is going on?”

Static went through his eardrums as his watch now looked to be offline. That didn’t last long however as Lisa’s image quickly came up.

“You there Brian? Oh good, you’re awake.” Lisa said. “Looks like you got waterlogged for a second there. I’m hoping there was no internal damage.”

“It’s still operating fine.” Brian replied. “The sights around here ring any bells to you?”

Brian pointed the watch in nearly every direction so Lisa could get the full picture. She requested some rescans a few times before answering back.

“Unfortunately, I got nothing.” Lisa answered. “You might want to be a bit careful though, who knows what you might come across?”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Brian said. He looked up from the watch as Lisa tried to get some more visuals from the angles the watch kept going in only to see a group of three mysterious things ahead of him. They appeared as some sorts of bleached splotches that slid across the ground while making some very grotesque noises, and Brian quickly didn’t want to get noticed. Luckily there was a crimson tube that stuck out of the ground that Brian immediately took for a hiding spot. He rushed behind it as the splotches slid their way in his direction. Sweat fell down Brian’s brow as the splotches were nearly in front of him. After parts of the splotch’s’ bodies stretched upward for a bit, they slithered off and left Brian alone. The boy exhaled heavily after.

“Phew, that was close!” Brian said. “Someone definitely doesn’t want me to get out of here.”

“What? What just happened there?” Lisa asked. “You have to angle that watch correctly so I can see the troubles too you know!”

“Kind of hard to do when you’re sneaking around.” Brian replied. He thought he was out of the clear for now, being able to take a brief moment of rest, but he failed to notice a stray splotch sneak up behind him as he talked to Lisa. She noticed the splotch and was about to alert Brian, but it was too late. Opening up two flaps, it went down straight on Brian’s left leg. Brian screamed, for it was actually doing more to his leg than what it seemed. It was like someone put it straight into an oven and set it on high, it was an intense burning sensation. Brian shook his leg to try and get the splotch off of him, but it had a firm grip on him and wasn’t letting go. Lisa was also panicking on the other side despite the limited view on the watch. She scrambled to access a functionality to potentially help out.

Brian continued sitting impatiently for Lori to return. He couldn’t blame her for being late with her ten siblings roaming everywhere in the house, making him wonder how she held back snapping from…everything related to them. He could still hear noises coming from the hallway that didn’t sound natural, although there was nearly nothing natural when it came to the insanity of the Loud house.

Brian’s stomach growled from hunger before seeing Lana enter the room with a big smile.

“Yeah, I am.” Brian answered. “She’s getting me something to eat from the dinner table.”

“Then I came in at just the right time!” Lana said. Brian tilted his head in confusion as Lana walked up to him.

“And that would be?” Brian asked. Lana got on her knees so she could be at eye level with the tiny boy.

“If you, let’s say, have a painted turtle for a pet what would be a good name for it? I just love the mixed colors of its claws and face and the fact that you can dye their shells if you want to. Surely you have something in mind for the pretty creature.”

Despite trying to hide the facts, Brian was no idiot. He could tell that Lana just got a new reptilian roommate even though she didn’t want to admit it. He knew Lola wasn’t going to enjoy it in the slightest but he swept that under the rug as Lana needed a name for her new turtle friend. He had only seen a few glimpses of it in certain picture books Lana hoarded on reptiles and it seemed to be a decent pick for her to go after one. Nothing really stood out for Brian to complement on though, making it a bit difficult to come up with a name for one.

Lana paused upon hearing that name as if it struck a chord with her. She looked at Brian with a grin.

“Wow, that’s perfect!” she said. “A name you don’t hear often but with a distinct chime to it, I like it!”

“Are you going to name your new reptile that?” Brian asked. Lana’s eyes slightly went wide before tilting her head down.

“Well…okay, you got me there.” Lana replied. “It’s just…he’s so cute and I couldn’t resist picking him up. I’ll show him to you later if you want me to, he’s friendly!”

“I’ll make a note of that.” Brian replied. Lana nodded as she walked over to the door.

“What’s the insanity going on in the hallway? I’m hearing some yelping and banging out there.”

“Oh, that’s just Luan chasing Leni around with a rubber spider. I wouldn’t pay attention to it much if I were you.”

“Okay, thanks Lana!” Brian replied. With that said Lana put on a smile as she left the room and shut the door. Brian’s stomach growled soon after since Lori wasn’t back yet, and the hunger was clawing at his insides right now. He pouted to himself before suddenly seeing the door swing open…

The splotch finally let go of Brian’s leg as its body rippled a bit before it slithered off. Brian sighed with relief as the watch around his wrist beeped to get his attention.

“Ultrasonic sound waves, they can save lives.” Lisa spoke up with a half snickering smile. Brian breathed a huge sigh of relief.

“Thanks for the backup there.” Brian said. “I don’t know what that was, but you are a lifesaver!”

“It pays to have a genius mind.” Lisa responded. Brian looked down to his leg to see how much damage was dealt. It wasn’t dire thankfully, but it was marked in red all over like sunburn. He tried to move it but it caused pain to spike through. He needed to get a move on though, for those splotches could be back any second and he didn’t want to know how it felt if his entire body was enveloped.

“Ouch, that doesn’t look pleasant.” Lisa said. “You still think you can get out with that sort of handicap? I wish I could do more…”

“I kind of have no choice. Even though it hurts, I need to get out of wherever this is before something even deadlier comes up.” Brian explained slowly picking himself up to ease pain on his leg. He needed to find another exit, and after a quick glance around the room he spotted one. There was one section of a crimson tube above him that lacked a surface, and it was small but just big enough for Brian to squeeze through and ride the current out of the room. There was one single catch, it was high up. There was a tube that extended out of the ground vertically to get there, but it was going to require some climbing, and with an injured leg it wasn’t going to be easy. Limping over to the vertical tube, Brian held his arms out before gripping around it tightly. He started to slowly inch himself up it while trying to keep his injured leg from flaring up, and while it did on occasion Brian had to adapt quickly to avoid falling down and potentially injuring himself more. It was a tiresome climb, but he eventually made it up. He took a breather on the side as he looked down at the opening of the horizontal tube. The liquid looked to be thick, but it was currently his only way out. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes before taking a dive straight into it.

It was one big waterslide being carried by the liquids. Brian had never been on one before, only seeing the Loud kids get on one on occasion, but if what he was on now was like that, he would definitely want to go on more in the future. It was difficult to see through the thick shades of crimson that went up in his face, but he did see a large wall of white a few times through small glimpses.

He wasn’t keeping track of time as he swept through the tubes around him, even going through some intersections a few times, but he eventually got dumped out. He coughed a few times as he slowly got to his feet, making sure not to lean that much on his injured leg, and looked around to see where he ended up now. While the wall behind him sported the typical rosy look, in front of him was something equally large that was ruddy and sported many curves and dents. Brian didn’t know why, but he didn’t like the look of it.

“I’m probably going to have to climb that thing aren’t I?” Brian thought as he frowned to himself. Before he could think further, the watch rang up and jolted to life, and Lisa wasn’t exactly thrilled.

“Is waterlogging my invention your primary goal or something?” Lisa asked. “Parts don’t come cheap you know!”

“I think there are more pressing matters.” Brian replied before angling the watch so Lisa had a clear look of the large object in front of him.

“Hmmmm, that seems to strike a chord with me somewhere…” Lisa replied. “Unfortunately I can’t really deduce it from this angle.”

“Well the only way to go is up.” Brian said. “You want me to look around once I get up there?”

“That would be a smart idea.” Lisa said. Brian nodded as he limped over to the weird wall. He still didn’t like it for some reason, or something was just rubbing him the wrong way. Either way, he was going to have to climb up another thing so he took hold of a few parts that stuck out of the dents. It squished through his fingers and was hard to keep any sort of grip, but that wasn’t going to halt progress any time soon. At least the indents made positioning his feet, especially the injured one, way easier than most walls. As he made his way up, the slippery substance over the wall splashed over his face a couple of times, making it hard to see at some places.

It was a struggle, but Brian managed to get right on the top almost completely drenched in the process. He nearly collapsed on the new ground worn out after climbing up something again, but that’s when he saw the new visuals. The ground sported the same ruddy and indented pattern and even curved downward on the opposite side while there was an actual curved ceiling above him.

“I…don’t see anything that comes to mind.” Lisa said as Brian slowly got to his feet. “I’m going to need a couple more angles to get the better picture.”

“Well nothing really sticks out with me either.” Brian replied. “I don’t know how I’m going to find out where I am if-”

The voice rang through Brian’s and Lisa’s ears loudly. It seemed to come out of nowhere but it sounded familiar. Just where the heck was he-

The memories from what happened earlier in the day started to come back to him. Where he was standing, the visuals around him, the sudden voice…

Suddenly seeing himself get rudely interrupted by the swinging doors, Brian got startled. Coming in without warning, Brian watched as Leni rushed hastily into the room with Luan behind her holding a stick with a rubber spider at the end while laughing playfully. The shrunken boy rolled his eyes at the sight from how stupid the situation looked.

“I’m not being friends with an icky spider!” Leni exclaimed back. As she continued to get chased around the room, she tried to pick up random objects and throw them straight at the rubber spider, but she wasn’t exactly Player of the Year material and missed all of her throws. From makeup compacts, shoes, and even hairpins, Leni threw them and wasted every single one; not that being constantly chased by Luan wasn’t bad enough.

The constant struggle between the two did give Brian a slight smirk after watching for a bit. It was stupid, but mildly entertaining in a sense. He held back a couple of chuckles as he tried not to laugh and offend Leni, but that smile would soon be replaced with a direr outlook. Leni was so dedicated to smack that rubber spider away that she didn’t even bother to pay attention to what she was grabbing and chucking, and then Luan had her cornered between the rooms’ two beds.

“Just give the little bug a hug and be his best friend! He won’t bite! Hahahahah!” Luan said as she dangled the rubber spider in front of Leni. Noticing that he was a bit too close for comfort and the fact that he didn’t want to be a part of the confrontation, Brian tried to back off behind the bedroom table lamp, but he was a bit too slow as he quickly found himself bounded by Leni’s giant fingers all around his body. The giantess wasn’t even looking in his general direction to see that she was holding, for she just wanted to get out of the situation immediately.

“GO…A…WAY!” Leni yelled as she thrusted her hand forward and let Brian loose through the air. Like her throws before, she completely missed the rubber spider but she threw Brian at such a quick speed that he didn’t get any time to react as he went sailing through the air. While Leni missed the rubber spider, she unwarily sent Brian towards a new target. Since Luan was still enjoying herself and laughing at Leni’s misfortune, her mouth was wide open…

Luan stopped laughing the moment the shrunken boy flew right into her mouth. She stood stunned for a few seconds before unintentionally swallowing him whole. She looked at Leni like she just saw a ghost.

“Leni…what did you just throw into my mouth?” Luan asked with a hint of horror.

“Oh, it was probably just some leftover dinner Lori brought up. You know how she tends to hoard away the good stuff!” Leni replied. She couldn’t have been more oblivious to what she just did than a brain dead animal.

“Well…uh…that’s a relief I guess…” Luan said still in a bit of shock. She didn’t know how to feel with what Leni just did. She really hoped Leni wasn’t saying crazy things since she didn’t want to go to the hospital anytime soon. She needed some time to herself after that stunt so she slowly left the room with a stagnant face and the rubber spider in tow. For Leni, she was happy to finally be relieved from Luan’s stupid rubber spider prank so she went into her closet to try on some shoes.

As for Brian, it couldn’t have been a more different situation. The instant he found himself sliding down Luan’s throat his emotions went into overdrive. This wasn’t one of his nightmares, this was actually happening and he wanted out. He tried pushing himself up but the muscles of Luan’s esophagus kept him from going anywhere but downward. He felt himself starting to cry as he struggled and struggled to no avail. An intense smell hit his nose as he knew what was coming next, and soon after the esophagus gave way and dropped him into the organ he never wanted to go in. He fell through the air before making a splash into the gastro acids of Luan’s stomach. The instant he made contact with the acids it nearly gave him burning sensations all over. Even though he couldn’t see anything since it was pure darkness inside Luan’s stomach, he knew he had to find a temporary safe spot. While he was completely blind in the dark, Brian trudged through the muck burning him all over and eventually made it to a small slope next to the stomach wall. The footing wasn’t great, but it was just enough to stand on.

“Luan, please hear me! I’m not a piece of food, you have to notice! Please get me out of here! PLEASE LUAN, I DON’T WANT TO GO LIKE THIS!”

Tears flowed down his face as he hit the stomach wall again and again, but he got no response. He eventually stopped as he felt that it was now pointless, there was no way he was avoiding the fate ahead of him. Knowing this, he sobbed quietly and he turned around and sat as well as he could without touching the gastro acids in front of him. He wasn’t going out with ones that cared sitting around him; he was going out in complete darkness as a Loud sibling’s lunch. They wouldn’t even know what happened to him once they find out about his absence, just to rub salt in the wound.

He heard a gurgling noise as he felt the acids begin to churn, telling him his time alive was now up. He covered his eyes sorrowfully as the slimy stomach walls made him slide back into the gastric acids. He didn’t want to see his death, it was too much. He felt the burning sensations flare up again as he was taken under before feeling himself get sucked down…

That was all Brian could remember from earlier. He wasn’t completely sure how he survived getting digested, but he must have strayed off course into another organ somewhere. He guessed that he must have got out of the small intestine somehow and got dumped into the appendix. As for the rest, the place with the red tubes everywhere had to have been the kidneys and those globs that nearly torched his leg were white blood cells. Once he took a trip inside the tubes, which had to be blood vessels, he traveled up her spine and finally ended up here.

“Brian…Brian?! What’s going on over there?! You’re not saying anything, so what’s happening?! Brian?!”

Brian’s face went pale as all color drained from his body. He was treading through Luan’s insides the entire time, a scenario he didn’t want to experience. Everything up to this point suddenly was too much for Brian to handle, and he knew there was no way out of this. He was going to be stuck inside Luan’s body for the rest of his life, and he thought before how there was a glimmer of hope to surviving at the size he was at. Now it was hopeless.

He collapsed onto the ground of Luan’s brain completely out of it in a fetal position.

Lisa tried to get Brian’s attention by pounding on the screen. She could see that he was suffering from his emotions and needed her help to snap out of it.

“Brian! You have to tell me what’s going on! Please, I can help if you tell me!”

All Lisa could see on the other side of the screen was a shell of a boy muttering to himself as he lay on a pink weird surface. With him out of the picture, she was going to have to do things the hard way and figure things out for herself. She brainstormed on the words Brian was currently muttering about, the angles she saw, and the obstacles she saw Brian go through. Something had to tie them together, and Lisa needed to know what it is. All of the thoughts started to give her a headache, for even a genius like she got strains when calculating tough numbers. She rubbed the sides of her head as she couldn’t let a little headache stop her from finding out-

She grabbed the monitor looking over Brian as she bolted out of the room. She needed to get to Luan as soon as possible before something happened. She was so focused that she failed to notice Lori on the phone walking up the stairs with a plate of pizza bites. She seemed to be playfully speaking to Bobby over the phone.

Lisa zipped past Lori causing the older sibling to spin around silly in a cartoon fashion. It almost made her drop her plate so she angrily looked at Lisa.

“He’s not going to eat that when he’s stuck inside Luan’s head!” Lisa replied in a flustered and hasty manner. Lori cocked an eyebrow as Lisa made her way to Luna’s and Luan’s room. Not exactly getting what her younger sister was trying to say about Brian, Lori followed in curiosity.

As for Luan, she spent most of her time after pranking Leni in her room reading up on potential jokes she could use for later while sitting in her bed. She didn’t think much on the stunt Leni did to her, although she did get a few cramps in her lower abdomen earlier. Luna wasn’t in the room at the time, giving her more personal space as she read up on new potential jokes.

“Heheheh, that’s a good one. I’ll make a note of that for later.” Luan said to herself as she read up on a good punchline. Before she could read further, the door swung open as a hyperactive and rabid looking Lisa burst into the room, eyes locked on Luan.

“Woah Lisa, what’s got you so worked up?” Luan asked. “Did you lose some chemicals or-”

Lisa lunged right on Luan like a madman and tried as best as she could to pin her to the bed. Lori came in with a look of disbelief as Luan started to get angry.

“Lisa, you aren’t Lynn during a wrestling match so get off of me! What has gotten into you?!” Luan exclaimed. Not wanting the incident to continue, Lori set her pizza bites on a nearby dresser before running over and trying to pry the insane Lisa off her other sister.

“BUT IT IS!” Lisa shouted. “BRIAN IS STUCK IN LUAN’S HEAD AND CAN’T GET OUT!”

Upon hearing what Lisa said, Lori suddenly let go of Lisa while Luan tilted her head up to face Lisa.

Brian saw nothing but red shrouds around him as he heard the insidious laughter again and again. He managed to succumb to coming back to this nightmarish realm, although he wasn’t sure how he got here in the first place from Luan’s brain.

Each one drilled into his head and it was horrendous. Not only did he just take a trip through Luan’s insides, but now he found himself back to this realm of suffering. He needed to find a way out, but he didn’t know where to look. Everything was nothing but red, not a single other color in sight…

Among the endless laughter and pain was a little portion of blue that gave off a different noise. Brian remembered seeing it in this place earlier, and it gave off completely different vibes to the realm around it. Now that he had a better look at it, he could see droplets fall from all around it. There was a low emitting noise he could hear around it even through the mad laughter from everywhere.

The voice instantly snapped Brian out of his emotional stasis. He took a quick look around, seeing that he was still in the confines of Luan’s head, before looking down to where the voice came from. It came from Lisa’s watch, but instead of her face on the screen Lori’s was there instead.

“Lori…is that you?” Brian asked. He could see her on the other side with a calming smile.

“Brian! Thank heavens; I was literally worried to death here!” Lori replied. “You alright?”

“Ummmm, I’m…still a bit shaken up.” Brian said. “I really want to get out of here but I think there’s no way to do so. I……I……”

“There’s quite a contrary actually.” Lisa said as she showed her face on screen with Lori. Brian was all ears for what Lisa had in mind.

“You should be able to crawl out of Luan’s ears without serious repercussions. There should be a tunnel next to the brain that should-”

“He better not mess with anything in there! I have perfect jokes that I want to remember for later!”

The voice rang through Brian’s hearing like a loud band. He could see Lori and Lisa look to their sides, with Lisa even rolling her eyes, before the image shifted over to an unimpressed Luan lying down on her bed.

“Oh, uhhhhh, Luan, errrrrr…” Brian stuttered. “Ummmmm…sorry if I’m intruding on personal space…quite literally in fact.”

“It’s okay; I know you didn’t mean to do it.” Luan said. “Just please find a way out without damaging anything else. I can tell you clearly want an out of body experience right now.”

“Okay, I have to admit that was a good one.” Brian responded. Even with the current situation, Luan always had jokes at the ready to keep spirits up. The image shifted back to Lori and Lisa as Brian began walking towards a tunnel near him, which lead to one of Luan’s ears. Unfortunately, he failed to realize that he was still on top of Luan’s brain and that there was a drop to the ground below until it was too late, causing him to fall through the air. To add insult to injury, there was another tunnel on the ground below him that he ended up falling into; leading to another part Brian didn’t know about.

Lori and Lisa were mortified to see Brian go off course. The guaranteed way of escaping Luan’s body had flown out the window, and the two struggled to pinpoint where he was going to end up next.

“Oh no, nonononono!” Lori exclaimed. “He’s off course! Lisa, please tell me you know where he’s going to end up!”

“I’m trying to figure that out! I can’t concentrate closely through anxiety like this!” Lisa answered.

“WHAT?! HE’S GOING SOMEWHERE ELSE IN MY BODY?!” Luan exclaimed, clearly ticked off. “I CAN’T KEEP GOING THROUGH STUFF LIKE-”

Luan stopped as she felt a twitch in her face before a certain feeling slowly came forward. She sniffed vigorously as she felt a big one coming forward, catching the attention of Lori and Lisa who backed away to give some room.

She let it loose ahead of her, but something very surprisingly also flew out of her nose. Some low pitched yelling felt like it was flowing through the air, and while it was quite small both Lori and Lisa caught on quickly as an image materialized among them. Their eyes went wide as the figure fell straight on one of Luna’s drums, making a small sound as the figure made impact with it. Just as it made contact, Lori and Lisa, along with Luan who got up off the bed, rushed over to the scene and were ecstatic to see it in one piece.

After the three Louds made sure Brian was okay, the tiny boy sat in the living room watching some TV. He had some tissue paper wrapped around his left leg from the injury earlier as he sat comfortably on the couch, which Lisa, Lori, and Luan had to explain to their other siblings so they wouldn’t get left in the dark. Leni was especially apologetic, for it was her goof that started all of it in the first place, which Brian accepted despite the fact that her “less than average” smarts almost got him killed for a second time. He was still a bit shaken up over the experience, so he chose to stay quiet and let the TV satisfy him. Even so, there was also that weird shade of blue he encountered when he spaced out earlier…

He heard something snort next to him and when he turned to see he was greeted by the biggest face of a turtle he had ever seen. He jolted upward before seeing a set of hands pick it up, giving him a clear picture on who came to see him.

“Now there, don’t go wandering off now!” Lana said to the turtle before looking down and seeing the tiny boy. “Oh, hi Brian!”

“Hi there Lana!” Brian replied back. “You finally got that turtle, huh?”

“Yup, and he’s pretty sweet!” Lana stated. “He’s still a bit curious about the house so he’s still getting out of his cage. Hops and I are still teaching him though!”

“That might take a while considering he was eying me back there.” Brian replied. “So did you name him Xavier like you wanted earlier?”

Lana quickly turned to the side and looked down at her new turtle, showing a hint of uneasiness as the emotionless turtle gazed back at her.

“I thought of something else to name him and, well…I named him after you.”

This surely surprised the shrunken boy. He surely thought Xavier would be a good name but then she threw him a curveball and named the turtle Brian after himself. Something must have caused her to change her mind.

“Errrrrrr, wow, that’s quite something that I wasn’t expecting.” Brian responded. “What warranted the change?”

“Well…you…you have been with us for over half a year and…there’s been a rollercoaster of events that’s been happening around here since you came. The constant appearances of rifts, dinosaurs appearing, other dimensions, and even completely different people showing up through those rifts…they were some of the most amazing things to have happened to us of all families out there. I can’t help but eagerly wait on what crazy thing might happen next, so I couldn’t help but name this little guy after the one that started it all.”

“You will also have something to remember me by once my memories return and I get back to my normal size.” Brian stated. Lana’s smile slowly faded as she had on a grim look.

“A little bit actually.” Lana replied. “It’s…with all of the incidents you brought to us, I just…can’t bear to see you leave us. It’s so cool to actually have someone like you staying with us; I often forget that you still have a life you are trying to remember. You’re…like a brother to me.”

He could see where Lana was coming from. Not being much of a hassle, an absolute joy to be around, it was no wonder she was upset. Once Lisa cures him of his amnesia and fixes his size problem he was going out the door back to where he came from, and he knew that it wasn’t going to be easy for the Loud siblings especially to the ones that felt really close to him. He knew Lana was one of them, and she didn’t want to see him go.

“I…appreciate you thinking of me that way.” Brian responded. “I don’t think you should be worrying about it for now, I’m still miles away from getting cured and we still have the whole rift business to figure out in the meantime. Besides, even when I’m back to normal I won’t forget about all of the generosity you provided me, and even when I go back to where I came from I’ll make sure to come by and visit you. You’re too special of a girl for me to forget.”

Lana’s frown flipped back around as Brian swore he heard her sniff a little. She really was close to him more than he thought.

“…thank you.” Lana quietly said as she ruffled Brian’s hair with one of her fingers.

“Say…” Lana spoke up. “When your leg gets all better, you want to help me train Brian the turtle? I could always use the extra effort.”

“Thanks little guy!” Lana responded. “Good timing too, for he’s getting a bit antsy right now.”

Brian the turtle moved his arms and legs in the air erratically to try and get free, so Lana had to cut things short and rush back up to her room to put him in his new cage. This caused the tiny boy to chuckle under his breath.

“Heh, she can never have too many reptiles.” Brian said to himself as he got back to watching TV.

“…and it could be worse, for I heard that nine out of ten people that are afraid of hurdles will never get OVER it!”

The audience laughed at Luan’s corny joke including her siblings who sat at a spare table. For Brian, because he needed to be kept a secret from everyone but the Loud siblings, he watched from peeking out of Luna’s guitar bag. While Lana would have instantly taken him under her cap, she had Hops under it for now so he needed a good substitute. Thankfully Luna just came back from hanging out with her friends when the show was about to start, and she had her guitar bag with her. She didn’t mind if Brian used it as a temporary hiding spot as long as he didn’t do anything harsh to her Ax, which is what she named her signature guitar. It was after Brian went into hiding that he noticed that she also brought one of her friends along, a blonde haired girl with some special eyeshadow and some blue dye in her hair. Luna sat with her for the show after the girl placed her bag next to Luna’s, and he could tell that they still had a lot to talk about at their table. Brian was told from Lori a few weeks ago that the girl’s name was Sam and that she was a respective and understanding friend for Luna, but this was the first time he actually got to see her in person. He didn’t want to unintentionally eavesdrop on them so he turned his attention back to Luan on stage.

He couldn’t help but give a few chuckles at some of Luan’s jokes; he could clearly see that she had been improving greatly for tonight’s show. She did tend to come to the Chortle Portal to do some of her standup comedy, and he could see why her siblings enjoyed it every time. The atmosphere seemed to change the tone of her signature comedy. At home, he had to admit that some of her quips could get stale easily, but here every joke she said was fresh from the oven. It could be because of the larger audience or even the setting, but Brian didn’t care. She was happy, the audience was happy, and he was happy. He did get a few shivers down his spine when Luan laughed with the audience though. He went through that gaping maw just a few weeks ago, and it was giving him harsh reminders of what could have been if just one thing went wrong at the time. He was assured that something like that wouldn’t happen again, but with the constantly appearing rifts anything was practically possible. At least he would get some alone time next week when school officially begins.

Brian turned to see who was speaking to him and saw Lana peeking under the table.

“Yeah, I’m doing fine. Your sister is really kicking it up there.” Brian replied. “It’s nice to actually listen to her quips and not be at the bottom of her stomach.”

“Oh right, I forgot about how she accidentally had you for lunch a few weeks ago.” Lana replied back. “You never did explain all of the details about that with me.”

“Trust me, I know you yearn for gross things, but I doubt you would be able to handle what I saw in Luan’s body.” Brian said. He was already getting uncomfortable just thinking about it.

“I can see where you are coming from.” Lana responded. “Even I have limits when it comes to my preferences.”

The red cap on her head wiggled before she forced it back down, catching Brian’s attention.

“Hops is getting a bit antsy right now if you couldn’t tell.” Lana said. “He tends to do this when he wants to get out and play for a bit.”

“I can see that.” Brian responded. “You think you can handle it until we get back to the house?”

“Brian, I’ve practically known Hops for ages. This is a cakewalk to me.” Lana said with a smile. Somehow Brian felt that she wasn’t completely set on that statement. Hops wasn’t like most frogs, he was actually pretty smart. From accurately grabbing things with his tongue that Lana couldn’t reach normally to even escaping his cage on occasion, Hops definitely knew how certain things worked. Thankfully for the shrunken boy, Hops knew that Brian wasn’t a free meal when he came across him. He knew Lana liked to hang out with him and that he wasn’t a bug, so Hops never considered eating him. Hops did tend to use his tongue to better take a grip on him when needed though.

Brian nodded as he and Lana drew their attention back to Luan. It was her time to shine after all. It was about ten more minutes in that Brian heard some rustling behind him. He didn’t pay attention to it much as he thought it was just his struggle to stay high enough so he wouldn’t fall inside Luna’s bag. It wasn’t until sometime after when he felt something wet hit his backside that he knew something was up. He turned around to see what hit him only to see the aforementioned frog looking straight at him with an eager look. He clearly wanted some play time.

“Not now Hops, I’m trying to pay attention to Luan. Crawl back under Lana’s hat before someone sees you!”

The frog wasn’t listening as he waddled closer to him, giving Brian less room to work with.

“Hops, I can’t play right now. Once this is all done I’ll spend time with you, okay?”

This time Hops seemed to understand, but his only response was a frown with a horizontal shake of the head. Having almost no more room to work with, Brian had to push himself out of the bag and onto the outer center where he struggled to keep his balance. Hops kept his eye on him as he jumped up right next to Brian, now sporting a small smile.

“Okay, now you’re really pushing it. I can’t play now, what more do I need to say?” Brian stated. He had a certain tone of desperation in his voice, for he was more worried about keeping his balance and not getting injured. His words didn’t faze Hops as he uttered a low audible croak before shooting out his tongue, catching Brian on it. This made Brian shocked before the boy tried to separate himself from the frog’s tongue, for he knew Hops wasn’t trying to eat him and just wanted to bring him in closer, until something unexpected happened. Part of the bag sagged in from Hops’ weight, causing both of them to lose their balance. Brian was let go from Hops’ tongue as he fell to one side while Hops fell to the other. He landed with a thud, without injury thankfully, as he noticed where he landed. It was similar, but definitely different to Luna’s bag. He determined that he must have fell into the bag next to Luna’s. Brian groaned as he knew he was going to have to climb out, but then Hops suddenly appeared near the bag’s opening at the top. He was just about shoot out his tongue and grab Brian to get him out, but before he could do so he found himself grabbed.

“No, no, no, bad Hops! You’re supposed to stay under my hat until this is all done!” Lana said. Hops tried to indicate the Brian was no longer in Luna’s bag, but Lana didn’t listen as she stuffed Hops back under her cap.

As for Brian, he was in a completely different situation. The only way out of this new bag was to climb out, and he knew he wasn’t going to like it. Before he could even attempt to do so, Luan’s voice pierced his ears.

“Okay everyone, that’s all I have time for. I’ll be here in a couple of weeks!”

It was as if his life loved to put time limits on everything. With that, he scrambled to grab the sides of the bag and force his way up, but just as he got started some other voices came up. Most of them were of the Loud siblings congratulating Luan on a successful stand up, but soon after a couple of voices stood out.

Insight hit Brian right in the stomach as he suddenly knew where he ended up. He fell back to the bottom, which he didn’t exactly make much progress anyway, as he felt the bag move as Luna’s friend grabbed the zipper and closed her bag tightly.

“No, you got someone stuck in here! Please let me out!” Brian shouted. His words fell on deaf ears as the bag rumbled more before he heard a door open along with the girl’s voice speaking to someone else, more than likely her mother. Knowing that there was now no way out of this, Brian could only sit down in the bag and wait for what he was in store for now.

It didn’t take long until the rumbling noises stopped. Brian perked up as he heard a door open before it slamming shut. Footstep noises soon followed along with some banter between Sam and her mother that Brian couldn’t fully hear through the bag. After some more footstep noises, the bag rumbled one last time before coming to a halt. With that last motion, Brian was relieved to know that this was more than likely the end of the bumpy road to wherever he was. He heard a chair creek before hearing Sam say something that, due to the bag, he couldn’t decipher. It was now or never to finally get out of the bag and see where he ended up, and even though it was very dark inside, Brian could see the bottom portion of the bag’s zipper quite clearly. It wasn’t on the side with the zipper tag, but the bottom portion stuck out just enough that he could possibly push it and open up the way out. Not wanting to stay in the bag any longer, Brian gripped the side of the bag before slowly but surely beginning to climb up it. It wasn’t a long climb, but that was the easy part. Making sure his feet were still secured tightly, Brian positioned himself under the zipper and pushed against the bottom part as well as he could. It took quite a bit of effort, but with enough strength the zipper slowly started to move up and let light shine through. It was barely enough, but Brian took his chance as he forced his way through into the light, making it out of the bag while tumbling out.

As he took a moment to catch his breath, he looked at the room around him. It was decently sized, about the same as Lucy’s and Lynn’s room, with sleek blue carpeting that really caught Brian’s eye. There was a large red bookshelf to the right to the door that had many books filed on it that Brian couldn’t make out, and a large bed placed horizontally along the left of the door, which was too tall for Brian to pick out details. On the back wall was a single big window with two potted flowers sitting on the sill with a few empty small shelves below it. There were dozens of posters featuring some famous rock bands littered along the wall, giving Brian the very strong impression that Sam really did have some similar interests to Luna. Finally, a medium sized desk with a comfortable chair sat in the upper left corner, where Brian saw Sam with a table lamp looking over something on it with a pencil in her hand. He couldn’t see her face, but from what he heard she seemed to be struggling with something.

Brian shuddered. He knew that numbers have to be low, but if he doesn’t alert someone the Louds would assume the worst had happened to him. Letting Sam in on him would add another number, but things kind of took a different turn for him and he needed to let the Loud siblings know that he wasn’t dead yet. He knew this was going to happen, he just hoped Lisa wouldn’t go off on another lecture for letting another person know about him.

He slowly trudged over to the giantess as she still had her mind on the desk before finally speaking up.

He wasn’t sure if his voice would initially reach her, but he got his answer once he heard Sam stop mumbling to herself and made her back straight.

“You did. I’m down by your feet.” Brian replied. Her face looked startled; Sam really was getting vibes from all over the place and didn’t know what to follow. Mercifully for Brian, she followed what he said and slid her chair back to get a better look on the floor around her. Brian waved an arm to help her see him and it didn’t take long before it did the trick. Just a small portion away from her feet was the boy that was half an inch tall, and once her eyes caught him things got interesting.

Sam’s eyes went wide as she gasped and held her hands up to her mouth while recoiling back slightly.

“Am…am I really seeing things correctly? Am I actually seeing a boy…but being that small…”

“You aren’t seeing things; I’m really a shrunken sized boy, half an inch tall to be exact.” Brian responded. Sam got out of her chair and got on her knees for a better look, bending down and lowering her head to the floor. Brian’s vision was taken up by her huge face, giving him a sense of unnerving tension.

“Oh, sorry about that.” She replied. “I just can’t believe it; I’m actually seeing a boy that I could easily mistake for a bug! What exactly happened to you to be like that?”

“It’s…kind of a long story.” Brian replied. “Can I ask you something though?”

“Sure, ask away.” Sam replied. Brian saw that she still looked a little uneasy from him suddenly popping up in her life, but she also had a hint of sincerity that he saw the Louds usually give off.

A certain ringtone emitted through Sam’s and Brian’s ears before the boy could finish. Sam took a quick glance of her cellphone on her desk and noticed that it was none other than Luna calling.

“She’s calling me now of all times?” Sam wondered out loud. She looked back down to Brian on the floor.

“I need to take this, but I don’t want to lose you among the carpeting, so…can I…”

“Yes, you can pick me up if you want.” Brian answered. Sam smiled before lowering her right hand to the ground. Once Brian made it safely on it, she lifted him off the ground before placing him right on her desk. She pushed a button on her phone to answer the call, which was one of those phones that had a screen on it to see the caller, which caused Luna’s face to come up, and she looked stressed. Brian seemed to be out of her sight line, as she wasn’t reacting to him at all.

“It’s no problem Luna, anything for a friend.” Sam answered back. “So what’s going on? You don’t really look so hot.”

“Errrrrr, well…” Luna stuttered on the other end. “I…kind of maybe lost something. You didn’t rummage through my bag did you?”

“Of course I wouldn’t, I’m not that kind of person.” Sam answered. “What exactly is it?”

“It’s…something I can’t really describe in full.” Luna explained. “It’s like a small bug, but not exactly, and it-”

“Are you talking about me Luna?” Brian interrupted as he walked in front of the phone. He could see Luna’s expression change back to a more positive outlook when her eyes set on him. It was as if a massive weight just fell off of her shoulders.

“Oh my gosh, there you are little dude! I was so worried that I lost you after I couldn’t find you in my bag!”

“That’s okay Luna, I’m safe.” Brian replied. Luna looked relieved on the other end before she turned her attention back to Sam.

“You don’t have to be sorry; I’m more amazed than anything.” Sam responded. “You’ve had someone that tiny with you…that’s incredible.”

“You don’t know the half of it.” Brian spoke up. “So Luna, are you going to be picking me now that you know where I am?”

Luna faced down and bit her lip. He wasn’t going to like what she was going to say.

“Ummm…first of all I can’t drive yet, and even if I could my parents wouldn’t let me drive this late at night, so…well…I’m afraid you are going to need to stay put with Sam until tomorrow.”

“What?!” Brian exclaimed. First he gets taken to another person’s house on accident, and now he has to stay there for the rest of the night? He hardly even knew Sam, and he wasn’t sure if she could keep him safe until then.

“It’s going to be all right little dude, it won’t be as bad as you think. You will be back with us when Sam and I meet up tomorrow. You okay with handling him for the night Sam?”

“I’ll do my best.” Sam replied. “As much of a surprise this is, any friend of yours is a friend of mine and I’ll handle it as such.”

“Thanks a bunch Sam.” Luna said. “Just don’t let anyone else see him because we’re keeping him a secret. We don’t want him ending up somewhere confidential.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone if it’s that serious.” Sam answered. “Besides, I’m think I’m warming up to him.”

“I know this seems like much, but it is the only option at this point. You think you can stay with Sam until tomorrow?”

The situation really got unsettling really quickly. As much as he wanted to get back with the Louds, he currently couldn’t until tomorrow, and he also had to contend with Luna’s friend who also had some similar emotions at the moment. She did seem to fit Luna’s description of being very friendly at first, but she still needed to learn how to handle him, which was a very similar situation he was in. For his end, he needed to understand how Sam was and hopefully get through this circumstance unscathed. Maybe he could possibly make a new friend along the way. The options were there, but he had to begin with the first step.

“I…guess I could do with this.” Brian said with a hint of uneasiness. He turned up to Sam who looked back at him with a smile. She seemed set on helping him out for now, but how she would was the question he was thinking.

“Thanks for understanding little dude.” Luna replied. “I won’t need to explain your backstory then, and I’ll also inform the others about where you are so they won’t worry as much. Also, I’m really sorry I have to put this on you Sam, I didn’t expect this to happen.”

“It’s perfectly fine Luna, we’re friends remember? I’ll help you out in any way I can when you need it.” Sam replied.

With that said, Sam’s phone went blank as Luna hung up. Brian sighed quietly before turning around and facing Sam, who had an equal expression. He didn’t know much about which filled the air with awkward silence. He could tell Sam was going through the same thing, almost making it seem like he was staring at a mirror. She really did have more similar feelings to him than he thought, giving him a good impression that this accident might actually work out after all.

“You’re telling me.” Sam replied. “What a surprise to suddenly meet someone like you, not even as big as one of my fingers! Why exactly are you like that?”

“I guess I should get started on that since I have your attention.” Brian replied. Taking a step forward, he felt that he stepped on something flimsy. Looking downwards, he noticed that he stepped on a white surface, and further away on it were various words that Brian couldn’t make out due to the letters being huge.

“Umm, what is this?” Brian asked as he pointed to the white sheet. Sam dipped down a little.

“Well, that’s supposed to be a song me and Luna would sing when we form our own dream band, except…I’m struggling to come up with good lyrics.”

“I could hear that from the floor.” Brian said. “Too bad you aren’t Lucy; she comes up with dozens of words just by looking at me. It gets quite unsettling at points.”

“I can easily see that.” Sam replied. “There are even some details Luna doesn’t tell me about her to apparently ‘save my skin’ and whatnot. Her sister wouldn’t make for good rock star.”

Sam suddenly shot upward as something clicked in her mind, catching Brian off guard. She then looked back down at him with a content smile.

Brian cocked an eyebrow at her as she carefully picked him off of the desk. After walking over and placing him on her bed, Sam sat down on the floor.

“I want to know if you have what it takes to be a real rock star, and nothing is more like it than a good straight stage dive! I want you to jump down from my bed and land safely on my hair, is that alright?”

Many thoughts echoed in the back of Brian’s head. He already did some similar things to what Sam suggested, from Luna wanting him to jump off her head to Lucy’s friend Haiku throwing him up in the air to land on an immobile Lucy. He was definitely getting a head start if he ever wanted to become a skydiver at this rate.

“Thank for agreeing.” Sam said. “However, once you land I want you to make your way onto my back so I know where to pick you up. Speak up once you get there to let me know, okay?”

“If you want me to, I will.” Brian said. Sam nodded as she got on the floor face down. He didn’t expect to be doing it right away, but apparently Sam wanted to do it so she wouldn’t have to wait for tomorrow.

“Okay Brian, give it your best shot!” Sam muffled from the ground. For the boy, he looked down and quivered. It wasn’t a long drop, but it made him nervous nonetheless. Third time was the charm though. Taking a deep breath and closing him eyes for a moment, Brian jumped off of the bed and found himself falling through the air. Wind rushed through his clothes and hair, making it a bit harder to open his eyes, as he watched down below as he fell closer and closer to Sam’s hair. He began to get flashbacks to when he did this with Luna and Lucy; this was way similar to those two times. At least he had a cushy landing waiting for him this time. Eventually, he made impact with Sam’s hair, and true to what he thought, it made for a safe landing. He had to spit out some parts of her hair as they got in his mouth, but overall he had to admit that it was a really good adrenaline rush.

“Phew, I think I now know how skydivers feel.” Brian said to himself. Either Sam heard him speak up or felt him land for she spoke up shortly after.

“Good job!” Sam complemented. “That must have been one wicked stage dive! Now make your way onto my back so I can pick you up.”

He knew he wasn’t quite done yet, now he needed to tread through the giantess’s hair to the pickup zone. Brian looked down at where he needed to go through and groaned, for it might take a while to get there. Sinking himself into the depths of Sam’s hair, Brian slowly trudged around the many strands of hair around him, making it almost look like a tall blonde rainforest. He did have to try and bushwhack a few strands out of the way just to make a clearer path even though they were too thick to wholly cut down; he wasn’t some karate king after all.

Once he got himself out of her hair he knew he had to tread carefully across her neck and onto her back. Taking very cautious steps, Brian slowly made his way across her neck, almost losing his balance a few times. A few hairs lingered in the way that Brian had to maneuver around, but otherwise he made it across safely. Once he set foot on her back, he knew that it was over. He took a look up at where he just came down from feeling a little impressed with himself. Jumping into her hair to making it down to her back, it was quite a feat.

“Okay Sam, I made it! You can get me now!” Brian exclaimed. His words were heard as he felt Sam rumble underneath him before her right hand stretched out and set itself next to him. Brian hopped aboard as Sam got herself off of the floor, using her other hand to slightly dust herself off.

“I can see all over your face that you had a thrill of your life.” Sam said. “Too bad I couldn’t see it.”

“It wasn’t that eye catching anyway. You didn’t miss much.” Brian replied.

“Are you kidding? Stage dives like you just did are ALWAYS eye catching in my book.” Sam responded. Brian heartedly chuckled.

“I can see why you are good friends with Luna. I may not be too into your interests, but I can see why you enjoy them.”

“Thanks for understanding.” Sam answered as she took a glance at the clock beside her bed. She frowned once she saw what time it was.

“So where am I going to be sleeping exactly?” Brian asked. Sam looked down at Brian with a smile.

“You are going to be sleeping with me of course. I can’t let a guest of mine freeze to death, especially for someone as small as you.”

“Are you sure about that?” Brian asked. “I don’t want to get crushed in your sleep on accident!”

“Nonsense, I’m always a calm sleeper.” Sam replied. With Brian in tow, she walked over and turned off the lights before pulling over the sheets and lying down snugly in her bed. She placed Brian next to her, almost making him look like a bed bug, and pulled the sheets up so he could get comfy.

“Why don’t you tell me everything that happened since you found yourself that small Brian? It could help me fall asleep.” Sam asked.

“Really? It’s a bit of a long one, so I might not get to some of the later points.” Brian said.

“Just go as far as you can, I can learn the rest from Luna.” Sam said. Her eyes were half open, but she was still fully awake as she eyed Brian curiously. Brian sighed deeply; it was going to take a while.

Brian ended up going through most of his incidents with the Louds ever since he found himself there. Despite the setting, Sam was rather attentive and even gave her two cents with some of the situations. She really was a true friend to Luna to be as friendly and nice as she expressed to Brian. She only got to know him for a short while, but Sam was already treating him like if he was Luna and Brian couldn’t have been happier. He hoped that once this is all over he wouldn’t accidentally barge into someone’s life again. The two eventually fell asleep for the rest of the night.

When morning came, it was time to wake up. Brian yawned as he stretched a little bit, noticing Sam stir awake around the same time. He rubbed his eyes as Sam sat up and yawned before looking down and seeing Brian.

“Glad you liked it.” Sam said. “I told you that I was a calm sleeper after all.”

A certain smell hit Sam’s and Brian’s nostrils. Brian already felt himself drool; he knew immediately what it was. Most of the time when the Louds have it for breakfast there was not a single helping left for him to eat which meant he had to get a worthwhile substitute. With only Sam, he would finally get the chance to have a good breakfast for once, but he didn’t want to act like a pig especially since he wasn’t supposed to be here in the first place.

“I can see that you are eager to eat.” Sam said. Once he looked down and noticed that he was drooling all over, he quickly clammed up.

“Oh, uhhhhh, well…it would be nice.” Brian stuttered out while being a bit stupidly flustered. Sam chuckled at how Brian was acting.

“Heheheheh, you don’t need to hide it, it’s perfectly fine.” Sam replied. “Just hop into my pocket and I’ll do the rest.”

“Errrr, okay…” Brian replied with a slight blush. Sam opened a pocket on her pants for Brian to get in, which he did with no issue. He poked his little head out as Sam made sure he was okay.

“Are you comfortable in there?” Sam asked. Brian nodded; it felt like he was next to a very soothing radiator. With Brian ready, Sam opened the door and made her way down the hallway to the kitchen. There were some family photos on the walls that gave Brian a warm feeling inside. Most of them were multiple photos of Sam’s parents with Sam herself in the middle, all of whom were sporting big happy grins. Brian didn’t even know if he had a family behind his memory loss, although he was lucky to have a temporary one at least. Having a sense of care and love, he didn’t know if he felt that before finding himself with the Louds. They all cared for another, and they cared about him. No wonder they were devastated when he disappeared during Luan’s prank-a-palooza, a mix of emotions everywhere, they really did care for his well-being. It was sibling love, and they constantly expressed it to Brian despite him not being related at all.

Once Sam reached the kitchen, a soothing aroma filled Brian’s nostrils. The sizzling noises confirmed what food was being served causing Brian to drool. This might be the first time he would actually get to have it without anyone else getting it before he did. He silently saw Sam sit down at the table while her mother was at the stove.

“Good morning my little angel.” Her mother replied. “Your father had to leave for work early so it’s just us for now.”

“Something like that, although it’s not as serious as you think.” Her mother answered. “Anyway, I got eggs and bacon if you are interested.”

“Yes please.” Sam replied. Bacon was all Brian needed to hear. He could feel his stomach crying out to bless it with the scrumptious goodness. Just a little bit longer until impact, and he couldn’t wait much longer. He watched as Sam’s mother gave her a plate, and while he couldn’t see what was on it, he could see what was going into Sam’s mouth when she used her fork. Just as he suspected, there was the crispy food of the gods, although he did see some bits of egg here and there.

“I’m sorry about this mom, but I’m going to need to eat the rest in my room.”

Sam slowly nodded. Brian, who was eavesdropping from her pocket, cocked an eyebrow, something was up.

“Sunshine, you have been working on that for a week nonstop. It’s getting to your head.” Sam’s mother said.

“I know, but it’s a big deal for me and Luna. I want it to be as perfect as it can so we can get a good head start when the day comes.” Sam replied.

“That time is a long ways away.” Her mother said. “You could always put it aside until later, I’m sure Luna would understand.”

“This is special mom, I really need this time!” Sam exclaimed. She quickly covered he mouth once she noticed what she expressed, although her mother put on a questioning expression.

“Well…okay, I guess I won’t stop you for now, but you really need to get your head out of that work and live a little.” Her mother said. Brian stood quiet as Sam picked up her plate and left the room, although he did hear her mother sigh under her breath as she went back to the stove.

Once Sam made it back into her room, she placed her plate on the writing desk before reaching into her pocket and getting Brian out. The instant Brian set his eyes on the heavenly bacon he leapt straight on it and grappled it as he chowed down on as much as he could. The flavor, the texture, it caused his taste buds to rocket into the heavens. No more would he go back to the Loud house and say he never had a taste of the special meats, he would go back a winner.

Brian tilted up to see Sam not looking like she was in the best of moods. Her head drooped down and she had a noticeable upset face. She frowned as she looked at the incomplete song lyrics she was working on.

“Are you okay there?” Brian asked after swallowing a mouthful of bacon. Sam glanced over at Brian and sighed.

“I’m fine, it’s just…I want to get this song done more than anything, but the way I expressed that to my mom…I can’t believe I snapped for that moment. Maybe I am getting too obsessed with finishing this…”

She held her head in her hands as went over the moment again and again in her head. Her feeling started reflecting over to Brian, who could understand how she felt. He snapped at Luna once before after all. To try and make her feel better, he got off of the plate and walked right into the front of her face.

“I know that must have been a really serious moment to you, but you can’t let that weigh you down.” Brian said. “We aren’t perfect, mistakes do happen, but it’s also an achievement to acknowledge that you did screw up. I’m certain that if you explain it to your mother, she will easily forgive you. At least it wasn’t a very dire situation, she will understand.”

Brian watched as Sam began to lighten up her mood. It was slow, but it was there as she looked down at Brian with a slightly higher outlook. She scratched Brian’s back for a second with one of her fingernails to let him know the score.

“I appreciate the help, but I’m still not completely feeling it. I really shouldn’t have snapped at her like that, despite my priorities.”

“This is still over your song lyrics right?” Brian replied. “I may not be a rock star, but I’m certain whatever you have written down is leagues better than what I can think up. Heck, I can’t even do those special poses like this one Luna keeps egging me about!”

Brian lifted up his arms and stuck out his index and pinky finger upwards while sticking out his tongue in a really stupid way. He thought he looked absolutely stupid, but when Sam watched him, she had a completely different thought.

“Hmmmm?” Brian thought out loud. Quickly pulling out a pencil she glanced at the shrunken boy for a quick second before starting to write something on her paper with the song lyrics.

She turned back to Brian and looked more positive than before. Brian was confused once he put down his pose and looked back at Sam.

“You may not be a rock star, but you gave me some inspiration for new lyrics. I do have to admit though; you were pretty hilarious in that pose.”

“Well that’s what you get for someone that’s practically oblivious to anything music related.” Brian replied as he rubbed his head and blushed in embarrassment. This gave Sam a great idea, one that could possibly make the process go by quicker.

“How so?” Brian asked. Picking up her phone from the other side of the desk, she pressed something on the touch screen which caused a small light to brighten up near the top of the phone next to a lens.

“I need you to try out as many rock poses as I place you in different areas, for it might be the creativeness I’m looking for. I’m going to be taking pictures of them just in case, I just need you to cooperate.”

“So you want me to continue looking like someone who never listened to rock music before?” Brian asked. Sam nodded, giving Brian some two sided thoughts. On one hand, he’s going to look more stupid than ever doing the poses Sam tells him to do, but on the other hand he would be helping her with something she has been having trouble working on for a week. Despite the massive size difference, he has been helping others out even though it wasn’t much, so maybe…

“Well…I can’t refuse a good friend of Luna and with a pretty face like that.” Brian replied. Sam giggled as Brian thought he saw her blush for a split second.

The day went by as Sam and Brian went around the room taking photos and getting more potential ideas for Sam’s song. Sam did have to intervene and carefully position Brian a couple of times, her huge fingers positioning Brian in the way she wanted, while Brian humored himself at how weird and stupid he was being posed into. For on top of the bookshelf to inside her jacket, Brian was put in many different places and posed in dozens of ways that made things look more ridiculous than it already was. The most extreme case was when Sam wanted him positioned inside her mouth, which gave him multiple flashbacks of similar incidents including when Luan swallowed him whole. It wasn’t easy, for Brian was greatly cautious of not accidentally becoming someone’s lunch for a second time, but after careful positioning, Sam took the picture and nothing dire happened. These new photos gave Sam so much more ideas to work with, and even though it still wasn’t completely finished, she had enough to work with for her song. Luna would easily be pleased with how everything worked out in the end when it did finally get finished.

It wasn’t until the afternoon came by when it was time to finally meet up with Luna and get back to the Loud house. Sam hid Brian in her bag as her mother drove them to their destination, listening to some catchy music on the radio in the meantime. Once they arrived, Sam got out of the car while her mother stayed in the car for when they get Luna. Sam knocked on the door and before long Luna answered and opened the door.

“Am I ever!” Sam replied. “This concert will be rockin! However, I think there’s a more pressing matter for the moment.”

She reached into her bag and pulled out her tiny hitchhiker, which Luna was relieved to see.

“Brian! Oh man, I’m so happy that you’re safe! Was it okay there little dude?”

“I did well.” Brian replied. “I did get to accustom myself to Sam, and she’s pretty rad from the stuff we did.”

“Yeah, he really was an experience that’s for sure.” Sam said. “I wouldn’t mind having him over again if anything happens again.”

“You do realize that all of this happened because of an accident right?” Brian spoke up. There was a moment of silence among the three before all of them burst into laughter. It didn’t last long as a car horn echoed through everyone’s hearing.

“Oh shoot, the concert is about to start!” Luna said. “Lana, you can take Brian with you now.”

From behind Luna, a very nervous looking Lana walked out with Hop sitting on her red cap. It almost looked creepy for Brian, and he’s been hanging around Lucy.

“Thanks, I’ll take him.” Lana said as Sam held her hands out and dumped Brian into Lana’s outstretched ones.

“You can tell me all about the rest of Brian’s history on the way there since he never did finish explaining all of it to me.” Sam said to Luna.

“Just tell me where the little dude left off and I’ll do my best.” Luna responded. With that said both Luna and Sam walked over and got into the car. Sam’s mother revved the engine as they drove away to the aforementioned concert. Lana closed the door as she went into the living room with Brian and sat on the couch.

“Well…that was a surprising situation.” Brian said. “You didn’t freak out when you found out about my absence did you?”

“You don’t know the half of it.” Lana said before turning around. “Okay guys, you can come out now.”

From behind the couch popped up all of the remaining Loud kids before they surrounded around Lana and Brian with grateful grins.

“You’re finally back! I was literally worried to death that we may have lost you!” Lori said.

“Even though we were told where you were, I didn’t want to lose my dolly after having him here for this long.” Lola said.

“There was a shadow of doubt in my mind, but I knew you would make it.” Lucy said.

“Don’t forget me; I knew he would survive too!” Lincoln said. “It wasn’t some malicious killer he was stuck with after all!”

“Am…I some sort of household celebrity or something?” Brian asked feeling a bit spoiled from the attention. There was a moment of silence until everyone in the room, including Brian, burst into happy laughter. Luan took a quick look at the clock and saw what time it was.

“Mom and dad will be home any minute with the groceries; we better get Brian out of sight!”

“I’ll take him to my room, for a certain frog would like to give his apologies to Brian personally.” Lana said.

Everyone else agreed with Lana as all of them broke up to go do whatever they wanted before their parents got back.

The rest of the day went by smoothly, well, as smooth as it could get in the Loud House. Lana eventually took Brian to see Hops who wholeheartedly apologized for screwing up and causing the entire fiasco in the first place. To make it up to Brian, he let him ride on his back like horse, that is until a stray fly appeared which caused Hops to run after in with Brian in tow, making the ride even more extreme. Lana did catch him eventually and Hops calmed down, although Brian did get some slight motion sickness from all of it.

Lisa also picked up a strange text message on her phone, and she was rather adequate once she saw who it was.

“So Kelly now has a cell phone and can ring us up at any point? Well, at least she isn’t from any of those other worlds that-”

A sudden notification came up on her cell phone’s screen. It was this one that got her riled up.

Lisa spent around half an hour crafting a “professional” text message to explain her superiority.

Since that was the case, things winded down for the Louds. Now carrying bags changed to backpacks as the kids started preparing for the next school year due to parental demand. Lisa was obviously the most prepared of the bunch due to her smarts, so the others had to put in a bit more work.

For Lincoln, he didn’t want his summer to end just yet; there were still some things on his agenda he wanted to finish first. Since his sisters were unavailable for now, he decided to do a part that didn’t require them and used someone else, even though he wasn’t quite into the idea at first.

“So the Card Shark tried those incisors but broke them over Ace’s head?” Brian asked as he looked at the panel closely.

“Yup, he missed completely!” Lincoln replied. “Turns out he was swindled from an earlier issue, they were completely plastic!”

“That was something I didn’t see coming.” Brian said. He had to admit that Ace Savvy was a pretty cool superhero from the way Lincoln kept describing him. He would have read the comics themselves for curiosity’s sake, but since the panels were too big for him to see normally and he didn’t want to break his back even attempting to turn the pages, going to Lincoln was the next best thing. Likewise, Lincoln was excited to finally have someone in the house interested in his favorite superhero, even though he was going to try and get Brian interested before Lisa could cure him anyway, so he went on and on about everything that went on in the comics. Brian wasn’t bored from the information either; it was all very interesting to him. Lincoln even showed Brian all of the limited editions he got which made Brian even more impressed, but that was just the start of what Lincoln had. Trading cards, action figures, and even recordings of a short lived animated series that only had six episodes, Lincoln had them all. If Brian was as much of an Ace Savvy fan as Lincoln, he could easily see himself be massively jealous of the various merchandise Lincoln had.

“This is where it gets good. He gets sent all the way to the moon and his face ends up stuck in a crater! He hasn’t made an appearance since then, but I think he’s too important of a villain to be forgotten that quickly. He’ll be back, I know it.”

“Considering he plotted for that long just for one scheme, that definitely is a possibility.” Brian spoke up. “I’m certain Ace Savvy can handle it, and don’t forget One-Eyed Jack!”

“I never forget the underappreciated sidekick. He has his moments and has great skills!” Lincoln stated. The two boys laughed it up before Lincoln took the comic and put it back on the shelf. He started looking for one specific issue that he thought Brian would like.

Brian shifted his feet a little as he locked eyes with Lincoln. He did feel a little embarrassed to be asking this certain question in his presence, but this was Lincoln after all. He’s done so many zany things he was probably more than used to it by now, especially among ten sisters.

“Well, you know that everyone goes hand over heels for me every time they lay their eyes on me just because I’m so greatly small? I know that you used to be the one with the spotlight set on you before I arrived, so…do you miss that? I didn’t expect the attention to shift towards me especially since you had it in the first place.”

The question didn’t dampen Lincoln’s spirit even with the negativity in there.

“It may be true that you pretty much became the celebrity of the house since we took you in, but there’s always attention being thrown everywhere here. Everyone has equal attention in this household, especially with how many are living here. That’s how we look over each other and give support when we need it. It’s not just me and you; it’s everyone that’s in the spotlight.”

It took a little bit for Brian to decipher what Lincoln meant, but when he got it he understood where he came from. Attention swings around like a nonstop pendulum, and it always seemed to stop right on his space. If that was the case, the attention just didn’t shift over to the other Louds yet or there was some getting thrown around that he didn’t know about. He should have known that everyone was the celebrity in this family, not just him.

Once Lincoln let Brian go with Lucy, the girl kept the shrunken guy in her hands as she made her way to her bedroom. She tended to stare at him at some points, and even though he couldn’t see her eyes, it was just another footnote Brian had to remember about Lucy. Just another sign of curiosity around his smaller than average body, even though he stayed in this house for quite some time now. At this rate Lucy might as well be his greatest fan from the incidents he kept getting into with her. This was now the third time she took him to do something personal, but Brian didn’t mind it though. With nobody as dark and gloomy as she was, he was the next best thing to do things with since he was one of the only ones that didn’t mind most of the creepy professions she had in mind.

“I have him with me.” Lucy said as she entered the room. As for Brian, he was quite surprised to see who was also in the room, seemingly staring off into space. The spooky sitcom clothes, one eye hidden behind a lock of hair, the purple fingerless gloves, it came to him immediately. He didn’t think he would see her again after that one night, but there she was.

“To think the girl of gargantuan matter wants to witness the ant of the family for the deed that lies ahead. Such a spectacle.” Haiku responded.

“Errrr, it’s nice to see you as well Haiku.” Brian replied as he put on a tepid smile and waved slowly. Haiku got up as Lucy walked over and placed Brian on her bed for better eye level.

“I see your attitude remained identical since we last saw each other. Still a work of art in the eyes of the giantess.” Haiku said.

“Since Brian is now here, I think it would be best to explain why you are here, not to be rude or anything.” Lucy spoke up.

“Indeed.” Haiku said. “As much as this writer would like to elongate all of this further, she has a specific reason for appearing at a time like this.”

Haiku turned around against Lucy and Brian before locking her hands behind her back and tilting her head down. For Brian, knowing Haiku, it was probably going to get pretty deep.

“As an aspired poet, I write all when I can. The clash of words, the mix ups of unorthodox descriptions, I express myself in those select sentences. Like all good poets, which I’m sure Lucy would understand, I keep all of my writings among the pages of my poetry journal, which I have orchestrated into a symphony of literary masterpieces. Then it happened just a few days ago…”

“…those specialized tears you keep talking about, it evaded my grasp and took my poetry journal for itself. Sigh, I had so many memories stored in those pages…”

“Gasp!” Lucy said, saying the actual word instead of doing the motion. She went up to the distraught Haiku while Brian stayed on the bed watching silently.

“I’m so sorry one of those rifts actually took something of yours. I can feel your sorrow.”

“I assume that rifts are a more descriptive term now?” Haiku spoke up. Lucy nodded before Haiku said something else. “Besides, I’m not quite finished telling you everything.”

Lucy backed off to let Haiku finish as it made her and Brian more curious about the situation.

“Anyway, even though things appear bleak, I did come across a rather unusual light at the end of the tunnel. As I usually go to the cemetery to embrace the dark when I need it, and I noticed this before the occurrence happened, I did see dozens of small rifts appear at night dropping objects all over the area. As interesting as these many objects were, some were…very familiar to me. I saw my family’s vacuum cleaner in one of the piles that vanished a few days ago, and I’m pretty sure this belongs to you.”

Reaching into her pocket, Haiku then pulled out a small bag of whoopee cushions, which Lucy acknowledged right away.

“Gasp, that’s one of Luan’s whoopee cushion bags. She said she lost it when one of the rifts sucked it up a few days ago. I took her statement with a grain of salt at first, but now I know she was actually not seeing things.”

“I found that next to the vacuum cleaner.” Haiku replied before placing it on the bed next to Brian. “Considering those circumstances, it wouldn’t be completely out of it for my poetry journal to end up somewhere in those piles, and to make things even better, I noted a certain pattern. Those rifts seemed to appear every few days, not in the same spots but still in the cemetery, so I know that they will come up tonight. That is where I need your help.”

“I need both of you to come with me tonight to the cemetery and help me search through the piles the rifts spit out for my poetry journal. I wanted to do this before school started and when the world ends. Please, I require your assistance.”

Uneasiness quelled through Brian. She basically wanted him to do a literal graveyard shift and search through piles of other dimension stuff for her special book. He reminded himself of a certain part of Lisa’s notes on the rifts, one that described possible landing points and patterns of appearances. There was a note on the possibility of a “boomerang effect” but in a different location inside the source dimension, so while whatever went through the rift did return back to its original dimension, it would be warped to a different area. Even so, there was still the chance that Haiku’s journal didn’t rebound back and went to another dimension like so many other things, but she was taking the chance. Since Brian went through so many rifts already, it was no surprise that she wanted his help, and she did show a sign of interest in his tiny stature like Lucy does.

“As one of your close friends, I will obviously help you out. I know how you must feel without being able to look over all of your works. Sigh, very deep stuff.”

“As much as I don’t want to head out at night, I’ll gladly come with you. Just…make sure nothing takes me okay?”

When night fell, it was time for action. After a quick drive from Lori, Lucy and Brian arrived at the Royal Woods Cemetery. It had a creepier atmosphere during the nighttime, giving Brian chills just from being there, although Lucy was used to it. The two stood by the gates before they saw Haiku slowly walk up to them, still sporting her neutral facial expression.

“You’re right on time. The rifts should start appearing any minute, so I suggest we head in now and not waste time.” Haiku said.

“I couldn’t agree more.” Lucy replied. With Haiku handling the left and Lucy handling the right, the two opened the gates to the cemetery and headed inside. The first thing that came up in their sights were the countless amounts of tombstones along the ground, with some even having pots of flowers near them. It made Brian grim to see death take so many people, but it was inevitable. He felt sorry for anyone being an actual groundskeeper, having to always be around corpses buried in the ground, but he saw it as a luxury for Lucy and Haiku.

As they walked in deeper Haiku suddenly pointed ahead of her. When Lucy and Brian looked ahead, they could see what she meant before. Dozens of small rifts appeared above them before they continuously sent out many dimensional objects, which formed huge piles with how much was coming out. The girls weren’t interested in those objects; there was a specific one they were looking for.

“The groundskeeper is definitely getting some extra work tonight.” Brian thought.

“I know, but I really need my poetry journal back.” Haiku said. “I need to know where you intend to look first.”

“I’ll start by looking near those three piles over there.” Lucy said as she pointed to the aforementioned piles to her left. “Are you going to handle the right side?”

“I will.” Haiku replied. With that said Haiku and Lucy went in opposite directions, with Brian in the clutches of Lucy, but it didn’t take long before Lucy stopped as she called out.

Upon her call, Lucy’s pet bat appeared and swooped down from the sky and safely landed on her shoulder. It was a wonder how Fangs always came up immediately when Lucy called him, although this was the bat that knew that Brian wasn’t free food where others would more than likely take their chance.

“I need you to help us find Haiku’s special book. Let us know if you find it amongst the piles here.”

The group went through lots of piles as the rifts continued pouring countless objects out, making the piles bigger and harder to look through. Progress wasn’t great, just some other dimension junk was everywhere, and Fangs was nowhere to be seen. Because everything was gargantuan to him, Brian couldn’t help out as much, although Lucy did sneak in a few quick glances at him. He sat on her shoulder as knew she was still riveted and astounded over how massive she was compared to him, for she said it herself that she kept getting feelings of mixed emotions around the thought of tiny people, although her ways of showing it around him were…weird and creepy. While he didn’t mind it to a degree, being constantly stared at with no expressions to go off of gave Brian really unnerving vibes all over. He could easily picture Lucy just staring endlessly at him as he slept, but she couldn’t be that irrespective of personal space…could she? He immediately dismissed the thought so he wouldn’t give himself more nightmares.

“Still nothing…” Lucy said as she tossed out a plump red spotted fungus from the pile.

“If I was a bit bigger I would be helping you out.” Brian said. “It’s such a shame that I’m barred off from stuff like this.”

“It’s okay, I understand.” Lucy replied. “It just makes you more interesting for me.”

“Of course it does.” Brian said as he turned his head to the side and rolled his eyes. As Lucy hoarded another batch of various objects away, something came up in her head.

“How so?” Brian asked. Before he could ask further, Lucy reached down and grabbed a roll of tape from the pile in front of her. Brian was confused until Lucy turned her head and explained.

“You may not enjoy it that much, but it will be something.” Lucy said. “I need you to get on top of my hand first.”

“Ohhhhhh…kay?” Brian said. Sitting down and placing the tape on the ground, Lucy then picked up Brian and held him between two fingers. She placed him on the top of her right hand before picking up the roll of tape in the other.

“Lay down on your stomach and keep you balance while I lightly tape you down.” Lucy explained.

“What?” Brian asked. “What exactly do you have planned to require obscure steps like that?”

“Sigh, I guess it’s no use hiding it.” Lucy said. “What I want you to do is stick to my hand while I extend it into the pile. If you see anything in there that resembles my friend’s book I want you to alert me, for this beats constantly pulling stuff away and looking along the scraps.”

Now he knew what Lucy had in mind; she wanted to go book “fishing” with Brian as the bait. It didn’t seem like an idea for Lucy to come up with, for that’s more of Lincoln’s shtick in his eyes, but didn’t question it further.

“Well…okay, I guess I can’t stop you.” Brian replied. Doing what she wanted, Brian got down on his stomach against Lucy’s hand as she very gently applied the tape over his midsection. This way he wouldn’t be completely immobile like when he got planted firmly against Lynn’s foot with almost no way of moving, so he didn’t get worked up over it that much.

With one final touch, everything was ready to be set in motion. Lucy turned her hand so Brian could see her face.

“Are you ready?” Lucy asked. Brian nodded making Lucy smile slightly before stretching her arm out into the pile of objects, taking Brian with it. Despite it being night, it wasn’t completely dark inside the pile, although it wasn’t much. Still, it gave Brian some sort of vision to make some things out, including a…weird gold jigsaw piece?

“Nothing interesting yet!” Brian shouted so she could hear. Lucy turned her arm to the left before sending it downwards, giving Brian more insights into what the rifts dumped. He could see Lucy’s fingers twiddle up and down as they felt everything around them, showing off the giantess’s black fingernails for Brian to see. He had to duck a few times to not get hit by anything that grazed the top, and the tape kept him from flying off Lucy’s hand. Like he thought before, regardless of all of the grime and dirt that Lucy goes through thanks to her interests in the creepy and dark, her hands were very clean and smooth. He had no trouble with his body being stuck on top of one, for he didn’t have to worry about getting scratched and bruised from rubbing up against Lucy’s skin. Her black fingernails even shined when the stray strand of light him them. Lana could definitely get some pointers from Lucy for cleanliness if she needed it.

For quite a while, Lucy moved her hand to feel for anything that could be Haiku’s poetry journal, with Brian giving visual insight into what it was which he relayed back to Lucy. Even though there were various things that caught his eye, like a pendant with a heavenly feel to it and a weird tomato with a certain letter on the front, none of them were Haiku’s book. It wasn’t until Lucy’s fingers grazed something fluffy that she knew something was up.

“Brian, can you tell me what I’m feeling here?” Lucy’s voice said from outside. He glanced over to the spot where Lucy’s fingers were touching. Even through the darkness, Brian could barely make out a clump of flat green objects around Lucy’s fingers. They didn’t look dangerous, but he did see them slightly squirm back and forth until they began to rattle more erratically, making everything else around it do the same.

“Lucy, get me out of here, GET ME OUT OF HERE!” Brian shouted. As if it was instant, Lucy heard Brian’s worrying words and started to pull her arm out. It was just in time too, for the entire pile of objects began to rumble soon after. Pulling her arm out first, Lucy quickly checked Brian before as the pile continued to shake. The two could only watch until the rumbling suddenly stopped before something popped up right at the top of the pile.

“I have a name you know, it’s Tad!” the small hairy guy replied. “I’m not just that guy that hangs out in my babe’s hair!”

“So what are you doing here exactly?” Lucy asked. Tad slid down from the top of the pile and back to solid ground to speak to them more clearly.

“Well I was snooping around these huge piles, since one of your sisters informed me and Kelly about objects being dumped from rifts here, and I was kind of hoping to…find something to hopefully win her back. I mean come on, there’s got to be some sort of dimensional object that she would fall head over heels for!”

“Oh, she’s out like a light right now.” Tad replied. “Still set on finding a way home ever since she got here. Speaking of which, why are you two out here at this time of night? I’m pretty sure you humans follow a similar time scale to us.”

“We’re looking for my friend’s poetry journal.” Lucy explained. “Have you seen it in your search?”

Tad sat there for a moment pondering while tapping the bottom of his lip with one of his six arms until something came to him.

“Now that you mention it, I think I saw some sort of literary work in a pile near the end of here, but I didn’t bother reading it since I wasn’t interested. You might want to check out that area if it interests you.”

“Thank you, I’ll start looking there immediately.” Lucy said as she turned around to walk there.

Lucy and Brian turned back around towards Tad who pulled out a set of three kinds of what looked like trading cards of various characters that appeared ready to fight each other.

“You think Kelly would like these…POW cards? That’s what it says on the backs of these anyway.”

“She’s not going to focus on me until we get back to our own world, that’s her top priority right now!” Tad replied. “I might as well put these down as a maybe.”

Tad stored the cards away in his hairy body before plunging into a pile of objects next to him, desperate to find something Kelly would probably like. With him being occupied for now, Lucy headed off in the direction he indicated.

“Oh right, I forgot about that.” Lucy replied. Turning her hand around so Brian could see her face, Lucy carefully peeled off the tape so she didn’t hurt herself. This released Brian from the stickiness and got him back on his feet.

“You think Tad was being truthful about something being back there?” Brian asked.

It didn’t take long to get to the spot. Near the back gates of the cemetery were more piles of objects with the rifts above them spewing out more by the second. Some piles were even beginning to completely cover multiple gravestones from the sheer amount of objects being dumped. They were going to have to hurry up if they wanted to search through small piles, for their sizes were increasing exponentially which made it harder to pick out anything individually.

“This…might be a bit brutal.” Brian said. “You sure we’re going to go through with this?”

“It’s for a friend, of course I’m going to do this.” Lucy said. Brian wasn’t quite set on that statement. The piles were getting huge at this rate, it could take hours to go through them and not get bored to death. Besides, there was still the chance that Haiku’s poetry journal wasn’t in any of the piles and ended up going to another dimension instead, but Lucy and Haiku weren’t set on that outcome happening. They were diligent, he could give them that, but he dreaded the possibility which meant that searching for it was all for nothing.

Lucy got to work immediately on the pile in front of her as she pushed various objects away for her search. She didn’t seem to be set on doing the maneuver with the tape which meant Brian had to be set on the sidelines. He sat on Lucy’s shoulder as he watched her work while a certain chill shivered through his body. It wasn’t from the setting, he knew that much, but something was pushing him the wrong way and he didn’t like it. He took a quick look around the area as he tried to quell the chills by rubbing his arms with the opposite hands, but he only saw more piles building up from the rifts. Nothing really was throwing him off. He could have just been hanging out with Lucy too long and her professions were rubbing him-

“Lucy we need to hide.” Brian said in a hasty manner as his pupils nearly disappeared.

“Brian, I don’t want to lose traction of what isn’t my friend’s book, so I think the best course of action would be-”

Lucy turned to the side to see what Brian was making such a fuss about, and once she saw it she knew he wasn’t pulling her leg. It was just going over one of the piles near them, leaving almost no room to actually do something. She hurriedly rushed behind a nearby gravestone, picked up Brian from her shoulder, and then covered him with her two hands while keeping him close to her chest. It hovered over the pile Lucy was just at before sinking its talons into it and began to rummage through. Brian couldn’t see what actually happened as Lucy kept him covered in her hands, but from what he was hearing he had a strong hunch. As she kept him close to her chest Brian’s face went up against it, giving Brian a clear sound of the girl’s soothing heartbeat. He could hear it slightly pick up the pace, but Lucy’s expression said otherwise. Lucy was the most mysterious sibling in the house, and this was just one of those moments where he couldn’t tell if she was having a sense of fear or some other emotion. She did have a rather hypnotizing heartbeat though, almost relaxing at times.

Lucy opened up her hands to let Brian see again. Her face was emotionless as always as she gazed at Brian.

“I take it that’s one of those giant hands you talked about before?” Lucy asked.

“Yeah, and it was a pretty frightening sight that one time.” Brian replied. “Just what was it doing here though? Last time it was taking me and Lola away and now it’s looking through piles like we are doing. You think…it’s looking for something?”

“That’s plausible.” Lucy said. “I’m sure Lisa might figure it out at some point.”

“I’m hoping I don’t get taken away by it. I don’t want to know where I will end up with that.”

“You won’t.” Lucy responded with a slight pitch in her voice. This small change made Brian curious before Lucy started speaking on.

“I know you are too much of a close friend to us to see you get taken. You’re a great privilege to have around, especially…to me. I tried to get Lily into my hobbies one time, even if it didn’t work out in the end, but with you it’s so…adequate. My dark poetry, coffin collection, even my deep secret of liking those Princess Pony books; you never judged me and actually enjoyed it. Combined with my fascination of tiny people, I just can’t help but always want to do stuff with you. It’s no wonder that I end up always being the one you hang out with the most, it’s because you’re so…I can’t summarize it in one word.”

While he heard similar things from the other siblings, hearing praise come from Lucy, especially that light hearted, was a surprise. She must REALLY think special of him for those words to escape her lips. Even though she embraced the dark, there were some small sparks of light every now and then. It didn’t ruin her personality in his eyes; it reminded him that she wasn’t always one noted. She may be eight years old, but she looked over him more than he did like any “big” sister would.

“Errrrr…wow…” Brian stuttered. “I’m…happy you think of me that way. I can’t really express myself on that in any way but this, even if it’s against your nature…”

Lucy kept her eyes on him as she suddenly watched Brian run up and give her the biggest hug he could muster across her chest, which at his size wasn’t that big compared to Lucy. He felt that it was the most appropriate thing to do to show that he also cared which the other Louds loved to do with him the other way around. He could hear Lucy stutter and sniff almost inaudibly behind that neutral face as he embraced her, but when he felt her nearly embrace back by covering his backside with one of her hands while still keeping one up for him to stand on he knew she was undergoing a special emotion. The fact that he felt her heart race as he had his face up to her chest also was a smoking gun to him.

“Thank…thank…thank you…” Lucy stuttered as her voice cracked in various places. She was so caught up in Brian’s hug that she failed to notice the tombstone she was laying up against begin to fizzle and fade away like static. Eventually, it completely faded away which caused Lucy to suddenly fall over on her back. Thankfully it didn’t hurt, which also applied to Brian since Lucy kept a strong grip on him.

“Well…can’t say I expected that.” Lucy said as she got back on her feet.

“Ugh, looks like more objects are disappearing as more things from other dimensions continue to get poured here.” Brian said. “Lisa said we were only slightly losing balance for now, but if this continues…I’m sure you know what I mean.”

Hearing a voice come from behind them, Lucy turned around with Brian still in her hands as the other goth girl walked up to them, still having her neutral expression as always.

“Yeah, it’s gone.” Lucy said. “I assume you were hiding from it like us?”

“I was.” Haiku explained. “I searched my side of the piles with a very clean eye, but alas, my poetry journal failed to show its presence, so I made my way to the piles around this area until that giant hand appeared, where I took in the darkness and hid among it for safety.”

“That’s a likely choice of words from a poet like her. She really is talented in that area.” Brian thought.

“Unfortunately, we didn’t see it. We’ll keep looking since there are still some piles we didn’t check yet.”

The tiny boy groaned under his breath. As much as he wanted to continue looking, he didn’t want to keep doing it all night. Even he needed his sleep when these other dimension shenanigans continuously tire him out. He rolled his eyes as he knew more searching was needed, but in the process something got caught in the corner of his eye. It was right on top of the pile the giant hand was seen rummaging through, and it looked vaguely familiar. The cover, the flatness…

“Say Haiku, your book wouldn’t appear to be medium sized, right?” Brian asked. Haiku got rather curious as the tiny boy looked away from her.

Lucy and Haiku set their eyes on the spot Brian was indicating. Once she saw it, Haiku put on a small smile.

“That is indeed my poetry journal. I’m thankful that it was dumped here and not into another dimension.”

“We should grab it as soon as possible before something else happens.” Lucy spoke up.

“I agree.” Haiku said. The two looked down at Brian and nodded as the shrunken boy nodded back. Once they approached the pile Lucy set Brian on one of her shoulders before the two goths took hold of some parts of the pile and hoisted themselves up. They began climbing up the large pile of objects, which surprisingly they were able to do without a sweat, and Brian kept himself steadily balanced so he wouldn’t fall off Lucy’s shoulder. They almost lost their footing a few times as the object under their feet fell off to the bottom, but quick reactions kept the three from going with it. It wasn’t a long climb, but even then once they reached the top they took a moment to catch their breath.

“Well…we did it.” Lucy said with some quick breaths in between. “We finally found your book”

“Our efforts were rewarded. I’m humbly content again.” Haiku responded. “I’m not forgetting about you either Brian. You may not be able to assist much, but your presence is highly appreciated.”

“Aww, thanks for that!” Brian replied with a slight blush. With her goal finally reached, Haiku reached down to grab her poetry journal and put this to rest…

This slightly startled the three as they didn’t expect anyone else to be on the pile with them, but they were proven wrong as something quickly emerged from the cluster of objects next to the book. It appeared to be a small bipedal pig in a police uniform, almost around the same height as Brian. It had a plastic look to it, indicating that it was a toy that young kids would go crazy over.

The two goths and tiny boy watched the pig in surprise as he wasn’t exactly happy to see them.

“Ummmm, errrrr, sorry for interrupting you small…pig toy.” Lucy stammered, not knowing what to say. “We…just need that poetry journal for my friend here. So if you could-”

“Again, you can’t touch the evidence! That’s one of the most basic rules of observing a crime scene!” the pig toy replied. “Once I was out patrolling the living room, the next thing I know I’m flailing through the air until I landed here! I need to preserve the crime scene!”

“To make a long story short, you were brought here from a dimensional rift so you don’t need to solve anything.” Haiku explained. “Now please just hand over that book…”

“What you claim can be completely different from someone else’s point of view, I need to handle this on my own!” the pig toy said before he saluted himself. “Officer Iberico is now on preservation duty until the case is solved!”

“This is getting ridiculous.” Lucy said. Not wanting to wait out for a pig toy of all things, she reached to grab the journal from Iberico only for the “bang” to go off and a feeling of being pinched to go through her hand.

“Ow!” Lucy exclaimed. She withdrew her hand as Iberico appeared to be in a different pose like he was aiming something.

“That comes with the police uniform! It may not be lethal, but the loud noise does help scare away small creatures!” Iberico said. “Now if you excuse me, I have some evidence to analyze.”

As if it came out of nowhere, a small toy police cruiser popped up right behind the police pig. The poetry journal sat on top of it as Iberico hastily got inside, while the ones around him weren’t thrilled. Personally holding something of yours hostage was one thing, but when they personally hurt someone close to you then it’s on a completely different level.

“Oh no you don’t!” Brian exclaimed. He wasn’t exactly thinking clearly at the time, for he recklessly jumped off of Lucy’s shoulder and grappled right on the back of the toy police car before it could take off. Lucy growled under her breath with Haiku equally as angry as the two reached down to grab the toy car, but it took off before they could get a hold of it.

Brian held on for dear life as the toy police car dropped again and again down the pile of objects, landing miraculously on its tires every time. It was like riding on the most dangerous rollercoaster in the world, and this was coming from a guy that went through so many dangerous situations already. For someone who claimed to be a police officer, Iberico was quite a reckless driver. After minutes of dangerous bouncing, the toy car landed back on solid ground, but it was far from over. With grass under the tires, the car drove off through the cemetery. Just where Iberico planned to actually go was beyond what Brian knew, but the tiny boy knew he needed to get the poetry journal off of the toy car’s roof. As the toy car turned left around another pile of objects, Brian held on tight as he slowly crawled from the back and carefully onto the top of the poetry journal. It was being held by a strong strand of string, and with the constant movements Brian knew it wasn’t going to be easy.

He firmly grasped the string and prepared to pull only for a “bang” to emit and a small white bean bag, about the size of his hand, to whizz past his head. Looking to where it was shot, he saw Iberico leaning out of the driver’s door, arms positioned like a shotgun loaded straight at him.

“Get your grubby hands off of the evidence! I’m not afraid to shoot!” Iberico exclaimed.

“You’ve been brought here by a dimensional rift, there’s nothing left to say!” Brian shouted. “Pull over before both of us get hurt!”

“I don’t take demands from lunatics like you!” Iberico exclaimed. The car started to swerve back and forth with nobody at the wheel, making it hard to hit Brian off the car. It was able to keep balance surprisingly enough, but it was still hectic. Brian fell back to the right side to more comfortably avoid Iberico’s shots, but it almost made him lose his grip as the car ran over some sharp rocks, ruining the tires and putting them on their rims.

“Just stop the car before we both get hurt!” Brian yelled, but Iberico wasn’t listening. Another bean bag barely missed Brian’s face as the boy went to work on the string. It was tight at first, but it wasn’t completely perfected, making it easy to point out a weak spot. It took one strong tug from Brian to pull it loose, but turned out there was a second knot underneath, so while it got the poetry journal loose from the roof it now was being dragged from behind the toy police car like a water tube. To make things worse, Brian was still on top of it, making it an even bumpier ride than before.

He kept his grip as much as he could so he wouldn’t fall off, but he soon found himself staring down a very ticked off Iberico aiming straight at him.

“Okay, I’m through messing around! Let go of that evidence or I’ll shoot!”

“You’re crazy!” Brian exclaimed. With Brian not complying with him, Iberico had no choice. Brian closed his eyes as Iberico took aim at him. His shots may not be lethal, but a good one will cause Brian to fall off the moving book and lose the chase.

Then the toy police car suddenly made an abrupt stop. The inertia change caused Brian to launch off of the poetry journal and into the back of the car while Iberico had the back of his head smack against the driver’s door. They weren’t serious injuries thankfully enough.

“What the, what kind of sudden stop is this?” Iberico said. Before he could turn around to see what stopped the car, he found himself grabbed all around him, consequently locking his arms and preventing him from shooting. Whatever bounded him turned the police pig around, and once he saw who it was he began to sweat.

“You’re useless squabble has reached its conclusion.” Haiku said with her enchanting eyes leering at the toy with a mean gaze.

“Errrr, you’re assaulting a police officer! I’ll, ummmmm, have you jailed for this!” Iberico stammered.

Brian sat dazed for a moment before he rubbed his forehead to ease his headache. It soothed down somewhat, and as he looked up to see Haiku angrily holding Iberico, another thing crossed his eyesight. He smiled as he saw the other Goth girl come up and kneel down next to him for a better look.

“Are you okay?” Lucy asked. “We kept pace behind you until Haiku took a different way to cut you off. It was the only way she could think of the end it.”

She wasn’t expressing it obviously, but Brian could tell in her tone of voice that she had a sense of worry.

“I’m a bit shaken up, but it’s nothing major luckily.” Brian replied. Lucy set her hand down to let Brian come aboard as she untied and picked up Haiku’s poetry journal. Once Brian set himself on Lucy’s hand she got back on her feet and joined up with Haiku, who was still gripping Iberico rather tightly.

“Please, no punishments! It was all an act, I swear!” Iberico pleaded. “I just act tough because…I’m actually a lowly wimp.”

Brian could see in the toy’s eyes that he didn’t appear to be lying, and Haiku seemed to catch on to it quickly. She still wasn’t happy with what he just did, but admitting that he screwed up was a good first step. This made her let up just a little bit before the toy explained.

“In all honesty, I was very much afraid once I found myself suddenly cast here. I’ve been living at one particular household practically all my life, and once I saw all of you I panicked behind that stern face. Without even thinking I took off in my police cruiser with that book of yours, even knowing full well that there was no ‘evidence’ to investigate. I didn’t doubt you one bit once you explained where I actually ended up and how I got here, so…I’m sorry okay? Please forgive me!”

Hearing that confession was all Haiku needed to turn around. She smiled lightly as she unraveled her hand around him, giving Iberico some breathing room as he stood on her gloved hand.

“Apology accepted. In fact, I knew your attitude was just a show all along. I don’t think anyone could take you seriously just from the way you look, although…I do admit that you look a bit cute.”

“Awww really? You’re just pushing my buttons!” Iberico said as he blushed red and rubbed the back of his head. Lucy and Brian chortled silently at how silly he looked.

“Well I say this was a job well done.” Brian said. “We got Haiku’s poetry journal all safe and sound. Can we go back now so I can get some sleep?”

“Wait, wait, wait, what about me?!” Iberico said. “Am I just going to sit around here with my broken down car until I magically get sent back home?”

“Well we don’t exactly know if you are the only one in these piles that is…like you so to speak.” Lucy replied. “There could be others we don’t know about that-”

The group looked up to see none other than Tad on top of yet another pile next to them.

“I’ve been through every pile here already and that pig toy there is the only one that’s…alive? I can’t find a good word to describe it better, but that’s what I got.”

“Unfortunately yes, but I’m certain there’s something here Kelly would like! I’m not giving up just yet!” Tad said before pulling out a few peculiar pink coins with the letter H on them. “How about these? You think she’ll like them?”

“Ugh, c’mon I need some leeway here!” Tad said all flustered about. Even though the coins didn’t attract Lucy or the other two, it did attract someone else. He swiftly zipped up to Tad and started getting up to his face, who likewise tried to swat him away.

“Shoo! Go away you stupid bat, these are mine! Go bother someone else!” Tad said as he backed up. He failed to remember that he was still on top of a huge pile of objects, so after he took a few steps back he tumbled down the backside of the pile making various grunts and moans with each impact. Brian rolled his eyes.

“Fangs is going to enjoy himself tonight.” Brian muttered. He turned back to Lucy and Haiku as if the display never happened, who likewise did the same.

“So, ummmm, again…” Iberico said as he tried to wipe Tad’s display from his mind. “Any of you have somewhere I can stay until I can get back to my own dimension? Maybe somewhere that can easily fix my car?”

“I don’t really see the point of you staying here when the end of everything gets closer to eliminating all of us.” Haiku said.

“Ignore her; it’s not what you think.” Brian responded. As for the issue on where Iberico could stay, normally the first solution would be for him to stay with Tad and Kelly since they were also stranded here until their respective rift showed up, but a more settling solution appeared to be a good fit if she could accept him…

Iberico stayed hidden in the garage for the rest of the night, which he didn’t mind since he was also tired. It wasn’t until when morning came did Brian put his idea into motion. Once Brian and Lucy got Iberico, the three went upstairs before Lucy set the two down in front of a specific door before leaving to get some breakfast. Once Brian and Iberico made it inside the room they were noticed almost immediately.

“Eeeeeeeeh, he’s so adorable!” Lola exclaimed with glee. “You’re an actual living dolly?”

“Yup, one hundred percent!” Iberico replied. “I usually tense up and go immobile whenever I see an awake human, but not right now for some reason. Must be another dimensional thing I don’t know about.”

“But you’re also a pig, one of my favorite animals!” Lana exclaimed. “Please let me play with you!”

“I take it as a yes for you two watching over Iberico for now?” Brian asked. Both Lola and Lana looked at Brian with wide happy grins.

“Of course I will look over that cute doll!” Lola responded. “I can actually have a tea party with someone else when you aren’t available for one thing. Don’t worry, you are still my one and only dolly despite this.”

“I can also introduce you to some of my reptilian friends!” Lana said. “Izzy really needs a good playmate! You also said that your car broke down right?”

“Don’t worry, I work on cars all of the time! Even if it is just a toy, I can get that baby up running in no time!”

“Hey, I called on him first so I get to use him now!” Lola said as she leered down Lana.

“You didn’t say anything! I should get him first!” Lana exclaimed and leered back.

The twins ended up getting into another sibling fight as a dust cloud covered their scuffle. Iberico confusingly looked at Brian as the girls fought.

“You better get used to it.” Brian replied before Haiku’s chilling words echoed through his mind.

“I don’t really see the point of you staying here when the end of everything gets closer to eliminating all of us.”

Aside from many returning faces, there were now schedules and work pieces to pay attention to. Brian couldn’t go to school, so he had to stay in hiding back at home to he wouldn’t get spotted. He had some company with the house pets and Iberico, but they weren’t perfect replacements. He had more fun driving in Iberico’s toy police car, which the police pig let him use on occasion as an apology for being a jerk back at the cemetery. Because the terrain was smooth and non-lethal Brian could afford to be a bit reckless and clumsy since the car couldn’t get damaged anyway. Even then, if it did get damaged in any way, Lana was glad to fix it back up when she got back from school. When the kids did get back home they usually did their own thing, with some checking on Brian for safety. It wasn’t until later that their parents forced them to go through homework, which easily put a work load on Lisa. From tutoring to hard problem solving, Lisa had to juggle between siblings and even set time schedules to ease things a bit. This meant that she didn’t have time for her personal studies during the latter half of the day, including Brian. This was a double edged sword for the shrunken boy. While she had to drive away from finding a cure for him during those times, he had the privilege of not being an extensive test subject with Lisa occupied. She tended to get a bit rough whenever she needed Brian to be a test subject, so it was nice to get some downtime from her when she tutored her siblings.

“Fine, I’ll let up just a little bit. Less pressure on that side, so I will do it on the right for this test.”

Brian stayed on the ground as Lisa let her foot up just a little bit. Under it were Brian’s micro sized legs with his upper body sticking out. Lisa looked back down to her notes before writing something down as Brian waited for the next part to begin. This test apparently went over “durability” as she called it, but she didn’t explain anything further than that. As much as he knew that she wouldn’t kill him, when she needed to do some tests on him her methods were…unorthodox at best. This wasn’t the most extreme case, he forced himself to never remind himself of “that experiment”, but it was very awkward. Setting him safely on the ground in her room, Lisa then asked Brian to lie on his belly and stretch his arms and legs out across the ground in different directions. Once he did so, Lisa slowly inched up toward him and VERY carefully, with her brown shoes on, applied the tip of her foot on each body part at various light pressures. Brian freaked out at first, and even after Lisa insured that it was a safe experiment Brian was still uncomfortable with the entire thing. To think that the young genius had a boy nearly tripled in age under her foot; only with the Loud House could such a situation be possible.

“I got your legs all written down nicely. Your arms are next, but I’ll also be using my fingers for this test.”

“Whatever flows your boat.” Brian said with a pinch of sarcasm as he rolled his eyes. Once she removed her feet from Brian’s legs she made her way to his left side and gently set the tip of her right foot lightly over his left arm. It started easy at first, but when she applied more pressure Brian could definitely feel it. It was like he was doing a physical at a doctor’s office at this point, although he was certain Lisa had experience already in that field. However, just one mistake could have dire consequences, and Brian did not want to end up going into another cast.

Once she was set on his left arm, Lisa wrote it down in her notes and made her way to the right. Tip of the shoe out, inch toward Brian, then set the various pressures. It was a routine at this point and Lisa was extremely careful every time while Brian laid on his belly and let the giantess do her research. She finished up the right side rather quickly, and now it was time for the second part. She cautiously set herself on the ground on her stomach as she eyed Brian.

“I’ll be using my fingers from here on out.” Lisa said. Brian turned his head to her and nodded before she set an index finger on Brian’s right arm. Like before she started with light pressures before turning up the intensity shortly after. From what she kept displaying it almost looked like Brian was made of invincible steel, but he easily knew that wasn’t even close to reality. The times he survived incident after incident were nothing more than strokes of luck to him, and he knew it was going to run out at some point.

After releasing pressure off of Brian’s arm, she wrote more words in her notes before moving to the left one. She just set her finger on his arm when-

This spooked Lisa and Brian, causing Lisa to raise her finger off of Brian as she and the tiny boy looked straight at the open door. It was none other than the only boy of the family. It was a moment where Lucy wasn’t the one scaring them for once.

“Lincoln, I’m in the middle of some very difficult studies. I can’t talk right now.”

Lisa deeply sighed as she got to her feet and scooped Brian off the floor into her hands, to which Brian could feel her anxious shaking, the ones she does when she gets a hold of the tiny boy, underneath him. Even after all the time he spent with her, she still gets giddy feelings from holding the only one in the house that is smaller than her.

“Thanks Lisa.” Lincoln replied. “Anyways, I’ve been talking with Ronnie Ann lately over the computer and she wasn’t exactly…herself in those times. She says she’s been getting some nightmares these last few days, which is even something she won’t talk to me about. She eventually stopped answering all together, and I’m really worried about something being wrong. That’s where I need you.”

“And what could I possibly do to help your girl problems? I live for science, not relationships.” Lisa said.

“She’s not my girlfriend!” Lincoln retorted. “Even then, I need you for something else!”

“And that would be?” Lisa asked. Lincoln looked down a bit and twiddled his thumbs in nervousness.

“Well, you have been working on that research of those rifts, and I was hoping that you have reached a point where you could possibly…warp to somewhere else?”

“You want me to use my research on the rifts to make something so you can get to Ronnie Ann’s place don’t you?” Lisa asked with a stagnant face. Lincoln shuffled his feet before looking at her and nodding.

“As much as I would like to help you on that subject, these rifts are more complicated than you think. I have only managed to document about twenty percent of their capabilities; they aren’t as simple as wormholes. There is still much about them that I’m still looking into, including how each one appears to have their own unique signature states of matter. I’ve currently documented millions of these unique signatures as the rifts continue to appear in Royal Woods, so if I were to make-”

“Laymen’s terms please?” Brian asked. Lisa threw a stink eye at Brian before getting back to Lincoln.

“I haven’t gotten to the point yet of creating fresh rifts.” Lisa explained. Lincoln looked down in disappointment. As a close friend to Ronnie Ann, he really felt the need to find out what was going on with her, and since her current abode was hours away getting there would be a chore without some sort of shortcut.

For Brian, the way Lincoln explained what he wanted from Lisa reminded him of a specific incident some time ago. He looked to the side and crossed his shoulders as he muttered to himself.

“Too bad you weren’t there when that rift took me into her dreams. That was quite a surprise…”

Even though he spoke quietly, Lisa and Lincoln picked up the noise and set their eyes right on him. He didn’t expect to be in center stage at the moment, but with all eyes on him he decided speak up more clearly.

“Umm, I mean, I did manage to speak with her that one time a rift took me into her dreams. While it wasn’t reality, it could be the next best thing for Lincoln.”

“Wait, you think that could work?” Lincoln asked. “I mean, going into her mind and all, that’s her personal space and not actual reality. I don’t want to see things she doesn’t want me to.”

“Lincoln, you’re talking to a guy that constantly gets into people’s business from accidents on a daily basis.” Brian replied. “Trust me; it’s not a big deal this time. Besides, we might get to see what’s troubling her in that noggin of hers.”

“Oh right, that would definitely help her out!” Lincoln said as he remembered what he said earlier. “Well…okay, if you say it would be the next best solution then I’ll take your word on it.”

“So you want to call back a rift that appeared here before?” Lisa said. “Now that’s a subject I MAY just be able to help you out on. I may not have the research to create rifts, but I think I have enough to call back previous ones.”

“Really? That would really help me out!” Lincoln responded. Lisa set Brian on her lab table as she fetched something from her closet. The two boys tilted their heads in intrigue before Lisa pulled out a particular device. It looked like an open cereal bowl with a clear blue prism diamond centered in the middle. The shine gleamed in their eyes from how dazzling Lisa’s invention treated their sight.

“Don’t get too into it; it’s all made from plastic.” Lisa explained. “Anyways, this invention doesn’t have a name yet, but it does function. Remember when I said that each rift has its own unique signature? Well this little guy keeps track of every rift that appears here and keeps it in the special memory banks I crafted myself. With it, plus some other functions, I could potentially increase the chance for any rift it has recorded to reappear. It isn’t perfectly consistent, the odds are about seventy percent, but that number shouldn’t be ignored.”

“So you could summon the rift to Ronnie Ann’s dream with that? Is it even recorded in the memory?” Brian asked.

“I just explained that it only increases the chance of it reappearing, it isn’t perfected yet.” Lisa replied. “And as for the rift you are after, it does indeed have the record of that one time which means it should have it in its database.”

“Let’s wait until nighttime first. If anything, Ronnie Ann should be asleep by then when we bring that certain rift back.” Brian said.

“It’s not one hundred percent! Get that into those brains of yours!” Lisa exclaimed.

With having to wait until nighttime, Lincoln and Brian bided their time as they did their usual activities around the house. Lincoln hung out with Clyde which left Brian as the centerpiece for the girls. From settling another dispute between Lola and Lana over who got Iberico to being a test audience for Luan’s standup routine, Brian really had a crowded schedule for the day. The one who ended up getting the most time from him however was the one that continued to show constant interest in how small he was and the one that loved to incessantly stare at him, the Goth girl Lucy Loud. She read some of her poems to him, showed him her personal Princess Pony collection, and even got the chance to emotionlessly stare at him while poking him with her fingers from all angles. Brian didn’t mind her bewilderment in him to a degree, although the way she always had her eyes on him really gave some unnerving undertones.

When the time came and the shadow casted overhead, Brian was already prepared. Granted he didn’t exactly need to do much since he slept in Lisa’s and Lily’s room to begin with, but he did put on a fresh shirt and pants that Leni made for him. Even with the massive height difference, Leni knew her fashion and made some extra small clothes that fit Brian perfectly. Lisa stood next to her lab table where Brian was situated with her invention in her hands. They were waiting on Lincoln, since he wanted to be completely ready for the possible trip. If he took too long, Lisa was going to assume he fell asleep and forgot about them, which wasn’t uncommon for the guy.

“I’m giving him five more minutes until I pull the plug.” Lisa said. She spoke quieter than usual since Lily was already sleeping in her crib near them.

“He’ll show up. He can get pretty diligent at points, I’m sure he’s not going to let this opportunity down.” Brian said. Sure enough, a few moments after he said that, Lincoln silently opened the door in his pajamas.

“Sorry I didn’t come sooner, I was waiting for everyone else to fall asleep.” Lincoln said.

“I guess that’s a logical explanation.” Lisa said. “Are you completely ready?”

Lincoln jolted around as the voice came up by his feet. Once everyone got a better look, they saw it was nothing more than the police pig toy the twins constantly fought over, and his arms looked to be cocked and loaded.

“Darn it, not so loud! You’ll wake everyone up!” Brian said. Once the police pig saw more clearly who was among him, he put his hands down.

“What is a plastic being like you doing up at this time of night?” Lisa asked.

“Umm…” Iberico stuttered. “Well…call it a bit of a habit, but back where I came from I always did the night shift. Mice, dirt ghosts, dust ghosts, got to make sure the streets are clear of any hooligans.”

“Yeah, I don’t think there’s going to be any shenanigans happening tonight up here.” Lincoln said. “Why don’t you try downstairs?”

“I was actually about to go down there after finishing up here!” Iberico responded. “You didn’t see anything suspicious did you?”

“That’s good. I’m going to finish my patrol up here after these last few rooms. Thank you for your cooperation!”

With that said, Iberico saluted the three before strolling further down the hall to Luna and Luan’s room. Lincoln quietly shut the door so another intrusion wouldn’t happen.

“That’s one dedicated toy there.” Lincoln said. “Kind of wished that were one of my action figures instead.”

“Enough talk, can I just fire up my machine and get this rift business over with?” Lisa asked. Once Lincoln made his way over and Lisa set Brian on the floor next to him, she pulled out the invention and pushed a few buttons on the side. They heard it whir to life as the plastic gemstone lit up a dark indigo color. It did that for around a minute before it suddenly shut off.

“Hmmmm, that’s atypical.” Lisa said. “Maybe that thirty percent caught up with it. Sorry boys, but I think my machine missed the mark and won’t be calling-”

Lisa was interrupted as a low rumble echoed through their ears. Before anyone could question it, a very recognizable bulge formed right in front of them out of thin air. It didn’t take long before it tore open, revealing the sight they were waiting for. The rift finally came through.

“What the…I stand corrected.” Lisa said. Lincoln was more ecstatic than anyone else, for this was his only chance to see Ronnie Ann from this far away from where she lived.

“I can’t believe I’m actually happy to see the dimensional troublemaker. You sure you put in the right coordinates Lisa?”

“I have a trained eye for numbers and punctuations, they were the right coordinates.” Lisa responded.

“Let’s just home she’s having the same dream that I experienced before.” Brian said. “I don’t know what to expect from any other one.”

Lincoln and Brian took a few steps toward the rift and already felt the suction pulling them in. Lisa made a few more statements to the two before the inevitability.

“I’ll keep this rift open for as long as I can. It’s another special feature that my invention has that can allow it to keep summoned rifts open a teensy bit longer, but I want you to come back if it begins to wane or if your girlfriend is on the ropes to waking up. I wish you luck gentlemen!”

“You’re telling me!” Brian replied as he got to his feet. After taking a moment to dust himself off, he quickly looked up to see if anything was familiar. He felt extremely relieved to see the surrounding area, for it looked like Ronnie Ann was having the same dream since his last time here. There was the same Loud House behind him, same eerily desolate neighborhood, same emptiness among the streets, and the same pinkish orange sky above him. Most importantly though, he was back to looking normal sized, and when he looked over to Lincoln he smiled to see that he could look at him in the eyes for the first time without pulling his neck back. He was actually a bit worried if he had to adapt to a different dream Ronnie Ann would have had, but it looked like he didn’t need to.

“Wow, can’t say she wants to forget about Royal Woods.” Lincoln remarked as he took note of the practically identical Loud House behind him.

“Yeah, this dream really creeped me out the first time.” Brian responded. “If this dream is going to repeat itself, everyone should be at the long table in the middle of town, so I think we should start there.”

“Wait, did you just say long table?” Lincoln asked as he turned around. “Why would there be a…”

He paused once he set his eyes on Brian. The tip of his hair and the top of Brian’s…

The two locked eyes for what seemed like an eternity. There was no way what they were seeing could be real, it was that uncomfortable. Last time Brian was in Ronnie Ann’s dream, he sized up around what Luna would be at in the real world, and Lincoln was just a head short of that. This wasn’t being applied here, for it looked like Lincoln just hit the same height as if he were that age. Seeing someone younger but at the same height as him just cranked up the weirdness level in his head. He didn’t look any different thankfully; just the height now matched Brian despite the age difference.

“Geez Lincoln, uhhhhh, you have been drinking milk I see?” Brian replied with a very tepid smile.

“Hahah, very funny. Luan would be up in tears right now.” Lincoln sarcastically said. “How the heck did I suddenly become the same height as you?!”

“This is a dream you know, reality doesn’t apply.” Brian answered. “You better get used to that height for now if we’re going to meet up with Ronnie Ann.”

“I…guess you’re right on that.” Lincoln said. Brian nodded his head as both he and Lincoln set off from their starting point to the center of town. The venues and emptiness of the streets brought a sense of familiarity to Brian, he did get dragged here before after all, although there was some bumps in the ground that he almost tripped over and a few cracks in the pavement revealing a sheet of black and white static that you sometimes see on a TV, which he never recalled seeing here last time.

It was only a few minutes until they reached the center of town. The recognizable long table and nearly endless amount of butlers setting silverware across it immediately stood out for Brian. With nearly dozens of people sitting at the table, it was hard to pick out the makeshift Loud family at first. It took a well trained eye from Brian to see them near the middle, and luckily for him, there were two available seats next to them.

“Dang, you really weren’t kidding about the long table. I don’t see Ronnie Ann though, where is she?”

“She’ll be here shortly. It’s kind of hard to hide a giant colossus from something like this.” Brian explained.

“Oh right, you told me she’s gigantic in this dream.” Lincoln said. “She’s not going to be rough with me, right?”

“I’m certain she won’t in a dream like this. Don’t worry; I’ll explain everything to her once she notices that I came back.” Brian explained.

“Thanks Brian. You’re a really cool bro to be doing this for me.” Lincoln replied. Brian smiled back at Lincoln before the two made off toward the two open seats. Brian sat on the left one next to the Lori figment while Lincoln sat on the right next to, ironically, the Lincoln figment.

“Brian, you actually came on time! That’s something I literally thought wouldn’t happen in a long time.” The Lori figment said.

“Well you know I am up all night running up the ceiling picking clovers and daisies while screaming to the oldies.” Brian replied.

“Oh right, that is brutal.” The Lori figment said. “You sure do work hard on that.”

“You have no idea.” Brian said with a smile. He might as well play along with the nonexistent entities before the giantess Ronnie Ann shows up. He listened to so many lectures and ramblings from Lisa on various subjects, since he keeps cooped up in her room at night, that some did stick to him and one of those just so happened to be about various “logics” and their use. She described one part about dimensions having their own “logics” and their “possibilities” in their own worlds. Since nearly anything was possible in dreams, Brian knew he could make no sense in his sentences and the world around him would accept it. Of course this only applied here, anywhere else any he would most likely be seen as crazy.

“Wow, I like your whole look you have there. We almost look like twins, and I already have two siblings that are twins!” the Lincoln figment said to the regular Lincoln.

“I AM you for one thing.” Lincoln responded. “I just need to talk with Ronnie Ann when she gets here.”

“Doesn’t everybody want to personally talk with the protector?” the Lincoln figment wondered out loud. “I can’t blame everyone for wanting to; she is pretty cute being as tall and powerful as she is. No offense mister, even if you do look like a taller version of me for some reason.”

“None taken.” Lincoln replied back before thinking to himself. “Is that really how Ronnie Ann sees me? Man, she really has some catching up to do.”

Brian and Lincoln spent the next few minutes talking with the figments and learning how Ronnie Ann viewed each particular person. Each figment had some sort of discrepancy with the real deal, but some were so minor that Brian and Lincoln didn’t even notice. The mind was an ever changing tool after all, and Ronnie Ann’s was no different. Brian did get a kick out of hearing Lincoln talk to his figment, almost as if he was talking with himself.

“The protector is arriving! Let’s all praise the protector!” a voice of a figment discharged over the table.

All of the figments erupted with praise and joy as the footsteps of their protector came closer. Brian and Lincoln quickly glanced at each other before setting their eyes on the big chair in the back. It didn’t take long before the familiar sight of the giantess Ronnie Ann filled their vision. Lincoln’s jaw dropped while Brian stayed calm since he experienced this before. She looked less than enthusiastic for some reason, but Brian guaranteed that her mood would change once she found out that he managed to come back like she wanted.

“Okay everyone, I’m here. I may not feel one hundred percent today, but I’m sure you guys have your ways of making me feel better.” The giantess Ronnie Ann said to the others below. “I’m sure all of you know what to do now right?”

Nearly all of the figments seated at the table nodded their heads and smiled as they hastily made lines to offer a belonging as thanks for her protection. Brian knew the drill as well, getting a spot in line with Lincoln in the spot behind him. His mouth still being agape and eyes set on Ronnie Ann gave Brian a clear picture of what was going through his head.

“Still can’t get over the fact at how big she is here?” Brian asked. Lincoln slowly nodded his head as his expression didn’t change.

“Don’t worry; you will soon get over it once it’s our turn to give something.”

“Just…give her a loving remark or something, I don’t know!” Brian replied.

Lincoln was still confused over what Brian was saying, but didn’t think too much about it as their turns came up. Brian made sure to get up early in the line just to get it over with, for they only had to wait for about ten figments to offer their objects instead of fifty, and they were usually very quick about it.

Then it came time for Brian and Lincoln. As Brian made his way up, his appearance seemed to catch her interest. She hesitated for a moment before bending over to get a better look at him, making Lincoln more nervous than her.

“Hmmmm, am I really seeing things right now? Who exactly are you?” the giantess Ronnie Ann asked. If there was one thing that would sell her on it, it would be a joke he learned from Luan.

“Well I heard that when scientists turn back time they end up with the word emit!”

The dominos fell over for the second time as Ronnie Ann pulled back laughing as the figments around Brian and Lincoln laughed along with her. Lincoln himself even did a few chuckles under his breath. Ronnie Ann calmed down as she got back to Brian.

“Okay, I have to admit that was a good one. There was that one guy that came in here and-”

Ronnie Ann’s face was stunned as the revelations opened up. She quickly bent back over to look at him.

“Oh, so you actually do remember!” Brian said. He could see Ronnie Ann’s frown turn upside down before Lincoln walked up next to him.

“Oh my gosh, you actually managed to get back here?! I can’t believe that one wish actually went through with flying colors! Oh man, there’s SO much that I want to do with you now that you came back…”

“Glad to see that you still have the enthusiasm from last time.” Brian responded. “I didn’t come empty handed though.”

Brian stepped to the side to reveal Lincoln to the giantess. He was still very nervous, her huge size casting a shadow of intimidation over his smaller presence.

He expected her to also perk up and smile upon seeing him, but a different emotion replaced it instead. Brian saw her eyes go wide before she turned to the side and muttered to herself.

“Oh shoot, that is definitely not the figment. He’s really going to wonder about…this was the next best way to get to me…”

Lincoln’s nervousness was replaced with curiosity due to Ronnie Ann’s weird actions.

“You okay there Ronnie Ann? Is this because of the way you have been ignoring me recently?” Brian asked.

“Well, it’s sort of that…” Ronnie Ann replied as she slowly turned her head back toward him. Seeing that there were still some figments behind him waiting to give their offerings and the fact that she spent more time on Brian and Lincoln than anyone else, she gave off a dismissal.

The figments unanimously understood their protector as they went back to their seats around the long table. Ronnie Ann bent over and lowered her right hand for Brian and Lincoln to get on, which the two did. After raising them up to eye level, she knew she had some explaining to do.

“Ronnie Ann, I willingly came with Brian here because I noticed you have not been doing well and the fact that you haven’t got back to me the past few days. Is something wrong?”

The giantess looked down at the two in her hand and sighed, which Brian and Lincoln had to stand down to not get blown off. Something was definitely up.

“Yes, you’re completely right. Something has been going on with me lately, and I was ignoring you because it’s…complicated to talk about. I thought I could keep and handle it myself, but it hasn’t been working out.”

“It must be pretty personal if you’re keeping it from Lincoln.” Brian spoke up. “Just what’s been going on with you?”

Brian could tell just by looking at her enormous eyes that she didn’t want to speak about it. From all of the times Lincoln told him of how she was the toughest girl he knew, for something to affect her to this degree had to have been something very serious. He did hear from Lincoln that she did break down a few times, but he didn’t say that she did it like this.

“It’s…these constant rebounds continuously messing up my brain.” Ronnie Ann explained. “I was completely fine until I started going through mood swings, getting random memories that appear in my head, and began getting these annoying headaches at complete random. I thought at first that it wasn’t a big deal, but when it kept continuing combined with the terrible nightmares every time I fell asleep I needed some insight. I even went to a doctor and he said I was perfectly fine! Since then I have been easing off a bit, and while it did help to ease off the nightmares, as you can clearly see, I still can’t ease these headaches and these nonstop random memories. They haven’t reached my dreams yet, but there are some early signs that we’re not completely safe just yet.”

She turned to the side and got Brian and Lincoln to do the same. They could see seemingly random cracks on the buildings and ground that showed off black and white static that sometimes appeared on TV. It was the same type of sight Brian saw with the pavement earlier. Brian even looked upward and saw the same static cracks in the sky with some quickly beginning to appear in front of him. Whatever was going on with her was really affecting her mind negatively.

While he was no doctor, knowing that she was perfectly healthy was a good sign. It couldn’t have been sickness, but other than that he had no leads. Lisa went on an exposition once when doing another experiment on him about parasites so maybe that could be something. Of course it could be something beyond the matter of truth like something related to the constant rifts.

“Woah Leni, what happened here?” Lincoln asked. She looked at him with her terrified eyes.

“A really…really…awkward nightmare, so many of those things…oh so many…”

That was indeed a possibility. The rifts have been getting more frequent and bigger the past couple of months, and it is possible for them to dump things into nearly anything. That was how he arrived into Ronnie Ann’s dream in the first place after all. If she did have a parasite in her brain he knew there was nothing he could do and would have to leave it to professional doctors, but if it was something rift related, like if something got dumped into her mind where it shouldn’t, that was a different story. It was all possible, but only one outcome could he actually assist with.

A moderate sized quake erupted through the area, almost forcing Ronnie Ann out of her chair and dropping Lincoln and Brian. It only lasted for a few seconds, and when it stopped the three of them were getting really dire vibes all over.

“What…the heck…was that?!” Ronnie Ann exclaimed. Lincoln and Brian were equally as startled.

“You think…it was the Molossus?!” Brian wondered out loud while stuttering in a startled way.

“No…he moved to a different spot…to sleep since last time!” Ronnie Ann exclaimed.

The three of them looked down to see a figment that looked like a little girl run up to the giantess’s feet.

“A giant fissure just separated near the edge of Royal Woods! I wasn’t sure how it happened, but I thought it would be best to tell you great protector!”

“Okay, I’ll check it out right away. Thank you little girl.” Ronnie Ann replied. The little girl figment ran off for safety as Ronnie Ann got to her feet while still holding Brian and Lincoln.

It didn’t take long to get to the designated spot. Brian and Lincoln took a ride in one of Ronnie Ann’s shirt pockets as the giantess made her way there, which was a very bumpy ride. Lincoln almost looked ready to heave at any moment, so Brian kept his distance. Once Ronnie Ann got to the spot, she opened her shirt pocket and dumped her two passengers into an open hand before placing them on her right shoulder. They didn’t get time to relax as the aforementioned fissure set before them, and it was massive and deep. Various houses and streets were wrecked around it in the aftermath, and even though it was a dream it was a very chilling sight to see the wreckage. The fissure seemed to extend long enough into the horizon and was way wider than even giantess Ronnie Ann. The complete black in its depths made it impossible to figure out what was down there. It glared with a certain sting that gave goosebumps to those just looking at it, but it had open arms for the careless.

Lincoln was the more startled of the bunch as the trench stood front and center.

“Wow…that really is deep…” Lincoln said. “What caused it to appear?”

“I honestly don’t know.” Brian answered. “If Lisa were here she would probably figure it out in an instant.”

“I’m not going to worry; this is my dream so I can easily patch this up.” Ronnie Ann said.

Another tremor erupted under their feet. Ronnie Ann kept her footing as Brian and Lincoln held tightly on her shoulder. The fissure began to get wider as numerous static cracks erupted on the surrounding area and in the sky. As quickly as it started, the tremor quickly ceased.

“At this rate your dream will get split in two. Gonna imagine a giant zipper?” Brian asked.

“You just read my mind.” Ronnie Ann replied. The instant she imagined it, because this was her dream, the giant zipper came into existence and took hold of both sides of the crevice. They tried to pull the pieces together, but they suddenly shattered completely and faded away.

“What? I thought for sure that would work!” Ronnie Ann stated in surprise. “This is my dream, so why isn’t the crack fixed by now?!”

“Maybe it isn’t part of your dream?” Lincoln answered. Before he could speak further, a really big tremor vented from under them. Countless static cracks appeared around them as the fissure split even further. The three looked down to notice that the ground completely split from under them, enough so that Ronnie Ann couldn’t keep her footing, sending all three of them into the unknown below them. Brian and Lincoln screamed as Ronnie Ann closed her eyes so she wouldn’t scream with them.

An intense amount of purple impacted their eyes as they woke up. Lincoln was the first to come to his senses as he noticed that he landed next to the giantess Ronnie Ann and Brian lay on the ground on his other side. Lincoln ran up to Brian first, since he didn’t want to risk waking up Ronnie Ann with how big she was, and picked up his head to try and get him to reality quicker.

“Brian, Brian, wake up for me bro!” Lincoln exclaimed. His yelling did the trick as Brian groggily opened his eyes.

“Ugh…Lincoln, when did you get clones?” Brian replied in a daze. His response was met with Lincoln slapping him across the face.

“Get it together man!” he exclaimed. Brian took the moment to shake his head as his body slowly started back up again. He snorted a little before getting on his two feet only to notice a red mark where Lincoln slapped him.

“You do realize that I will get back at you for that.” Brian said in a slightly upset tone. With Brian now awake, all that was left was Ronnie Ann. Thankfully though, she slowly got up on her own, rubbing her head to ease pain off of it.

“Now that was a fall.” Ronnie Ann said as she got to her feet. “I don’t know where we are, but I least I know you two are with me.”

“Thanks for that.” Lincoln said. The world around them certainly wasn’t as upbeat as Ronnie Ann’s dream. Dark purple emptiness covered the area around them as the ground gave off a purple haze, making it nearly impossible to see if there was a ceiling or walls around them. A reverb noise periodically went through everyone’s hearing as vague and faded looking faces, consisting of only a pair of eyes and a mouth, appearing to dwindle in and out of existence.

The area seemed to affect Ronnie Ann the most. She frowned as something felt wrong with her.

“Ugh, why do I feel so…personal all of a sudden? Something is really up with this place.”

“I don’t know, but this place gives me the creeps.” Lincoln said. “We should get out of here before-”

The two looked over to Brian where a white sphere went up against his backside. It bounced off of him as it went higher and floated in the air before a moving picture came up on it. Once it came up in Ronnie Ann’s and Lincoln’s eyes they were shocked.

“Hey…that’s the time when I kissed you outside my house and you slapped me across the face!” Lincoln exclaimed.

“Yeah, I remember that moment!” Ronnie Ann replied. “What’s a moment like that doing here?”

“I think we’re about to find out…” Brian said as he pointed behind them. Soon enough, dozens of white bubbles surrounded them, and Ronnie Ann could recognize each scene the bubbles gave off with some being backed up by Lincoln. Carefully handling an egg, separating Lori and Bobby as she moved out, going to a Mexican restaurant…

“These…I remember all of these!” Ronnie Ann stated. “Are these supposed to be portable movies about me or something?”

“Judging from the fact that we collapsed in a fissure from your dream…maybe…we’re now inside you mind?” Brian wondered out loud.

“I think you may be on to something.” Lincoln answered. “If we’re in your mind now, those bubbles must be your memories then!”

“That has to be one of the smartest things you have ever said, lame-o.” Ronnie Ann replied. To think it was possible to get knocked out of your dream and into you own personal mind. This was no place to fool around in, this place contained Ronnie Ann’s emotions, memories, preferences, and everything else related to what she wanted to keep to herself.

Lincoln and Brian were already getting uncomfortable just being here. They did not want to end up seeing or experiencing anything personal Ronnie Ann did that they didn’t. They even got up close to each other like a frightened couple just for some comfort.

The purple mist under their feet tinted slightly red and oscillated as the memory bubbles fizzled around them before going back to normal. Whatever that voice was, it certainly wasn’t part of Ronnie Ann’s mind. This caused Ronnie Ann to hold her stomach.

“Ugh, I’m not feeling so well.” Ronnie Ann stated. “What is going on around here?”

“Maybe whatever is in here is the one screwing your mind up?” Lincoln said. “This entire place is basically you after all.”

“If that’s the case we have to find the source of that voice.” Brian spoke up. “You sure you can still carry us through Ronnie Ann?”

“I…I think I can…I can handle it…” Ronnie Ann stuttered. Brian now knew that it wasn’t a parasite, but whatever was in here causing her mind to screw up had to be stopped. The giantess set her hand on the ground to let Lincoln and Brian on, which the two did, before setting them on her shoulder and heading off in the direction of the voice. More memories zipped past them and some of Ronnie Ann’s personal thoughts emitted on the way there, giving Lincoln and Brian some discomfort. They understood privacy, and suddenly butting into something they shouldn’t really made them feel violated. Ronnie Ann wasn’t commenting much on the way, trying to stomach as much of the hurtfulness as possible. Since this was just a conjuring of her from her dream, she had a symbiotic relationship with her mind. If something was wrong with her mind, she would also feel the same.

Something soon entered their eyesight. It didn’t notice them since it seemed to be occupied with one of the memory bubbles and it was about the same size as the giantess Ronnie Ann. A metallic girl bow lay atop an antenna on its head as a square shape set below it followed by a thin rectangle situated on top of a singular wheel. As weird as the sight was, the most interesting feature to them was the thing’s set of four metal arms, two each on the left and right side, and they were working on a one of the memory bubbles as they held many cleaning utensils. This was it, the cause of Ronnie Ann’s mind getting screwed up.

“Ooh, this needs a firm scrubbing!” the thing said as the arm holding a wet sponge ran over the memory bubble like sandpaper. This gave Ronnie Ann more aches in her abdomen as the mist under her feet oscillated again.

“Stop right there…you cretin!” Ronnie Ann exclaimed as she held her stomach.

“Oh? I didn’t think there was anyone else possibly in here.” The thing stated as it turned around. With a clear view of the thing’s front side, it revealed stuff that the others couldn’t see from the back. The square shape turned out to be its head, as two small circles and a straight mouth lay on the front. From the metallic nature of its overall look, it seemed to indicate that this was some sort of robot or android of some kind.

“If you want me to clean you up you will have to wait for a bit. Everything in here is absolutely FILTHY and needs intense washing!” the robot said.

“You’re washing the inside of my head for one thing!” Ronnie Ann replied. “Who are you?!”

“I’m known as XJ-4, and I never leave a single surface writhing in filth! I somehow was reactivated and dumped in this…disgusting place! I don’t know what happened to find myself here, but this place needs a secure washing STAT!”

Lincoln and Brian turned their heads to the right as the robot was talking and saw the exact way she managed to get inside Ronnie Ann’s mind, yet another rift. If they could convince the robot XJ-4 back inside the rift to her original dimension, the problem would be solved.

“Look miss…XJ-4 was it?” Lincoln spoke up. “You were brought here thanks to that hole over there, you just need to go back through it and everything will be back to normal. You aren’t supposed to be here so-”

“I would polish that mouth shut if I were you tiny human!” XJ-4 interrupted. Lincoln’s statement was really upsetting her, and the way it retorted back put the others on edge.

“I can’t leave wherever this is without everything as sparkling clean as I am! I can’t stand going someplace icky and NOT have anything done about it! Ooh, you make me so mad…”

Little did Ronnie Ann and the others know that as they were speaking to XJ-4, one of the robot’s arms was scrubbing all sorts of cleaning utensils over the memory bubble behind it. It didn’t seem like a big deal, but XJ-4 wasn’t being the most careful with her cleaning, causing her to apply too much pressure against it which caused it to burst. An intense suction came out of the bubble’s hole which nobody expected, and since XJ-4 was the closest she was immediately sucked inside.

“What the, that robot just disappeared inside!” Brian exclaimed as he felt the wind rush around him. Everyone else was also losing their balance.

In one brilliant flash, the group immediately found themselves hit with a bombardment of music ringing through their ears. After adjusting their eyes from the flash, Lincoln and Ronnie Ann quickly knew of the place around them. The dozens of dancers on the floor, the loose bleachers on the side, the stray table filled with snacks…

“Ronnie Ann, I think we just stumbled into the Sadie Hawkins Dance.” Lincoln stated with a worried tone. “But I don’t think we’re supposed to be like this…”

She wasn’t fibbing. While everyone else on the dance floor looked normal, they were utterly titanic compared to them. Ronnie Ann still was bigger than Lincoln and Brian as they still were riding on her shoulders, making everyone look even bigger to the two boys than how Ronnie Ann saw them. They gripped her shoulders even tighter now just so they don’t fall off and end up with the titan sized people dancing around them.

“I…I think we stumbled into your memory of the dance Ronnie Ann…” Brian stuttered feeling more intimidated than even with the bigger ones around him.

“You think I didn’t figure that out already?” Ronnie Ann replied. “We should leg it and get out while we have the chance! I don’t want to be a stain on the floor!”

“Look, I see us!” Lincoln said as he pointed straight ahead of him. The other two turned their gaze to where he was pointing, and true to what he said, there was an incredibly panicked Lincoln, the same size as everyone else in the memory, constantly trying to get away from Ronnie Ann who was trying to get to him, also the same size.

Upon seeing himself in the memory, Lincoln rubbed the back of his head while putting on a very embarrassed smile.

“Of course I remember that. Where do you think we are if I didn’t?” Ronnie Ann as she turned her head to face Lincoln on her shoulder before smiling. “You really acted like a chicken.”

“Yeah, that didn’t exactly work out like I planned.” Lincoln replied still with an embarrassed face.

“You’re making me wish I was there to see everything unfold…oh right, I could just watch this memory continue on.” Brian said.

“You could, but I’m pretty sure we have a more pressing matter.” Ronnie Ann stated. Lincoln and Brian understood as they took a gander around the place for that psycho cleaning robot.

“These shoes are absolutely GRIMY! Have some dignity you people and tidy yourselves up!”

It didn’t take long to notice her atop a dancing girl’s brown shoes. XJ-4 was also shrunken but was as tall as the tiny Ronnie Ann, and she had some soap and sponges at the ready. As she began to scrub the shoes as best as she could, the shoes began to fizzle with TV-like static as Ronnie Ann felt another pain in her stomach. The dancing girl wasn’t even paying attention to XJ-4; it was just part of a recorded memory after all. If it didn’t happen at the time then it would go unnoticed.

“There you are! You don’t belong here, so get out!” Ronnie Ann exclaimed. Despite the nearly endless noises on the dance floor, XJ-4 picked up Ronnie Ann’s voice and looked at her with a frown.

“Not until everything here gets the scrubbing of the century!” XJ-4 retorted. “This place is a garbage dump and NEEDS cleanliness! Ooh, that one there needs to meet my dustpan!”

XJ-4 took notice of another girl’s white boots and rushed over with one of her arms transforming into a vacuum cleaner. Ronnie Ann didn’t want the robot out of her sight, so she ran off after her while dodging the continuous feet impacting against the floor. Lincoln and Brian held on tight to Ronnie Ann’s shoulders so they wouldn’t fly off. Once they reached the base of the boots, after avoiding them slamming on top of them, XJ-4 was already halfway up and Ronnie Ann was just starting to climb up after her. Lincoln was the one who noticed whose boots they were climbing up.

“Wait, we’re climbing up Tabby, one of Luna’s younger friends!” Lincoln said.

“You think I don’t already know that?” Ronnie Ann replied. “I know all about those girls your sisters hooked you up with after you told me about them!”

“Judging by how she is acting now, you seemed to remember her pretty well.” Brian said. “I wasn’t there obviously, but I would say this is a pretty accurate representation.”

The three of them could see Tabby about doing an imaginary air guitar solo as someone next to her, which was a friend of Lincoln’s named Liam, danced alongside her. Lincoln really took Brian’s statement as Ronnie Ann’s representation of Tabby, despite not interacting with her at the time, was greatly accurate. He had to give credit to Ronnie Ann for remembering all of the little details of the one night, for some of the details for him weren’t completely cemented into his mind yet. He might need to ask Ronnie Ann what else she knew of that night.

It was quite the trek up, and the constant moving of Tabby’s boots didn’t help, but Ronnie Ann eventually climbed to the top of Tabby’s right boot, where XJ-4 was already about to begin unleashing her vacuum on. Like the other gigantic memories of the dance, Tabby and Liam never paid attention to the tiny ones, and the musical nature of Tabby meant she moved her feet a lot, making the stowaways atop her boots experience rumbling up and down wildly.

“I’m not afraid to clean up your act, so stay away!” XJ-4 exclaimed vacuum at the ready.

“If you would just follow us out of here this would all be over!” Brian replied.

“I can’t do that when there’s cleaning to do!” XJ-4 stated. “Why don’t you get out of here and let me do my work?!”

“That’s it; I’m rearranging your face.” Ronnie Ann stated as she walked up to the robot with a stern look. XJ-4 was prepared for this type of scenario, so once Ronnie Ann got up close, she thrusted her vacuum forward and got Ronnie Ann’s hair caught in it.

“OW! YOU STUPID HUNK OF JUNK!” Ronnie Ann yelled as she tried to pry her hair from the suction.

“This is what happens when I push you through the wringer!” XJ-4 exclaimed. For the two boys, it was a struggle to stay on Ronnie Ann’s shoulders as she pushed back and forth to get her hair unstuck. It wasn’t until Tabby’s feet went up slightly that the two lost their grip and were sent sailing through the air only to land right on XJ-4’s eyes.

“Get off my beautiful eyes you dust bunnies!” XJ-4 exclaimed as Lincoln and Brian held on for dear life as the robot tried to pry them off. This brief moment was enough time for Ronnie Ann to pull her hair out of the vacuum, but before she could give XJ-4 a piece of her mind, Tabby once again kicked her feet up, only this time it was much more intense. It was enough so that she kicked all four of them into the air, whizzing past Liam’s head in the process. As all of them flailed in the air for some sort of safe landing, the music around them suddenly shifted to a slower calm paced beat, almost heart wrenching at points.

It didn’t take long before the four stuck a comfy landing somewhere else. Ronnie Ann pulled her head out of the ground as XJ-4 was still occupied with Lincoln and Brian over her eyes, which lucky stayed on them the entire time to save their skins. The ground they were on felt thin and were colored black for some reason, and once Ronnie Ann looked down she knew immediately where they landed.

Her eyes were fixated on a locket in her hands as she did a slow dance with Clyde next to her, who also was focusing on a locket in his hands. Ronnie Ann knew what was going to happen soon if she didn’t subdue XJ-4 before then, and it was going to be a hassle getting out of that.

This snapped Ronnie Ann back to the situation at hand as XJ-4 still had Lincoln and Brian stuck to her eyes. The robot even brought out a feather duster to try and whack them off with minimal success.

“Once I get you two off, it’s into the washing machine!” XJ-4 exclaimed. Ronnie Ann trudged through the many strands of Haiku’s hair in a rush before tackling the robot to the ground. She pricked Lincoln and Brian back into her hands before setting them back on her shoulders, giving the two a moment to calm down, and pinning XJ-4 to a strand of Haiku’s hair.

“Out of steam yet?” Ronnie Ann said. “I can keep this up way longer than now.”

“I’ll show you to set your dirty hands on me!” XJ-4 shouted as she used a free hand to pull out a well sided broom. Ronnie Ann braced for impact…only for XJ-4 to constantly hit her weakly with the wooden side of the broom. Ronnie Ann and the two boys couldn’t help but put on a flat expression.

“Hah, how do you like that?! Another one bites the dust!” XJ-4 said with an angry undertone. Ronnie Ann rolled her eyes before deciding to finally end it. She tackled XJ-4 again, but she didn’t notice that they were situated near the back of Haiku’s head, which sent all of them careening through the air as they scuffled. The boys lost their grip again at one point and had to take hold of Ronnie Ann’s hair while she handled the robot. Ronnie Ann pulled at XJ-4’s antenna while the robot pulled on Ronnie Ann’s face as the ground came up fast.

“You better wash out that mouth of yours!” XJ-4 exclaimed. “This place needs cleaning and I NEED to do it!”

XJ-4 slammed straight into the ground front side down, with her taking in a majority of the impact making Ronnie Ann land safely. Dozens of her parts flew everywhere as her body got mangled from the impact, although surprisingly her head remained operational and awake.

Lincoln and Brian looked like they just got off of the wildest rollercoaster in existence as Ronnie Ann took a good look at them.

“I…think I’ll ride the Milkshaker three times in a row than do those again.” Lincoln stated.

“And I thought I was used to skydiving at this point…” Brian replied as he sat up like a stiff pencil and didn’t appear to want to get out of it.

“Heheheh, you two look like you just saw a ghost or something!” Ronnie Ann said. “You ready to finally be done with this?”

“YES!” Lincoln and Brian exclaimed. Ronnie Ann giggled before the two boys looked at each other and couldn’t help but laugh along. They really were acting like stupid cowards, but they could look back at it and enjoy how idiotic they acted.

Looking toward the source of the voice, the three of them saw the head of XJ-4, separated from her mangled body, sit upright and appear with a sense of sorrow.

“Okay…you win. As much as this place deserves every amount of intense cleaning, I’ll let this one go by JUST THIS ONCE. Don’t expect me to fold over next time you want me to hold back.”

“Don’t worry; I don’t think you will be seeing us again once you head back through that rift.” Ronnie Ann stated.

The scene started to change one final time to a completely different location. It appeared to be a well-established arcade with countless machines set in rows. The only interesting thing about this new location though was what lay in front of the tiny ones. It was the gigantic figments of both Lincoln and Ronnie Ann beginning an intense match of some dancing game, smiling and laughing at how silly they looked. The tiny Ronnie Ann and Lincoln smiled at the sight, for that was really a fun time they had at the time, with Ronnie Ann relieved that the brawl with XJ-4 ended before this ending came up. They would have had an even harder time dodging the rapid feet, for that was a very concentrated game they played there.

Once the memory ended, everyone made their way out of the memory bubble before it sealed itself back up. Even though XJ-4 was stopped and Ronnie Ann could now recover from the robot messing her mind up, she did feel a bit sorry for her. She probably had no choice but to do what she was programmed to do, and the only way to stop her from making things worse was to intervene. To make it up to XJ-4, Ronnie Ann imagined back up her complete body so she wasn’t just a head anymore, to which XJ-4 expressed her gratitude by brushing Ronnie Ann’s teeth and straightening her hair even if it was one hundred percent pointless.

The three watched as XJ-4 approached the rift she came out of as it was starting to wane.

“Well, here I go; out of this mucky world and back to my own. I’ll probably be deactivated as soon as I get back, but at least I won’t be here anymore.” XJ-4 said with a pinch of grief.

“Yeah, you really need to control those urges of yours if you EVER manage to accidentally come back here. I don’t think your strictness and dedication would bode well.” Brian said.

“Lisa would really get a field day out of seeing you though.” Lincoln mumbled.

“You better head through that rift though, for I don’t think you would want to be staying here.” Ronnie Ann said.

“As if I wanted to stay in this grimy place!” XJ-4 exclaimed. “I’m out of this dump!”

She turned around and moved over to the entrance of the rift. Before heading inside, she turned her head and took one more look back at the three.

She whirred one more time before heading inside the rift, which closed immediately upon her entry. It might take a little while to recover, but now they could say that Ronnie Ann’s mind was now cleared and back to normal.

“Well, I think I’ve had enough time invading minds for one night.” Lincoln stated. “Let’s head back to our rift and into reality.”

“Don’t leave just yet, for you two deserve something after sticking with me throughout that insanity back there. That really was rough.”

Upon getting out of the depths of Ronnie Ann’s mind and back into her dream, the figments showered the giantess with praise and thanks for saving the town yet again. Lincoln and Brian weren’t on the backburner either, for Ronnie Ann granted them nearly a dozen or so of their favorite foods across the long table. Brian lost all sense of humanity and chowed on everything while Lincoln took his time and watched Brian like he was a lost cause. Not a single static rip in the sky or on the ground, Ronnie Ann’s mind was now safe.

It wasn’t long before Lincoln and Brian had to leave before Ronnie Ann woke up, for they didn’t want to vanish from existence. With the rift back to reality in front of them and the crowds of people and the giantess Ronnie Ann behind them, it was time to bid farewell.

“Man, we’re going to have a lot to talk about with our next video chat.” Lincoln said.

“Don’t get me started with that. There was so much that happened that I’m pretty sure I’ll be missing some details when I wake up.” The giantess Ronnie Ann replied. “As always, you’re welcome back here any time. I’m sure I can pull some strings with some activities if you do.”

“I might have to convince Lisa again to use her machine, but if she lets me I’ll make sure to inform you.” Lincoln responded.

“Does that mean I’m also welcome here?” Brian asked. Ronnie Ann got on her knees and looked at Brian with a smile.

“Since you were the one that discovered the possibility of traveling here, of course you and your crazy situations can come back here too. I may be not be interacting with you while I’m awake, but this turned out to be way better.”

“Glad to know!” Brian replied. Lincoln and Brian nodded happily as the figments around them chanted and shouted with praise. Lincoln and then Brian turned around and were about to head back through the rift home before…

“I just want to say you have my support on finding out what sort of craziness is happening back at Royal Woods. I may not live there anymore, but I hope you find the answer to the entire puzzle. It may be more serious than you think, but just know that I have your back okay?”

“We won’t forget. Thanks Ronnie Ann.” Lincoln answered with a smile. Brian nodded in agreement as Ronnie Ann couldn’t help but send them off with her special phrase.

Once the two boys were spat out of the rift Lincoln fell on his face while Brian went flying and smacked into the opposing wall, luckily from a low altitude. He ended up landing in Lily’s crib, which was just waking up from it being morning. Lincoln was back to his normal size while Brian was situated back to half an inch tall. It was unfortunate for Brian that he had to still be seen as the shrunken one, making him really hope Lisa was still figuring things out for him.

“Wow that was such an awesome experience! Actually delving into Ronnie Ann’s mind and handling another rift? I actually felt like my favorite superhero!”

“Glad you enjoyed it, for those rifts seem to really enjoy being around me.” Brian replied as he brushed himself off. He had a small nosebleed from impacting with the wall, but it wasn’t serious.

Lincoln and Brian were startled as they turned around. They noticed it was Lisa sitting upright in her bed, still in her PJs but already wearing her glasses.

“As usual, your trip lasted all night so I had to catch my forty winks shortly after you disappeared inside. I assume you spent your time wisely?”

“You have no idea. It was such an great get together, including a giant Ronnie Ann, a robot, a-”

“You can state the facts once my senses reach their full potential.” Lisa interrupted. “Besides, there’s a ninety nine percent chance that our parental units are making waffles for breakfast.”

Lincoln rushed out of the room, opening and slamming the door in the hallway. Brian watched in bewilderment as Lincoln made a fool of himself this time. Since the Loud siblings were keeping Brian a secret from everyone else, he didn’t have to worry about the supposed breakfast rush and just had to wait in Lisa’s room until she smuggles some small extras for him to nibble on.

Lisa got out of bed and walked up to Lily’s crib where Brian was, wiping off some excess parts from her glasses as she looked at the shrunken kid.

“I’m going to need some more solid answers from you about what happened, for I’m certain Lincoln would be highly exaggerating some points at the table. Do you mind describing the oddities that happened when I get back with your share?”

“If you want me too, I will.” Brian replied. “Those rifts strike in the more unusual of places after all.”

“I have to thank you for hanging out with our only brother. He’s wanted to hang out with someone in the house when his friends are unavailable, and you fill in that mold nicely.”

“Thanks for the complement, although you do realize that I have to move out once I’m back to normal right?”

“I’m aware of that. I don’t think you should bring that up with my other siblings though, for after everything they have done with you…well…”

Brian could see in Lisa’s eyes what she meant. The ninth month was approaching and Lisa had been making breakthroughs in her research on him and the rifts, it was only a matter of time until the cure would be made and he would have to leave them. He knew that while he was eager to finally look at the Louds kids in the eyes they would have different thoughts, especially with some specific siblings that acted more closely to him than he thought.

“I’ll…go get your food.” Lisa stammered before taking her leave. Brian watched her as she left, but before he could think further his nosebleed began acting up. He wiped off some of the excess blood failing to see Lily curiously crawl up behind him. Once she casted a shadow over him, Brian turned around to see her as he plugged his nose.

“Oh, nice to see you are up Lily.” Brian said as her insensible eyes stared at him. “I…just have a small boo boo right now. I’ll be fine, don’t worry.”

Lily continued staring at him as Brian didn’t know what she might do next. He saw her reach out and wrap her plump fingers around him, making him slightly nervous, before suddenly putting him over her shoulder and keeping a stronghold on him.

Yet again, Lily gave Brian a warm feeling in his heart to know that she had some sense of respect to him. She must have wanted to feel responsible and help out Brian with his injury, even though it wasn’t that serious. To think she wanted to act like a big sister was pretty amusing to him, but for now he let Lily have her moment. She even began to pat him on the back like she was trying to burp her own baby. Even though this wasn’t the way to cure a nosebleed, it was nice to know that Lily felt like he was one of her siblings.

As the door to Lily’s and Lisa’s bedroom swayed shut after Lincoln swiftly opened it, a figure was shown to have been planted into the wall by it. He automatically peeled off the wall and collapsed onto the ground, dazed and confused from getting hit in the head.

He slowly got to his feet before shaking himself off. As quick as a flash, he perked up and got back into his personality.

“That was definitely an assault on a police officer! Officer Iberico will not stand for this and find the perpetrator to press charges! But first…this pig needs his fill of cookies!”

He rushed off to Lola’s and Lana’s room to snack on their stashes of the sort.

“…and I’m really sorry that I snapped your tiara in half. Please don’t be mad at me, it was an accident!”

Brian got down on his knees in front of the gigantic Lola as she sat in front of her makeup dresser looking down at the tiny boy. He got a bit reckless with Iberico’s toy police car and ran over one of Lola’s most prized tiaras, breaking it down the middle. He knew Lola treasured her tiaras over many things, so he hoped apologizing would lessen his guilt.

Lola put one of her gigantic fingers over his face to interrupt him before finishing her remark.

The walls around her room folded outward revealing a deep shade of evil blue as Brian was suddenly blown down with his back against the floor. Chains burst from the ground and bound him from moving. Suddenly hit with a wave of fear, Brian screamed as he tried to move against the chains, but they were too strong and held him tightly. Lola leered with a glint of darkness in her eyes as she had on an expression that could be described as gravely upset and heated.

“Lola, what is this?! I said that I was sorry!” Brian shouted as he was nervously breaking down.

“You should know better to NEVER mess with any of my stuff!” Lola exclaimed with a certain tone that seeped poison into Brian’s body. “Anyone who makes me this angry deserves the most dark and painful punishment with only one outcome! You brought this all on yourself!”

Brian frantically tried again and again to break out of the chains as Lola glared daggers in his direction.

“As much as I would like to have you as an appetizer, I have a better consequence deserving of you being nothing but a helpless bug.”

She stuck one of her legs out from under her long dress before holding her light pink heel over Brian’s helpless body, back heel against the ground. It hovered over him like a grim guillotine, making Brian more desperate to save his own life. No matter how much he tried though, the chains kept him in place. His heart raced as he felt his body go hollow, this was how it was all going to end.

“PLEASE LOLA, NOT LIKE THIS! I HAVE A LIFE, I HAVE A LIFE! DON’T TAKE IT AWAY FROM ME!” Brian yelled as tears poured out of his face.

“Too bad dolly, you should know to NEVER make me this angry! You will soon be nothing but a small stain against my shoe.”

Maniacal laughter from the other siblings filled his ears even though he couldn’t see them. Lola put on a diabolical smile, almost inhuman looking, as Brian yelled and screamed as he tried with all of his might to break free.

“I’ll be arriving soon Brian, and when I do, well, you better be prepared for what I have in store for everyone! HAHAHAHAHAHAH!”

The nightmares. Never have they gotten as dark and cruel the past couple of weeks. They were horrid before, he still couldn’t forget the one about the skeleton outfitted Luna having him for a snack, but these cranked it up to a whole new level. There were loose body parts, blood, and death everywhere, and Brian was a hair trigger away from breaking down.

He woke up with tears streaming down his face. Lisa and Lily were still sleeping even though the morning just came, and Brian was a scared wreck. Without even thinking, Brian carefully made his way out of his usual sleeping place from Lisa’s lab table, slowly climbed down to the ground, then hastily made his way over to Lola’s and Lana’s room. He needed to tell her about the messy nightmare he had about her and he wanted confirmation that she wouldn’t actually be that heinous to him in reality. He didn’t need to worry about the doors, he was small enough to crawl under them, but at his size it took a while to actually get into her room.

Once he made it inside he saw Lola in front of her makeup table applying the substance over her face with a powder puff while having a bunch of hair curls on her head. Lana must have slept in Lori’s bed for the night since she wasn’t in the room at the time, and Lana did tend to snore loudly as she slept which explained why Lola was up earlier than expected. Since she didn’t have to worry about noise, she had a more pleasant slumber and woke up early because of it.

Brian walked up to the giantess, who was busy looking in the mirror as she powdered herself, and stammered a bit in speech still shaken up from his nightmare.

She appeared to hear his voice as she put the powder puff on the desk and turned her chair around. She also seemed to recognize his voice immediately as she stared at the ground around her for a small bit before seeing Brian among the carpet.

“Oh, I see you have become an early bird today dolly.” Lola stated. “I’m kind of getting myself ready for the day so whatever you want from me will have to wait.”

“I…really…really…need to talk with you for a minute.” Brian stammered before racing out the last few words. Knowing that something was up, Lola got out of her seat and onto her knees for a better look at him. She raised her eyebrows upon seeing him.

“Geez, you look absolutely wrecked. You look like you just got run over by a bus.”

“Something…like that happened…” Brian sputtered as he was on the brink of breaking down. “It was so horrid…I just need to tell you about all of it…”

Brian’s entire figure was already giving Lola a sad frown. She didn’t know what it was, but for something to put her dolly into that much of a broken shell had to have been something truly frightening. She wasn’t as much of a “big sister” to him, but she had to try for him since he came to her and no one else.

Lola set Brian on her bed against one of the pillows as the miniature boy told Lola everything that happened in the dream while Lola did her hair. He broke down crying near the middle of all of it, which made Lola think he was taking it rather hard. Being the constant punching bag for incident after incident really built up the negative feelings around them, and even though the Loud siblings willingly cushion most of them, it wasn’t a perfect solution. There were going to be times where family wouldn’t solve the issue.

This went on for about ten full minutes until Brian stopped to weep to himself, and Lola couldn’t help but get taken aback at what Brian told her.

“Dang that was dark even for me. I can’t believe you have been going through this these last few days.” Lola spoke up.

“You…you wouldn’t…actually do those to me…splatter me across the floor…” Brian spluttered. Lola finished up doing her hair before walking over to her bed where Brian was. She appeared to care for what he had to tell her.

“Dolly, I would never do something as cruel and evil as ending a life. I may get angry from time to time, but I would never take it that far.”

“…thanks…for the confirmation…” Brian quietly replied as more tears came down his face. This time Lola unhappily frowned before doing something unthinkable and smacking Brian across the face with one of her fingers.

“Buck up Brian, it’s all over! You really need to keep it together for once!”

Brian sat stunned at what Lola just did. She went from caring mother to heavy drill sergeant just like that, and to do an offensive action of slapping him across the face was somewhat of an unladylike thing for her to do. This would have made Brian more sorrowful for himself, but for the action to come from Lola of all people really surprised him.

“You really need to change that attitude of yours. You just keel over and yield to any sort of dire incident and leave it to us to provide the comfort for you, and while we do help out, we aren’t going to be with you twenty four seven. You will need to take one for yourself and get over it on your own, for life ain’t all sunshine and rainbows…as much as I would ADORE that sort of thing. I have gotten over so many trials on my own with no help whatsoever, and if I can do it you can to. Stop bellyaching for once and get back to the dolly everyone knows and loves with your own strength.”

As much as he didn’t want to accept it, Lola did have a point. He DID tend to crawl into the corners of his mind and weep any time something happened to him. It was so one noted he failed to even think about going through with it and deal with it personally. For that advice to come from Lola really was unexpected, but he could understand where she was coming from. She went to dozens of pageants with no sweat, there had to have been some where she ended up losing in the end. She had to have dealt with the feelings at some point and gotten over it, so it would be reasonable for him to overcome the intense feelings when he goes through similar situations. It might take a while, for he wasn’t expecting to go through it overnight, but there was a goal at the end and he knew that he had the ability to reach it.

He wiped some sogginess from his face and calmed down somewhat. He was still out of it, but Lola’s strong words did help.

“…I’ll…I’ll keep that in mind.” Brian said with some less frequent stutters than before. “Thanks for listening out on me.”

“What’s a princess for without her loving dollys?” Lola responded. “Just to reiterate, I would never act as dark as I was in your nightmare. I may get a little spiteful when something makes me mad, but I never consider death as an option.”

Brian couldn’t help but crack a small smile at the way Lola was trying to soothe him in an aggressive way. He could see Lynn and MAYBE Lisa do the same thing if they had the chance, but it wasn’t completely out of character for Lola to do it like that as well.

Lola took Brian to Leni’s room upon telling her about his errand for Leni. Once that was settled, Brian carefully stood still on her bed while Leni took note of certain measurements and amounts of fabric needed. She needed Brian for measurements since he was running out of good clothes to wear, and she tended to humorously miss by a wide margin when making clothes for his size. She didn’t mind making clothes for him, she usually got pretty excited when making clothes for her family, and even though Brian wasn’t related to her, he stayed with the family long enough for her to consider him part of it. She may be the stupid one of the house, but she had her specialties.

She kept her head close to the bed as she carefully looked over things as Brian, with arms wide, stood still as her model.

“I got your figure all written down nicely. Do you mind if I use wild purple and blue for your next shirt? I am so totes eager to see you in those colors.”

“If you think that would be nice than go for it.” Brian replied in agreement.

“Eeeeh, thank you small guy!” Leni exclaimed with glee. “I got the fabrics right here, so if you could stay still for just a little longer…”

“I’m fine with that.” Brian stated. Leni cut off a small piece of the aforementioned fabric before putting her face near the bed and slowly moving the fabric around Brian’s tiny body for more size calculations. It was only a quick moment as Leni happily nodded her head before putting the fabric to the side so she could get out the scissors.

The door swung open completely by surprise as a baseball sailed straight through the air. Brian and Leni only had a split second to even notice it before it went right into their face. Since the baseball was way bigger than him, Brian’s entire body was smacked against the ball plowing straight through him, and with him still stuck to the ball bopped Leni right in the face, sending them to the floor.

Lynn and Lincoln, with the boy wearing a baseball glove over his right hand, ran into the room to see the damage, with Lynn not exactly happy.

“Oh my gosh, are you okay Leni?! We’re so sorry!” Lincoln replied. Lynn had something else on her mind.

“I do, it’s just that I wanted to do this outside!” Lincoln responded. “Stuff like this happens when done indoors!”

“Well you were being such a wuss with my pitch.” Lynn said. “Ugh, fine. Let’s just do this outside and forget that is ever happened.”

“Can we at least check Leni first?!” Lincoln stated. He walked up to the unconscious Leni who had the baseball jammed on her forehead, making him cringe. He was about to pick up the ball when…

He heard Leni groan as she slowly woke up. Lincoln backed up at first to give Leni some room as she slowly recovered from the blow to her head. She was dazed, but wasn’t seriously hurt. Lincoln helped her get back up as the baseball fell to the floor, revealing her forehead. It was upon seeing what was on her forehead now that got Lynn and Lincoln surprised.

“Geez, that almost did a number on me.” Leni said as she shook herself awake before seeing Lynn’s and Lincoln’s shocked faces. “Ooh, are you two playing freeze tag? I call being it!”

“No Leni, it’s what ON your forehead.” Lincoln replied. “It’s…it’s…”

Lynn and Lincoln were happy to see Brian slowly stir awake amongst what happened, but were still unnerved over what was going on. The tiny boy tried rubbed his eyes and moved his feet as he tried to get off from the floor, but oddly something kept him from moving on the spot. He tried pulling harder, but his back refused to separate. At this point his vision fully cleared, only to see himself looking down Lincoln and Lynn at a higher scale. This was also weird, for he didn’t feel any bigger than before.

“What is it?! WHAT IS ON MY FOREHEAD?!” he heard Leni’s voice echo through his ears. Brian was confused; for something was going on that he was unaware of. It wasn’t until his vision moved on its own and immediately set on a vanity mirror where everything came together.

There everyone was, all of the remaining Loud siblings including Lynn and Lincoln, looking at the two in shock at what happened. The shrunken boy was trapped and immobile smack right in the middle of the ditzy sibling’s forehead, and both were unimpressed. Brian and Leni tried earlier to separate from each other, but whatever was holding the two together had to be a strong adhesive since nothing came close to success. At least Brian could freely move his arms and legs; it was just his back that was stuck firmly.

“Wow, that’s literally one of the most awkward things I’ve seen.” Lori said.

“I’m getting jitters just looking at it.” Luna stated. “You two are okay right?”

“We are, except we’re stuck tight and can’t separate!” Brian said. “Did you have to throw that baseball Lynn?!”

“How many times to have to say it? I’m SORRY!” Lynn answered with some irritation. “I didn’t know it would waltz right in here!”

“Well I can’t walk around with Brian stuck to my face!” Leni said. “I have some fashion magazines to go through and even I need my privacy!”

“What kind of sticky thing would be that strong anyway?” Lincoln asked. “Not even the strongest glue would be that successful in keeping stuff together.”

The other Louds looked at Leni like she just went crazy not that would be completely out of character for her to do.

“I was doing my makeup as usual in the mornings when I found this sweet smelling perfume near my bed. It really was totes great for my skin.”

She went over to her dresser and picked up the bottle of the supposed perfume. It looked normal enough, about the same size as regular perfume bottle with the recognizable spray part on top, and it was pink, the girl color of choice. However, there was no label on it, an obvious sign that it wasn’t what it seemed. This was coming from Leni though, and if there was anyone that was as oblivious to ignore the signs, it would be her.

“I don’t think this would be the perfume you are looking for.” Lisa said. “It appears to be a sort of epoxy resin with an exponential success ratio. I might need some time to look over a specimen like this.”

“You think a rift dumped it here? They have been getting more common after all.” Brian asked.

“That’s highly likely.” Lisa replied. “Either way, I could probably whip up some sort of separator with enough time.”

“So you’re saying me and Leni are stuck like this until then?!” Brian exclaimed.

“That’s unfortunately the case.” Lisa grimly answered. “On the bright side, this is almost like you surviving at the tiny size you’re at now. I think you will be able to survive with Leni for a little longer.”

That statement may have provided some logic, but that didn’t make Brian feel any better. If he was stuck to any other sibling it would have no problems, but Leni was a different case. Her special “states of mind” nearly got him killed twice already, and they tended to make more trouble than solve any. She could go off course at any time into the unknown and this time he would be part of the ride.

“But I can’t go looking for stage thingys looking like this! We can’t let Brian be seen remember?”

“Wait, stage thingys? Is someone doing a play or something?” Brian asked. The Loud siblings, minus Leni since she couldn’t see him, confusingly looked at him.

“It’s next month. Nobody informed you about it?” Lana asked. Brian shook his head which luckily wasn’t stuck against Leni’s forehead. Luna then came forward.

“I got a gig at our school, for me and Sam actually finished up that song we were carefully working on! Everyone has already been working on setting up the stage and everything, for there’s still some work to be done even with the concert being a month away, but me and Sam are getting amped up to perform for our school! It would be rockin’ if you could come and cheer us on!”

That revelation was a bright spot to the trouble going on. To think that it was only sometime after he was forced to stay overnight with Luna’s best friend that they would finally finish up the lyrics, but wanting to perform it immediately sounded like a rush, but he knew Luna had the dedication to make it work. If only he wasn’t currently stuck to Leni he would give his congrats, but he said something else anyway.

“Wow, that’s great that you finally got down to finishing that, you know I’ll have to be there to give my support…if anyone could find me a good place to hide. Can’t be seen you know?”

“We can easily have that handled.” Lori stated. “We’re still setting things up and we still have some time to pass until then.”

“But I can’t get Brian off my forehead!” Leni said. “I don’t want to go out looking like a freak from the circus!”

Lori took the van with Leni in the passenger’s seat. Even though the weather was getting colder since it was the latter half of the year, it wasn’t extremely frigid yet. This made the fluffy black and white striped snow hat Leni was wearing a bit out of place, but it was the only way the siblings could cover Brian from everyone else. This put Brian in a veil of darkness and made him feel like he was being cooked alive with how hot it was under there. Thankfully there was a small gap between a line of string on the hat that Brian could peek through and see outside. He really hoped Lisa would hurry up and find a way to dislodge him from Leni, for it was already very awkward being stuck to the dumb one of the family. It also covered him in a shadow of terror at what sort of mindless blunders she might put him through thanks to her idiocy. He would have been perfectly fine if it was anyone else, but Leni? She was an accident waiting to happen and he didn’t like it.

Once Lori dropped Leni off at the entrance to the mall, she expressed a crack worry before driving off. It was now only Leni and the concealed Brian.

“Okay Leni, the sooner we get this over with the sooner we can get back. You got the list?” Brian asked.

“I do. Everything is written very nicely.” Leni replied. “Don’t worry about me, I’m an expert shopper.”

“Whatever you say…” Brian thought. Leni made her way through the revolving doors into the main hub of Royal Woods’ Mall before looking down at the list. Poster paper was the first item listed, and Leni knew where they were kept. She was about to walk into the art portions when a certain advertisement caught her eye on the wall.

His words never reached her as she was already bolting off to the girls’ clothes section. The wind rushed into his face as Leni practically turned into a cheetah just for the clothes, and Brian was in for the ride. Once she got to the section she stopped on a dime as Brian almost lurched forward from the inertia, which unfortunately wasn’t enough to pry him off Leni’s forehead but gave him a mouthful of string fuzz that he had to spit out.

“These sweatshirts look dazzling! It would look totes great on me.” Leni said. “Ooh, I can’t pick just one! Brian, which of these would you pick? I can totally like see you in the one up top!”

“Anything that would get us back on track.” Brian remarked. Leni was as oblivious as always and picked up a well packed one before putting it in one of her shopping bags. After picking out some other clothes that she couldn’t help picking up as well, she headed to the checkout line holding two full bags of cute clothes she could wear.

She waited for the clerk to accept her payment when a plump white male wearing a backwards cap walked up to her. Brian didn’t know who he was, but Leni did.

“Oh, hi Chaz, and yes these clothes are for me.” Leni replied. “I couldn’t help it with the blue sweatshirt discount.”

“I can see that.” Chaz said. “Blue seems to be your lucky color after all.

“You think so?” Leni asked. “I usually look over more colors than just one. It brings out your looks.”

“So you do multiple colors then? Chaz likes!” Chaz responded. He put on a smile before looking up at the striped cap Leni was wearing. Thankfully he couldn’t see Brian underneath it peeking out from a gap in the fabric.

“Oh this old thing?” Leni answered. “It might not be cold yet, but stylish winter hats are totes trending right now.”

The clerk at the desk finished with Leni’s purchases as he handed Leni her bags, all accounted and paid for. With that, Leni had to leave to actually go to the sections with the objects that were on the list, but she gave Chaz one more statement.

“Sweet! I’ll go get myself on of those caps right now!” Chaz said as he ran off to the hat section. Brian, who stayed silent the whole time so he wouldn’t get noticed, just watched in awe at the carelessness of one of Leni’s friends. There were still some things, despite having stayed with them for slightly over half a year, that he didn’t know about the Loud siblings that he was going to have to know of later.

He heard Leni speak to him after carrying her bags back to the main area of the mall. He was happy that she didn’t forget about him after the sudden detour, but not completely since he was still stuck to her underneath her hat.

“I’m well.” Brian replied. “Are you finally ready to get down on that list? It’s already getting stuffy in here.”

“Yup, I’m now keen on getting this list done!” Leni responded. “The first item, this poster paper I think, should only be a short walk away. I’ve been through this place, so I know where I’m going.”

“I really hope you aren’t just saying things.” Brian stated. With her two bags, Leni took off to the back section of the mall at a regular pace. This lifted a burden off Brian since he didn’t need to worry about sting fuzz getting in his mouth from any fast movement, making him faintly relaxed for once.

True to Leni’s word, it was only a short while before they reached the back sections of the mall. She had to pay attention to which aisle indicated the right material, but once she found it there was no further trouble. The poster paper was easy to spot thanks to the large labels, so Leni stuffed it into an empty bag before looking up the next item on the list.

“Watercolor paint.” Leni read. She stood confused while Brian looked down at the list himself, which wasn’t too easy through the gap in Leni’s hat he was looking through.

“Well this should be easy. Water is blue colored after all, so all I need is blue paint!”

“That’s not the actual meaning.” Brian responded. “It’s a kind of paint that’s mixed with water, hence the name.”

“Not that kind of color, it’s just paint mixed with water! It doesn’t mean that it’s always colored blue!”

“Then what is water’s actual color? Then I can know what watercolor actually is!”

“UGH!” Brian exclaimed. He was in the situation he didn’t want to come across in the first place and the main reason that he would prefer ANY other sister to be stuck to. Leni took Brian’s frustration as a time he wanted to himself so she headed down the aisle, being silent so she wouldn’t disturb him, to the designated area with the paint. She failed to notice a loose can of paint on the floor and accidentally tripped over it backwards. She fortunately landed on her behind and nothing bad happened, but it just made Brian angrier than he was.

“What’s your deal Brian? You have been being so stubborn since we came here! We won’t be finding that water colored paint at this rate!”

Brian instinctively realized his blunder and covered his mouth with a shocked face, even though Leni couldn’t see it.

The two decided to talk privately in one of the mall’s bathrooms. Once Leni took a stall for herself, she sat on the toilet before taking off her hat, revealing the stuck Brian underneath. She got out her makeup compact so both of them could see each other’s face in the small mirror as they talked. Brian knew there was no way out of it after that outburst so he explained the troubles he kept in the back of his head ever since he got stuck to her. Leni looked pretty sad as the words escaped his mouth.

“…and that’s everything. I’m sorry if I offended you, I just really didn’t want to get affected.”

“It’s okay, I understand the nervousness you must have felt.” Leni replied. “I do tend to get things messed up even further, and I know how common that happens. Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?”

“I guess…I just didn’t want to make our situation worse and make you feel bad. You are so bubbly and up tempo…I didn’t want negatives impacting you.”

Leni formed a small heartwarming smile and gave Brian a few taps on the head. She was confused for a moment from the reflection before figuring it out.

“I may be both of those feelings, but it’s not worth it if something bad happens to someone I care about. I may think things differently than most people, but I have things up there than just air you know. I still understand things just like you.”

“That doesn’t excuse the possible dangers that I will be along for if you do something with those smarts of yours.”

“Tell you what, I’ll take things more slowly for the rest of this shopping trip and listen to you more thoroughly. Will that make you feel better?”

Leni was really giving him her most heartfelt apologies. Underneath her less than average smarts was someone who really cared for others around her, making Brian more down about his outburst from earlier. He and Leni weren’t perfect and had their faults, but they knew when to accept them and gave the two more confidence to admit it.

“I…I would really like that…” Brian replied. “I really should have told you earlier how I felt. I’m so terribly sorry…”

“It’s perfectly fine. At least you got the courage to speak up about it.” Leni said. “You think you’re ready to help finish off this list?”

“Yes, I’m ready.” Brian replied. With that response, Leni nodded before closing her makeup compact and putting the winter hat back on her head to conceal Brian.

She opened the stall and made her way out of the bathroom. Just as she left, the stall next to her opened up revealed a rather disturbed girl around the same age as Leni, who apparently listened out on everything.

Leni stuck to her word and took it easier so Brian wouldn’t panic as much. He quietly whispered to her descriptions of some of the listed items that she got easily confused over, including the watercolor paper, which made progression very smooth. In no time with the two cooperating they raced down the list and got to the bottom in no time flat. This made Leni a bit surprised at how good they were doing with the newly agreed setup. While she normally had a knack for shopping and rushed through things without thinking, this new method made her think twice about what she was buying. It was slower by a small margin, but it was more accurate than going in blindly. Brian did see a couple of items on the shelf fizzle a bit before vanishing completely, another reminder that the reality around them was getting more unstable as the rifts dumped things here.

With bags in her hands, Leni walked out of the mall satisfied that everything on the list was accounted for and bought.

“Now that was a successful shopping trip!” Leni said. “It was totes great for you to help out.”

“It wasn’t much, but I’m glad I got to assist.” Brian replied. “Hopefully Lisa made something to separate us by now.”

“Leni, I don’t think you would want me stuck to your forehead for the rest of your life, especially once I get back to regular size.” Brian replied. They saw Lori’s car drive up to pick them up as Leni opened the door before stuffing the bags inside and took a spot in the passenger’s seat.

“Yup, got everything to a T, although I don’t think everything on the list has that letter.” Leni replied.

“She kind of needed some reality checks here and there if you know what I mean.” Brian stated. To better see him, Lori lifted up a portion of Leni’s hat so he was fully exposed and didn’t have to peek through gaps.

“She got some extras didn’t she?” Lori asked with a hint of disappointment. “Can’t say I’m surprised, she has a knack for fashion after all.”

“I ‘m pretty sure you knock on a door Lori, not knack.” Leni replied. Brian and Lori sighed at her stupidity before Leni’s phone suddenly went off. Leni picked it up before seeing who was calling, only to discover that it was just a text message, but it was who was sending the text that got the three interested.

“Krazy_Kelly: I’m at your house. We need to talk about your ‘sticky’ situation NOW.”

“Looks like Kelly decided to come back for once…wherever she was.” Brian stated. “For her to want us back this instant has to be pretty serious.”

“Ooh, I call stylizing that huge busty hair of hers! She really needs a total makeover after all.” Leni said.

Kelly wasn’t the happiest girl when the three got back. All of the siblings gathered in Lori’s and Leni’s room, the place they usually go to for sibling meetings, as Kelly sat near the makeup table with her arms crossed. The parents were currently out which meant an easy cover, but that didn’t make Kelly any less upset.

“So a portal opens up to my world and you DIDN’T TELL ME?!” Kelly exclaimed.

“What are you talking about?” Lynn asked. “We have no idea where those holes initially connect to!”

“Then explain Sticky McGee over there!” Kelly exclaimed as she pointed to the stuck Leni and Brian.

“Who’s Sticky McGee? I don’t her anywhere!” Leni said as oblivious as always.

“She’s talking about us Leni.” Brian explained before getting to Kelly. “Anyway, what about us are so important?”

Kelly reached over and picked up the pink perfume bottle Leni used earlier that got them in the mess in the first place, shoving it immediately outward so everyone could see.

“That’s my perfume bottle. If you wanted me to do your face you could have just asked.” Leni said, still completely oblivious to the entire situation.

“This ISN’T a perfume bottle you klutz!” Kelly shouted. “It’s a highly concentrated form of adhesive that’s used in my dimension for construction work and keeping the mouths of dragons shut! IT CAN NEVER UNSTICK SOMETHING ONCE YOU PUT IT ON!”

“There are dragons where you come from?!” Lana exclaimed with a bit of excitement. “I’ll gladly follow you back to your dimension!”

“Wait, how did you know about this in the first place?” Luan asked. Kelly didn’t even waste a moment as she whipped out her personal cellphone, which looked very similar to Lori’s and Leni’s, and showed front and center a certain photo plastered on the screen. It was a very obvious picture of Leni, on her social media account, showing herself applying the substance over her face with a gleeful smile.

“Ohhhhhh, I was meaning to delete that since one of my eyes blinked.” Leni said. Kelly wasn’t taking it kindly.

“THIS showed up in my inbox earlier today. I thought at first it was just some social stuff until I recognized what substance you were putting on in the picture. Urrgh, if I was any wiser I would be back in my home dimension right now!”

“I’ll have you know that I have been working on an antiadhesive to negate the effects of the gel.” Lisa stated. “I may be able to figure it out-”

“Save it, there’s already something for separation purposes.” Kelly interrupted.

“Once it was found out that the gel was being misused a cure had to be made to undo the damage. It’s a type of spray that all you need to do is apply to the afflicted areas and it will do the rest. Lucky for you I just so happen to have one with me at all times in case some prankster…you know what I mean.”

“Well that’s great; this fiasco can finally be over with a simple spray!” Brian exclaimed. “You think you can let us borrow it?”

Nearly all of the Louds’, plus Brian’s, jaws nearly hit the floor. That bushy looking hair wasn’t just for show; it actually had its uses. Considering her ex-boyfriend set himself up inside there, it should have been obvious to them.

“It really isn’t, but I can’t actually reach back and get it with just my arms. You’re going to have to go in and get it yourselves.”

“You’re saying…that we actually have to go…INSIDE your hair to get it?!” Lucy said in disbelief.

“Ummmm, yeah?” Kelly confusingly replied. “Creatures go in there all of the time; it’s not that big of a deal.”

“Well somebody is going to have to come with me and Brian for backup purposes.” Leni stated.

The rest of the Loud girls quickly touched their noses so they wouldn’t have to go in, and as usual Lincoln was the one that touched his last, making him the one that had to go in as backup.

“Dang it.” Lincoln quietly said to himself. With all of it said and done, Kelly nodded before turning around with her large bushy light green hair facing all of them. Leni, Lincoln, and Brian cringed as they walked up to the wad of hair.

“This is like going to be one of the most awkward situations I have ever had to deal with.” Leni said.

“As if the situation you’re with me right now isn’t awkward enough?” Brian asked. Lincoln reached out and grabbed a clump of hair, still not looking forward to going inside.

“Man, I’m going to have some really uncomfortable thoughts when I go-AAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!”

He suddenly found himself tumbling before disappearing inside Kelly’s hair. The other Louds turned to the source only to see that it was an impatient Lynn who pushed him in there. She appeared snarky and unashamed with a very conspicuous look upwards.

The three of them were almost lost in a sea of Kelly’s grassy hair as they nearly had to pull multiple strands away to not be obstructed. Brian got the short end of the stick most of the time as Leni pulled strands out of her face. Any sort of strand would automatically hit Brian instead of Leni, and while it didn’t hurt badly it was very annoying to him. Just treading through the brush around them gave all three of them shivers as they were treading through Kelly’s giant bust of hair after all. They had to give props to the siblings that kept their hair short and sweet; they didn’t have to deal with anything getting stuck in them.

After a few minutes of treading through the clumps of hair a clearing was reached. It almost felt like a hollowed cave with a large tuft of Kelly’s hair acting as a ceiling, but there was light throughout the room for easy vision. There were a few pictures hanging on the hairy walls and a few empty bags of various junk foods over the floor.

“Wow, someone’s actually living in here.” Lincoln said as he looked at the empty bags. “As if I needed more reasons to get goosebumps over my back, this place is a dump.”

“We need to find that separator STAT.” Leni said. “I already want to forget ever doing this.”

“We ALL want to forget this Leni.” Brian replied. The three continued forward before hearing some low pitched chatter from around the corner. Lincoln peeked first before Leni did, consequently bringing Brian along. They saw another clearing over the corner, and while it appeared similar to the previous one, it was also different. Not only were there more pictures over the walls, but also a large rainbow carpet over the floor and a crisp HDTV against the wall near the three. On the opposite end was a large green cushy couch with two others sitting on it. One was easily recognizable, Kelly’s similar bushy ex-boyfriend Tad, but the other was not. It looked like some sort of large brown teddy bear but its round ears were on the sides of its head instead of the top. The fact that there was one of those infamous rifts next to the couch gave the impression that it must have come out of it, but unlike most things the Louds and Brian see come out of them the bear didn’t seem hostile, it was just calmly chatting away with Tad on the couch.

“…and then he calls me to his desk and says ‘Hey, you’re the winner!’ to me. I got a rotten pack of sardines that day, blech!”

“I feel ya there.” The bear replied with a heavy British accent. “I lost me’ arm once and almost replaced it with a monster claw. Lucky for me that didn’t happen.”

“Man, we’re so alike in many ways. If you hook up with that triceratops again I’ll take it off your hands.”

The teddy bear and Tad were taken by surprise when Lincoln, Leni, and Brian entered the room. The two on the couch took a few glances at each other before Tad spoke up.

“As much as we would have to deal with that rift, we have a different problem.” Lincoln said.

“Phew, then I don’t have to explain too much! To make a long story short, rift appeared, this guy popped out, we started chatting, and that’s it. He’s not dangerous or anything, he just wanted company.”

“It’s true, Tad’s a nice guy!” the teddy bear chimed in. “The name’s Threadbear by the way.”

“It’s nice to meet you!” Leni said as she happily shook hands with him. Lincoln and Brian stood by as Tad asked the predictable question.

“Say, how did you even get in here in the first place?! My babe doesn’t just let anyone in here!”

“I thought Kelly said that she broke up with you.” Brian said. “Besides, she let us in here because of what Leni and I are currently in right now.”

Tad got up from the couch and leaned in closer to Brian for a better look. He frowned upon what he saw.

“You got mixed up with that specialized paste didn’t you? It must have been pretty messy having to be stuck on that girl’s forehead.”

“That’s an understatement.” Brian replied. “Kelly said that she had the spray to separate us in here. I assume you know where it is from staying in here?”

“Little guy, I practically know where everything in my babe’s hair is. This won’t take long.”

Tad slowly turned towards Threadbear with a frown, which was likewise equally expressive.

“Sorry Threadbear, but I have to take this. You think you will be okay going back to your dimension?”

“Oy, I had to go through many similar cases. I won’t forget you though, and maybe we’ll meet again.” Threadbear replied. Tad smiled and nodded as Threadbear got off the couch and walked up to the rift. He took one more step further before the rift sucked him in before vanishing completely.

Tad leaded the group through the jungles of Kelly’s hair to the spot where he thought his ex-girlfriend hid it. The others weren’t as enthusiastic with the whole trek through, still grossed out over the place. There were a few times where they came across a bald spot or a few grey hairs every so often which Tad instructed to NEVER tell Kelly about. They saw Kelly angry earlier, but Tad explained to never make her furious if you valued your life.

“I know it’s somewhere around here. I had to get some hair wax here once to glisten myself after all.” Tad explained. “Why don’t you each take a spot and search there?”

“Wait, we’re going to have to MANUALLY search more through this disgusting hair?!” Leni exclaimed. “No way, I’m not doing it!”

“First off, you’re kind of offending me since I have the same type of hair as my babe.” Tad responded. “And second, do you want to be separated from your tiny human or not? That spray is the only way to do it and it’s somewhere here.”

“I don’t think we really have a choice here.” Brian said, still on her forehead. Leni was very uncomfortable for what she had to do. She was no Lana when it came to looking through weird places like this, but it was the only way to finding the spray to separate her from Brian.

With the plan set, each one, except for Brian since he was stuck to Leni, went in opposite directions through the hair. Lincoln took the left, Leni went to the right, and Tad headed up north. Lincoln and Tad got okay searches, but Leni had some trouble with hers. She got constantly distracted by every little thing she found including an old hairbrush and even a fully covered powder puff, which Leni tested on her face that got Brian covered at the same time. If it wasn’t for Brian keeping her on track she probably would have forgot what she was doing at some point.

After a decent amount of time, everyone met up for updates on their progress. Lincoln had a big stupid grin on his face while Tad looked absolutely tuckered out.

“Phew, you two had any luck?” Tad asked. Lincoln came up first and pulled out what looked to be a certain comic book.

“I can’t believe it! You had one of the special Ace Savvy Limited Edition: Clubs Folds issues?! They are some of the rarest Ace Savvy comics in the whole world!”

“Oh, that thing?” Tad said. “I found that during my pile diving at the graveyard. You can have it if you want.”

“SWEET! I can’t wait to tell Clyde!” Lincoln said with joy as he stuffed the comic away. There was a more pressing matter at hand though.

“That’s dandy but did you see the separator spray at any point?” Brian asked. Lincoln’s face went stagnant before he shook his head.

“Sorry, I didn’t see anything. I didn’t exactly look deep enough since searching through Kelly’s hair is…you know.”

“Well I didn’t have any luck either.” Tad said. “What about you Leni?”

“Unfortunately I didn’t see it. I did find some totes great stuff though, like this really cute box!”

She pulled out a bright pink wooden box with a strong lock on it. Lincoln cocked an eyebrow, but Tad was surprised.

“Wait, that’s where my babe keeps all of her personal stuff! Put that back, PUT THAT BACK!”

“There’s a chance that there might be something in there, especially that separating spray.” Lincoln stated. “Maybe just a quick peek to be safe, you never know.”

Tad bit the bottom of his lip as the others waited for an answer. If they were to open the box, Kelly would never take him back. She was already on the edge to kick him out, and going through her personal stuff would solidify that choice. However, there was a chance that the spray would be in there, and Leni and Brian really needed it or they would be stuck forever. He did have a sort of relationship with these new people, but Kelly was someone too…

“Well……I guess it wouldn’t hurt for a small peek.” Tad spoke up. “You have the key to unlock it?”

“Darn, she must have hid it.” Tad replied. “Guess we can’t open it after all, so maybe we-”

Tad stood confused on what Leni meant while Lincoln knew what she was talking about. She fiddled through her hair for a bit before coming up empty.

“Oh, I don’t seem to have any bobby pins with me. Sorry, that was how I wanted to open it.”

“Well that’s just great!” Brian exclaimed. He crossed his arms and folded his feet as Lincoln and Tad were equally as upset. As unorthodox as it suddenly came, Leni came up with a secondary plan.

“Your hands just might be small enough to fit into the lock and manually open it. It’s a long stretch, but it just might work.”

If Brian could see Leni’s face right now, he would be looking at her like she was crazy. He was no locksmith, and if he messed up the blame would go to him. Too bad he didn’t get a say in the matter as Leni automatically moved her head over to the lock so Brian could access it. Lincoln’s and Tad’s eyes were now on Brian, it was up to him. Brian groaned under his breath, this wasn’t go to go by nicely. He reached inside the lock and felt for any sort of specific parts. After feeling something bulging out, Brian knew he got something. He tinkered with the inner machinations of the lock for a bit, for something was bound to happen at this point. With one final push, a sharp click was heard, startling Brian since he wasn’t expecting it. Leni smiled as she lifted her head back up, and with one motion the top of the box opened up. Tad and Lincoln gasped, they didn’t think Leni of all people would figure it out, but she really diverted their expectations.

“I told you I have more in my head than just air.” Leni stated. Even though he couldn’t see her face, Brian knew she was right even if she was reiterating a point from earlier. Everyone crowded around the box to see its contents, and lo and behold, a spray bottle sat right near the top.

“Yup, that’s definitely the separator spray!” Tad stated. “Not sure why she would keep it in here, but I guess I have more to learn about my babe than I thought.”

Leni picked up the spray and was about to squirt it over Brian when Tad said something.

“Point taken.” Brian replied. Doing what Tad advised, Leni eagerly sprayed the concoction over Brian and the spaces around her forehead. It started off subtle at first, but then it became more obvious. White smoke began to emit from Brian’s backside as a sizzling sound followed after, but it wasn’t hurting either Leni or Brian. The process took about ten seconds before Brian felt himself fall away from Leni’s forehead. Leni was already on it though, for the instant he started falling from her forehead she caught him in an instant. The others looked down at the tiny boy in her hands as he flipped over to see their smiling faces. He was no longer stuck to Leni.

“Yeah it was.” Leni replied. “I feel like I got to know you a bit better in that time. Kind of makes me wish you were still stuck to me for a little while longer.”

“Heh, only you could say something like that.” Brian stated as he smiled back.

Lincoln, Leni, and Brian all fell out of Kelly’s hair after following Tad’s instructions. Leni almost went face first into Lori’s bed while Lincoln and Brian practically tasted the carpet.

All three of them got to their feet to only to notice that Kelly was speaking to them. She thankfully didn’t move from her spot while they were in her hair, so once they came out they noticed that they were back in Lori’s and Leni’s room. However, while Kelly was still present, none of the other Loud siblings were in the room, they all appeared to have left.

“Kelly, you REALLY need a total hair makeover. You have no idea what we saw in that bush of a hair you have!”

“You have your sights and I have mine. I told you that it’s more than just a pretty sight, so I’ll be keeping my hair that way thank you very much!”

“I do have to thank you for helping us get unstuck.” Brian said. “I don’t know what would have happened if you didn’t tell us about what was actually going on.”

“By the way, where did all of my other sisters go? Why did they just leave?” Lincoln asked.

“Apparently that small pig toy your family took in drove by in that small car of his, and he just so happened to have a newly refilled cookie jar strapped to the back. I’m not sure why, but your sisters went crazy once they saw it and ran out the door after it, well, except for the smart one since I’m forcing her to summon the one rift that brought me here with that contraption of hers. I couldn’t follow them since I still had you in my hair, but I heard some really tough roughhousing in the hallway followed by some really strange groans. I think they must have gotten the jar and ate all of the contents.”

“Well that’s my sisters for ya.” Lincoln said. “It must have been chocolate chip cookies for them to act like that, they love their chocolate.”

“Sorry Leni, but I think your other sisters ate them all for them to be groaning in the hallway.” Kelly explained.”

“Awwwwwwwwww!” Leni remarked as her head drooped down along with her arms. Lincoln and Brian watched with flat faces.

“See what I mean?” Lincoln said. With the trouble now settled, Kelly walked over to the bedroom window to go back into hiding outside when a ringing noise was heard. It was Kelly’s phone, so she picked it up and answered it.

“Hello…oh Star, thank goodness you called, I…what…is something wrong…just give it to me straight…”

Whatever she was hearing over the phone wasn’t pretty as she dipped in tone. Thanks to the info on multiple dimensions he learned from Lisa, he knew exactly who the “Star” character was, but he knew Leni wouldn’t catch on despite her watching the show regularly. Lisa also outfitted Kelly’s phone with the same dimensional prototype that gave her the ability to send and receive messages from other dimension just in case. The others sat in silence so they wouldn’t interrupt anything as Kelly talked.

Her face became a ghost as her pupils almost disappeared into the horizon. Her phone dropped to the ground, simultaneously ending the call immediately. She rattled all over as her support fell through, making her collapse onto Lori’s bed.

“Oh my gosh, KELLY!” Leni exclaimed. She hastily picked up Brian as she and Lincoln went over to the bed, getting worried in an instant. Leni set Brian near Kelly’s face as they struggled to know what just happened to her.

“Kelly, what’s going on?! What did you hear over the phone?!” Brian anxiously asked. Kelly wasn’t talking; she had a face that was drained of all life.

“If you don’t speak up we can’t help you out! What is it?!” Lincoln stated in panic.

It was then that they heard Kelly started mumbling. It was nearly soundless, but the words were clear.

The others could only stand in shock as Kelly dug her face into Lori’s pillow and wept bitterly. Her dimension was totaled, and now she had nothing left. This made the others nervous to speak to her since any mishap would upset her even further. Brian reminded himself of the pep talk Lola told him about earlier, and even though he was still trying to find the courage himself he needed to start somewhere. He slowly waddled up to Kelly’s face, which was still streaming waterfalls. He needed more information on what just happened.

Kelly turned to face him. He was expecting her to stay silent on the matter and want some alone time, but surprisingly she took a few sniffs, even though she didn’t have a nose, and carefully explained further.

“…no, it’s still there…but everything was destroyed…something huge with six arms…I can’t believe it had to happen!”

“Did anyone…you know, uhhhhhh…die?” Lincoln stuttered, still nervous to speak to Kelly. She shook her head through her tears.

“Everyone was safely evacuated…but now I don’t know what to think anymore…where do I go now…it could take years to-”

“I mean, you survived being outside since you came here, so I think you can endure being here a little bit longer until your place recovers. Besides, I can’t ditch a friend in need. You were lucky to end up in our dimension and not some very bad one. In fact, the hole that brought you here pretty much saved you from dealing with whatever just rampaged through your world, and that’s a totes great blessing.”

Lincoln and Brian practically had their mouths agape at Leni’s statements while Kelly was still shaken up but understood. They were the only ones she could really hang out with until things settle down, but she still had to stay out of sight or risk ending up in a research center.

Kelly wiped a few tears away. She still wasn’t smiling and felt greatly saddened, but a faint glimmer kept her from a complete breakdown.

“…I appreciate you looking out for me…but I’m still going to need some time to myself…sorry, I really need this…”

“Take all of the time you need, you can easily contact us remember?” Brian stated. “You may not be related to this family, but we give support when it’s needed.”

Something clicked in his mind. The words he just said were very similar to the statements the Louds say to him when he’s feeling down. He surprised himself upon saying those words; he wasn’t expecting to be on the other end of the spectrum. He almost covered his mouth upon realizing what he said, it was so unexpected to him.

Kelly slowly nodded as she opened the window to get out, with the other three crowding closely around her for support. Leni even gave Kelly a small hug for some comfort, showing how up tempo she was when these situations happen. Kelly didn’t change expressions, but the other three knew she appreciated their care and would meet up again.

Once Kelly made her leap out of the window Lincoln shut it before Lisa came into the room.

“She left early thanks to hearing about some grim news.” Lincoln stated. “We’ll tell you about it later.”

“Oh, well okay then.” Lisa answered. “I was just about to tell her that my rift machine rolled the numbers and failed to bring that specific rift back. She would have had to stay anyway due to that.”

“Good to know.” Brian said. Even with Kelly leaving, something stuck out to him about her statements. The massive size and the six arms, something didn’t stick right. He would have to tell Lisa about it and hope she could make something out of it…

“I’ll be arriving soon Brian, and when I do, well, you better be prepared for what I have in store for everyone! HAHAHAHAHAHAH!”

Brian set his eyes on the piece of cake under the glass casing. His face plastered over the glass with his mouth agape, the saliva dripping from his tongue. He knew Luan kept her leftover birthday cake to herself, but one spare piece eluded her supervision and was left out in the open. With Luan gone for now since she had to do her clowning business at a retirement home and Luna practicing for her big gig with it happening in one week, it was just Brian and the scrumptious heaven of a dessert in front of him. He tried to get under the glass, but even at his size the spacing was too thin to pass under. He obviously knew that lifting the glass was out of the question, but the chocolate drizzle and flashing colors continuously begged him to come in and take a bite. If he asked any of the other sisters, or even the pets, to help him out he wouldn’t be getting the lumpy delight alone, and considering the siblings’ intense addiction to anything chocolate related, there was a high chance he wouldn’t even get a single crumb out of it.

He contemplated on any sort of idea that would even get him a fraction closer before hearing the door open. Not wanting to get spotted, Brian frantically looked for any sort of hiding spot. There was hardly any sort of available places since he was atop a dresser, so he took a glance downward in case there were-

He glanced towards the door, recognizing the voice immediately as the rock star Luna Loud. Brian rubbed the back of his head as Luna came in and set her guitar bag next to her bed. She usually had her concert practice at this time of day, but today she suddenly came home early, throwing Brian a curve into his schedule.

“Well, errrrrr, you’re back early!” Brian stuttered trying to hide what he was doing. “I was out, ummmmmm, doing inventory management for Luan, you know, since she…has me as her acting partner and all. Yeah, that’s it!”

His bad acting was so conspicuous that it wouldn’t be impossible for big neon signs to be stated behind him detailing exactly what he was after. Luna walked over to him with a straight face.

“You’re taking me for an idiot aren’t you? As if I couldn’t see that piece of cake behind you.”

Luna just looked at the flabbergasted boy with a visible cocked eyebrow. Brian knew he couldn’t keep it in much longer and finally came out clean.

“Okay, okay, I know you aren’t Leni by any means! If you can just help me with the glass I’ll share this with you!”

Luna couldn’t help but chuckle before giving some light taps on his back with one of her fingers.

Brian perked up and smiled as Luna reached over him and lifted the glass dome to the piece of cake underneath, making the shrunken boy’s eyes go wide. She set the dome next to the plate as Brian ran up to the delicious pastry, making Luna giggle even more under her breath at how he was acting. Grasping a large part of the cake, for him at least, Brian prepared to chomp down but quickly stopped before doing so. Luna did just help him out since his size came with unfortunate handicaps, so he felt it best for a different decision to occur.

“Ummmm, thanks for the help Luna.” Brian said. “I’ll let you have the first couple of bites if you want.

“I appreciate your offer little dude, but I’ll let this one slide. You appear to be more interested in it than I am after all.” Luna replied.

Brian grinned before turning to the cake and unleashing his gnawing hunger. Luna set her guitar bag next to her before taking a seat on Luan’s empty bed to watch Brian go at it. The overwhelming flavor, the tastes of heavens, Luan really did go to the best birthday parties for her clowning business. He continued to chomp on everything around him as Luna got her rock guitar out of her bag, catching Brian’s attention.

“Say…” Brian said after swallowing a mouthful of cake. “Why are you home early anyways?”

“I was practicing as usual when one of my bandmates sprained his elbow in a stage dive. I couldn’t blame him though; it was his first time doing it.”

“I don’t see how anyone could avoid injury doing that without some support.” Brian replied before munching on another part of the cake.

“I have my ways of minimizing that risk.” Luna said. “Being a rock star is harder than it looks, but when it pays off…it’s a spectacle. When you perform in front of millions of fans, seats filled out, and the center monitor focusing on you, man, that’s every rock star’s dream. Once that happens to me I’ll be the happiest girl on the planet!”

“With an attitude like that, I’m sure it will happen.” Brian replied. Luna really was dedicated to being the best rock star she could be. She was starting off small for now, but down the road he could see her travelling from state to state performing for millions of fans in the biggest concert hall imaginable. She had the heart and assertiveness to make her ultimate dream come true, especially with someone as supportive as her friend Sam. Luna wasn’t a one trick pony either, even if her special rock guitar was her main instrument. She was pretty good on the drums, and there was also…

“Sorry for my lack of music knowledge, but I’ve seen you play very well on the drums and strings. However, despite living in this house with you for who knows how long, I have never seen you use a…wind instrument as they call it? I think that’s the right term…”

“It is.” Luna replied. “Also, yes I do have experience with those types. I have a saxophone that I play from time to time, and dad makes a good tutor.”

“Whoa, really?” Brian answered with interest. “You must have kept it well hidden for me to not know about it.”

“Not exactly, I keep it in my closet near the back. I’m pretty sure with a face like that you definitely want to see it.”

“Color me interested.” Brian said before stuffing his face with more cake and nodding. Luna gave off a nice smile before getting off her bed, grabbing her guitar and strapping it around her back, and then started walking towards her closet in one of the corners. Brian swallowed more cake as his body went slightly below frigid. He didn’t think it was a big deal when he came in the room, but there was a small breeze wafting around giving the place a slight chill. He dismissed it as being from the ventilation system.

Luna prepared to open the closet door when she too felt the frosty chills around the room. They mostly hit her backside, heading in a certain direction, but she didn’t think of it that much. When she opened the door however, the answer came out front.

Her leg was snagged into the hole and kept it down with its suction, but it was Brian’s lesser weight that made him get pulled in first. He was about to scream when the plate he was situated on suddenly was brought into the air taking him with it. He then found himself, with the cake and platter, smack straight into the back of Luna’s head, pushing her forward enough that the suction was too much. Both Luna and Brian were pulled inside before the hole sealed itself up tight.

Luna and Brian nearly toppled over each other as they hit the ground, the hole behind them vanishing in an instant. It wouldn’t be a “Brian moment” without the mischievous rifts coming in and throwing things off track, much to his dismay. He knew it was very unfortunate for the Louds to continuously get tangled in these incidents, making it even more apparent that the cause needed to be found before it continued.

Brian got up first as he spat out a clump of dirt before turning around and seeing Luna slowly get to her feet, still appearing to Brian as the giantess he knew. She didn’t seem gravely injured from the fall, but she did look upset.

“Wow, so that’s what it feels like to be sucked into one of those rifts. I may have to think twice when I look at a drain from now on, for that washed me out dude.”

“I’ve been through so many of those stupid things that I’ve practically gotten used to it.” Brian replied slightly cross. “I can’t go for two seconds without one of those ruining something!”

Brian turned his back to Luna with his arms overlapping each other. Sometimes he just wanted to not worry about the rifts and relax, but they constantly bombarded him again and again with no distinct pattern.

Luna took notice of his attitude and got close to the ground for a better look at him.

“Awwwww, it is okay little dude. Progress is being made to end whatever is going on with the rifts, and all of us will be there to help out in any way. Until then, we’re going to have to cope with them okay?”

Brian snorted as he knew Luna was right. Even though he hated being dragged into the holes to other dimensions, Lisa was progressively accelerating her research on the matter. There were some details he knew she was keeping to herself, but there was an end. He didn’t know when, but he could see it down the road.

“AAAAAHHH, IT’S A GIANT GIRL! SHE WILL DESTROY US ALL! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!”

Brian was just about to reply to Luna when the voice pieced their ears. They took the moment to find out where they landed, and once they saw where they were astonished. A large nearly endless city sprawled in front of them teeming with life, with cars bustling through the street and people going through their regular lives. Specifics couldn’t be identified through the many things rumbling about, but the two could easily see crowds of people around them running into the city in panic. Weirdly enough, there were some people that didn’t mind that Luna the giantess was among them, including children. Some couldn’t believe their eyes and stood by from a safe distance, while some didn’t appear to mind as they walked along the sidewalk and continued with their lives as if she wasn’t there to begin with. Since Luna was sized up in proportion to Brian still being half an inch tall back at the Loud house, it made Brian look normal sized to the people, but made Luna look absolutely gargantuan compared to them.

“Wait, she’s not here to hurt any of you! It was a complete accident that we came here!” Brian stated, hoping that his normal looking size would carry some weight.

“He’s right! I would never harm someone completely innocent!” Luna chimed in. Nevertheless, their words never reached the panicking ones as they continued to run about.

As if a switch just flipped, every one of the panicking people stopped on a dime and went silent as two others entered the area. One was a middle sized blonde with a regal pink dress and tiara on her head, almost making her like an older version of Lola, and wore two long gloves over her hands. Her shoes were hidden under the pink dress of hers. The other was a bushy mustachioed man that was slightly shorter than the woman. He wore blue overalls with a red shirt underneath and had short white gloves over his hands and brown shoes over his feet. A bright red cap sat on his head to top it all off.

The two walked up to Brian and Luna and took one look up at the giant Luna before speaking.

“I’m sorry the people here freaked out once they saw you. Despite many other species coming here to take in the sights, not all are accustomed to seeing such a huge spectacle.” The woman said.

“I guess that’s why there are some people not caring about our sudden appearances.” Brian said. “Well…mostly on Luna I guess.”

Luna suddenly smiled back and gave off a few chuckles. He really was catching on to her and how she said things.

“It’s kind of a complicated story.” Brian said. “To shorten it, we accidentally were brought here from another dimension.”

“Well, check that off the list of things that happened in our world.” The man stated. “Crazy stuff like that happens all of the time here, so it’s pretty much routine to us.”

“Wait, really?!” Luna exclaimed. “Just what sort of messed up dimension is this?!”

“I think it might be time to explain where you are before more questions arise.” The man said as he turned to the woman, who nodded in agreement.

“You’ve arrived in the Metro Kingdom, more specifically New Donk City.” The woman explained. “It’s a pretty busy place as you can see, but there’s a lot you can do here. I’m Princess Peach, and this fellow next to me is the one and only Mario.”

“The pleasure is mine.” Mario said as he bowed slightly while taking his hat off. Luna snickered while Brian just smiled at how he was acting, but then another voice came up.

Luna and Brian could only watch as Peach’s tiara and Mario’s cap started rumbling before suddenly taking off into the air. Brian and Luna were surprised when the pieces of headwear unexpectedly grew eyes near the top and ghostly bodies near the bottom. Mario’s cap even took on a new shape of a white top hat.

“Heheheh didn’t expect us did ya?” Mario’s cap said. Brian and Luna shook their heads while being shocked at what they were seeing. Peach’s tiara shot Mario’s cap a glare before addressing itself.

“Sorry about my brother’s acting. I’m Tiara, and my brother over there is Cappy. We’re traveling the world and seeing the sights.”

“Well…can’t say I’m surprised by that.” Luna stated. “As much as we would like to stay dudes, we really need to get back to our dimension before someone notices we’re missing.”

“Yeah, I can see that as your top priority.” Peach said. “One of our friends has something of the sort, but she’s traveling the cosmos so it would take a while to track her down.”

“Okay, now you are getting ME weirded out at what this dimension holds.” Brian stated addressing what Peach said.

They group thought for a moment on the situation before Brian came up with something that might work.

“Well, you know that machine Lisa has to ping certain rifts and call them back? What if it worked the other way around? I mean, the rift did show up in the house and Lisa did say it keeps records of every rift that appeared back there, so maybe I could give Lisa a signal where we are and hopefully she could get the rift that brought us here back up so we could get back.”

“How could she possibly know where we are at?” Luna asked. Brian sighed with an unfortunate tone before flipping around the collar on his shirt, revealing a rather rancid looking device with many buttons and lights. The others were mortified.

“It’s a device that keeps details on my whereabouts and my current positions. I REALLY have to hold back on not scratching it since this stupid thing still gives me itches.” Brian replied. “Lisa installed a button for emergencies which I think would be the best course of action.”

Brian looked down at the device and picked out an orange tinted button labelled “For Emergencies Only” under it. After pressing it, it made a small beep before he got back to the others.

“The signal has been sent, now we just need to wait for a response from Lisa. Hopefully she gets the message and opens up that rift for us.”

“But what can we do beforehand?! I’m not exactly what you call ‘normal sized’ dude!” Luna cried out.

“We could show you around the city until then, if you want to that is.” Cappy said. “You wouldn’t mind that right?”

“Ooh, that would be great!” Tiara responded. “Showing around someone as huge as that girl would be a nice experience!”

“Actually Tiara, I think you should come with me for now.” Peach said. “It would be best to inform Mayor Pauline about these new arrivals as a precautionary safeguard.”

“Awwww, but that’s no fun!” Tiara said as her eyes drooped down. She looked over to Brian and Luna before looking back at Peach. She did it a few more times before saying her answer.

“…fine, you win. I’ll follow you to Mayor Pauline, but can we do it fast so we can get back to the giantess? I’m REALLY interested in hanging out with her!”

“Thank you!” Tiara replied. With that said, Peach and Tiara headed down the sidewalk to the city’s capitol building where Mayor Pauline resided. The others watched as the two disappeared down the street.

“…I guess we’ll be touring around this city until then.” Brian said. “You okay with that Luna?”

“I’ll try to be as careful as possible lil’ dude, but I’m sure something will happen down the line.” Luna replied.

“I’m sure we can handle it.” Cappy said. “By the way, if you’re going to be following us around New Donk City I think you should look the part.”

“Hmmmm? What do you mean by that?” Luna asked. Mario glanced and Cappy and smiled.

As someone who towered over the many city buildings, Luna had it a bit tough walking through the streets of New Donk City even with Brian riding atop one of her shoulders. She had to carefully set her feet down on the open spaces of road without hitting any cars, something easier said than done. She didn’t want to cause any unnecessary traffic which she knew was going to be inevitable at the size she was at, but she wanted to hold it off for as much as possible. Even with the troubles, she admired the gorgeous city at her feet. There was so much buzz, culture, and activity among the streets, if she was regular sized she would be going around everywhere seeing the sights and enjoying every bit of it. It wasn’t as if she was disappointed being massively huge; she quite enjoyed it, but having to cautiously avoid stepping on anything held her back somewhat.

Hearing Mario from the streets, Luna and Brian stopped where they were. The giantess kneeled over and got on all fours to better see where they were while also letting Brian down gently. Mario stood by, with Cappy undertaking his red hatted look and sitting on Mario’s head, a colorful looking store with a stylish sign saying “Crazy Cap” over its doors.

“Ummmm, this is the place for new clothes? Doesn’t really look like it.” Brian said.

“So am I just going to stay out here while you guys get clothes?” Luna asked. “Not cool.”

“While it is true that we have to leave you out here while we get the stuff, we’re not excluding you from anything. There are clothes for you as well!” Mario said.

Luna was skeptic. There was no way this place had clothes for someone as big as she was, but from all of the weird statements she heard from this dimension it didn’t seem too out of the ordinary. Still, she wasn’t completely convinced.

Mario headed in first with Brian following behind. They were immediately hit with a clash of yellow on the left and purple on the right, somewhat of an unorthodox choice of colors. The two men behind the counter of the small store even sported a usual crazy choice of clothes, with one sporting yellow clothes and the other sporting purple ones, each on their respective colored side. The purple one was currently working with a customer at the counter which left the yellow one open. Thankfully he was the one Mario was after.

Both Mario and Brian walked up to the counter where they were greeted by the man.

“Welcome to Crazy Cap, having the best selection of items and clothing on the marketplace! I would say that to new customers, but I’m sure you’re tired of hearing it Mario.”

“Hey, I appreciate your enthusiasm!” Mario replied. “Don’t let that down despite me being your most popular customer.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” The man said before getting down to business. “How may I help you this fine day?”

“We need clothes for some new faces in these parts.” Cappy stated before motioning over to Brian next to him. The man set his eyes on Brian with intrigue.

“Got a new friend now, do you?” the man said. “I can see where he’s coming from. No offense, but that clash of clothes makes you look run down.”

“I get that a lot.” Brian replied. Leni wasn’t perfect when making clothes for him especially when he’s half an inch tall normally. The man jotted down something on his desk before getting back to addressing the group.

“And who might that be?” the man asked. Brian turned and pointed outside to which a giant pair of eyes were peeking right through the windows. The man stood stunned for the moment as Luna was getting irritated outside.

“Can you dudes hurry it up? There are a lot of cars honking at me and I think I’m causing some traffic jams!”

As quickly as it started, the man regained his composure before reaching under the desk and getting out a phone. The other three waited as the man dialed the numbers before sending a call to a special place.

The clothes makers of Giant Land, coming from a branch called “The Left Eye Lake of the Giant Koopa”, came over in a jiffy. Since they worked for a princess of giant proportions, they were expert in their craft. Princess Apple herself would have come over to New Donk City to see giant Luna herself, but she had to keep authority over her country with Prince Hugo, her husband. The two royal retainers that were sent were two giant sized red shelled turtles with two white wings on their shells, which despite their off appearances to Brian and Luna, got to work immediately. They had several pieces of clothing that they had on hand in case of a “fashion emergency” for their princess, but since she didn’t often care about how she looked they had a lot of spare clothes in the back with no use at all. This didn’t mean they were ripped or teared by any means, they felt like brand new clothes. There was also a massive portable changing booth that was brought over, also in case of a Princess Apple “fashion emergency”, which had very enclosed sealing properties that prevented certain people from being jerks and getting any sort of peek. With everything in place, the flying turtles provided the clothes and handed them to Luna who stayed inside the changing booth. The turtles weren’t big jerks either; they patiently waited outside the changing booth with no peeking whatsoever. If they did peek Princess Apple probably would have fired the two ages ago.

After over a dozen outfits were tested, Luna eventually settled on a specific set. It was a large purple t-shirt with some signs of vest wear and an indigo meteor printed on the front complemented by a pair of dazzling shorts sporting a combination of blue, purple, violet, and magenta colors around it. Luna kept her rocking purple boots on though; they matched very nicely with her new clothes after all. Her previous signature clothes, along with her rock guitar, slumped near her boots for when she wanted to change back to them at any time.

“Wow, this looks rockin’! New Donk City is pretty good on me!” Luna said. The tiny spectators down by her feet easily agreed with her, including Mario and Cappy, as the clapped and cheered at how stylish she looked in those clothes. Brian currently wasn’t with them since he was also getting outfitted with some clothes, but unlike Luna he was changing inside Crazy Cap’s rooms since he could actually fit inside them.

“I’m happy you came to a choice you adored.” One of the red winged turtle said, sounding very formal. “I’m certain Princess Apple would agree if she were here.”

“Indeed.” The other red winged turtle chimed in, also sounding formal. The yellow dressed man from before then turned to Mario.

“Got you covered.” Mario said, tossing over a few bags of coins. The man smiled before one of the giant red winged turtles swooped down to face him.

“Our recompense is required since our princess’s services aren’t cheap.”

The man nodded before giving the turtle half of the payment he received from Mario. The turtle took the moment to count the payment, and once he determined that it was the right amount he nodded back.

“I thank you for calling our services. Princess Apple expresses her gratitude.”

The two winged turtles elegantly bowed before picking up the portable changing booth, they were pretty strong after all, before heading off for the trip back to Giant Land. Luna then turned her attention back to Mario.

“It’s nice of you to get these new clothes for me, but where did my other lil’ dude go? I’m pretty sure he was getting new clothes too.”

The other turned towards the Crazy Cap store to see Brian making his way out, and he was in some new clothes. A well situated baseball cap lay on his head with the base colored light blue and the lip a bright red. He wore a sleeveless shirt that appeared tan and had a picture of a large ape with a red tie around its neck on the front. This was complemented by a pair of shorts with dashing hilly print with a mix of white and blue like a big woolly crab. A weird combination of clothes, but it gave him a unique look.

“You look very nice too!” Brian replied. “Almost looking like a big city rock star!”

As the group continued to talk it out, the yellow suited man, knowing that he got his payment, left to get back to Crazy Cap. His purple suited partner wouldn’t believe what he just went through with a colossus like Luna.

Cappy was interrupted as a low rumble echoed through everyone’s ears. The three small ones looked up and noticed that it came from Luna’s stomach.

“Heheheheh, guess I missed out on lunch.” She said as she slowly put on a weak guilty smile.

“You’re hungry, huh?” Mario asked. Luna slowly nodded not before Brian’s stomach suddenly went off.

“Oops, guess I’m a bit hungry too.” Brian chimed in as he chuckled to himself at the coincidence.

“It’s perfectly fine, there’s plenty to eat around here.” Cappy said before looking down to Mario. “You thinking what I’m thinking?”

“Yes I am.” Mario replied. Putting two fingers in his mouth, Mario then emitted a loud whistle that echoed through everyone’s hearing. As soon as the noise went through, a speeding vendor cart immediately arrived on scene and stopped right in front of the group. The one pushing the cart around was what appeared to be a large living fork with two dark tall ovals for eyes near the round end with a chef’s hat on top. Its body was colored teal as a red looking handkerchief wrapped around the base of the Spork; the tines of which were embedded into the ground for stability.

“Volbonan’s Express…of Hot Dogs at your service.” The living fork said while taking the moment to breathe. “How may I…help you?”

“You really didn’t need to rush it.” Mario said. “Anyway, we’re going to need a lot of hot dogs.”

“How much exactly?” the fork asked. Mario pointed to the giantess Luna, which the fork quickly took note of.

Mario, Cappy, and Brian each got one hot dog from the vendor, and once they dug in they couldn’t be happier. Each one was so crisp and juicy to the point that their taste buds practically asked for more, although Cappy had some relish on his that he ordered. The appearance of that fork couldn’t have been a coincidence, wherever he was from had to have been the most tasteful place in the dimension, but Brian was too focused on eating his hot dog to pay attention. As for Luna, it was a completely different situation for her. Since she was so huge, she couldn’t have just one hot dog and not be satisfied, so the fork had to actually throw the small hot dogs into her open mouth, with the giantess having to get on all fours, until it matched a hot dog at her size. As much as he didn’t want to do the labor, Mario already paid him for the food so he didn’t really have a choice.

Once Brian and co. finished with their meals, the fork finished hauling the needed hot dogs into Luna’s mouth. He gave the signal to Luna who likewise clamped her mouth shut. She felt the taste immediately.

“Mmmmmm! You make pretty good wieners there lil’ fork dude! I can already feel myself salivate for more!”

“That what you get for coming to someone who knows his craft!” the fork replied. “I still have dozens more to spare!”

“Even after all of that work, you weren’t even close to going empty?” Brian asked. The fork looked back at him with snarky eyes.

“Man, my kingdom basically is all about food. We ALWAYS keep a near endless supply at the ready. The pile I gave to your giantess friend comparatively is a fraction of what I carry with me.”

“Trust him, we’ve been to that kingdom and know what he’s talking about.” Cappy said. Knowing that he already spent enough time with a single group of customers, the fork had to take his leave and walked off with his cart to another part of the city.

However, he was soon replaced with two similar faces, and one new person. She was a bit taller than Peach, but she had dull blue eyes and some long brown wavy hair, sporting a purple hat on top, with two luscious red lips. Her dress was a fashionable red halter type and her black high heels stuck out among them. Her appearance was stunning compared to the others, and they were among a giantess rock star that was stunning already!

“There they are, especially that giant girl!” Tiara exclaimed. “I told you that I wasn’t just seeing things!”

“I never doubted you in the first place.” The new woman replied. She went up to the others and took one big glance up at Luna, astonished at what she was seeing.

“Wow, to think a person of that caliber was going around the city without any sort of damage, that’s an impressive feat.”

“Trust me, it’s not that hard.” Luna replied before sitting on the ground to better see her, causing some small quakes in the process. “Who are you by the way?”

“I’m Mayor Pauline, the leader of this city. I was informed of your presence by Princess Peach and Tiara here, and I couldn’t help but see you for myself.”

“Pretty much everyone wants to see Luna at this point.” Brian chimed in. “I’m Brian by the way, one of her friends.”

“It’s nice to meet you.” Pauline said as she smiled in his direction before going back to Luna. “So your name is Luna? That’s fitting for your overall rock star look, and I like it.”

“Thanks Miss Pauline.” Luna replied. “Being a rock star is my dream job after all, and I’m pretty wicked with my Ax! Oh, that’s the name of my rock guitar by the way.”

“Really? So you’re pretty good on the strings?” Pauline responded. “I think I can make arrangements for that.”

Everyone around her, including Luna, suddenly looked at her being slightly confused before she broke the ice.

“If you would be staying in this city until the sun sets, I would really like to see how good you are especially with that height. I’m more than just a mayor you know, I have a band on standby if you can believe that. Let’s say you perform tonight…in front of the whole city?”

Luna could feel her heart stop while Brian’s jaw basically hit the floor. She has performed for crowds before, but none that amounted to an entire city. That was even bigger than certain stadiums she went to in her childhood! If she could pull it off, she would be living her dream, and for the opportunity to appear this early on in her life felt impossible. Lightning just struck her in the right spot and her eyes reflected the dazzling stars in her eyes. Her rock and roll soul was being put into the limelight and she loved it.

“You’re…you’re not being serious are you?! There’s no way something like this would be possible!” Luna exclaimed.

“Oh, I really mean it.” Pauline responded. “I hold a lot of power in this city and I can definitely pull some strings to make it happen.”

“It’s true.” Mario spoke up. “She did this sort of thing before you came here.”

The others cheered at how enthusiastic Luna was when agreeing. She really was going to be the “biggest” rock star in history, and Brian was equally as excited to see her perform. One hook still tugged at him though. Lisa was supposed to answer the signal he sent and call back the rift that brought them to this city in the first place. She didn’t answer yet, but if she called back the rift any earlier than Luna’s performance, things would get complicated very quickly. He really hoped that wouldn’t be the case, but nearly anything was possible with the rifts at this point.

“Sorry to interrupt like this, but didn’t you also have something else you wanted to inform us about?” Peach asked Pauline.

“Oh right, I almost forgot about that!” Pauline replied. Everyone’s attention was drawn to Pauline again.

“I was told that a giant hole cracked open inside a lake of liquid poison near one of our power plants. Before I send the cleaning crew, since they have a giant suction machine to clear the poison, I want to make sure nobody accidentally went into the hole before we clear it out. You think you could check it out Mario?”

“But you know that anything that sets foot in poison perishes in an instant. How could anyone not go into that hole and still be alive?” Cappy asked.

“There are some things that are immune to poison Cappy. Remember Piranha Plants?” Mario answered.

“Oh, right.” Cappy said. “Even so, how are we going to actually get in the hole and not die?”

The directions Mario was given took him to the outskirts of the city. The power plant stood over him with the poison lake situated near it. The liquids bubbled to the surface, telling him that it was still active. Any one touch of that poison against his skin would easily be the end for him, so he needed another way through it without any consequences.

Luna got on her knees as she lifted her hand up to her shoulder. Once Brian and Mario were safely on, she lowered her hands to the ground to let them off. Mario’s idea to get through the poison needed Luna and her huge size, and he knew she wouldn’t just leave Brian alone without knowing where he was, so he had to come along as well. Brian covered his nose at the intense stink, almost as if something just fell into it and died. He knew this was only the start though, and it was going to get even more rancid with Mario’s idea.

“Eew, we’re going to be going through that?! Yuck, this is going to be brutal!” Brian exclaimed.

“I went through much worse. Try getting swarmed with a dozen living mummies in the Sand Kingdom, they’re even smellier!” Cappy responded. Knowing that it was time, Mario turned to face Luna, who was shaking at the idea discussed beforehand.

“You know what you have to do.” Mario stated. Luna’s face told a different story.

“I don’t think we really have any other way.” Brian chimed in while still holding his nose. “You’re going to have to do it.”

Luna wasn’t having the best of attitudes. It was going to happen; she was just delaying the inevitable. She cringed at the thoughts of it going wrong, but she forced those aside and decided not to think about them just get it over with. She took off her shoes first, showing off her dark purple toenails, before shakily getting to the ground on all fours. She sat nervous for a second before slowly opening her mouth. Brian could feel how worried she was and felt sympathy as he and Mario walked up to her open maw. They could feel her warm breath exhale out as Mario, with Cappy on his head, took the first few steps and set foot inside. Brian, almost as nervous as Luna, followed in after. It was difficult to keep their footing on her large tongue, but it was the only place they could stand and not worry about her teeth.

He didn’t want to speak up through his worriedness, but Brian wanted one things stated clear.

“Okay Luna, we trust you not to swallow. Now close up and let’s get going.”

Mario and Brian could feel Luna nod in agreement, almost making them lost their footing, before she closed her mouth up tight, shrouding the group in darkness. For Luna, it was time for her part of the plan. Since she had Mario and Brian situated in her mouth, she had to breathe out of her nose as she carefully stuck one of her big toes into the poison for testing. True to Mario’s theory, the perishing effects of the poison weren’t affecting her due to how big she was. She just felt a low harmless tingling feeling. Now knowing that she was safe, Luna went into it slowly at first until it was up to her head. Taking one more deep breath through her nostrils, Luna dove under. This was the reason she left her guitar back at the city, for she didn’t want it to get dirty during the process. The poison was thick to see through but Luna could barely make out the aforementioned gaping hole, just big enough for Luna to swim through. Paddling through the poison, Luna cautiously made her way into the hole, nearly grazing it a certain points. The walls inside the hole were so tight it was almost impossible to have room for swimming, but she didn’t have to wait long before seeing an alcove above her. She quickly surfaced inside before taking a moment to rest, simultaneously opening her mouth so Mario and Brian could get out.

“I’ve been in so many people’s mouths…and I still can’t get over those deathly feelings.” Brian muttered as he held himself while shivering. Mario came out soon after, allowing Luna to finally speak.

“Wow that had to be one of the most awkward things I had to do. I’m surprised that I didn’t accidentally swallow you guys at any point.”

“Thank goodness for that.” Mario said. “Now that we’re here, we might as well look around like Pauline wanted.”

Everyone else followed Cappy’s lead and glanced around themselves, with the poison covering Luna’s clothes vanishing since it couldn’t harm her. To everyone’s amazement the cavern was massive; definitely a head or so higher than Luna, and the walls and ceiling were pale red with an industrial style appearance and moss growing in the corners. Ahead of them were gears of various sizes moving at different speeds and certain cords embedded into the ground. The stink of the poison ran through everyone’s noses as certain parts of the room had spots covered in them to some degree. Cracks in the ceiling showed lights shining through it, along with some man made ones for good measure.

“It appears to be a part of the city’s underground power system.” Cappy stated. “It’s such a huge network of space for this kingdom that it’s considered by many to be a separate area. It’s basically a huge network of rooms.”

“Well I don’t see anything here besides some loose machinery.” Luna wondered as she got herself on the ground from the poison. “Has this part been explored yet?”

“There’s only one way to find out.” Mario said. He led the group as he walked forward, with Luna and Brian following behind. As they progressed, more gears and machinery entered their vision with some even needing to be traversed over, although Luna didn’t need to do it that much thanks to her size. For some gears that were able to hold her weight, New Donk City really knew how things should work and how strong each part should be.

Once Mario turned a corner was when something different came up. It was a large group of big teethed plants with red polka dot skin having their time spitting huge globs of purple goo that splattered on impact, and behind them was a glass case with some sort of moon object with black oval eyes lying under it. Behind that was a guardrail overlooking a sprawling network of the underground rooms; a stunning picture to look at.

“Ummmm, what’s with that moon thing over there? It looks pretty creepy.” Brian asked.

“That’s a Power Moon. They’re strong relics that have mysterious powers, so Mario and I collect them to keep them out of harm’s way.” Cappy explained. “It seems that one is being guarded though.”

“Then how are we going to break it out?” Luna asked. Mario turned to Brian and Luna with a smile.

“You’re saying we actually have to FIGHT them?! Are you crazy?!” Brian exclaimed. “Those sets of teeth can easy rip us apart!”

“I don’t want them gnawing on my toes dude!” Luna chimed in, curling up her toes for safety. Cappy couldn’t help but roll his eyes.

He floated off Mario’s head and set himself on Brian’s, where he immediately felt relaxed.

“Wow, your head is nice and cozy! Why can’t your head be as good as this Mario?”

“Enough with the small talk, we have to take out those Piranha Plants!” Mario said.

With that said, the group waited for a quick moment before making their move. Mario ran up first while Luna and Brian rushed in after him. The Piranha Plants immediately took notice as a brawl broke out. Even without Cappy, Mario knew how to take them out as he landed crushing stomps on their bulbous heads after making a big leap. The plants’ heads were squished flat as they disappeared in a puff of smoke. Luna had the easiest time, for the globs of poison the Piranha Plants spat out had no effect on her, leaving them on the bottom of the giantess’s bare feet. Most of their bodies disappeared under the weight of Luna’s foot as they disappeared into nothing, Luna even grinded her toes on the spot to make sure they were gone. As for Brian and Cappy, they didn’t exactly have the easiest of time. They had to constantly avoid the globs of poison as Cappy instructed Brian to toss him at the plants. Every time Brian did so, Cappy spun through the air before smacking the Piranha Plants right in the noggin. After enough blows, their heads would go flying off of their stems before both parts puffed away into nothingness. Brian really appreciated the sense of pride and accomplishment, for he actually felt like he was helping out instead of standing on the sidelines.

Once the Piranha Plants were all eliminated, the glass around the Power Moon faded from existence. Mario took the chance as he went up to the area and grabbed the relic. It was all his now.

“Woohoo, another Power Moon safely secured! That’s one for the record books!” Cappy stated.

“Easy there, it could have been much worse.” Brian replied. “I do have to thank you for helping me out though!”

“No problem! I’m always willing to lend my assistance to ones that need it.” Cappy said.

“It was no problem for me dudes.” Luna chimed in. “For once I’m pretty content with being this big. Did you see how easily I handled those things? It was a breeze from beginning to end.”

“Hey, I’m in this too you know!” Mario spoke up. The group laughed it up before the platform under Mario slightly sank into the ground. Initially they thought a trap was triggered, but they were relieved once they saw it just began to pull away part of the left wall. It was pretty narrow, so Luna would have to get on all fours to go through, but the most surprising aspect was what sounded like voices began to emit from the passageway.

“How can I be happy when it was your blunder that got us here in the first place?!”

Making their way over to the newly revealed path, they could easily see what the voices were talking about. There was a deep pit stretching a long ways away from where the group was standing, completely filled with poison just to top it off, and a long distance away on the other end was a small metallic ledge with two strange creatures on it. Both had an appearance that made them look like small living mushrooms with brown feet, with one being brown and the other being pink. They had wide mouths with upward facing fangs, although the pink one only had one sticking out, and tan abdomens sporting their feet. The brown one had red glasses over his eyes and a red baseball cap on his head, while the pink one had a blonde ponytail coming out of what appeared to be an archeologist’s hat.

“Yup, it’s me.” The pink one replied, not in the best of moods. “I’m still researching for Professor Frankly as always. I’m also sure you remember my colleague over here.”

“How could I not forget the one that was with me during the Dark Peach incident?” Mario stated. “Isn’t that right Goombilly?”

“Thank you for finally giving me some nice words!” the brown one said. “She’s been giving me nothing but lip for who knows how long!”

“I’ve crossed paths with them a couple of times. The two are smart researchers that work for a genius named Professor Frankly, although Goombella is more dedicated than her partner since he tends to slack off at points.”

“Remind me to ask about you adventures with them later, for you got me curious.” Cappy said.

“Right, so how did you two get over there in the first place?” Brian asked. Even though Goombella and Goombilly didn’t know either Luna or Brian, because they were with Mario the two assumed they were friendly despite Luna being a massive giantess.

“Well we were supposed to be heading to Desert Land for some pyramid research when SOMEONE hit the wrong note on the Warp Whistle!” Goombella replied with visible irritation.

“Hey, you would have done the same thing since you never even used one before either!” Goombilly retorted before getting back to Brian. “Yeah, so we have been stuck for around…thirty minutes maybe? I’m not so good with time.”

“Enough you two, now that we’re here we can help you get out.” Mario said. “Anyone got any ideas?”

Brian’s and Cappy’s faces were blank. With a long pit filled with poison in front of them combined with the low ceiling, solutions seemed minimal. It was way too long to jump from, and trudging through the poison was out of the question. Besides, the walls were too high up even if they were somehow immune to the poison, so they couldn’t do that either.

It was difficult to position, but her arms extended just long enough to reach the other side. Her body stretched all the way across the chasm, her face pointing up, as she lay in the poison pit without any injuries. The execution was simple, all Goombella and Goombilly needed to do was walk across her body securely to the other side. Mario, Cappy, and Brian couldn’t help out since this was all on Luna for now, although Brian did find it kind of funny to be seeing her in a position like that. They did have to endure the stink from her feet though since she went into the pit head first.

“Are you joshing me right now?” Goombilly said in bewilderment. “You have gone completely insane for wanting us to do that!”

“I’ll take anything at this point to get out of this stupid slipup.” Goombella said after. She ended up going first, stepping on the palm of Luna’s right hand before making her way down her arm. She turned around about halfway through to look back at her supposed partner.

“Are you coming along or do you want to be stuck there for the rest of your life?”

“Wait for me; I don’t want to stay here even though this is very awkward!”

He jumped off into Luna’s right palm before meeting with Goombella. He snuggled up next to her for comfort while Goombella could only muster up a roll of the eyes. With Goombilly now joining in, the two carefully treaded along the bottom of Luna’s arm before making their way to her chest. Luna couldn’t help but jiggle up and down as she tried to hold herself from giggling, since the two’s movements across her were tickling all over. Despite that, Goombella and Goombilly made progress across her body as they reached her lower abdomen. Goombella took the left leg while Goombilly took the right so they wouldn’t hold each other up. Goombilly took more caution walking across his side since he suffered some intense intimidation from the poison below until both of them came across Luna’s feet. Even though they had no arms, the two actually could climb very well by using their mouths, and even though Luna could detect a pinching feeling it didn’t greatly hurt.

Goombella reached the top of Luna’s toes first as she collapsed in front of the group, now safe and sound, before Goombilly followed after doing the same. Mario and Brian helped the two to their feet as Luna tilted her head up to see the outcome.

“Congratulations, you made it!” Mario stated. Goombella took a few deep breaths from the climb earlier.

“A researcher’s work…is never done…” Goombella wheezed. “Your giant friend…seems pretty nice overall…”

“I’m going to need…a gallon of water after this…” Goombilly mumbled. “Hey giant girl…thanks for the save…”

“No problem little guys! Glad to help!” Luna replied. She slowly turned herself around, even with the tight space, before she slowly crawled out of the hole, with the others having to pull Goombella and Goombilly out of the way to give her room, before standing back up to her full massive height.

“At least our mishap wasn’t completely in vain; we at least found this weird trinket. Since you’re always collecting weird stuff Mario, I think it would be better if you had it.”

Goombella reached under her hat for something specific, and once she found it she pulled it out. Mario and Cappy were more overjoyed than the others once they saw that it was a stray Power Moon, which they happily accepted from Goombella.

The trek out of the underground facilities wasn’t as difficult as the way there, but Luna did have to stuff the others into her mouth again as she swam out through the poison. Once that was done, it was just a light walk back from the power plant. Peach and the other were ecstatic when the group came back from their recon trip, especially Tiara since she still wanted to hang around the giantess Luna more than others. As for Goombella and Goombilly, they had enough screwing around for one day and decided to stay at a hotel until a boat comes by to take them back to Professor Frankly. Even with that setback, they said they would be there for Luna’s big performance tonight to cheer her on.

A few hours passed and Pauline almost finished everything up for the big performance. The band members were ready as ever, they just needed to look over and memorize the tune Luna had on hand. She always had a copy of one specific song in her pockets in case of a sudden performance, but with the paper sized up in proportion to Luna’s height, the paper had to be set against a building so the band members wouldn’t have to look from above. Brian had to admit that it was pretty funny seeing the band members memorize a gigantic piece of paper, but he was paying more attention to another matter. Lisa still hasn’t replied back to his distress call, and she was the only one that could possibly bring him and Luna back to their own dimension if his theory was correct. Jitters crawled around his skin; he didn’t want to be stuck here despite the city being teemed with life.

Luna was hanging out with Tiara and Peach with Brian on her shoulder as Pauline and Mario arrived back. Mario was sweating while holding a wrench in his hand.

“Good news Luna, the stage has almost been set! Give us about thirty more minutes and it should be completed.” Pauline said.

“Speak for yourself, its tough handling those lights!” Mario said as he wiped sweat from his brow.

“Don’t forget that I’m helping too!” Cappy stated, back to being a cap on Mario’s head.

“Thanks for the heads up Miss Pauline.” Luna said. “I think the band has memorized my song and are all ready to go as well. Just give a holler and I’ll be at the stage.”

“Eeeeh, I’m so excited!” Tiara squealed. “I get to see the giant girl sing! How about you Peach? Excited as I am?”

“That is quite the understatement.” Peach replied. The group yakked up some more as Brian couldn’t help but have a smile on his face. Even though he wanted to get back, he didn’t want the negatives to impact him for now when Luna’s big gig is just around the corner. He almost failed to notice a slight breeze going against him as they talked, which he disregarded at first, before it began to pick up in speed. This was soon picked up by the others, who likewise turned to face what was going on. What they saw took them by surprise, but Luna and Brian knew what it was. At first Brian thought that Lisa finally answered his call, but he got a rude awakening when something dropped out of it. It was a giant cardboard box with a colorful “BM” logo printed on the front it fell and made impact with the ground, closing the rift in the process. Even though nobody was injured from the collision, the box opened from all of its sides outwards as it revealed what was inside. It looked like some sort of tall girl humanoid that somehow was at the same size as Luna. Her body was orange all over as her rounded cranium looked like an abridged mushroom. Despite her body being the same color, along with her eyes, her face was sugar brown and had on a sly smile.

“What the…this isn’t the plaza! What sort of gipped coordinates did I just get sent to?!”

Some people were already running for cover before the new one took notice of Luna and pointed at her.

Luna was more surprised at what just came up than worried. She assumed that another rift dragged her here, so taking things a bit slow, she answered with a bit of unnerving tension.

“It’s in…another dimension lady.” Brian stuttered out. Taking notice of the small boy atop Luna’s shoulder, the girl then looked down and noticed the dozen of tiny panicking people by her feet. She stood still for a second before something came to her.

“I somehow stumbled somewhere else completely…well this is one screw up I’m HAPPY to take part in!”

“Shut up midget, I don’t want to miss this golden opportunity to take this city by storm!”

This caused even more people to panic, but Mario and Peach, along with their hat companions, stood their ground even with the obvious size difference. Luna and Brian started to panic slightly as well, but once they saw Mario and Peach showing no fear, they had second thought before staying where they were. They still were worried, but not enough to go hiding.

“To think that I managed to come across a city with no heroes to protect it…what an easy snag! I might get very special recognitions from my daddy, maybe Robot of the Year! The tiny humans will be a nice touch; maybe I’ll have them rub my feet endlessly!”

The others were astonished to find those words come out of Luna’s mouth. Before anyone could ask, Luna picked up Brian and set him on the ground next to Mario and Peach.

“You might want to run for cover, this rock star is going to get her hands dirty.”

“Are you crazy?!” Brian exclaimed. “Didn’t you hear that she’s a robot and not a person? Even so, you run the risk of injuring millions!”

“Then you might as well evacuate as many as possible. I may be the only one that could even stand a chance against her. Don’t worry, I can handle this.”

They could see in her eyes that she really was serious about going against the robot. The city was such a great experience to her with so many friendly faces that treated her size right, she didn’t want to see it go to some random robot that suddenly appeared. They weren’t sure how she would handle it, but like she said, she was their best bet to handle it. Mario and Peach, along with their hat buddies, nodded in agreement before they turned around to see Brian…only to see him halfway across the median and heading into an underground subway for safety.

“That boy really needs a bravery check.” Mario stated as he and Peach ran after him. With her new friends handling the evacuation, Luna turned back to face the robot who took notice.

“Ah, so you’re deciding to play hero for once? You know I can’t let that stand in my way.”

“Shut up.” Luna replied. “This place is awesome and I can’t let it sink under. I may not have a black belt or whatever, but I know how to kick some mushroom headed robot butt!”

“IT’S SHANNON YOU TWIT!” the robot exclaimed clearly ticked off at the name calling. “THAT’S IT, YOU’RE DEAD TO ME!”

The robot whirred slightly for a bit before feeling a burst of steam and electricity hiss out of her back. It wasn’t natural to her.

“Ugh, whatever sort of messed up trip I went through to get here screwed with my programming! Grrrrrr, no matter, I don’t need my weapons to put you down for good!”

Acting first in a fit of rage, Shannon charged forward while flailing her arms in the air. Luna was caught off guard at such a childish tactic as Shannon’s arms swung in her direction, forcing her to back up which accidentally caused a stray building to collapse as her shoes clipped the side. Shannon performed a strong kick next that smacked Luna across the stomach, causing her to fall on some more stray buildings and decimate them. As much as it hurt, she felt even more miserable as she was causing destruction in the scuffle which she didn’t want to happen when she arrived here, but she couldn’t think long as Shannon got on top of her and pinned her to the streets.

“For a supposed hero you really fight like a pansy!” Shannon said with a pointy smile. “This will go by quickly. Good night sweet cheeks!”

Keeping her immobile, Shannon reeled back and swung a fist in Luna’s direction, only to be completely surprised as Luna acted quick and held it back with both of her hands.

“This rock star isn’t over until the curtain calls!” Luna exclaimed. Taking the open moment, Luna did one stiff upward kick that struck Shannon on the backside before sliding under her, simultaneously getting herself unstuck, and followed up with a reckless tackle forcing Shannon to the floor, causing multiple streets to go in ruin. Not wanting to let up, Luna belly flopped before keeping a firm grip over Shannon as the robot did the same. Now in a stalemate, the two rolled around in their scuffle like a wrestling match, crushing any sort of skyscraper or landmark it their wake. For Luna to keep equal toes with Shannon was an impressive feat, almost making her seem like Lynn and her reckless achievements.

Once the two rolled over the subway entrance where the others were hiding, it almost completely collapsed. The group poked their heads out as they saw more destruction go over the city, and Pauline was also with them.

“This is bad. They just started fighting and already one fourth of the city is totaled. If this keeps up we will be in ruins!” Pauline exclaimed.

“Then what do you suggest we do then? We’re ants compared to them! I do not want to go suicidal, thank you very much!” Brian said. Even though it seemed hopeless, Mario remained optimistic. If there was one thing he knew it was to not give up early, and fortune smiled his way when he saw two living tank like creatures roll in and start firing loosely at the giantesses. He smirked at his hat companion.

“Yup, it’s capture time.” Cappy replied. “Brian, you take Tiara and do what we do.”

“WHAT?!” Brian shockingly exclaimed. “I am NOT taking a risk going against odds I know are not in our favor!”

“We’re going to need the backup.” Cappy said. “If you really are a friend of Luna, you can help her out when she needs it. Now grow a spine and help us out!”

Being reminded that he was a coward brought him back to the time when Lola outright stated he needed to toughen up. He was working on settling it out with himself at some point, and while it was slowly getting better he didn’t completely wring it out yet. As much as he didn’t want to, Luna was a close friend to him, and she was willing to go up against lowered odds to save the city. Tiara even came down away from Peach and looked at him with sad eyes, further pushing his buttons.

Back on the battlefield, it was getting to be a full on catfight between the two. They began pulling at each other’s faces and slapping each other’s cheeks, somewhat of a devolution from earlier. Shannon had a slight edge over Luna with her being a robot and all, but Luna wasn’t going to let up any time soon. The two got up and locked hands trying to keep their ground, causing divots to form along the streets and pavement below.

“You’re too dang persistent!” Shannon exclaimed. “You know I outmatch you so why don’t you just give up and let me take over?!”

“Like I would succumb to an idiot like you!” Luna replied. Shannon growled as she kept pushing harder with Luna slowly losing her footing. If this kept up Luna’s muscles would eventually fail her, another perk that a robot like Shannon had over her.

That is until Shannon felt something fire at her feet, something she didn’t expect. The attacks made her feet slip up as she crashed into the streets below. She bolted straight back up and turned to where she was being fired from only to see two miniature styled tanks, from her huge perspective, except one had a red cap on top while the other had a tiara.

“See Brian, it’s not that bad. It just takes some getting used to.” The red hatted tank said.

“Easy for you to say, having a turret for a nose feels very awkward!” the tiara one replied. Luna recognized the voices immediately.

“Yup, it’s us all right!” Cappy’s voice echoed. “It’s an ability we cap people have, I just never got the time to show you.”

“This is actually a first for me.” Tiara’s voice followed up. “I think I might need a few more minutes to get used to this.

“Less talk, more firing!” the red hatted tank that was Mario said. The two tanks, which were both Mario and Brian, began to back up while continuously firing at the downed Shannon, which made her furious.

“So you little ants want to fight back? Not if this elephant has anything to say about it!”

Mario and Brian picked up the pace with backing up as Shannon now had her eyes on them, temporarily drawing her attention to the two. Luna took the opportunity to strike, but Shannon was one step ahead and swept Luna off her feet in one quick motion. She thankfully landed on her behind as Shannon went over to the two small tanks. Mario and Brian continued firing but had to stop once Shannon raised her foot over them.

“BREAK!” Brian exclaimed as the giant foot made impact where they were previously at. The streets crumbled and broke apart as shrapnel flew everywhere, which Brian had to avoid. Once things cleared up, Brian looked over to see if Mario was safe, but he couldn’t see him. He didn’t want to accept that he could have been crushed, but Shannon already assumed it.

“HAH! Just one little ant to go!” she exclaimed. She glared at the tank that was Brian as he was terrifyingly worried for his life. He sped backwards while firing wildly as Shannon kept her sights on him and followed after him with a wicked smile. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw an incredible feat. Mario was still alive after all, but he was quietly making his way up Shannon’s leg with his tank treads. Before he could ask himself just what sort of messed up tank enemies these were, Brian caught wind of what Mario wanted, and even though he didn’t like it he was kind of being forced into it in the first place.

Shannon was practically over him at this point and what about to end him as well, but before she could get another good stomp on him, Luna suddenly came in and whacked her upside the head with her special Ax, which surprisingly stayed completely polished. Shannon went careening towards the buildings below, which collapsed instantly under her massive body.

“The next one will hurt even harder!” Luna exclaimed before looking down at the Brian possessed tank. “Are you doing alright there little dudes?”

“We’re a bit worn out, but okay.” Brian replied. “We may not be doing much, but we’ll help out any way we can.”

“I’m still in this too you know!” Tiara’s voice chimed in. “This possessing business is harder than it looks!”

“Just keep them coming and this will be over in an instant.” Luna stated. Shannon then got on her feet and she wasn’t having it.

As Shannon was riling herself up and preparing for another attack, Mario and Cappy managed to get on her back undetected. They had to avoid some things as Shannon collapsed earlier, but he’s handled worse things and knew where to be at the right time.

“Okay, if what I saw was correct there should be some screws that could use some unwinding.” Mario said. “Ready for this Cappy?”

“As much as you are!” Cappy stated. The two felt Shannon begin to move as Luna and Brian kept her distracted so they had to act quick. As Mario moved around with his sticky tank treads, Cappy flew off of the tank’s head and plopped himself right on any screws and bolts Mario pointed out. Even though they were a bit tight, Cappy knew how to handle it as he got on each one, spun around wildly, then pulled. Each bolt and screw flew out and fell to the street below, but even then there were more to take care of. Shannon’s constant movements weren’t helping, as Mario and Cappy had to hold on tight to not get thrown off.

The process continued for quite a bit, with Mario and Cappy handling the backside while Luna and Brian did their work in front. Brian had things a bit tougher since he was miniscule compared to Luna and Shannon, and it didn’t help that he had to shoot at any sort of shrapnel heading his way. Eventually, Luna whacked Shannon upside the head which caused it to lurch forward and strike another skyscraper, causing it to collapse with the loose pieces heading toward him and dust to form everywhere. Brian had to act fast and shoot at the pieces before they hit him, which he did, but that left him open. Before he knew it, he felt forcibly grabbed as he couldn’t see anything with the dust being everywhere, and when he regained his vision, Shannon’s frightening eyes were glaring right at him.

“Hey wannabe hero, I got your tiny boyfriend!” Shannon exclaimed to Luna’s face.

“He’s not my boyfriend first off.” Luna stated. “And secondly, drop him right now before I make you!”

“Awwwww, you don’t want to see him go?” Shannon replied in a sarcastic tone. “How about seeing him when I CRUSH him to death?!”

Brian could feel Shannon’s fingers closing around him; constricting his movements and making dents appear in his possessed body. Since he was a tank he couldn’t feel the pain, but any further would definitely end him.

“Tiara, I think you should hit that eject button and get me out of this body!”

“I…I can’t!” Tiara replied. “One thing that prevents us from separating bodies is intense fear, and I’m scared out of my wits!”

“Then toughen up quickly before this giant robot utterly destroys me!” Brian yelled. Luna could only watch as her tiny friend was getting crushed under intense pressure from Shannon, and it looked like it would be the end of him.

Before she could react even more, one final click happened before her arms suddenly detached from her body and began to fall.

Brian was still enclosed in one of her hands, so he began to fall as well. However, Luna was quick and did a baseball dive to catch the discarded arm before prying Brian out of it. The two were still in shock from falling down, but Luna’s heartwarming smile melted those feelings away.

“You’re going to be okay little dudes. I won’t let her harm any of you.”

“That’s no fair!” Shannon exclaimed in anger. “How in the right mind am I going to fight back now?!”

The previously hidden tank that was Mario and Cappy drove up on her shoulder. It couldn’t be seen from his expressionless face, but Mario was grinning behind the hood.

“I will not accept that fact! I shall win and take over this city!” Shannon exclaimed. Luna quickly picked Mario off of Shannon’s shoulder before setting the two down, along with Brian and Tiara, on a nearby skyscraper that was still standing. She was going to end it.

“I may not be my little sis, but I do know how to smack a baseball.” Luna said as she walked up to the incapable and “disarmed” Shannon, Ax at the ready.

“This won’t be the end! Once I get put into another robot body my memories will still be there, and I will find a way back here to get my revenge!”

“Yeah, yeah, crying over spilled milk I see.” Luna said while rolling her eyes. “I just have one thing to say…”

She swung her Ax right through Shannon’s head, causing it to disconnect immediately from her body as it sailed through the air. Her body collapsed as Shannon’s head yelled angrily before spontaneously combusting high into the air, with her body exploding shortly afterwards. The two possessed tanks would be clapping at the display if they actually had arms.

“Even though I find this rather exhilarating, can I finally get out of this body? Being this burly really gets to me.” Brian asked.

“Oh right, forgot about that!” Tiara stated. Luna watched as the bodies of both Mario and Brian literally popped out of the tank enemies before the tanks disappeared in a puff of smoke.

“Woah, that’s really an incredible power you have there.” Luna said. Cappy flew off of Mario’s head as Tiara flew off Brian’s before taking their original shapes.

“Trust me; it can get really confusing at times.” Cappy said. “It really goes bad especially if we get frightened at any point. Getting temporarily stuck in a body with no way of getting out really turns the tables, right Mario?”

“Yeah, it gets really strange.” Mario spoke up. “I still remember when we came across a scary picture while we were in the body of a Goomba. Cappy was so scared of the picture that I was stuck in that body for an entire hour!”

“Oh right, heheheheh that was an experience…” Cappy said as he rubbed the side of his head while blushing slightly.

“Sooooo…what’s going to happen with the destroyed city?” Brian asked. “You can’t exactly do a concert in this rubble.”

Despite the destruction of around half the city, the remaining half was still as bustling as always once it was safe for the people to return. Luna had to change out of her city clothes back to her normal ones, including Brian as well, which meant that the Giant Land clothes makers had to make another trip ALL the way back to New Donk City with the portable changing booth. Once the change was made, they likewise demanded extra for the additional requirements they were forced to go through, which they got wholeheartedly. To make it up for their blunder, they were invited to stay for Luna’s concert. The two winged turtles also sent a request to their rulers, Prince Hugo and Princess Apple, to send backup to help with the city’s reconstruction since half of it was decimated.

When the night settled in, all of the city’s residents crowded atop the rooftops of skyscrapers and tall buildings as the lights settled on the gigantic stage. It was a surprise to almost everyone that her construction crew managed to craft it in a single day, and the fat that it was still standing after the scuffle earlier proved how sturdy it was. It stood between two tall buildings where Pauline’s band were situated, with the band members splitting between the two, while the buildings the crowds of people were standing on were an average distance away, compared to the giant stage’s distance. Brian, Mario, Cappy, Peach, Tiara, and Pauline stood near the front of the crowd since they had special privileges, while the two mushroom creatures, Goombella and Goombilly, stood close behind them.

Once the lights began to dim and the curtains started to pull away, the massive audience erupted with joy and praise as Luna the giantess appeared in center stage. She smiled to the tiny audience members as the small band members on the skyscrapers next to the stage started to play her special song. Luna played along with her signature rock guitar as her singing rang through everyone’s ears in a positive manner.

Dropping records on a weekly basis
Playing shows in exotic places
Rocking out to a cheering crowd
Hear them screaming "Luna Loud!"

My favorite colors are platinum and gold
Being a rock star never gets old
My life is a dream
A crazy rock 'n' roll dream!

Got the rock and roll bug and I just can’t shake it
Follow your heart and you're really gonna make it
I tried my hand at dental hygiene
But at the end of the day it just wasn’t my scene

You can live your life full of doubt
Or you can do what you love and it will all work out

Everyone around her erupted with praise and joy as she finished. She had finally done it, her dream of performing in front of a stadium of people had finally come true, and she couldn’t have been happier. It was actually more than a stadium though, it was an ENTIRE CITY. She had to hold back her tears at how happy she was, for it was almost too much for her to handle.

Her face gleamed as she had on one of the happiest smiles she ever did. Her eyes locked with the tiny people atop each of the tall buildings.

Once the show was over, Luna sat in an open space next to Brian and the Mario crew as thousands of people swarmed around her huge body in an attempt to get her autograph. Ever though she was too big to do so, she did let them take pictures of her huge self with her signature Ax. The excitement was so out front and center that it almost made people forget that nearly half the city was destroyed from the brawl earlier. Luckily for Goombella and Goombilly the hotel they were staying at wasn’t destroyed, so once they got their pictures they headed in for the night. As for the two clothes making winged turtles, they had small cameras on hand and managed to record the entire concert with crisp video and audio, which they were going to share with Prince Hugo and Princess Apple to make up for their second leave to the Metro Kingdom. Once they made sure they had everything, including their portable changing booth, they departed back to Giant Land shortly after.

“I was so awestruck by your performance, I…I think I had tears in my eyes.” Cappy stated.

“Awwwww, don’t worry brother, I’ll keep it between you and me.” Tiara replied with happy eyes.

“I may not have the attitude to do what you did, but that was DEFINITELY an excellent show!” Peach said. Pauline the stepped forward.

“There was no doubt in my mind that you had such a talent, but on this caliber…that was really something else. I think I might have competition for the future, in a good way obviously.”

“Thanks for your complements everyone, and thanks for letting me do this Miss Pauline.” Luna said. “A rock star’s work is never done though; I hope to aim further than the stars in the sky!”

“Well just know that you will always have us to look up to you.” Mario said. Everyone else nodded before they suddenly turned to the one person that stayed silent. He was almost completely nervous after seeing the greatest performance he ever witnessed, but he’s been with Luna for over half a year already so he knew more about her than anyone else here.

“Sure lil’ dude.” Luna said before placing her hand on the ground. Once Brian got on, she lifted her tiny housemate up to her face.

“Well…it’s just…” Brian stuttered. “You…looked so stunning up there…it really makes me wish I could muster up courage more…I look forward to next week’s concert, so…and I hope you don’t take this the wrong way…”

Luna sat confused for the moment before Brian slowly trudged up to her face. She couldn’t see it fully, but she felt a tiny peck on her cheek before Brian backed away. It could have only been one thing, and Luna was starting to blush slightly as Brian turned embarrassingly to the side. The group down below also stood in silence, for even if they couldn’t see, they definitely heard what occurred.

Everyone around was going through mixed emotions from what Brian did before Tiara noticed something form from behind the giantess.

Everyone else snapped out of it before turning to face Tiara’s direction. The Mario gang might not know what is was, but Luna and Brian knew.

“I was wondering when that was going to show up.” Brian said. “Lisa was very late.”

“That’s our ticket home!” Luna said. “We won’t be trapped here anymore!”

“Wow…so I guess this is it huh?” Peach said. “Time sure flies. I’m really going to miss you.”

“Me too, ESPECIALLY me!” Tiara stated. “Please find a way back here so I can play with you some more! You were so great to be around!”

“Easy there, they have a life outside of here you know.” Cappy said to Tiara before addressing Luna and Brian. “Although if you do come back make sure to let me know.”

“Same here!” Mario said. “We can always use a helping hand to find Power Moons!”

“I’ll make sure the city welcomes you with open arms if you return.” Pauline said. “…well, when the repairs are done at least.”

“Let’s just hope another rift doesn’t drag something here next time.” Brian said.

With that said, Luna turned around, with Brian on her shoulder, and was about to head into the rift when Cappy spoke up.

He flew over to the giant shirt and shorts that Luna picked out earlier to wear around the city, along with Brian’s choice of clothes as well.

“That clothing combination from earlier? I thought you said that those belong to some sort of giant princess.” Luna said.

“They were, but Mario bought them remember? Besides, the clothes makers said they were just extras and that Princess Apple has tons of clothes to choose from.”

Luna’s eyes glistened heartedly as she slowly picked up the shirt and shorts. Amazingly, they still looked fresh despite getting drenched in poison earlier. Mario and the others couldn’t help but smile back at how thankful Luna looked.

“Wow…thank you lil’ dudes.” Luna said. “Trust me; I’ll never forget what transpired here today. This dimension has so many friendly faces that I’ll always keep all of you in the back of my head. Is that right Brian?”

“You got it right on the nose!” Brian replied. With the last few words said, Luna turned around to face the rift as the Mario gang cheered their goodbyes. All it took was one step inside to get sucked in, and once they did the rift vanished without a trace.

“I…I’m really going to miss them! They were so…nice to be around!” Tiara expressed as small tears began to form in her eyes. Cappy went over to his sister and gave her some pats on the back.

“Easy there sis, I’m sure they’ll be back someday. Friendships are everlasting you know.”

“Yeah, I know that, but it still hurts!” Tiara stated. With their new friends now back home, Mario and company set off to head in for the night when they started to feel a gust of wind go against them. Peach and Pauline turned back around to see what it was and what they saw looked VERY grim.

“Mario, you may want to see this!” Peach exclaimed as she pointed forward. Once everyone’s eyes set on where Peach was pointing, the image hit them quick. It was a shining gold loop easily the size of what Luna was at with a dark purple misty haze surrounding the inside. Before they could even comprehend what it was, three pairs of mystical sharp hands came out and gripped the loop from the inside. They ended up pushing out…

After last week’s intense performance, Luna was amped up for her next one at school. It wasn’t going to be as insane as the one she did in the other dimension, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to put in less than one hundred percent. She would always come out swinging and giving her all, it was how she rolled.

It was only two days left before the big night, but everything at this point was pretty much set in stone. The gymnasium was all finished and Luna had everything perfected to her degree, finally giving the family some well-deserved down time. Everyone was out doing their own thing, but that didn’t mean Brian was getting away scot free. After having some “mud wrestling” time with Lana, along with a few activities with his most common playmate Lucy, he stayed in the kitchen for a bit on the counter only to see Lori come in with a picnic basket. She explained that she was meeting up with someone before golf practice and thought it would be nice to hang out on a picnic blanket with her until then. She set the basket on the table before leaving to get her cell phone that was just finished charging fully. He didn’t think much about it at first, since he knew Lori had multiple friends to hang out with on occasion, but he was upset over the choices of foods she got out of the fridge. Macaroni cheese balls, leftover lasagna, and many others he couldn’t bear to see leave the fridge. He hoped that one of the Loud siblings would have kept the lasagna in a more hidden space, for he really hoped to have it all to himself even if he was too small to pick it up and carry.

Brian turned to see who it was only to see Lisa walk into the room. She got a small stool from the table before pushing it over to around where Brian was before proceeding to stand on it. She needed the extra height to better see Brian on the counter since she was a bit too short to reach normally.

“I assume you were aiming for a confection inside the refrigerator?” Lisa asked. “Encountering food items at your miniscule size are like meals for ancient kings to you.”

“Yeah, I just got done playing with Lana for a bit and was hoping to get away with something. Even if it would be impossible to move them in the state I’m in, I MAYBE could have snuck in a few bites.” Brian explained.

“Acting like the mouse of the family are you?” Lisa stated. “I can see that from a mile away. Maybe you could help me with a certain research matter?”

He should have expected Lisa to come to him just to ask for assistance on a research topic. Nearly every single subject she had studied on since the Louds took him in used his tiny body for some sort of experiment. From trying to harvest his tiny appendix, almost getting him liquidated to death, and “The Mixture of Tights and Used Underwear”, she’s practically done it all to his sorry hide.

“It involves Lori.” Lisa explained. “I know she’s meeting up with a friend of hers and that she will easily see me coming, which is why I need you and your tiny stature. I need you to hide out in her picnic basket and tell me the exact time she will be going to the bathroom. I’m missing a small part of my fecal studies and need this last bit of info.”

“Wait what?!” Brian exclaimed. If there was one topic Brian didn’t want to delve into for Lisa’s studies, it was her intensive research on feces. Not even anyone else in the house wanted to get close to Lisa when she was doing the sort of research, and Brian fell with the crowd. He tended to avoid Lisa during those times because there was no way he was becoming any sort of experiment for that type of study, but this one came right out of nowhere. Not only that, but he would be intruding in on Lori’s personal time, and he would have to watch her…

“I know it sounds incredibly grody, especially to a shrunken one like you, but this is urgent and I need this insight before the day ends. This is for science Brian, and I necessitate the bit of info.”

“Lisa, I may have been your guinea pig during my time here, but there is no way I’m EVER seeing Lori take a dump even if it is for research. I have my limits, and that is definitely crossing the line.”

“You don’t have to actually see her solitary deposits; you just…can stand in front of her stall! Yeah, you can do that, so please help me out here!”

He could see Lisa’s skin get clammy as she put on her eerie guilty smile. If he never got that pep talk from Lola and didn’t see basically every single amount of creepy stuff from Lucy he probably would have given in at this point, but even some things had to get rejected by him at some point. Lisa was convincing, but she wasn’t pulling the wool over his eyes for this particular request especially as horrific as she initially made it out to be.

Lisa went back to her normal expression, giving Brian some relief that he may have gotten through to her. He flipped the switch and turned on the lights in her head. Maybe Lisa would finally give him a break since he wasn’t some mindless animal that didn’t care about having feelings. He was getting some sense of unnerving tension from looking at her eyes though.

“Okay, I get it and understand. Privacy is a thing and I calculated the probabilities of you complying. Your rejection came up ninety nine percent, so I’m not that surprised at this outcome.”

“Gee, thanks Lisa.” Brian replied. “It’s nice to know that you respect me and know how to take-”

His words went stale as his mouth clamped shut. An attempt to pry it loose was met with his arms going stiff on both sides against his legs, which also hardened up. He fell on the ground of the counter as he looked up to see just what the heck was happening to him. His outlook went grim as he saw Lisa meanly scowl with a very intimidating glare, some strong scotch tape in her left hand.

Her words constricted around him and kept a stranglehold on his emotions. Her emptiness and anger fueled the adrenaline all over Brian as he panicked and tried to tug the tape all around him as she reached down to pick him up. He then found himself staring down the two biggest eyes he’s ever seen.

“I know you will pull the tape off, but not before Lori leaves. You WILL be stowed away in her picnic basket and WILL tell me when she makes her deposits. Consider this a blessing, for I was initially going to put you on a trip through her digestive system as she slept last night.”

Her grip kept his limbs from moving even the slightest, almost giving Brian a feeling of how helpless he was. Despite having his own tastes and interests, anyone bigger than him had the power to force ideals over his own. Handicaps really liked to bite him when he least expected it. Lisa took him over to Lori’s picnic basket on the table, opened the lid, and plopped him right in one of the corners. Her voice boomed over him.

“You better tell me every single detail when you get back, and I suggest staying out of sight of my sister if you know what’s good for you. Enjoy the ride, test subject!”

Brian’s words were muffled by the tape as Lisa closed the lid and put him in darkness. He could hear Lisa make her exit out of the back door before hearing another pair of footsteps from the opposite side. He could easily tell who it was from the voice.

“Okay Carol, I’ll see you then! Don’t worry, I literally have everything packed!”

Brian tried to muffle out louder to potentially get Lori to see him, but he fell on deaf ears as he heard Lori come closer. The basket rumbled as Brian bounced up and down from Lori picking up the basket, there was no way he was getting out now. He couldn’t believe Lisa would put him through such an experience and not feel any remorse at all. To think she would be so dedicated to her research that she disregarded his humanity, she was cold. Brian just slumped into the corner as he heard Lori go outside and get into the family van, being forced into her personal time by an abusive Lisa. The car backed into the road as Brian wept bitterly.

Brian didn’t pay attention to anything around him as the car finally came to a stop, for he was thinking and going through his own mind to try and cope with the fact that he was sent with Lori by force. The basket bumped up and down as Lori carried it to somewhere Brian was unaware of. He was still in the confines of his mind, but he did hear Lori speak to someone with a very similar voice to hers.

“Yup, and I also got it all clear of those pesky ants. Some managed to get on my dress, ooh, so gross!”

“I can literally imagine that. Here, let me set this down so we can get started.”

With one final bump up, the basket finally ceased any motion. It sent Brian flying upwards until he hit the back of his head on the corner. It hurt, but it was nothing compared to what he’s going through. His face was red from the bitter crying before the lid of the picnic basket opened up. Not wanting to be seen to save his skin, Brian huddled as much into the corner as he could as Lori’s huge face shown above him before one of her hands came inside. He watched as her huge fingers, which were topped off with light pink fingernails, gripped a spare paper plate before retreating back outside with it. The lid stayed open as a different face came up shortly after. Her blonde hair didn’t have the same volume that Lori’s had, but it was a bit longer and waved out forward slightly. She wore a purple headband that also matched her purple eyelids, and he could barely make out a purple dress under her shoulders. That had to have been her favorite color, but as the girl reached inside to get her own paper plate, Brian noticed that she had the same light pink fingernails that Lori had. She may be very similar to Lori, but she had different tastes in style.

As the girl’s hand gripped the paper plate before retreating, he could hear the two girls have a few conversations as they got some food out from the basket Brian was in, which he could smell since his nose was one of the only parts Lisa didn’t cover in tape. He didn’t want to intrude on anything, and he felt terrible that he was involuntarily eavesdropping, but as he slumped to the ground he felt something. There was one part of the tape cocoon that was a little loose, and if he wiggled around that part he might be able to get himself free. This was probably what Lisa meant when she said that she knew he would be getting out, she more than likely bounded him like this on purpose. He jiggled his body around as the part got looser and looser until his right arm got loose. That was one step down, many others to go. He took hold on another end of his tape when he heard Lori’s voice echo above him.

“Oh no, the food is really going through…literally! I need to use the bathroom really quick!”

He heard Lori’s footsteps speed away while she closed the top of the picnic basket. While it easily went dark, the cracks in the choppy substance the basket was made of gave him enough light to see another part of his body get loose from the tape. Now there was just one step left, and Brian dreaded it for he knew it was going to really hurt. He closed his eyes before unleashing the rest of his strength and pulling the tape cocoon right off of him. Once those few seconds were up, his legs and arms flared up forcing him to the ground. He knew those parts were going to go bald for some time with how red they were.

He still lay on the ground as he tried to hide his pain when the top of the picnic basket suddenly opened up halfway. Brian only had a split second to look up before he was suddenly gripped from all around by five giant fingers.

“Lori seemed to have packed some carrot sticks. I’ll snack on one until she gets back.”

Brian quivered as he knew Lori’s friend grabbed him without knowing what she was really getting. Suddenly getting pulled out into the sunshine, the girl brought him up to her face only to get a bit stumped at what she was holding.

“This doesn’t look like a carrot stick. Did she get the right thing?” the girl wondered. Brian was scared stiff, he knew there was no way out of it without coming clean. He just really hoped Lori would understand why he did it and how he got here in the first place.

As if on instinct, the girl screeched before suddenly letting go of Brian, although the picnic blanket below him cushioned his fall. He could see her recoil back against a nearby tree, which was right next to the blanket, giving Brian a clear view on what the rest of her appearance was. His earlier observation was pretty right on, but he could now see that she had a small vested skirt near the bottom of her dress and some really tall purple socks sticking out of her brown shoes.

“Eew, eew, eew, I can’t believe I picked up a gross bug! Go away you disgusting thing, our food is not yours! Shoo, shoo!”

“I’m not a bug either! Why don’t you take a closer look before assuming something?” Brian said. The girl sat stunned for a moment as Brian didn’t know if his words reached her, but positive signs came up when she began to slowly trudge over to him. She was still very frightened, but she had the courage to get on her knees and bend over to get a better glance at him. As her eyes scanned him, he got a sense of unnerving tension at what she was going to do next.

“Yes, I actually am a boy that’s half an inch tall. I’m…really sorry to put you through these emotions, but I needed to make myself known.”

The girl shivered. Brian assumed she was still a little uneasy over him suddenly revealing himself to her. Her right hand slowly moved toward him before she wrapped her fingers around him and held him as she sat back up, giving Brian a clear view of the surrounding area. It appeared to be a sprawling natural park with the picnic taking place on a hill next to a tree. He didn’t see anyone else around other than themselves, probably so Lori and the new girl could have a more private time, although this did beg the question to where Lori went for her bathroom break.

“Wow…so you’re that small. I can’t believe I’m actually holding someone in my own hand. How is this even possible?”

“It’s a VERY long story.” Brian explained. “I’m just really happy you didn’t crush me back there.”

“I usually think for a bit before I act, and it pays off.” The girl replied. “Just what exactly-”

The eldest of eleven other siblings returned to the area after her quick bathroom break, and once she set her eyes on the girl and Brian all three widened their eyes as their eyes locked. It felt like some sort of Texas Stare Down or a deer in headlights, everyone didn’t know what they should do next. Diverting expectations set very unorthodox situations at times, and Brian could tell Lori wasn’t expecting him to suddenly be with one of her friends. It felt like an eternity that nothing but silence wafted through the air with a thin layer of ice standing between them.

She didn’t appear completely angry, for she had a pinch of disappointment in her eyes as well. Brian feared the worst, even though getting even with someone was more Lola’s thing than anyone else’s.

“Wait, you know this tiny guy?” the girl asked. “He was in the picnic basket and I accidentally picked him out of it.”

“It’s not what you think!” Brian chimed in. “I was forced to be here by Lisa! She taped me up and-”

Brian stopped mid-sentence when Lori spoke up. She walked back over to her friend and sat on the picnic blanket next to her, sighing deeply. She was disappointed that she had to reveal the secret about her shrunken resident to a close friend; even though some of her other siblings had to go through the same thing. She looked at her friend in the eyes as she gave it to her straight.

“Okay…yes, I know him Carol. He’s been living with us since near the beginning of this year.”

Lori explained the brief history of Brian’s stay with her and her siblings to her friend, who Brian learned that her actual name was Carol Pingrey, while Brian had to explain how he managed to get smuggled into their picnic basket. From Lori’s side, Carol was absolutely surprised that Lori had been keeping the secret for so long and that Brian managed to survive for as long as he did. She couldn’t imagine going through so many experiences and not perishing in any way, especially with the incidents involving those random appearing rifts. To think that so many situations were occurring with Lori behind her back, she felt lucky to have a good friend like her. When Brian explained his side of things, it was both girls that got shocked at what Lisa did to him to get to this point. They knew she lived for science and research, but to force him to that sort of suffering just for a single bit of her fecal study? It sounded almost inhuman to them. Brian dropped a couple of tears as he recalled how sinister Lisa acted, but Lori and Carol shared sympathy with him, especially with Carol just hearing about his existence.

“Wow, Lisa…did THAT to you?” Lori asked. Brian slowly nodded with a sad outlook.

“I can’t imagine how you must be feeling about that, but it’s all over now and it’s always a good thing to speak up about it.” Carol said. “You feel better?”

“Don’t worry little guy, Lisa won’t get away with what she did to you. For now you can stick with us okay?” Lori said. Brian turned up to face Lori from Carol’s fist since she was still holding on to him.

“But…didn’t you do this because you wanted privacy? I’m not even supposed to be with you in the first place.”

“Yes, I did want some time to myself with me and Carol, but when something like this happens I know that I need to make adjustments. Don’t worry; it’s not that big of a deal.”

“Really? Thank you for understanding!” Brian stated. That was when Carol spoke up.

“So he’s going to be with us for golf practice? Won’t that get a bit…complicated?”

“It will, but we don’t really have a choice from what my sister forcefully sent.” Lori explained, turning her gaze to Brian. In a surprising turn, Carol turned back to Brian with a smile.

“Well today just got more interesting for me. You don’t mind being around me right?”

“Lady, you have no idea how much I had to cope being like this. This is pretty much standard at this point.”

“I can picture that.” Carol replied. “I know I shouldn’t be saying this, but you look kind of cute from this angle.”

“I get that a lot.” Brian said. With that said, the two girls resumed their picnic with Brian now joining. Carol set Brian on the blanket as Lori offered Brian a few sandwich pieces. Carol on the other hand decided to go straight for the sweets and got out the small cookie jar Lori packed, but some really strange crunching noise could be heard from it. She took the jar out and opened the lid, only to see something that wasn’t a pile of cookies.

Drawing the attention of Lori and Brian, Carol dropped the jar onto the blanket as it made something tumble out. While it took a second to comprehend what just happened, once Lori and Brian noticed what it was their faces went flat, leaving Carol to still be terrified. It was bloated from eating all of the cookies while having loose crumbs all over its face.

Once it saw both Lori and Brian its panic let up a little as embarrassment settled in.

“Oh, it’s you two! Ummmmm, I’m not slacking off on the job, for it is, uhhhhhhh…part of police protocol! It’s a rule to snack on cookies if-”

“Save it Iberico, we know what’s going on.” Brian stated as he walked up to the overstuffed police pig toy. Lori and Brian looked back to Carol, who was letting up but not by much.

Once all of them finished up with the picnic, it was time for Lori and Carol’s golf practice. Because of the unexpected intrusions, Brian and Iberico stayed in a pocket of Lori’s golf bag. The course was a short drive away, but once they got there Brian’s eyes dazzled. The lush fairways, the tall trees, and the light breeze made for the most optimal conditions for some good shot practice and it made traveling in a golf cart that much easier. Lori had to give more details on Brian and the entire ordeal about the rifts on the way there, which Carol eagerly listened to. Even though her explanations sounded strange and odd, Carol was more intrigued than what the others thought. The fact that her friend experienced most of what was said made things more interesting to her, and she could get clarifications from Brian if there were any inaccuracies.

The group stopped at a green a good distance away from where they parked. There were a few deep bunkers around it for certain practicing that Lori was interested in. She got out her sand wedge from her golf bag while Carol got out a putter from her own.

“I’m going to practice some bunker recoveries. I take it that you will be practicing putting?” Lori asked.

“You read my mind. There are a few small hills on the green and I struggle with putting around those.” Carol replied.

“I can literally see where you are coming from.” Lori stated before looking down at Brian sitting up from a pocket on her golf bag. “You’re getting a front row seat to how good we are.”

“I can tell just from looking at your clubs.” Brian said. Lori and Carol chuckled as they walked over to their designated practicing spots while Brian took a glance down near the bottom of the pocket where Iberico was munching on leftovers from earlier.

“Are you seriously going to stay there the entire time that we’re here?” Brian asked. Iberico looked up after swallowing a mouthful of salami, having multiple crumbs all over his face.

“Hey, golf isn’t one of my professions so why should I waste my time watching that when I haven’t finished my snacks?” Iberico answered. He then went back to feasting on a lasagna piece as Brian rolled his eyes and set his attention back to Lori and Carol. Lori seemed to know what she was doing even as her hits kicked up sand while Carol had an easier time but had some inaccuracies with her putts that caused her to miss by an inch or two. Golf might not be a major interest, but he had to admit that they had the skill to take on the big leagues.

The two girls went around ten minutes before Carol headed up to her golf bag, which was situated next to Lori, for a bottle of water. She took sip before averting her gaze to her tiny audience.

“You’re doing pretty well I say.” Brian responded. “I don’t really know the sport that well so I’m left in the dark at points.”

“It’s not that hard once you get down to it. Trust me.” Carol said. “If you were near me as I was aiming you would definitely keep me distracted. You’re SO cute as tiny as you are.”

“Thanks for that.” Brian answered. She really was giving him attention ever since she learned about him, and he couldn’t blame her. An interesting phenomenon like coming across a shrunken boy really brings out curiosity. Lucy in particular was the most obvious one to come to mind, but Carol didn’t appear that serious compared to her. Carol just potentially had a new friend and wanted to know more about him, and for Brian he could just ask Lori about the details on Carol. They still had much of the day left to understand each other after all.

“Ummmm, sure?” Brian confusingly answered. He didn’t know what she was talking about, but he didn’t have time to think long as Carol reached over and grabbed him gently. She couldn’t help but look at him with a smile and lightly poke him with one of her light pink fingernails at certain points.

“Wow, I still can’t help that someone is actually so incredibly miniscule to me. I must look like a titan from where you are, don’t I?”

“That would be an understatement.” Brian friendly remarked. Carol giggled to herself as she held Brian before reaching inside the pocket he was in before pulling out the bloated Iberico, who was still munching on leftovers from earlier.

“Hey, I’m still on my break! What’s the big idea here?!” Iberico exclaimed.

“I want you to join in for a special game. You may be a living toy, but you’re just the right size to play with me and Brian.” Carol stated. The police pig huffed as some loose crumbs fell out of his nose. He wasn’t the happiest little toy at the moment, for he never finished that last cookie before getting pulled out. The others could understand how dedicated he was to certain foods, especially since he was literally a toy pig in a police outfit.

Carol walked over with the two tiny ones and set them on the green by the golf hole before she got out her putter. This just made Brian more curious as to what she had in mind.

“Okay, here’s what’s going to happen. I’m going to be putting golf balls to try and get them into the hole, and you two will be trying to avoid any that miss it. Got it?”

“Wait, we’re going to be avoiding giant balls of death?! Are you trying to get us killed?!” Iberico exclaimed.

“I think you are going to be just fine, especially since you’re just a toy.” Brian answered. “I’m getting the short end of the stick here!”

Before Iberico could respond, a giant white golf ball began to roll near them as Carol started her putting. Iberico’s and Brian’s pupils nearly disappeared as they ran for their lives in opposite directions. Iberico especially had a harder time with the extra fat from eating too much. Multiple white golf balls kept rolling in their direction as Carol putted more of them, with some actually making it into the hole like she wanted, while the ones that didn’t turned into a deathly hazard for the two tiny ones. One nearly shaved Brian by millimeters as all of the eating from earlier started to get to Iberico, making him tire out as he was brought to his knees.

“Sheesh, I really…need to go…to a gym…” Iberico sputtered as he met up with Brian.

“Maybe you should get you appetite checked then.” Brian replied. Another golf ball rushed toward them as they spoke. Brian saw it at the last minute and jumped out of the way while Iberico wasn’t so lucky. He was still at his knees out of shape as the golf ball sped through and steamrolled over his plastic body. Brian was shocked as he looked back, but a massive relief passed over him as he saw Iberico pull himself up. His police hat was flipped up as he looked like he just got off one of the wildest rollercoasters.

“Oh man, I swear that I just saw the light for a second there.” Iberico stated. Brian ran up to Iberico to see if he was okay.

“Saved by the plastic…” Brian thought. With that last ball, Carol walked up to the two as she looked at how many made it into the hole.

“Well I made some really close shots there, and you two really helped my aim with you running around near the hole. Sorry about that last ball, I may have been a bit too accurate there.”

“It’s okay…you gave me a good workout.” Iberico replied with a very light head. He fell to his back shortly after, causing Brian to roll his eyes. While he wasn’t sure how running around a golf hole trying to avoid any balls helped her aiming in any way, he was certain that Iberico wouldn’t eat as much in case of some sudden act of exercise. He probably wouldn’t be complaining as much if he had his toy police cruiser with him at the moment.

Carol smiled as she bent over and picked Brian off the ground. He knew she wanted more time with him, but before she could think of something else another golf ball sailed over their heads before landing in some bushes behind the green. A yelp was heard before Lori got out of the sand pit.

“Oops, I think I put a little too much swing in that shot.” She said before seeing Carol holding Brian and Iberico nearly passed out on the green. “Okay, what did you do behind my back?”

“It’s was nothing, don’t worry about it.” Brian replied. “She just wanted to play a little game with us. We’re perfectly fine, I swear!”

“Yeah, it wasn’t a big deal! I even got to hone my putting skills in the process!” Carol chimed in. Despite them sounding desperate, Lori seemed like she understood. She had her times with him before and Carol wanted her own private time, which was somewhat of a novelty for the sort of privilege. Lori was about to go after her ball when the bushes where it supposedly landed began to rustle. The group looked in shock before something burst out. They were about to scream before Lori and Brian recognized that face almost immediately, and she was not happy with a big red mark on the side of her cheek.

“Hey, watch where you aim those things! I happen to…oh, it’s just you. Lori was it?”

“Nice to see you are catching on Kelly.” Lori replied. “Sorry about that ball.”

“Wait, this is the Kelly girl from another dimension?” Carol said. “Wow, you weren’t kidding about her bushy hair!”

“I happen to appreciate my hair, thank you very much! Let me guess, Lori spilled the beans to you?”

Carol went silent before slowly nodding her head. Once that happened, her infamous ex-boyfriend popped out of her bush of hair, catching Carol slightly off guard and almost made her drop Brian.

“Sorry I’m late, I took a wrong turn going through the ‘bushes’ if you know what I mean.”

“Still making your entrances count, huh?” Brian said. “What are you doing here anyway? Shouldn’t you be hiding somewhere less public?”

Tad drooped down a little. For her to act that coldly to him, Brian cringed at the thoughts. Whatever happened in the past to bring that type of animosity to her, he couldn’t bear to bring himself to any sort of conclusion. He was her ex-boyfriend, but her actions didn’t carry weight without knowing what truly happened. Maybe she would open up later and spill the beans, but for now it was still in the air.

“So we were making our way to a safer location and we had to walk through this place first. Before I could even get started going through here, one of those stupid rifts opened up and dumped yet another girl right on top of me! I had to explain the situation to her, since the same thing happened to me, before she introduced herself. As I was making my way around these greens she started to follow me and we began to chat up a bit. Then I was hit by…I’m sure you know what.”

She pointed over to the side of her cheek where the red mark was. This made Lori blush slightly.

“So someone else was brought here by a rift? Why am I not surprised?” Brian said rolling his eyes. “So who is it this time?”

Brushing out from the same bushes that Kelly came out someone else. It was an energetic young white girl with blonde hair, about the same height as Lori and Carol, with navy blue eyes and a gleaming face. Her shorts were the same navy blue color and her shoes sported a dark purple color. Her choice of shirt appeared to be a pink and white golfer top, with a visor on her head having the same colors with a pink letter “N” labelled on the front. She took notice of the girl’s clubs and smiled.

“It seems that I came here at the right time. You two are golfers aren’t you?”

“I’m Maple, the expert golfer with a specialty on accuracy.” The girl explained. “Sorry for my sudden appearance, I was brought here by one of those…rift things I heard you talking about.”

“Trust me; it’s been very common around here for a long time.” Brian said. Maple’s attention was drawn to the tiny Brian for a second, making her walk up to Lori and Carol with her wide eyes set on him. Kelly followed.

“Shoot, is that a tiny boy I see? You look like someone that could get crushed just from a golf ball rolling over you!”

“That actually almost happened if you could believe it or not.” Carol said. Brian nodded in agreement as Lori shot Carol a glance, since she didn’t know the full details about what happened between them yet. The enthralled Maple couldn’t help but ruffle the shrunken boy’s hair with one of her index fingers, still sporting that hearty smile.

“Thanks miss.” Brian said. “I’m sure Kelly told you about how dimensions are destabilizing right?”

“She pretty much gave me every bit of information she knew.” Maple answered as she turned her head towards Kelly and Tad, who likewise shrugged their shoulders. “Thankfully the rift I came out of is still up, so I can leave before it vanishes. However…”

“Even though I can leave anytime I want, I can’t miss this opportunity especially with two professional golfers. How would all of you like to help me out with a…beta test so to speak?”

“What exactly do you mean by that?” Kelly asked. It was then that Maple reached into her shorts pocket and pulled out what appeared to be a small blocky blue cube with a red button on it.

“You see, a professor from my dimension is making something to help out a gigantic royalty figure play golf with others smaller than her, and while he did create this little beauty, he needs more data from others actually using it which is why he picked someone like me, a professional golfer, to take it out and use it. I initially used it for solo stroke runs, but seeing other professionals here…”

“You want us to test that mechanism with you.” Lori finished. Maple nodded before Lori turned to Carol and Kelly, with Carol still holding Brian and Tad sitting atop Kelly’s head. Despite just learning about her, Maple seemed like a nice person and looked to genuinely want some help with testing her machine out.

“Well, as cautious as I am, I’ll let it slide this once. You made me curious as to how good you say to be when I’m literally a master at golf.”

“Hey, I’m a master too! I’m definitely joining this crazy scenario with you!” Carol said.

“Good, thank for offering.” Maple said. “We’re kind of short one player for a full roster though.”

“No way, there’s NO WAY I’m joining into this crazy house of a game. I’ve hardly even golfed my entire lifetime, so what makes you think I’m fit for this?!”

“C’mon babe, you always have me!” Tad spoke up, only to get slapped across the face by Kelly.

“We really need you for this Kelly, so just suck it up and join in.” Lori said. Kelly huffed and crossed her arms as she pouted. They weren’t going to let this down until she would do it like spoiled children. At least they were competent and the only ones paying attention to her as she was stranded in this dimension.

“…ugh, fine I’ll join in. Don’t expect me to score impressively, for this isn’t my kind of sport.”

“I’ll cheer you on from the sidelines if it makes you feel better.” Brian stated only for Maple to interlude.

“Actually, you’re in on the fun as well as your little piggy friend there.”

Iberico, who was still plopped over with his back over the green, shot up once he heard Maple address him. He was a bit groggy from waking up

Everyone had to blink a couple of times before their vision started up again. Carol was first as Lori and Kelly followed up soon after, and once they set their eyes on the surrounding area their jaws dropped. The crisp blue sky and clouds were the only things normal they could pick out, everything else felt like eye candy. Everyone was isolated on a green in the middle of what appeared to be a large lake surrounded by large red plants with white spots and wide sharp teethed maws, some very large sunflowers, and another type of flower with a red pointed cupped look and black balls for eyes near the middle. Over the horizon was a large island of fairway along with a combination of rock and bunker surfaces. They couldn’t actually see it in full, but the entire island was in the shape of a friendly cartoon green dinosaur with brown boots and a big round nose, with the putting green centered near the middle of the round shaped nose.

“Wow…that’s one unique avenue for a golf course.” Lori responded. “What literally just happened?”

“Simple. You know the device that I had to test this? It’s actually a forwarder to a virtual golf simulation. It’s still in beta though, so only three courses are programmed for now, but I still need to send some play information to the inventor on them. That’s why we’re going to have some golf fun on those courses, and hopefully the data sent in this session will help iron out the bugs in the system.”

“So we’re doing three virtual courses then? I’m game!” Carol stated. “Ummmm, where are our clubs?”

“They’re right behind you. You are using your own clubs after all.” Maple explained. The girls turned around to see their respective clubs from before, all accounted for. The device must have brought them along. Lori and Carol grabbed their bags before hearing something from below.

“What the heck, I can’t get out of this! Help, can someone get me out of here?!”

Grabbing their attention, Lori, Carol, and Kelly looked down by their feet for a surprising sight. It was Brian, Iberico, and Tad all stuff into clear golf balls with no clear way of getting out. Brian was freaking out, Iberico was too focused on settling his stomach, and Tad was as astonished as his ex-girlfriend as he looked up at her huge figure from his angle. Lori quickly picked up Brian.

“Oh my gosh, are you okay Brian?!” Lori worriedly said. Brian pounded against the walls as he answered.

“I don’t know! I can still breathe in here, but I can’t get out! What’s the meaning of this?!”

“Oh that?” Maple spoke up. “That’s a special feature of this machine. To put it simply, you’re one of the golf balls.”

“WHAT?!” Brian exclaimed. The others looked towards Maple like she was a crazy lady.

“Hey, I’m not the professor that invented this; I’m just testing it out for him. On the bright side though, he DID say the balls were impervious to damage so you shouldn’t suffer any injuries.”

“From impacts maybe, but inertia exists!” Brian shouted. The others did feel a bit of sorrow that they were using living balls for their golf testing, but they knew there was no way out of this. They were going to have to use them for the three courses if they were going to get out of this test.

“Okay, so if we’re done talking who is going to tee off first? This is a par four after all.” Maple asked. Lori and Carol shivered while Kelly didn’t seem too interested, but eventually Lori made the decision and set a white tee on the ground and place the golf ball with Brian in it on top.

“You’re not actually going to go through with this. Please tell me you aren’t going through with this.” Brian begged.

“Brian, I’m just as uncomfortable doing this as you are, but the sooner we do this the sooner we can get this over with. I’m sorry, but this has to happen.” Lori said. Those were the words Brian did not want to hear. If he was about to get smacked across the water in a golf ball, Brian didn’t want to see it. He closed his eyes and curled himself up as Lori took her aim, going for a spot near the green. It took around a minute to get the right angle, and once she did it was time to swing. Lori took her one wood behind her and in one fell swoop struck the ball as hard as she could. Brian was sent careening through the air as he felt the gravity shift all over the place, making him bounce all over from inside the golf ball. As soon as it begun though, the impact came, and Brian expected to suffer some harsh injuries. However, that sudden change never happened. Curiosity got the better of him as he opened his eyes to find out what happened, only to find that the ball kept him safe near the center upon impact. He wasn’t sure how, but he was soon to take in Maple’s word that the balls were impossible to damage and made this sort of situation likely to happen. The weight of relief lifted off of him before noticing that Lori’s shot landed him a good distance away from the green and far from the water.

Lori was also happy that she didn’t hit Brian into the water, but now it was Carol’s time to tee off. She concluded that her ball was the one with Iberico in it, so she grabbed that one and put it on the tee.

“Ummmm, stop right there lady! I’ll put you down for assault on a police officer if-”

She smacked the ball just to shut him up quicker. Iberico flailed about like an idiot as he sailed through the air, only to land a few feet away from the green which was closer than Lori’s shot. Like Brian before him, he didn’t sustain any injuries, although he felt his stomach go upset from motion sickness. He held it in as best as he could.

“Thanks, I practice these kinds of shots often.” Carol replied. Kelly shuddered as she knew her time was now, so she walked up to her tiny Tad ball and looked down to see how he was currently acting. Even though she broke up with him, seeing him as tiny and small as he was made him kind of adorable. Even with that, she was more eager to smack him as hard as she could. She may not be good at golf, but she was more willingly to whack Tad with anything at this point. She borrowed Lori’s one wood before bending down and picking up the ball with Tad in it, letting it sit in her hand for a moment.

“Wow babe…” Tad said as his gaze was fixated on Kelly’s huge face. “You’re so pretty from this angle. I can see what Brian means by stunning visuals from his point of view.”

“That’s all and good Tad, but I’m over you, remember?” Kelly responded. “I’m going to enjoy seeing you soar into the sky.”

“Wait what?!” Tad stated as Kelly set him on the tee. He began to blabber on about something that Kelly tuned out in an instant. After coming up with the right angle, Kelly wasted no time hitting the ball into the stratosphere. Tad screamed like a pansy as his eyes picked up many colors as the ball twisted, but that was the least of his problems. Since Kelly wasn’t exactly the best golfer, she failed to calculate certain details to the fullest, making her shot go a bit short and sending Tad straight into the water. Tad panicked as he thought the worst was going to happen with him sinking further down, but before he knew it he was teleported right near the edge of the water, now on the same island as Brian and Iberico. Taking a moment to catch his breath from the near death experience, he glanced over to see that he was placed close to where Iberico landed, as he could see the pig snacking on some small oats he pulled out from his pockets.

“We’re in the middle some sick game and all you can do is EAT?!” Tad exclaimed. Iberico looked over to him and snorted like the pig he was.

As for the ones back at the tee grounds, the others chuckled to see Kelly’s ball go into the water while the bush haired girl was more satisfied with hitting her ex-boyfriend to kingdom come. Once they saw it suddenly teleport to shore they turned to Maple for an explanation, but she already had it covered.

“This is virtual golf ladies. We can’t spend hours trying to fish out a single golf ball especially with someone inside it. Now if all of you will excuse me, it’s my turn to swing.”

The other girls parted to make way for Maple, who set herself up with her own golf ball and set of clubs. Her golf ball looked normal compared to the others, with it even having a special “Toad Highlands” symbol on the front to make it stand out, and her clubs were perfectly clean and ready to go. Like everyone else, she chose her one wood and took her aim on the tee. After a few more seconds, she reeled back then hit the ball with all of her might. It went farther and farther until in landed with an average impact right on the green. Considering the course was a par four, the others stood in shock with their jaws to the floor from the impressive shot. Maple took notice and snickered.

“Hey, I said that I was a pro golfer didn’t I? Well, we might as well do your remaining shots then.”

She snapped her fingers as the girls felt a tingling feeling before suddenly teleporting across the water to where their balls landed. Brian and Tad got startled while Iberico was too busy with his snack to take notice. With Kelly’s ball being the furthest, she got to hit next. Tad sweated as he saw Kelly’s club get set beside him, ready for another swing. Using one of the lower powered wedges, Kelly positioned herself for another shot.

“Please go light this time babe!” Tad said. He readied himself for another impact even though he didn’t want to experience it again. With Tad looking down toward her gigantic feet, from his point of view that is, and club high in the air, Kelly swung again. A bit on the lighter side, Tad spent less time in the air this time before plopping on the green near the bottom of a hill. It was going to be a wicked putt to get in the hole from that position.

Kelly scowled at her mishit while Carol was up next. She saw that Iberico was too busy eating which caused her to sigh as she set up her club next to him. She didn’t take as long of a time as Kelly did, for she knew the specifics to getting on the green as close as possible. With an elegant swing, Kelly hit her Iberico ball with just enough power to make it on the green with her next stroke. It rolled a bit before stopping on a flat plane close to the hole. Iberico wasn’t expecting the sudden motions as he forced himself to not hurl from everything he has been eating.

Lori was the last one to hit. She could tell Brian was still very uneasy from the motions, so she got on a knee and looked down at him with a charming smile.

“Just endure for a bit longer. You’re going to be fine, we’re a team remember?” Lori stated. “We’re not going to lose that easily.”

Brian’s was shocked. She wasn’t considering him to be just a game piece, but a teammate. She was going through the same hardships that he was going through, but she was hitting the ball while he went on for the ride. In fact, considering the roles they had, Brian had it off easy while Lori did most of the heavy lifting, and so many of the Louds were quick to point out how much he needed to not act like a wimp. He could feel the goosebumps all over as he knew what needed to be done, but to make it a bit easy on himself he shut his eyes. Seeing Brian more situated, Lori got back up and readied herself for another close shot. With everything calculated to the best of her ability, Lori softly hit the ball with one of her weaker wedges. Brian could feel himself go weightless for a moment before hitting the ground and rolling for a bit. Once he opened his eyes, he saw that Lori had a keen eye and hit him closer to the hole than any of the others. Just one small putt and she could claim the hole.

Now it was putting time, and likewise Kelly was the furthest away. Tad watched the steep hill, which was gigantic from his angle, as Kelly made her way next to him with a putter. She was going to have to strike harder than normal to make it up there. Kelly took focus for a moment before hitting, sending Tad up the hill closer and closer to the hole. It began to curve to the right as it went up, but in an amazing turn, rode the edges of the hole before setting inside. Kelly stood dumbfounded that she actually made it before walking up and fishing Tad out of the hole.

“Woah, now that was an incredible putt!” Tad said as he sat in Kelly’s hand. “As I rolled up there I was for certain that you-”

“Yeah, yeah, Tad, too bad I sent you to the water or this would have been better.” Kelly stated. She walked back to give way for the others, a bit satisfied that she got Par and not worse.

The next furthest away was Carol, and she had it a bit easy with her side of the green being flat. She didn’t waste too much effort on her putt as her ball went straight in, which made Iberico hit his head on the sides of the ball once he plopped into the hole. He sat dizzy as Carol couldn’t help but giggle at how he was acting. She netted herself a really good Birdie.

The pro golfer was up next after her amazing stroke got her to the green in one shot. She glanced at the hole a few times for accuracy before making her move. Her calculation was slightly off as it grazed the edge of the hole, so she settled for a small tap after. She missed out on a potential Eagle and got a Birdie instead.

Lori was the last one, and with such a good approach shot earlier she ended up closest to the hole. Brian knew this next shot wouldn’t be nearly as complicated as Lori did a small hit into the hole for a nice Birdie. Brian exhaled in relief, even if this was only the first hole, before Lori picked him out of the hole.

“I may not be a pro at golf, but even I could tell that you handled me with care.” Brian replied. “I’ll…try to make do with the last two holes. I don’t want to weigh you down…especially since we’re working together.”

“Thanks Brian, it’s nice to see you act mature for once.” Lori said. The other three met up with Lori as Maple counted the current score. With three of the four scoring a Birdie, Kelly was the only one currently left behind, but that could change for the next two holes.

With another snap of the fingers, the group was sent to the second course. This time the entire course was shaped like a flat round pudgy fish. Its big lips were made up of fairway, along with a portion of the midsection, while the rest of its main body had rough all over. The two oval shaped eyes were likewise covered in bunker, but the pupil around the left eye was where the green was, with the right one being in rough. There was a light pond surrounding the entire course in the shape of a stereotypical fish tank, and with the course being a bit smaller than the last one, it was a par three this time.

With three of the four girls having a good lead, Lori was chosen to go first. The course wasn’t nearly as intimidating as the last one, as Brian could see land out of the “fish tank” pond, so plunging into the water would be easier to avoid. There was a slight breeze to the right though, so Lori would have to pay attention so Brian wouldn’t go off course, but she knew the basics well enough. Brian braced himself as Lori swung back before striking the ball at an angle. She apparently thought the wind would push it further to the right, but it wasn’t quite enough as Brian plunged deep into the bunker a pretty average distance away from the green. Being encased in sand darkened the ball around him, and with his slight case of nyctophobia he really hoped the others would hurry up with their shots.

Lori frowned at how bad her shot was as Carol made her way up next. Iberico, not wanting to puke all over the ball, held in his stomach as best as he could, which made him look a bit idiotic. Carol wasn’t going to make the same mistake Lori did and accounted for the wind much more efficiently. At a slightly lesser angle than Lori’s, Carol went at and launched Iberico. The pig toy’s method of holding in his belly didn’t work out as well as he had hoped when he found himself flailing about through the air until crash landing into the bunker. Carol prepared for that outcome though, as she put a small spin to her shot that was just enough to roll it out of the bunker and onto the green’s edge. Iberico sighed from relief after he survived being thrown into the air before forgetting about it and pulling out some cookie crumbs to snack on.

Maple was next. She likewise set her tee on the ground before placing her ball on it. She didn’t use a wood to hit the ball this time; she instead used a weaker wedge for this par three. With one good calculation, she hit the ball. It curved from the wind a little bit before landing expertly on the green with a decent putt away from the hole.

Kelly was left for last. She shuddered from not knowing how to handle this hole, but the tiny Tad was in full support for her despite appearing gargantuan to him. She set Tad down on a white tee before pulling out a weaker wedge.

“Not now Tad, I have to concentrate for this!” Kelly retorted. Tad pouted as Kelly set her aim, and once she was ready, in one steady motion, she hit Tad with an elegant swing. In one of the luckiest moments she ever had, her angle was in such an obscure way that the wind pushed Tad in just the right curve that he hit the pin and caused the ball to stop right near the hole. Tad sat himself back up from the hit while the golfers basically had their mouths agape from that shot.

“I still am having trouble believing I just did that.” Kelly said in astonishment.

Everyone teleported to their balls after Maple snapped her fingers. Since Kelly was so close to the pin already, the others let her tap Tad into the hole for an easy Birdie. The furthest away was Lori, so she got to hit next. Brian still couldn’t see through the thick bunker he was stuck in, but he knew Lori would have to hit pretty hard to get him out. She set her sand wedge next to him as she took aim with precision. With a swing back, Lori hit the ball with a great amount of force. Sand sprayed everywhere as Brian careened into the air before finding himself a short distance away from the hole. It appeared Lori hit him with enough power to get him out, but not enough for a chip in. With him so close to the hole, the others let Lori do her short putt into the hole for a decent Par.

Carol was next with her Iberico ball on the edge of the green. When she walked up to him she saw him with his mouth full for cookie crumbs.

“Ummmmmm, can you hold off for just a minute? I’m not done eating yet!” Iberico asked.

“Sorry little guy, but I can’t wait on a game like this.” Carol responded. Hearing that response, Iberico started to rush finishing up his snack as Carol got her putter out. Even if she wasn’t technically on the green, putting from the green’s edge wasn’t uncommon. She took one more second to align properly before taking her putt, with Maple removing the pennant as the ball rolled. Iberico didn’t even get to finish eating as his cookie crumbs flew all over the ball before he went into the hole. She scored her Birdie with style while Iberico had to clean up everything inside the ball.

Maple went last. She didn’t try anything fancy for her putt; just some sharp attention was needed as she did her stroke. Accounting for the small hill this time, she hit forward and got her ball into the hole for a nice Birdie.

With one brilliant flash, the golfers warped to the final hole. Considering what two courses occurred previously, they could easily assume it would just be another flat picture in the shape of something, but they couldn’t have been any more absentminded. The course was in the shape of something all right, but not the way they initially thought. It was in the shape of a massive giantess, which thankfully for them was just a masterfully crafted masterpiece of multiple terrains. Unlike the previous holes, this one was not completely flat but as if a giant girl was lying on her back looking up at the clouds with her arms to the side. Where skin would be was actually smooth fairway while the sandals over her feet were incredibly rocky if any golf ball landed on it. The long dress she had a dark green color of the deep rough it was, which didn’t open up anywhere for obvious reasons, so unless someone had a really strong arm they would need to detour their shots to the arms which was covered in fairway. The fingernails and toenails weren’t big targets, but they were bunkers due to their white color. The neck and face were covered in fairway for easy strokes, but the mouth was wide open with a lake forming inside, so any shots in there would be considered a water hazard penalty. The white of the eyes were likewise massive bunkers, but the pupil and iris were safe to land on being fairways. With the hair being brown it obviously meant it was a bouncy rock hazard with the crown around it being dark green for the deep rough that it was. It wasn’t as if the players would come across those parts anyway, as the green was set right on the giant girl’s forehead in a perfect oval shape, which appeared to have easy putting grounds. Due to how large the course was, it could have nothing more than a par five.

Lori, Carol, and Kelly stood dumbfounded at what the course was as Maple giggled at their reactions.

“Heheheh, at a loss of words are you?” Maple said. “I’m not that surprised, for this course WAS meant to be a joke for one of the rulers of Giant Land in my dimension. He always kidded around by saying that if he somehow was smaller than his wife he would use her as a golf course. He didn’t mean it obviously, but the professor who made this virtual golf world thought it would be funny to actually implement a golf course that looked like her. I can’t wait to see the look on his face when he finds this out!”

A set of words caught Brian by ear. He needed more concrete proof before jumping to conclusions.

“Wait, did you say Giant Land?” Brian asked. “If I may ask, do you happen to know someone by the name of…Mario perhaps?”

“Mario? Of course I know that red hatted guy!” Maple answered. “I used to go golfing with him all the time, although he has distanced himself from me lately. Last I have heard from him was during an incident at some Metro Kingdom…wherever that is.”

“It’s basically a bustling city. You should go there when you get back to your dimension…if you can that is.” Brian answered. That was when Maple turned her full attention to him.

“Wait, Mario also talked about a guy riding around with a giantess rock star…that was you?! Wow, now I am SO jealous, although I kind of expected you to be a bit…taller.”

“It’s complicated; don’t think about it too hard.” Brian said. “So how’s Mario? Has he been doing well lately?”

Maple went silent. She slightly reeled back as the other girls, who were silently eavesdropping through the entire thing, were as confused as Brian was. Iberico didn’t care and was busy eating as usual while Tad idly stood by to not upset anything. They watched Maple walk back with a pretty average expression.

“Well…can we finish this last hole first? I feel like we should finish this before I speak up about that.”

“Sure…if it makes you feel better.” Lori replied. Maple put her grin back on as the final hole was upon them, and the others were very curious on how this course would be handled. Because of her excellent Birdie earlier, Carol got the privilege to go first. Iberico, once again, wasn’t caring about anything other than the snacks he stashed away, so Carol had an easier time not arguing with him and getting on with the shot. She knew her drive didn’t go that far, so she positioned herself to aim along the fairway of the legs. She took aim then swung her club, sending Iberico into the air as the pig plainly flew. The police pig spun wildly through the air, almost losing his lunch in the process, before landing near the top of the left leg of the golf course. His cheeks swelled up as he held back heaving out before plopping on the ground in exhaustion.

Kelly’s chance was up next. Tad cringed at the look of the course while Kelly didn’t care, so she set Tad’s ball on the white tee and adjusted the wood she had. With no wind, everything was on the accuracy of the shot, so Kelly felt confident with where she wanted to go. With one quick swoosh, Tad was sent clean into the air flailing about and spinning everywhere. It looked as if Kelly’s shot came up a bit short, but before it could land in the fingernail bunker it barely managed to edge out and land on the fairway of the left arm. Tad sighed with relief, but knew it was far from over.

Maple went after. She set her sights on one particular spot and knew she could reach it with enough power. She let it loose after a quick analysis, and the ball landed right near the top of the course’s left shoulder, on a fairway no less.

Maple was glad her shot went by swimmingly as Lori was the last one up. Brian took a few deep breaths so he wouldn’t freak out from flying through the air while Lori took aim. She had the capabilities to match Maple’s shot, and that’s what she was aiming for. After moderately calming down, Brian closed his eyes and sat silent as Lori finished up her aim and let it rip. It was hard to keep from screaming, but as soon as it started it was all over. Brian opened his eyes to see that he landed in the middle of the right arm near the elbow, safe on the fairway for Lori’s next shot.

With everyone now finished with their first shot, the one furthest away got to hit next, which turned out to be Carol. With everyone getting teleported, Carol looked down to see Iberico up and about gazing at the vast deep rough in front of him.

“Man, almost appears deadly at certain points from my angle.” Iberico said. “You really think you could hit across that?”

“No, definitely not.” Carol stated. “We’re taking a detour for safety.”

“Oh good, I really don’t want to look along the tall grass. Even as a police officer I have my limits.” Iberico answered. Carol understood where he came from and nodded her head as she aimed for the left arm where Kelly’s ball was. One fell swoop was all she needed as she hit Ibercio into the air again. He continued to hold back from puking as he landed near the top of the shoulder’s fairway. He snorted like the pig he was as he looked back to see Kelly take her shot next. It wasn’t too long, but he did hear Tad scream like he got smacked “there” before hearing him make impact. He couldn’t get a good look at his landing place, but he did hear some sand kick up.

Lori went after. She took her time gazing at the terrain while Brian prepped himself for another whack. She found a pretty suboptimal patch, but it was her safest bet to avoid the water hazard of the open mouth. She set herself up right before reeling back and letting go. Brian braced for impact before he landed right below the course’s mouth on the chin. It wasn’t too close to the forehead where the green was, but it did avoid a potential hazard penalty. Another ball whizzed past him as Maple’s shot flew ahead, landing somewhere to the right of the nose which was pretty close to the green.

The next few shots the golfers did all landed them on the green, although Kelly did have a harder time as her shot landed on one of the teeth where there were bunkers everywhere. She ended up having the longest putt up another hill, while the others were moderately away but also has some small hills here and there. This left Kelly to go putt first.

“Come on babe, you got this!” Tad said. “I may be a fraction of your size, but you got my full support!”

“Whatever Tad, we’re still broken up.” Kelly stated. Tad angrily slumped to the ground as Kelly went up to her ball. Like the first hole, she was going to have to hit pretty hard to make it up the hill, so after taking a moment and concentrating, she hit Tad as best as she could. It was enough to make it up the hill as the ball inched closer and closer…only to stop near the edge of the hole.

“Ugh, come on! Can I get any sort of slack here?!” she exclaimed as she tapped Tad into the hole for a nice Par. She picked Tad out of the hole as the tiny bush guy stared at his ex with shines in his eyes.

“Again, we’re still not getting back together. Deal with it.” Kelly replied.

Maple was the next furthest away. She didn’t concentrate much as she wasn’t in front of any obstructions, so she effortlessly putted her ball into the hole for a good Birdie. Carol followed up on that after a relatively easy putt, awarding another Birdie. This left Lori for last, but even with the shortest distance Brian was still nervous.

“You sure you’re going to make this? I’m giving you my support but I feel that it’s not enough.” Brian said. Lori reflected a smile towards him from above.

“Brian, you’re talking to someone who joined the varsity golf team as a freshman. I think I know what I’m doing.” Lori responded. Brian situated himself as Lori placed her putter behind him and focused. She took one deep breath before making her move, which expertly hit the ball straight into the hole with no inaccuracies. It was one clean Birdie.

She picked up Brian from out of the hole as Maple tallied up the final scores. She and Carol seemed to have done a perfect game with negative threes while Lori was one point behind with Kelly even further behind thanks to getting Pars on at least one of the holes. She was impressed that one of the players actually stacked up against her, giving her a good impression that she picked the right players to test the virtual golf simulator for the professor that created it. She got out the device and pressed the appropriate buttons to send the play data to the professor, for more bug testing, before getting back to the girls.

“That was a great played game of golf there ladies. Thanks for helping me out here, and I’m sure Professor E.Gadd really appreciates this test run.”

“What are good golfers for?” Carol spoke up. “You were really nice to hang out with.”

“I concur.” Lori replied. Brian and Iberico both nodded their heads in agreement.

“I’m actually more surprised that I didn’t do terribly as I played.” Kelly answered. “I didn’t think I would be THAT good.”

“Relax babe, you always have me.” Tad chimed in. Kelly would have slapped him across the face for saying that, but since he was still in a special golf ball she shook him instead, making him bound all over the inside before slumping to the ground in a very dizzy state.

One brilliant flash later and everyone had to adjust their eyes to the surrounding area again. Iberico planted into the ground from the front, where he had to pull himself out of the ground and spit out the dirt in his mouth. Tad landed back on Kelly’s head, now back to his normal size while appreciating how comfy the top of his ex-girlfriend’s head was. Brian landed on Carol’s shoulder safely as he was happy now that he was no longer stuck in a golf ball. Everyone else found themselves back near the end of the green where they initially were sent off from, almost as if they never left in the first place.

“Well, since I got everything I needed from you I should probably head back to my own dimension. I can’t let the rift fade away before I get in. Again, thanks for everything.”

“Wait, you literally said that you would speak up about what happened back at you dimension after we were done.”

“Oh right, I forgot about that. Sorry.” Maple said as she turned back around to face the other girls. She tilted her head down slightly as she put her arms behind her back and shuffled her feet, something that rubbed the others the wrong way, before explaining.

She wasn’t letting the words come out, it was too much, but they needed to know what happened even if it wasn’t the outcome they were expecting. She took one more deep breath before saying the following.

“The city in the Metro Kingdom where he was…it was…completely destroyed.”

Those words struck the others hard. Brian even remembered that the last thing he saw was a half decimated city, thanks to a scuffle Luna had earlier, but it was still standing. It was only a week since that happened, so for it to finally collapse in one fell swoop…

“As a matter of fact, I think he did say something about a behemoth of a thing with six arms as everyone was evacuating. The last he saw of it was after the last person made it out of the city safely where boats were waiting to drop them off somewhere else.”

Kelly’s pupils shrank as she held the sides of her head. Her head tilted down before it started to shake.

“Just when I thought I hit a stroke of luck being brought here…only to be put in the line of fire…why am I turning into reality’s favorite sandbag?! This is so…urrgh!”

Everyone was as if they were frozen in time as they saw Kelly lose it. Even Tad couldn’t believe what he was hearing, but he knew that she needed time to herself and hid himself back in her hair. After what seemed like an eternity, Lori slowly walked up to Kelly and set a hand over her shoulder.

“Of course we do!” Kelly interrupted with teary eyes. “With that dimension now in ruins we’re going to be next! How do you think we are going to get out of this?!”

“Honestly, I don’t know.” Lori replied. “I’m certain though that there’s a way out of this. That’s literally how friends work; we look out for each other and give our support when needed. Don’t worry about it now. Tell you what, how about you come to my sister’s concert in a few days? There’s literally always a good time to come when she’s involved.”

Kelly’s eyes were still ridden with tears, but it was as if her eyes sparkled for a moment. Here she was, all beaten up and wrecked inside, and these people, who she only met for a few months while being trapped in a dimension she didn’t know fully about, were showing their concern to her. Before she knew it, she found herself up in Lori’s arms as she embraced one of the most heartfelt hugs she could muster. Lori could feel Kelly’s sorrow very well, almost like she was a sister she never had, as she kept her in her grasp as she patted her lightly on the back. Carol and Brian glanced at each other as it happened, seemingly knowing what they needed to do, before Carol walked over and picked Brian off of her shoulder and dropped him right on Lori’s. As someone going through a similar situation, Brian knew how hard Kelly had to be taking it. It gave him more reasons to find out what was going on and potentially stop it.

“Look Kelly, I’m…just as scared as you are. You’re not the only one stuck here, but at least you still have your size and memories intact. I’m still trying to figure those things out, but I know anything is possible with the right tools especially among friends. We will discover what’s happening with everything, I know that for a fact.”

Kelly turned her face up from Lori and set her watery eyes on Brian. A lever in her head creaked halfway but refused to go over fully, making her brain hurt. It was clicking, but nothing came out. She calmed down somewhat even with the nagging in the back of her head.

Everyone turned to see that it was a nervous Maple talking, not knowing that what she said was worse than she thought.

“I know I should be happy that everyone made it out of the destruction, but I didn’t know that it was only the tip of the iceberg. I wish I could help more, but dimensional shenanigans are hard to trifle with and I’m not an expert on the matter. Even so, I really wish the best out of all of you. I may have only known all of you for a short time, but I loved hanging out with you. You really are some good new friends.”

The winds behind her began to waver little by little, and she knew what that meant.

“Oh shoot, the rift is fading! Ummmm, I’ll try to find some way to contact you again! Goodbye everyone!”

The others girls, along with Brian and Iberico, waved goodbye as Maple rushed into the bushes to catch the rift back home. One fell swoosh emitted through the area before suddenly settling down, telling the others that she made it through. Everyone stood in silence for a moment before Carol spoke up.

“So…this is what has been happening behind my back Lori? I can’t believe it, this is…INSANE! With new faces and weird happenings occurring, I’m SO jealous!”

“It took some getting used to.” Lori answered. “As a matter of fact, I literally still do not fully understand it. There’s lots of stuff that goes into it…and that’s just the start.”

“I can see that messing you up pretty well, along with you as well Brian.” Carol replied.

“Heheheh, it’s been doing that ever since I got here.” Brian said. The three then turned to Kelly, who was still not feeling too great.

“Are you going to be okay now…Kelly was it?” Carol stated. Kelly turned up and slowly nodded with a small frown.

“I’ll try to hold it in for these next few days. I’m still not over how my dimension was also trashed, and now I have to cope with this new reveal, but I don’t want to set a bad example to you three.”

“Say, how about all of us do something special together? I mean, we still have some time to burn and we didn’t do much with Kelly today.”

“Wow Brian, that has to be one of the smartest things you have ever stated.” Lori said. “I’m up for it if you two are.”

“Of course I would go with you Lori. After what I just went through, it really brought my adrenaline out.” Carol said.

“Even though I would very much prefer to not be seen…I guess I can let this one slide. Besides, you have practically become my best friends as I’m trapped here.” Kelly said, letting up a smile just a little bit.

“Then that’s settled then.” Carol said. “Hey Lori, I know this may sound weird, but…can I hold Brian during this time? Just looking at someone so incredibly tiny…I can’t help it.”

“Sure, go right ahead.” Lori answered. Brian nodded in agreement as Carol picked him off of Lori’s shoulders and back into her eager hands. She started touching him from all sides with her pink fingernails as she kept her fingers around him.

“I’ll say it again, but you look so adorably cute as small as you are! You don’t mind me holding you for the rest of the day right?”

“Not at all.” Brian said as she had her grip on him. “A close friend of Lori’s is a close friend to me.”

“Thanks so much Brian.” Carol replied. With that said, the three girls set off for a day of hanging out, while having Brian with them of course. Lori already had some places the others might enjoy, but she didn’t forget about the main reason Brian was brought here either. She would be giving Lisa some form of punishment for making him an actual field test, on a poop study no less, but for now she was among friends and didn’t want to waste it.

They did forget one certain animal as he was busy chowing on cookie crumbs, and once he looked up after finishing he noticed that he was being left behind.

“Hey, you’re forgetting about me! Wait up; it’s safer to walk with a police officer near you!”

He got up and ran after the three giantesses as best as he could while wishing that he brought his police cruiser with him. As he left the greens behind the girls, the bushes and trees behind him started to fizzle and fade into obtuse shapes as it got more and more distorted before finally disappearing completely. The anomaly wasn’t witnessed by anyone, but then the greens started to go through the same process…

It was finally here, the day of Luna’s big concert, and her siblings were really hyped. Luna spent most of her day at the school gymnasium practicing as her siblings prepared their signs to hold up. Kelly spent the last few days since the golf outing near the household, being hidden from anyone other than the Loud siblings, and even got the chance to help out. She was still a little shaken up, but she held it back the best she could. Tad’s constant appearances out of her hair didn’t help much, even if he wanted her back to being his girlfriend, but he did bring out some utensils from the depths of Kelly’s hair to help with the sign construction. One thing did stick out to them however, and it was the rifts. They were never as common before until the last couple of days, and the objects they dumped out were piling up quick. It got so bad that the Loud siblings even had to stuff the objects into their closets, but that was just a patch job. Not only that, but with more and more dimensional objects getting dumped, the normal objects kept disappearing out of existence from, as Lisa clearly put it, dimensional instability. Lola already lost multiple dolls from it, while Lori and Leni could only watch as their favorite dresses and clothes faded out of existence. The other siblings also lost many things from the instability, but they kept the details to themselves.

As for the signs for Luna’s concert, for the ones that already finished up their end of the bargain, they got some well-deserved personal time to do their own things, and for a certain someone she had something planned out.

“Here’s lies Brian. As someone who survived this long under the handicaps of being shrunken, he will be remembered by his close friends. May he rest in peace.”

She continued on with her notes as she glanced at Brian’s motionless body every now and then, which was placed in a specially crafted tiny coffin to fit his size while on her bed. Despite what was going on, Lucy was the only one to be at his funeral, with everyone else still working for the event tonight. To think that someone she could actually talk to and understand her traits was now dead, Lucy took it really hard. Her face was as neutral as always, but she couldn’t help but sniff and feel her skin go clammy as the funeral went on. At least she had Edwin next to her on the small cupboard to give her some comfort, but it couldn’t hide the pain she was feeling.

Right as she finished reading through her notes, she wiped her face before sniffing one more time with one final glance towards the dead boy in the coffin.

“It was adequate, I’ll tell you that.” Lucy replied. She turned to face Edwin as Brian continued to recover from holding his breath for so long. Lucy was able to play dead and stay immobile flawlessly, and how she was able to keep content and even do it as she slept was a mystery to him. She yearned for everything creepy, but some things were probably kept under wraps for the better. One thing she did make clear though was her profession as a funeral director. She was too young to normally do it, but since she commonly had Brian with her she could practice at any moment. She could even go as far as quietly slipping out signs of emotion through her neutral face to make the scenario more believable.

“Hey, holding in your breath for as long as I did isn’t as easy as it looks. I don’t know how-”

Lucy picked up the small coffin and set it next to Edwin before she lied down on the bed, from her front side while giving Brian some room, before she set her hands down and started gazing right at him. It was like she was staring right into his soul with how blank she looked, and Brian was getting chills just from staring back.

She went straight and to the point in an instant. She didn’t sugarcoat anything, it was short and clean as it could get. It was beyond him how she could determine something amiss especially to him, but he didn’t want to ask since Lucy was creepy enough as it was. He didn’t want to toss her aside, she was the sibling that always wanted time with him after all, but she wasn’t exactly the joyful type. Even so, he knew she wouldn’t let this down until he told her.

“Well…I’m still trying to hold in the horrors of the last nightmare I had. I haven’t experienced something that…colorful and graphic ever in my time here. I know you gravitate towards these sort of things Lucy, but I don’t think even you could stomach what I saw in there.”

“So you’re still worked up over that, huh?” Lucy asked. Brian grimly nodded. The terrors that he saw as he slept the night before had to have been the peak of all the frightening and petrifying nightmares he had to date. The nightmare with a furious Lola crushing him all over the floor may have broken him, but this one grinded the remaining shards into nothing. The only thing he could remember of that night was flashes of red and splatters everywhere, but even then it already overloaded him. He spent most of yesterday morning in the bathroom heaving chunks into the toilet, after Lisa carried him there of course, which caused a long line of the Loud siblings to form in front of the door. It wasn’t the best start that day.

“Yeah, it’s still haunting me pretty badly.” Brian stated. “I tried to hold it in since, but it’s still getting me pretty well. I was hoping maybe I could get Lori to help me out with it since you said it yourself that being greatly happy isn’t really you.”

Lucy’s face drew in closer to Brian before she set a finger behind him for a small rub.

“You are correct about my attitude and I might not be the most understanding of the house, but I do understand other’s boundaries. I may be able to handle darkness efficiently but when someone, especially you, manages to get too much I know when to step in. I like the fact that you tried to keep it contained as much as possible, but I’m always open if you get corrupted by darkness. I have compassion Brian, and while it may not be as strong as someone’s like Lori’s or Luna’s, you are always welcome to share your dark moments with me.”

She formed a faint smile which made Brian smile back. She preferred the dark, but she provided light when someone took in too much to handle. She just had her own methods, which was a main reason why Brian considered her the one that stuck out the greatest, even if she always claimed to be the most forgettable.

The two then heard a low ringing noise. With a layer of familiarity going through, Lucy sat back up and reached into her pocket only to notice that it was her special phone. She held up a finger to let Brian know she needed to take the call before pressing the answering button then holding it up to her right ear.

“Hello? Yes it’s Lucy. It’s nice to hear from you too. Yes? Why do I hear a hint of excitement? What? Gasp! That can’t be…”

Even though he could only hear small mumbles from the other end, he was nevertheless curious as to what was being discussed. Lucy continued chatting to the person on the other end while giving very small hints of emotion. He couldn’t see it through her face, but her voice gave him signs from all over. It went up a very small pitch as her words got closer to each other, giving some slight impressions of excitement. She also cracked in a few places, which Brian heard from incidents before, so it gave him some more assumptions. He kept the thoughts to himself as Lucy ended the call and turned back to him.

“I take it that something came up?” Brian asked. He didn’t know why, but Lucy looked a bit…brighter than usual. She was still the darkest one of the family, but it was as if a night light shone behind her at the time.

“Ummm…I think I should tell it to you personally.” Lucy said. She put her phone away before she reached down and wrapped her gray fingers around Brian’s torso. She held him up to her face where she had on a small smile before she poked the sides of his tiny head with one of her black fingernails. She still had a wave of enthrallment over his shrunken body after all. After she had her moment, she explained what she heard.

“That was Haiku over the phone. She said that there’s going to be a crossover special of my two favorite TV shows coming on tonight, which is very surprising as Pierce in the Dark is still in its first season. I never thought a phenomenon like this would happen, especially with Vampires of Melancholia going on for as long as it has, but this easily slipped under the radar. I’m so excited.”

He lips went straight as she went immobile for a few seconds. She wasn’t showing it obviously, but Brian knew how enthusiastic she was under the mask. He sat down with Lucy a few times to watch the two shows, even remembering the time when he polished her toenails at the same time, and they weren’t that bad. He did need some background info from Lucy on certain parts, but other than that he was welcome to watch with her. He may not be as invested as Lucy into the two shows, but he would be lying if he said that he wasn’t interested.

“Well from news like that I can say that your attitude fits this perfectly.” Brian replied. “You want me to watch with you?”

“Nothing would make me happier.” Lucy answered. She drew Brian in close before lightly rubbing him up against her left cheek. Brian smiled as he let her have her time, for she really cared about him like her other siblings. An underlining layer of astonishment lay under his current emotions however. He could see some of the other siblings wanting to nuzzle with him, but for it to come from Lucy…he never saw it coming. He made another mental note to how strange Lucy is compared to everyone else.

She pulled him away from her face as Brian glanced over to Edwin on the drawer next to the bed.

“Ummmmm, I’m not trying to be a killjoy here, but are you sure you should be doing this when Edwin is watching us? I mean, he is your soulmate and-”

“Don’t worry, he understands.” Lucy interrupted. “He may be my undead soulmate but until my time comes, when we finally get united, it’s nice to have someone to hang with in the mortal world. I consider myself very fortunate with you around, since I don’t need to invite someone over to do stuff with.”

“Oh, well…thank you for that.” Brian answered as he rubbed the back of his head. Even though Edwin was just a statue, to Lucy it was something special. He played along when he had the chance to make Lucy feel better even if Edwin looked a bit…creepy to him.

“Okay, so the crossover special premieres after Luna’s concert. Don’t worry; I know how to prepare for it. Leave it to me.”

“Ohhhhh…kay?” Brian said in confusion. The two were interrupted as the room door swung open, revealing a very exhausted and dirtied up Lynn. She had on a helmet and special outfit as she made her way inside.

“Motocross practice I presume?” Brian asked. She wiped some sweat from her brow as she gazed over to Lucy and Brian while taking off her helmet.

“You got it.” Lynn answered. “Things went a bit rough today, but I got some sick air from the ramps. Get this though; we actually came across a huge segmented motocross course in the middle of nowhere!”

“We just suddenly came across it halfway through our practice!” Lynn said. “There were even lines that dictated where certain sections began and ended along with some really deep mud pits. You see everything I’m covered in? It was all because of that new course, baby! I can’t wait to ride through it again and catch those speed boosting ramps!”

“Speed boosting ramps? Is that natural?” Brian asked. “I have never heard of such a thing.”

“Me either, but none of it matters once you run over its rainbow coloring and get launched into the air! It really got my muscles pumping.” Lynn answered. Brian groaned silently, for he had a hunch at what happened. To think that it was possible for the rifts to dump something as huge as an entire dirt bike track just showed how unpredictable they were. They were so common now it’s a miracle that nobody managed to see one yet other than him, the Louds kids, and a few of their friends.

He didn’t think about it any further than that as he tried to stretch his back only to get huge pains. Lucy must have applied to much pressure there, but it was only a rough guess.

“You have back pain Brian, I can tell.” Lucy stated. The fact that she wasn’t even looking at him as she said that made it even creepier. Just how she managed to deduce it without even batting an eye at him…

“You’re hurting back there little guy?” Lynn responded. “I can easily remedy that. Come here.”

“It’s okay Lynn, only a little sore there and…urrrrrrrgh.” Brian said. No matter how he tried to hide it, it was obvious to the others. He was more worried than anything when it came to Lynn’s roughhousing, and at the size he was at would certainly mean some “raspberry jam” over the floor. Not only that, but Lynn was also very persistent, latching to any situation until the receiving end inevitably gave in. This wasn’t going to go by quietly.

“Geez, you really need my help there. Don’t worry; I know how to work it. Mind handing him over Lucy?”

Lucy nodded as she got off of the bed with Brian still in her hand. He began to internally panic for his life as Lynn cracked her fingers before Lucy dropped him into her outstretched hands. Like she said earlier, they were a bit dirty from her practice earlier, but that wasn’t what he was currently focused on.

“Lynn, I’m fine! You don’t need to do anything, I’m perfectly okay! Don’t try to do anything, please!”

“Relax Brian; I’ve done this dozens of times. Granted they weren’t as small as you, but they came out with no issues. Just stay put for a second and it will all be over quickly.”

“No Lynn, I don’t want it to end like this!” Brian said. His breathing came out in spurts as Lynn coiled her fingers around his legs. His back was still aching, but it would get much worse if Lynn did anything to it. Lucy blankly stared at him as Lynn prepared to do Brian’s back while the shrunken boy panicked in the athletic girl’s grasp. He expected the worst of Lynn’s roughhousing to be put on him, but just as he was about to close his eyes he felt Lynn poke his back. He was stunned, not knowing what was going on, when Lynn put in more pressure into her finger. His back started to emit cracks as his belly protruded slightly forward. No pain came forward for him, although he knew Lynn’s hard fingernail would make a few harmless red marks here and there.

Brian stood shocked for a moment as he slowly came to. The pain was gone, his back felt as good as ever. He was certain it would have gone way worse, but Lynn didn’t go that far. Not wanting to continuously see Lucy’s emotionless glare, Brian turned around to Lynn’s huge face.

“Ummmmm…that certainly diverted my expectations.” Brian shakily said to Lynn. “I was sure that you would go-”

“Rough?” Lynn finished. Brian slowly nodded, which made Lynn put on one of her signature snarky smiles. She chuckled and ruffled Brian’s hair with one of her fingers.

“Heheheheh, as if I would go all out on you at the size you are at right now! I may be a tough cookie Brian, but even I know you would meet your end if I did any of my daily routines with you. It’s just a quick back adjustment Brian, not a wrestling match…even if it would be awesome to have one with you. I’m going to make a note of that until you’re back to normal size.”

“Wow…thanks Lynn.” Brian replied as a heavy relief lifted off of him. She knew about his limitations and followed it perfectly, something a few of the other siblings were still a bit shaky on. For the information to come from Lynn, the sports fanatic, and nobody else really caught Brian off guard. Turns out there may have been more to her that he didn’t think was possible.

She was about to hand him back to Lucy when the door opened again, revealing the genius of the family as she entered the room.

Brian was dropped into Lisa’s hands as she took him straight to her room. It wasn’t really noteworthy to the shrunken boy, but for today something seemed…off. Lisa would usually get some small shivers when her fingers made contact with his body, due to finally having a taller height over someone else especially with someone older than her, but this time she didn’t even bother. This was very awkward, even for Lisa, as she also wasn’t spouting a quick scientific epidemic to him like she usually did, she stayed silent. These signs prevented Brian from asking what was going on, keeping the thoughts to himself as he waited to arrive in her bedroom.

Once they made it inside, Lisa closed the door and set Brian on her lab table. Getting a clear sight of her face, Brian saw that her eyes and lips dipped down ever so slightly as her skin was a bit moist at certain spots. Something definitely wasn’t right, but Brian didn’t want to ask outright as he knew what Lisa usually wanted from him.

“Okay Lisa, what experiment do you have planned this time? Is it showering me with kangaroo DNA, or trying to implant a dead ant’s abdomen over my butt?”

“No, I don’t have anything for you today.” Lisa stated. This was a first for him, since when Lisa wanted him to herself it was always for some sort of experiment. As much as he loved the different reveal, it made Brian unsure what she wanted for him now. He didn’t have to wait long as Lisa pulled out and dug into the drawers of the table. After a quick search, she picked out something that was all too familiar to someone like her. It was a stereotypical glass chemical bottle with a skinny tube near the top covered with a cork. Inside was some sort of green liquid that gave off a certain smell of decomposing roadkill, which Brian could smell from the table. He had to cover his nose on that detail.

“Geez Lisa, what did you have to kill to make that?!” Brian exclaimed as he reviled back.

“No animals were harmed in the making of this concoction.” Lisa replied. “It uses different compounds.”

“What do you want me to do? Drink it?” Brian asked while still covering his nose. Lisa shook her head.

“Not for now. I just want you get a good look at it, for I’m sure you have been waiting for this since you came here.”

Lisa dipped down while biting her lip and fidgeted her digits to herself. More flags popped up in Brian’s head and they were all over the place. Silence echoed around half a minute before Lisa spoke up again.

“This concoction that I whipped up, well, it…has the necessary ingredients to revert you back to what you once were. I finally made it test subject, this, errrrrrrrr…is the cure you have been waiting on for so long.”

Brian’s thoughts and emotions exploded behind his façade of a face. There was no way, not in a million years that Lisa finally cracked the code and decompiled it into a working medicine. If what she said was true, that meant he could grow back to normal size and regain his locked off memories in an instant, which was his main goal since the Louds found him. It was coming to an end; the finish line was in sight. If the Louds saw him back to normal, he would surely-

Lisa’s hesitant behavior made more sense to him. He’s been with the siblings for over half a year, it was likewise that some of them forgot that he was only staying with them until he was cured of his shrunken state. Once he was cured he would be back to the life he had before, and he knew that with all of the time spent with him they would hate to see him leave. Some of the siblings even acted so close to him, they would easily be the ones most heartbroken. Part of him wished he had more time to think it out, to stay small just a bit longer for the sake of the Loud siblings having one final moment with him, but the time was now. Lori would no longer have a boy in the house around her age to talk to, Leni wouldn’t need to make tiny clothes any more, Luna wouldn’t have a free opinion on her music tracks, Luan would need to find a new on stage partner for her clowning business, Lynn would lose one extra player during the family’s game night, Lincoln wouldn’t have another boy living with him, Lucy wouldn’t have anyone with similar interests to do activities with, Lola would lose her one close “dolly” to play with, Lana wouldn’t have a partner for mud wrestling and hanging out with her reptiles, Lisa would need to find a new human guinea pig for her experiments, and Lily…would really miss snuggling with him. All of the Louds kids would lose out on something once he left, and he really didn’t want waterfalls of tears on his way out.

“You’re…you’re kidding right? You actually just finished making it?” Brian asked in bewilderment.

“Do I look like someone who’s joking around?” Lisa replied. “It’s been completed for a while now. To be completely transparent…I’ve had the cure finalized since last week, but because everyone enjoys your company I’ve kept it hidden until now. I thought you would want one last hurrah with us due to Luna’s concert tonight. It would have been a longer waiting period if I didn’t find certain substitutions for various elements.”

If he was in any other situation Brian would have lashed out at Lisa for purposefully hiding away what he was waiting for since his arrival, but this was different.

“But…but what about the rifts? You know that I am helping you look through this right?”

“I am aware of that ominous presence.” Lisa answered. “I was hoping that one of your memories currently locked away would give us some insight to what’s happening. Don’t worry; I’m still researching on the subject.”

“I can inform my siblings about what transpired between you and me if you want me to. It will hurt them I can guarantee that, but at least they will know about your soon departure and adapt to the news quicker. It’s your call Brian, but all stories cannot go on forever.”

“…no…don’t tell them.” Brian muttered. His emotions were all over the place, he didn’t know how to feel. Even so, things would be made worse if he told the others, so keeping it between just the two of them was the best option to him.

“I understand.” Lisa responded. “You don’t want to dampen the spirits of my siblings. Even though secrets are nearly impossible to keep in this house, I’ll keep my lips sealed to the best of my ability. For the sake of my siblings, I’ll give you until after Luna’s concert tonight. I think it would be nice to end on a high note…no pun intended.”

“Thanks Lisa…” Brian responded. The two then heard a strong ding noise ring through their ears, and the two knew what it meant, the Dream Boat was premiering a new episode. Since the family was already big fans of the show, with Brian thinking the show was okay, the couch would get crowded in mere seconds unless they claimed a spot. Lisa knew they had to go do so before the others, so she set her hand on the table and let Brian climb on before lifting him up to her wholehearted face.

“I’m really going to miss this feeling of appearing big for once.” Lisa said. “It truly makes me wish I had a shrink ray to do this all the time. Oh well, maybe someday.”

“Knowing you, I’m sure you already have some ideas on that.” Brian replied. The two exchanged smiles as Lisa set the cure on the lab table before they made their way out of the room for a good spot on the couch.

The episode of the Dream Boat concluded with an obsessive nerd named Stanley getting voted off, which many of the Loud kids could live with as he wasn’t the most popular. Brian did his own personal head count of the siblings, but due to how massively huge everyone was compared to him it wasn’t easy. He was pretty sure he missed a few, but it wasn’t that big of a deal. All of the Loud kids smiled during their favorite show, even Lucy despite the fact that she had her own favorite shows, which Brian kept getting distracted by. These moments might be the last he will ever see of his adoptive family in such a happy mood. These thoughts kept him from focusing too much on the show.

Once the show ended everyone scrambled off to do their own things, leaving Brian alone on the couch. He couldn’t find the strength to move as if two ton weights were put on his back. It wouldn’t be long until he would have to take the cure and leave without anyone but Lisa knowing about it. This wasn’t a Lucy state of sadness, it was much worse. It made him even more depressed once he concluded that he wouldn’t get to watch that special horror crossover with Lucy since it premiered after the concert. Considering how close she acted around him, it was going to be devastating when she…

He heard some familiar snorting noise next to him. Turning to his right, he noticed that it was just Iberico finishing off the last batch of popcorn that was made for the show.

“Enjoying yourself?” Brian asked. Iberico looked back at him with butter all over his mouth.

“Sorry, I just can’t help it. I may not be too interested in what everyone just watched, but I sure do love some good popcorn!”

“It’s kind of written all over your face there.” Brian responded. Hearing Brian sound less enthusiastic than usual, Iberico scooted over closer to him.

“Don’t make me play ‘Good Cop, Bad Cop’ with you to get the information out, or do you want me to seriously interrogate you?”

“You’re saying that as you are completely covered in butter. It’s hard to take you seriously like that.” Brian replied. Iberico was about to reply back, and possibly get his police cruiser for better questioning on Brian, before hearing a low outburst.

Iberico went from easy glutton to high alert police officer in an instant as he stood up firmly while Brian was more startled than anything. A rushing trail of loud footsteps could be heard going down the stairs before Lisa came up right in front of them in a panic.

“What appears to be the trouble miss? I am a police officer after all!” Iberico asked.

“It doesn’t concern you.” Lisa replied before turning her attention to Brian. “The antidote that I showed you, well…it’s no longer there!”

“What?!” Brian exclaimed. “What use would someone have with something like that?!”

“I don’t know, but I can’t cure you without it!” Lisa stated. Despite Lisa saying to not be part of the conversation, Iberico unwillingly eavesdropped since he was right by them, and he did have some information on the sort.

“Wait, you mean that green liquid in the bottle? I passed by that on my patrol earlier as everyone was making their way to the TV, and I did catch a glimpse of someone dropping down from above with their eyes set on the bottle. Unfortunately that’s all I know, I needed to keep my eyes on the road while driving my cruiser after all.”

“Hey, it was a brief glimpse! I can’t know all of the details!” Iberico answered.

“Then there’s still the possibility that the culprit may still be in this house.” Lisa said. “I’ll check the ground floor and basement for anything first since I’m down here. I know it may seem hard, but if you could find your way up the stairs can you search up there? It would make this process go by quicker.”

“I’m on it!” Iberico exclaimed before he started to run to get his cruiser.

“This is kind of a personal thing.” Brian explained. “We don’t want anyone else in on this, and even though you are well suited to help I think me and Lisa should be the only ones looking. Please don’t take this negatively; we really need to keep this to ourselves.”

Iberico paused as the words hit him. Brian wasn’t sure if he reached him, for ever since he was brought into the house he would immediately go in the face of danger, but after a few moments Iberico locked eyes with him and knew what they wanted.

“……okay, I’ll leave you two alone.” Iberico answered. “I don’t know why you would turn down help from a police officer, but I can tell that you really mean it. Whatever is happening with you two, I hope you find a satisfying resolution.”

Iberico saluted Brian and Lisa before walking back and getting in his police cruiser. He drove off the couch, landing on the ground with a thud, before heading toward the kitchen. Brian could take a wild guess at what he was aiming for.

“Wow…I appreciate your choice of words there.” Lisa said. “That’s beside the point though. Will you please check upstairs if you get the chance?”

“I will.” Brian answered. Lisa formed a small heartfelt smile before leaving towards the dining room to start her search. For Brian, he knew getting up the stairs would be a pretty long haul, but he knew it was possible with enough effort. He ran over to the side of the couch and prepared to get off.

Brian jolted up as the words hit his ears before hastily turning to see who it was. As if by clockwork for him, it was none other than Lucy doing her usual sudden startling appearances.

“Sheesh Lucy there’s only so much I can take you know!” Brian said as Lucy got on her knees to get a better look at him. She seemed to ignore his current statement and go straight to the more important statement.

“If you’re looking for the cure, I suggest you look in Lola’s and Lana’s room. I’ve been hearing some unusual noises coming from there.”

“Oh, thanks for the tip Lucy.” Brian said before quickly realizing something. “Wait, how do you know about that? That was a secret only me and Lisa knew!”

“I have my ways.” Lucy said. She kept hammering in the points when he least expected it; she was DANG creepy. That was one of the things he appreciated from her though, always sticking out in his eyes from ten other siblings.

“Oh, well…I guess things slipped out for some.” Brian said. “If you have come to try and convince me out of it-”

“No worries, I knew this day was coming.” Lucy interrupted. Brian paused as Lucy got up close to him.

“It was always lingering in the back of my mind, but I understand. It always feels like it was just yesterday when I came into Lisa’s room to see you for the first time. Sigh, how the times change, but I will never forget you when you leave. You will always be the one that got me interested in shrunken people, and that is something special.”

“And you will always be known to me as the cute Goth giantess.” Brian replied. Lucy’s mouth went agape as Brian, realizing what just slipped out, hurriedly clamped his mouth shut with his hands. He wasn’t sure how that slipped out, or even if he actually meant it. He could feel his cheeks light up like he just ate a bonfire, not knowing what he should be feeling right now.

Lucy put a hand behind him as she used her fingers to push him closer to her face.

“Did…did you just say…that I was…cute?” Lucy stammered. Brian was just a plank of wood holding his mouth shut. If he said anything it could tip the scale the wrong way, and he didn’t want to find out what happened when Lucy got upset. Any further poke would upset the beast even if Lucy didn’t express much. His mind was empty as his eyes were glued to Lucy’s blank face, fear setting in as her gaze kept him in place. He even failed to notice Lucy slipping her hand under his feet as she lifted him up, holding his very life in her grasp.

He finally got the courage to shut his eyes and wait for what Lucy would do to him, but it would only be a few moments before he felt a poke from behind him, forcing his eyes back open. Surprisingly, Lucy was smiling right at him, her bangs keeping her eyes hidden as usual.

“I really appreciate you thinking of me that way. I may be pretty young and dark, but it’s nice to hear complements like that especially among my others sisters who are more…appealing. I can tell you weren’t thinking clearly just by looking at you, but it makes you more…fascinating to observe.”

“Gee…thanks for understanding my flub!” Brian replied. “It’s not like I’m saying you are cute by any means, even though you have your own style of appearance, but that doesn’t mean you can be cute by-”

Lucy put a finger to Brian’s face before he could blabber out more, obviously aiming for his lips. The tiny boy knew he needed to think before he let his mouth ramble on and on.

“I understand, so you don’t need to keep talking.” Lucy replied. She withdrew her finger before she grabbed a clump of her hair in one hand and straightened it out. Brian was confused until Lucy spoke up again.

The nostalgia hit him like a truck. He stood in awe for a split second before he walked up to the string of hair.

“Just so you know Lucy…I’m still not fat Tarzan.” Brian said as he grabbed the hair and held on tight. He could hear Lucy chuckle as he lifted his legs into the air and let the hair swing him back and forth. It was moments like this that he would miss once he got back to normal, for the Loud kids all had something in the back of their minds for “small” situations. He really enjoyed what they had in mind as long as it sounded safe so he wouldn’t have to worry about death. This moment with Lucy however was a bit special, as if she was willingly acting like it was the first time she set her eyes on him at the lab table. He really appreciated that she remembered it after the countless months he stayed with her and her family. He knew she wouldn’t forget about him any time soon.

After a few more minutes, Lucy plucked Brian from her hair and gazed at him one more time.

“It’s hard to think that so many things have changed since that day. Sigh, I’m really going to miss you and your tiny size. Never forget me okay?”

“I obviously wouldn’t forget the one that constantly wanted me to herself.” Brian replied. “You really are a great friend Lucy.”

What happened next was something he never thought would come from Lucy. As he gave her an uplifting grin, Lucy quickly got up close and gave him probably the biggest kiss he had ever taken. As her lips withdrew in an instant, Brian was practically a steel pole. The headlights were all over the place as electricity bumped all over. He could see this sort of outcome from someone like Lori or Leni, but Lucy?! She was only eight years old and he was way older! His mind was screaming all over to try and comprehend what just happened, but it wasn’t going away.

His two large dinner plates stared at Lucy as she tried to calm him down by rubbing one of her black fingernails over his back before she got up close and whispered.

“Now you will never forget my interest toward your tiny self. Let me take you to Lola’s and Lana’s room where I think you need to be.”

Lucy dropped Brian off in front of door to the twins’ door. She vanished after Brian blinked once, another note to add to Lucy’s creepy behavior. He could hear some weird noises from the other side of the door, and they didn’t sound like any of Lana’s reptiles. The room may be closed off, but he was just small enough to squeeze under the space of the door and bypass it. It was a pretty tough process, but after struggling for a bit he made it inside the room. Lola wasn’t present, for she had to go back up to the gymnasium after her sparkling decorations vanished out of existence, but other than that the room looked the same as it always was…except that some furniture and some of Lola’s dolls were completely absent. They probably disappeared from existence from the rifts dumping piles upon piles, and Brian did not want to ask Lola about them just to be on the safe side. Lana’s closet from her side of the room was as stuffed as always, since Lola insisted that anything dumped from the rifts into their room go there so her dresses don’t get soiled to any degree, but it was Lola’s closet that he could hear the noises come from. There was a chance that it was one of Lana’s reptiles that he wasn’t informed of, but he had to take the chance, for his normal size and memories were on the line.

He shuddered as he slowly walked toward the closet, only to completely get the spook of his life when something dropped down in front of him from above. He fell to his back as his heart raced before he looked up. What a relief he felt when he noticed that it was just Lana’s close frog friend Hops.

“Oh man, you really gave me a heart attack there Hops.” Brian said. “So what’s going on with you today?”

Hops appeared to be very unsettled for some reason as he turned to the closet where the noises were. He croaked weakly, as if it was some sort of whimper from him, before turning back to Brian.

“You want me to go and check that out?” Brian asked before seeing Hops nod. “I was actually on my way to check it out after hearing a complaint from Lucy. If it’s troubling you than it must be important.”

Hops smiled as he emitted a happy croak. He may be a frog, but he sure was smart for his species, which was one of the main perks that Lana loved about him. He then turned around with his back facing Brian, and the tiny boy knew what he meant. At his tiny size it would take quite a bit to reach the closet, but with Hops he could get there in a snap. Having a bit of trouble gripping his slimy back, Hops turned his head and shot out his tongue to Brian, which immediately stuck to him. Using his tongue, he lifted Brian to a better spot where he wouldn’t slide before dropping him there, withdrawing his tongue in the process.

“Thanks for the help there Hops.” Brian said as he patted the frogs back as thanks. Hops happily croaked again before making his move across the room with large jumps. If Brian didn’t have experience riding Hops before, he would more than likely be holding his lunch in so he wouldn’t blow chunks. It’s not like Hops didn’t mind having a passenger, he actually rather enjoyed it when it came to someone doing the activity with him. Since Brian was the only one small enough, he ended up being his only partner. His company was rather enjoyable though, except when Hops spotted a loose fly. Brian really got the wild ride when it happened that day.

With the “Hops Express”, it didn’t take long to reach the closet. The noises coming from it were getting more distinct, but Brian couldn’t quite figure out what it was. Hops assisted in getting Brian off his back using his sticky tongue before looking down at him with a look of desperation. Brian stood confused before Hops pushed against the closet door enough so that it opened up just big enough for him and Brian to go through. Hops glanced back at Brian as the shrunken boy knew what to do next. He slowly led the way inside the closet with Hops following behind him. It was still a bit dark inside even with the light coming in from the bedroom, but Brian could make out various dresses and shoes that Lola could treasure at any moment. It was like he just stumbled into a royal king’s court with how big everything looked around him, with the dresses almost feeling like regal curtains.

He had to weave in and out of the various shoes, which thankfully were too big to fall into, as the noises kept ringing through his ears. With the darkness around him, he had to rely on his hearing, and even then it was hard to determine with the noises bouncing around like a cave system. Luckily Hops knew where to go, and even with a hindered sight, Brian could make out Hops indicating where to go. He croaked as he made his way ahead, indicating Brian to follow him. The boy hurried behind so he wouldn’t lose him, eventually arriving at what appeared to be one of the corners of the closet. However, it was what was in the corner that he was more interested in. It was hard to make out, but Brian could see the vague shape of the behemoth in front of him, and with the noises more clear than ever, Brian identified just what it was.

The shape in front of him shifted a bit, but it was still a bit too dark to see. Hops had enough of sitting in the dark, so he hopped up onto the shape and pulled out a flashlight after digging through what appeared to be the overalls. Once he jumped back to the ground, he flipped the switch to cast a light on the thing.

Her face was blotted with red spots all over as her eyes were filled to the brim with tears. She was huddled up in the corner as she wiped her face occasionally over her overalls to wipe the tears away. Giant black pupils lay under her soaking eyes, her nose running along with them, as she tried to keep the noises to herself only to be unable to hold it in. In her arms was the object he was looking for, the bottle holding the cure for his status, but she held it tight and wasn’t looking to be letting it go any time soon. It wasn’t the joyous dirty workaholic her knew, it was a train wreck that was catching fire.

Her water filled eyes looked down and saw Brian along the ground in front of her.

“Don’t…don’t look at me! I need some time alone!” Lana stuttered before she dug her face back into her overalls.

“I’m not leaving as I see a face like that.” Brian said. “What’s going on Lana? That bottle is more important to me than you think. I can’t say why, but-”

“Shut it Brian, I know this is the cure you have been waiting for!” Lana shouted. “I watched you and Lisa from the air vent!”

This was the exact situation he wanted to avoid with keeping the cure a secret. Obviously it slipped out to at least one, but that was already too much. He wasn’t going to just pretend this didn’t happen, for Lana was practically his sister at this point. Since the other Louds siblings always stood by him no matter what, he needed to return the favor somehow.

He walked up to the young giantess’ huge legs and continued looking at her in the eyes.

Lana sniffed as she wiped more tears from her eyes. He was unsure if he got through to her at first, but he got his answer as Lana slowly and shakily set her right hand on the ground. Brian walked on it before she lifted him up and held him close to her cheeks. Like her face, her hands were soaking wet from all of the crying so Brian had to keep his footing. She sniffed up some mucus dripping from her nose as Brian stood close to give some comfort to her. He had a wild guess at what she was sad about, but a good lesson he heard from living with the Louds was telling about your troubles from your own mouth to lift some burden off your back.

“Okay, why don’t you calm down a bit and tell me what is going on with you?”

Her lips kept clamped up tight, but Brian knew she needed to get the word out. Finally, the lock opened and she finally revealed what was bothering her through more tears.

“I can’t bear to see you leave okay?! I never wanted this day to come, for it was such a wild ride in the time you stayed here, but now the cure has been made and your time here is up. I won’t be able to see you again as I wake up and see you down the hall smaller than my bare feet…it hurts so much. To think that I actually got to be a ‘big sister’ to someone that small and tiny while being able to do things I never thought would be possible…I don’t want that to go away. Please, don’t take the cure! I want you to keep being shrunken so I can stay as Girlzilla and play with you like the gargantuan girl that I am to you!”

She buried herself back into her overalls, almost dropping Brian in the process. She really did care a lot about him, almost bringing her up to Lucy levels of interest in his eyes. In some ways this felt like the opposite of what happened when he went to Lola for comfort after that dark nightmare of her, but even then Lola showed some “tough love” with her explanation of wanting him to toughen up and not cower from everything. He could relate to Lana’s feelings, and she really needed the company for now.

He walked up to one of Lana’s teary cheeks and set a hand on it before slowly beginning to rub it. It made him soaking wet, but there were more pressing matters than a wet hand.

“Oh Lana, you’re always going to be a big sister to me. Remember our talk from when you got that painted turtle? I won’t forget you.”

“How can I be a big sister when you grow back to normal and go back to the life you had before…whatever it was?! You won’t be in the house anymore and I’ll never see you again!”

“You’re acting as if I will never find my way back here, and that is completely untrue. In the time I spent with you I understood the neighborhood around me, even if I spent most of my time indoors hiding from everyone but you and your siblings, so when I do grow back I’ll know right away where to go if you ever need me. Besides, you were the one that found me amongst the mud all of those months ago, and you and your siblings made sure that I would see though everything until today. From all of that, you are always going to be a big sister to me.”

“But…I’ll never be the giant girl that I always want to be ever again! It’s so cool that I can appear gargantuan to someone like that giant lizard from the movie. It’s such an empowering feeling…and I will never experience it ever again once you leave…”

“To be completely honest, Lisa is just as upset about never appearing huge to someone of my caliber.” He whispered. “She’s hoping to make a shrink ray to fix that, so once I can come over to visit you after she makes it …”

“You would really allow me to do that?” Lana asked. Brian, understanding her plight, put on a warming smile and nodded. He could tell that Lana’s spirit has been lifted somewhat as her mouth went from downwards to straight. She was still upset, but not as bad as it was before. Since the amphibian in the room was also quietly listening out, Hops croaked and jumped up on Lana’s shoulder before giving her a sticky lick on the cheek. This made Lana to look over and pet him on the head.

“Aww Hops, I know you always have my back.” Lana said. “Thanks for getting Brian for me.”

Hops croaked again as Brian gave him a grateful thumbs up. Lana wiped her face off some more before looking back at Brian, and before he knew it, he was up against her chest as she held him close. Her overalls were soaked in tears and mucus, but Brian didn’t care. She really thought of him like a family member and didn’t want to see him go. It wasn’t going to be the end of her seeing him though, for she now knew that he wouldn’t forget her and would find a way to come visit even with the life he couldn’t remember for now. As a bonus, if Lisa ever did make that invention like she said she would…

Once Lana gave the cure back to Lisa, where Lisa gave a short firm lecture to inform Lana on how important it is, things proceeded normally until the inevitable concert. The Loud kids had to leave a bit earlier than the others to make sure things around the stage were set up correctly, especially Lola and her glitter, which meant that Kelly had to take Brian when things were up and ready. Since Tad was settled in her hair, Kelly told Brian that she had to hold him in one of her hands as she made her way to the gymnasium. To further push it, the Louds asked Kelly to bring Lincoln back from behind the stage since he was helping Luna with her clothes, which she seemed reluctant to do at first but complied.

She carefully made her way backstage without too much noticing her. She then arrived at the door to Luna’s room before gripping the knob and opening it. Thankfully she didn’t see anything she would have to wipe out of her mind later, for it was just Lincoln finishing up the laces around Luna’s boots. They two turned to see Kelly enter before she closed the door.

“Wow, you actually did come! I didn’t think you would with that appearance of yours.” Luna said, obviously addressing Kelly.

“Your family provided some options to make me look normal.” Kelly stated. “I don’t need to put them on right now, especially since the fancy scrunchie they gave me fits a little tight.”

“It’s the best we got for taming that hair of yours.” Lincoln said. As if right on cue, her ex-boyfriend Tad then popped up on top of her head with the pig toy Iberico popping up after.

“You do realize that I’m staying in my babe’s hair and need as much room as I can get? You’re basically cutting me off from half of my living space with that curler!”

“Not only that, but did you see the massive refrigerator in here?! I can’t be here on an empty stomach!”

“Sorry you two, but Kelly can’t be sticking out in public. Do you want her to end up in a facility that researches the supernatural? If she goes, you will be along for the ride.” Brian replied from Kelly’s hand. Tad frowned while Iberico deeply snorted.

“Ugh, fine, but this concert better be the greatest enough to warrant restricting my living space!”

“Trust me, it will.” Luna replied. With his question answered, Tad set himself back inside Kelly’s hair, although Iberico hesitated for a moment.

“Wait, raid the refrigerator first!” Iberico exclaimed before digging in after him. Brian turned his attention back to Kelly.

“I was saving you the trouble of dealing with Tad. He’s clearly been out of it ever since we broke up if you couldn’t tell.” Kelly stated. He understood what Kelly meant by that, because the times they crossed paths with him were very awkward to say the least. From searching through piles of dumped objects for the perfect gift, constantly moping about Kelly, and gawking at Kelly’s gigantic figure from a clear golf ball, he’s always one hundred percent set on getting Kelly back. The only time he was somewhat normal was when he was helping him get unstuck from Leni, and even then he talked about getting Kelly back. She had to be pretty set on ignoring him to not go insane every time he comes up.

The ones in the room locked eyes with the girl that walked in, which turned out to be Sam. They weren’t mad or anything, just greatly surprised, but Sam appeared to be more surprised to see the bushy haired Kelly.

“Errrrr, yes Sam. This is that Kelly girl from another dimension.” Luna uneasily explained. Sam shut the door and made her way over to the group, feeling a bit embarrassed to be walking in on something. She couldn’t help but stare in amazement at how Kelly looked.

“Wow Luna, you weren’t kidding about her massive amount of hair! I like your style…even if you have no nose.”

“I appreciate that.” Kelly replied. “I can’t exactly be seen in public around here because of it, but I’m hoping nobody will pay attention to me for tonight’s concert.”

“Just put on the clothes you were given and hopefully that outcome occurs.” Brian said. Upon hearing his voice, Sam turned her attention to Brian still being held by Kelly.

“Oh Brian, it’s nice to see you here too! Gonna stick around for tonight as well?”

“You bet.” Brian replied. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world especially since last week. Did Luna inform you on that?”

“You mean about how she was gigantic and rocked out to a whole city? How could I not get informed about how one of her dreams was accomplished?” Sam said before turning up to face Kelly. “Umm…may I?”

“Sure, knock yourself out.” Kelly replied before dropping the tiny Brian into Sam’s eager hands. She bit her lip and shuddered as Luna and Lincoln watched from the sidelines.

“I forgot how much of an experience it is to be holding someone so incredibly tiny. You do remember the time when you accidentally came to my house, right?”

“It’s kind of hard to forget those terrible rock poses.” Brian responded. Sam giggled as her hand bobbed slightly up and down.

“I really wish I can hold you further, but I really got to get to my instrument before the seats get filled out. You ready Luna?”

“I’m as good as always!” Luna answered. The others nodded, knowing well that the show was about to start. Sam handed Brian back to Kelly as the group exited the room. Kelly could see more objects distort out of existence as she made her way out, making the room nearly barren. She shivered as she made her way out.

Everyone made it to their seats before the lights dimmed down. Brian was put under Lana’s hat while Kelly put on the outfit to make her not stand out as much. Her pink shirt and shoes were okay, but her hair had to be bound by a scrunchie, making it into a nice pretty ponytail, topped off with a stylish blue baseball cap that Lana provided. As a cherry on top, Lisa made a prosthetic nose to put over her face to hide that fact that she didn’t have one. This made Tad’s and Iberico’s status quite tedious as they couldn’t poke out as much with the hat on, and they were barred off from certain sections of Kelly’s hair thanks to the scrunchie. This mostly affected Tad though, as Iberico stockpiled as much as he could from the fridge before Kelly put the outfit on.

An eerie type of fog spread throughout the stage as the curtains opened, sending the audience, including the Louds, Brian, and Kelly, into a cheering frenzy as Luna and her band appeared center stage. Luna was up front with the mike and her Ax, Sam handled the drums, and two other band members handled the other instruments.

“Well I have got some music for all of you! Alright everyone, one, two three, four!”

The music and noise rang through everyone’s ears in a hard melody and they couldn’t have been happier. The Loud kids especially gave their greatest support with the signs they held up and the decorations they made for the stage, for their sister was putting on one of the greatest shows that pushed her to the limit. Sam also rocked out with the drum set, really giving each song an underlining beat that held everything together. Brian swore he saw a tear fall from her eye, and he could understand why. Here she was, playing the personal song she and Luna thought of together, although Brian knew the outdated rock poses he did when he accidentally went to her house also helped somewhat. His time with the Louds really was going off with a bang, and he would miss every single one of them.

While Brian watched the concert from under Lana’s hat, Kelly also watched near the Louds and was also astounded at how good Luna was on the guitar while singing her heart out. She held her hands up to her cheeks as she cheered with the audience, only to get distracted by a pink round confection falling out of her hat. She looked up towards her head and frowned. It was none other than Tad and Iberico snacking on the things.

“Tad, what are you doing? We can’t draw attention remember?” Kelly said. Iberico squealed as he dug into his pink round delight, with some parts sticking to his face.

“I know about that, but these are SO delicious! What are these things called again Tad?”

“Dragon Sugar Dessert, straight from the candy store on Mewni.” Tad replied as he took a bite out of his own. “Man, such a sweet taste that you can never let go…”

“Just get back in my hair before someone sees you! I want to watch this concert if you couldn’t tell!”

“Just a minute babe, I’m still eating.” Tad said before turning to Iberico. “Woah, you better slow down there with the munching! It gets pretty sticky if you go too fast.”

“I can’t help it, it’s SO good!” Iberico responded. “This has to be my new favorite candy!”

Kelly rolled her eyes as she let the two finish up their candy. Even with a good disguise, it couldn’t mask the annoyance of her ex-boyfriend. To think he had the chance to pack away candy all the way back from that dimension, he really would do anything to get her back. It obviously wasn’t going to happen, but she did hope in the back of her mind that he did store enough of the Dragon Sugar Dessert for her to snack on later. She had a particular sweet tooth for the candy after all, and it was known to be pretty hard to make. It made her chuckle as she remembered the time they came across that one who…

Her pupils shrank as everything soon clicked into place. That was how she recognized that voice when she first met with the Louds and the time with the virtual golf. It was during that day and she saw all of it…

She pushed Tad and Iberico back into her hair, which the two weren’t exactly happy about, as she quickly made her way over to the other Loud kids with a look of desperation. She didn’t think about it at the time, but the wind started to pick up in the gymnasium, which was already odd to begin with.

Lana, Lori, and Lynn turned to face Kelly while Brian slowly peeked out from under Lana’s hat.

“Not now Kelly, we’re kind of watching our sister play right now.” Lana said.

“This is important, for I think I know what’s going on with these rifts! We need to get out of here RIGHT NOW!”

“You’re spoiling the mood Kelly. I really want to get invested in this before the night ends.” Brian said.

“This involves you!” Kelly exclaimed. “I’ve seen you before, but we need to get out of here so I can explain! We don’t have time for-”

Suddenly, just as Luna and her band were finishing up with their first song, an explosion occurred right above the stage making the curtains fall to the floor, stopping Kelly from speaking further. The audience was oblivious and thought it was part of the show, but Luna and her band, along with her siblings, Brian, and Kelly, knew otherwise. The wind started to pick up in speed as Luna felt it go above her.

Another explosion occurred, riling up the crowd even further, but that would quickly change. A white thin apparition, as long as the entire gymnasium, drew near the ceiling and curved into a large even circle before it started to change color. The audience and band could only watch as the loop slowly turned pure gold simultaneously making the ceiling begin to crumble. Some of the audience members already started to run out for safety while others were stunned, including the Louds. They covered their heads as the rubble fell around them before the sky was clear in view. The elegant night sky suddenly got covered in black clouds as the golden loop rose high into it, making even more people in the gymnasium flee the scene, but it was just the start.

The center of the loop went hazy as it got filled with a dark purple void as something began to crawl out. Six giant claws emerged from the haze and gripped the edges of the loop as they pulled something out from under the loop. The ones on the ground watched in terror as a giant horned head with a pointed snout exited the hole, and its pointed teeth above the purple chin looked like they could cut through bone. Two golden rings covered over its horns as on the back of the head was a huge purple bushy ponytail even longer than the head, but then the body slowly came out. The torso was massive and had three purple triangular shapes covering the light blue skin with another golden ring on its belly, darkness filling the center. Its two pointy feet had a purple stripe extend down each leg that made a circle on the tip of each foot, and to top it all off, it had a deadly light blue tail with a purple stripe on the top and an arrow shaped tip.

Once its entire body made it out, the loop that brought it here went hollow before shrinking and settling around one of the disembodied claws. The creature flipped upright as it hovered over the tiny school with its pure red eyes glaring at everyone in the ruined gymnasium from above, the six claws hovering next to it with three on each side. Rifts started appearing everywhere like crazy as objects distorted and disappeared from the mass amounts of dimensional objects being dumped, and they weren’t stopping.

Royal Woods went up in chaos. People ran everywhere as the creature ravaged over countless houses and buildings, destroying every single one with one sweep of a disembodied claw. It roared with rage as it hovered over everything below it with millions of rifts appearing at every possible point. Seek and destroy seemed to be the only words that the creature could relate to. Everything seemed hopeless as the end had come and the apocalypse was among them.

For the Louds, all of them rushed into Lisa’s secret fallout shelter in the backyard, since surviving the apocalypse was what Lisa made it for. Kelly also stuck with them since they were the only ones she could truly trust in their dimension. Everyone hiding out could smell the smoke and hear the destruction from the surface as they huddled up and waited for it to stop. This was it, the destruction of their world foretold from months ago, and everything they knew would be wiped from existence. It wasn’t like they would still be alive to see it, for they were set on the chopping block as well.

“Of all the ways I thought were possible when the world ended this would probably be on the lower end.” Lucy said, sounding more depressed than usual. “Sigh, at least I’ll finally unite with my soulmate.”

“At least you have something to look forward to! I never even got to finish my pageant career…AND I’M STILL AT THE RIGHT AGE!” Lola exclaimed, hands over her eyes as she silently wept.

“At least I heard that there was no end in sight for a guy who lost his buttocks! Hahahahah, get it?!” Luan said. Everyone else in the room shot nasty glares in her direction, forcing her to shut up and withdraw. With everything around them collapsing, nearly everyone’s attitude went very negative. There was nothing left to do but let death take them when the time was right, although some of them had different plans.

“Grrrrr, if I was as big as that stupid animal I would give it the ol’ Lynn one two!” Lynn exclaimed as she put a fist into her other hand.

“Yeah, that’s literally not going to happen.” Lori replied. “Our best bet is to hope the authorities have the means to take it down.”

“Do you honestly think they can take that monstrosity out and NOT die in the process?!” Luna said. “They won’t survive dudes.”

“I’m part of the authorities though! As a member of the police force, it’s my duty to-”

“Yeah, I’m going to call that off Iberico.” Brian replied. “You would get demolished in an instant. A different approach is needed.”

Everyone in the room looked in the direction of the voice, only to see that it was coming from none other than the child genius herself, Lisa. She was holding a notepad and pencil that she constantly glanced at while not panicking at all from what was happening outside, something the others weren’t expecting. She kept a level head for some reason.

“Wait; are you seriously thinking of a way to stop the end of everything? You do realize that the monster outside completely decimated other dimensions, including mine?!” Kelly said.

“Yes, I have been aware of it since the emergence of that information.” Lisa responded. “That doesn’t mean our world will suffer the same fate. To be completely transparent, I’ve actually been making a few safeguards ever since the symptoms of the apocalypse started getting more frequent, but they aren’t completely out of the beta phase yet since I need some certain substitutions.”

“Then what certain machine are you making?” Lincoln asked. Lisa formed a slight heartfelt smile as more confusion went over the others.

“You mean the time when I went gigantic and went toe to toe with that dino? I could never forget something as awesome as that moment!”

“Yup, it’s the same machine.” Lisa said. “I’m formulating a few enhancements to, you know…make the projected body tangible.”

Everyone’s mouths basically hit the floor. Last time the machine was used the projected image was only a hologram and couldn’t exactly come into contact with anything, but to actually construct it to physically touch everything? It would be like the one staying asleep in the pod took some sort of growth serum, bringing out the idea Lisa had to stop the end of the world.

“So you’re saying one of us…will literally grow to that monster’s size to try and subdue it?” Lori asked.

“That’s one way of putting it.” Lisa responded while adjusting her glasses. “I’m still missing some worthwhile components to-”

“OOH, OOH, PICK ME TO GROW!” Lana interrupted. “I WANT TO FINALLY BE THE GIRLZILLA THAT I ALWAYS WANTED TO!”

“It’s not finalized yet! There’s still some parts required to make it function.” Lisa exclaimed in frustration. She pulled out remote and pushed a button on it, causing the aforementioned hologram machine to fall in from the ceiling and land next to her. As the others were confused as to how Lisa could have stored a machine like that in a ceiling of an underground bunker, Kelly walked up to the machine to get a good look at it. Her face went snarky as something came to her.

“You seriously know of some additional materials to get the machine to solidify the hologram? Yeah, that’s not going to happen.”

“Well, it’s not from this dimension exactly.” Kelly said. All eyes were set on Kelly as the interest came in.

“I mean, from what I see, the machine does look like it could fit in a few extra enhancements from my dimension, and I think it might just be enough to give it some added power. Trust me, I know of a few power enhancers from where I came from.”

“And how do you suppose we open the way to your dimension with the chaos happening?” Brian asked.

Before anyone could comprehend who said that, Kelly’s obnoxious ex-boyfriend Tad popped out of her hair and proceeded to sit on her head. Kelly was about to force him back inside to shut him up, but he explained further.

“If I remember correctly, didn’t all of you say that you had a machine that could call back rifts that previously appeared? You could use that to bring back the one that brought me and my babe here to get the materials, if you want them that is.”

Kelly was pretty surprised for him to say such a clever idea, and she was usually the one to do the talking while Tad stayed under the radar.

“No.” Kelly interrupted with straight eyes. Tad pouted and slumped on Kelly’s head as Lisa thought on his idea.

“That COULD work if the numbers pointed in the right direction, but you do know that the last time I tried using your coordinates the failure percentages overcame the opposite end.”

“That doesn’t mean we can’t try again.” Lincoln said. “Do you have the machine with you?”

“Unfortunately, unlike the hologram machine here, it’s all the way back in my room. I was still in the process of giving it a few tweaks before the monster came.”

Everyone in the room, including Kelly for some reason even though she didn’t have one, hastily used an index finger to touch their nose so they wouldn’t have to be the one. As usual, Lincoln ended up being the slowest one.

He turned around and proceeded to go up the ladder as Kelly got out her cell phone and rang up someone she knew could help.

“Hey Star? Yes, it’s Kelly. Long story short, that six armed beast that trashed my dimension has arrived here, and I’m going to need some of those magic substances. Don’t worry, we got that part handled, it should come up near you if everything goes right. Really? Are you positive? Okay, thanks for the help!”

Lincoln hesitated at first to get out of the bunker, but all it took was one good shove from Lynn to force him out. He saw the monster in the distance making more havoc and destroying everything in sight, giving him a brief moment to rush inside their still upright house and get the rift machine. The pets inside the house were as terrified as everyone as Lincoln rushed up the stairs into Lisa’s room. Seeing the machine next to her bed and recognizing it immediately, Lincoln picked it up before bolting through the door to the staircase only to see the frightened house pets, along with Lana’s reptiles and amphibian that were also under the same emotions, near the bottom. Since he knew the animals were also part of his family, Lincoln held the door open so they could get out and into the bunker. With that, all of them made it safely inside, and not a moment too soon as the giant creature made its way over and tore the roof off of the Loud house.

The monster gazed inside the house and scanned everything inside. After a few seconds, it angrily roared and turned around to wreck more, but not before running its arrow headed tail through the establishment, spearheading and demolishing it.

As for the ones that made it safely back inside the bunker, everyone was ecstatic to see the house pets safe and sound, especially Lana. Leni held Charles in her arms, Cliff purred up next to Lola, and Geo rolled in his hamster ball worriedly over to Luna as Walt settled on her head, wanting some much needed comfort from almost perishing in the wreckage. As for Lana’s specialized housemates, they crowded around her so she could calm their nerves, for they didn’t really stick out from the other pets that often and were scared that they would get forgotten amongst the others. Lana obviously couldn’t forget her slimy and scaly friends as she held them close, very happy that they survived the pandemonium outside. El Diablo even coiled around her shoulders as he nuzzled her cheeks, making her giggle and rub his head softly. Izzy sat near her legs as he calmly relaxed on the ground, while Hops fixated his attention towards Brian standing on the ground near him. The tiny boy could tell he was really relieved to still be alive, so much so that he smiled and shot out his tongue, giving Brian a big wet slimy lick. Brian chuckled as he walked over and gave Hops a nice rub on the side to show his appreciation, making Hops croak happily. It was really nice to know that one of his friends really cared for him even if Lana did it on a daily basis.

With the machine in hand, Lincoln handed it over to Lisa as he explained about their house now in ruins, sending the others into shock. With the house gone, everything inside had to be gone as well. Leni held back her tears as she knew her dresses she worked so hard on were completely incinerated, while Luan was gravely disappointed to know that all of her gags and props were gone as well, including her beloved dummy Mr. Coconuts. The one hit most however was Lola, as she prized mostly everything in her room including her professional pageant pictures and dolls. She especially knew her autographed poster of B.B.Barbie couldn’t have survived the destruction, driving her to tears. The only thing left that she had to herself was the clothes off her back and her only beloved “dolly” Brian. She picked him up while he was paying attention to Lisa’s machine and held him close to her chest as she cried to herself. This took Brian by surprise at first, but once he saw Lola’s messed up face he relaxed and let her hold him in her grasp. He didn’t know why Lola was sad, but if his presence made her feel better he didn’t want to question it.

The machine whirred to life as the prism diamond in the center glowed. Everyone held their breath as it beeped silently, for it was now or never. With their house decimated and the chaos outside, this was the last resort. If it failed to bring back the rift Kelly mentioned everything would go down for Royal Woods. Their inner clocks ticked back and forth as the seconds passed, not knowing what possibility will get picked up…

…then the machine shut off…only for thin air to start pulsating before a rift tore open next to it!

“Yes, it was a success!” Lisa stated. Everyone cheered as Kelly made her way up to it, keeping her distance so she wouldn’t get sucked in, and waited. If her message went through her friend should be throwing the magic objects through the rift right now, which she knew wouldn’t take that long. After around a minute of waiting, it was made clear as what looked like a bag filled with heart shaped gemstones with a yellow square at the bottom popped out of the rift. Lisa was unimpressed.

“Wait…that is it? That just looks like a bag filled with electrical cells of various currents and chemicals! How will those help with the catastrophe outside?!”

“These will power up your hologram…thing.” Kelly explained. “They are more powerful than you think. Not many from my dimension are able to get their hands on these, but my friend…she’s a special case.”

As she finished with her words, the rift that was summoned wavered a bit before it started to fade away. After a few more seconds, it vanished, which caused a few of the Louds to look at her funny.

“Hey…you didn’t go through the rift back to your own dimension! Wasn’t that your main goal when you were suddenly dragged here?” Luna asked. The words that came out stung Kelly pretty hard as she looked petrified for the moment before quickly putting her back toward everyone. This made her look like a large bush with legs while she shuddered to herself and crossed her arms around her midsection. Everyone could hear her sigh deeply before her words came out.

“While that was true when I first came here, me wanting to get out of this place as soon as possible, it’s just, well…I really appreciate all of you. I may have been pretty bitter and cold at first, but even though I look completely different, since I come from another dimension, you saw past that and actually treated me like a normal person, something I wasn’t expecting in my time here. I could have went back to my friend’s dimension, where she could easily open the way back to my own dimension once it’s finishes recovering, but I can’t bear to see all of you eliminated as your dimension collapses. There’s also the chance that the creature will go after my friend’s dimension next, and I will never forgive myself if I just left you to perish since you’re some really nice……friends.”

Smiles reflected all around the room before the Louds all jumbled around Kelly, Brian and Iberico included. Kelly giggled as the comfort was all around her only for Tad to pop out from her hair again.

“Shut up Tad, you’re spoiling the moment.” Kelly replied. Tad once again sat down and pouted as Lucy spoke up.

“Say, if your friend wanted to help us out, why didn’t she just go through the rift here instead of sending those…magic batteries?”

“I wasn’t completely filled in on that, but I think she said that there’s stuff happening in her dimension that needs sorting out. Don’t think too hard, it’s a pretty common occurrence there.” Kelly responded.

Lisa got to work on the upgrades immediately. With the batteries in hand and the noises of the chaos above her, she worked exhaustingly on implementing the enhancements into the machine. Kelly assisted in recommending where to put the batteries, and even Iberico had the effort in helping out with the tight spaces. Lisa would have picked Brian for the task, but Iberico was more durable due to being a plastic toy. It was a grueling process, but the additions were soon implemented. Lisa wiped the sweat off of her brow as she looked at her work, and she couldn’t have been more proud of herself. Around the projection camera of the invention were a circle of the heart shaped batteries, all lined up and ready to go, while the rest were situated on the outside of the pod. She revved it up a little bit only to see it start up quicker than normal due to the new power sources. She knew it was now more than perfect to handle things.

After taking one more good glance at her masterpiece, Lisa turned back to face the others.

“Okay, the machinations of my invention are now up and running.” Lisa said. “Now I need someone to use it and go up against the monstrosity above. Any takers?”

While normally expecting Lana, Lynn, and maybe Lucy to volunteer immediately, Brian did not expect the entire family to jump on the size growing train and raise their hands up while shouting to pick them. If getting exposure from him again and again as he stayed with them was a main reason he wouldn’t be surprised, for even Lily was begging for attention to pick her.

Kelly took a few steps back as Lisa was taken aback by the sheer amount of volunteers, so she went back to another system.

“It seems that everyone is eager go get large and in charge and since that is the case, I’m going to pick by birth order. Ergo, Lori goes first.”

Everyone else frowned and groaned while Lori smiled and walked forward to Kelly and Lisa.

“Why the heck would you want to go huge against that monster when I exist?! I should be the better pick here!” Lynn exclaimed.

“You literally have your ways and I have mine.” Lori replied taking a quick glance over to Brian in Lola’s hands. Lynn scowled as the others watched Lori step on the pod as Lisa prepared everything.

“Okay, you should be projected above ground once the camera gets up there, and with the enhancements I was given you should be able to physically touch things. My only request is that you keep your damage levels low, for too much of it will end the projection and bring you back here. Don’t worry about us, the pod around you has speakers so we can communicate with you from this bunker and we’ll be able to watch you from here from a big screen to see the action.”

“Ooh, like a good ol’ fashioned monster movie!” Lana stated, getting more eager to go into the pod.

“Ummmm, did you install cameras or something to be able to watch from here? It seems pretty weird if you ask me.” Luan asked. Lisa immediately clammed up and formed her signature eerie guilty smile.

The gigantic creature continued making its rounds through Royal Woods as it destroyed everything in sight. It had a particular interest in buildings, for it tended to go for the roof first before looking inside. It roared after each one then completely demolished it in one fell swoop. As in hovered over the carnage below it, the rifts went crazy as the spontaneously kept appearing in droves, dumping so many dimensional objects everywhere that places got piled completely and thousands of regular objects distorted before vanishing from existence. Reality was collapsing and chaos reigned everywhere, making it seem hopeless to stop.

The monster chortled as it hovered off for more destruction only to notice a bright shining light from the corner of its eye. Turning back around, it was upset and confused at what was now standing before it, and the opposition almost felt the same when she opened her eyes.

Lori couldn’t help but look down at her blue shoes and see how miniscule everything was around her. She wasn’t sure how, but Lisa actually pulled it off and made her a massive giantess, making her pretty giddy. She reached into her pocket to hopefully find her cellphone and snap a photo of the moment, but unfortunately for her the hologram machine didn’t manage to pick it up for her to use. She felt slightly cross to not have her phone, but then the monster made itself known by roaring at her.

“Being big only reserved for Hoopa!” it shrieked. Seeing the monster on level with her now, which Lisa calculated to be around fifty feet, Lori didn’t feel quite as intimidated as she was when she first saw it. She didn’t know how, but she needed to do something about the monster and with her newfound size, she had her chance.

“Okay you huge hulking…thing, you literally just trashed this town. I suggest you leave and take your whirly rifts with you.”

“Hoopa not rest until Beekan arrives! Hoopa needs Beekan, and giant girl not get in Hoopa’s way!”

She only had a split second to react as the monster threw two of its disembodied claws right at her, chafing one of her cheeks and striking her in the face. The giantess put her right hand over her cheek as rage filled her mind. There were times when Lori was ticked off, but they were on a lower level to what she was feeling now. She didn’t want to see the monster cry, she wanted it GONE.

“Fine, you want to see me angry? You literally do not know what happens when I’m angry, and you’re DEAD!”

Full of fury, Lori ran forward, crushing some empty buildings in the process, as she yelled and held her arms out. The monster was prepared though, as before she could make contact it held out two of its disembodied arms outward and caught her fist before she could make contact. The two were at even strength as they contacted together like sandpaper, but the monster had four extra claws to work with. Lori had those in mind though, as before they could push her back, she lifted a leg and kicked the monster straight in the midsection below the empty ring in the middle. It reeled back but kept itself from falling to the buildings below, but Lori was furious and didn’t want to let up an inch, so she pounced right on the monster and pinned it right to the ground, destroying dozens of streets and buildings upon contact. She started to beat it senselessly until the monster’s eyes glowed blue which forced her back by an unseen force, making her land on her butt while wiping more landmarks from the map.

“Sheesh Lori, you just turned into an animal! I didn’t think you had it in ya!” Lynn’s voice echoed through her head. It was obviously coming from the pod containing her sleeping body, which was how everyone in the bunker was communicating with her as her huge holographic body kept above ground.

“There are a lot of things you don’t know about me, and I would like to keep them to myself thank you very much!” Lori replied to Lynn’s voice.

“Just get to getting clobbered already, I’m still on the waiting list and want to get going with the ol’ Lynn one-two!” Lynn’s voice said.

“Hey, I’m still eager to get all up and huge too you know!” Lana’s voice exclaimed from the background. Lori rolled her eyes as it went silent, allowing her to concentrate back to the monster. As the monster pushed itself back up, Lori was dumbfounded to see not a single ounce of damage over the creature’s body. From going nuts with her pummeling, she expected to see some form of damage on it, but seeing nothing gave Lori chills. It was nowhere near close to being done, but she did see something sparkling drop from its red eyes.

She didn’t have enough time to think about it as the creature angrily shouted.

Lori prepared herself for another run through…only for a low rumbling noise to come from her pocket. Getting curious, Lori reached inside and pulled it out. She was surprised to see it as nothing more than her personal cell phone, something she thought wouldn’t come with her as she was transferred above ground.

Likewise, she forgot what she was doing and squealed in delight, making some windows shatter from the ground.

“Oh my gosh, yes! Bobby will totally fall head over heels if I take a picture like this! My huge stature will literally start trending at this rate!”

She turned on her phone as the monster, angrily feeling ignored, rushed forward with its floating claws outstretched. Lori looked up for a quick second to see it coming for her, so in a process that almost seemed automatic, she turned her phone around and clicked the camera right in its face, flashing the light while concurrently taking its picture. This left the monster temporarily blinded, so Lori winded back and jabbed it straight in the jaw, sending to the ground in a big boom. Right as it made impact, one of its claws pointed right at her before unleashing a massive force of powerful energy, blasting her right in the stomach and making her holographic body distort immensely. She collapsed from her backside to the countless buildings below before her body completely fizzled away, giving the creature time to get back on its feet.

Lori burst awake in the pod and gasped for air. She looked almost completely drained from the experience as everyone else rushed up to her.

“Lori, are you okay?! How was it?” Lincoln worriedly asked. Lori took the moment to recollect everything that happened before glancing back at her siblings.

“It was a very…stunning experience. Seeing so many things not even as big as my feet, it was so exhilarating. I wouldn’t mind literally growing to that size another time, for it gives me a chance to start trending on social media. Even so, my phone didn’t initially appear with me until later, so I couldn’t-”

“Yeah, that was my fault actually.” Lisa interjected. “I forgot to raise certain settings on the machine until Kelly pointed that out. She’s the expert on the special batteries after all.”

Kelly smiled and nodded in agreement as Lori made her way out of the pod. Silently observing her from the side, Lisa noticed a bit of aftermath from Lori going inside the pod. Her body was really pale, making her look like something out of a zombie movie, and there were some small wrinkles here and there. This didn’t happen months ago when the dinosaur came in through a rift, so she concluded that the new batteries Kelly provided must have contributed to some effect. It wasn’t fatal, but if these results kept coming she might have put in some safety measures in case of some nastier side effects. She kept the results to herself as she spoke up.

“Well that’s one sibling already down. Leni is the next on the pecking order if I recall.”

“Wow, I was just about to ask what that meant!” Leni said. “Are you a psychic? Ooh, ooh, read my mind and tell me what I’m thinking!”

Having recovered from Lori’s attack earlier, the monster got up off the ground as furious as ever. It hovered off of the ground as more rifts constantly kept appearing and chaos erupted from the ground below. It got so heated that even the national army showed up to tame the beast, but they were powerless to stop it. Any sort of projectile coming its way would do minimal damage or get rebounded by a particular power when the creature’s eyes it up. It was turning into a real monster movie at this rate, and it was unknown if anything else would survive.

Before it could go off and cause more destruction, yet another flashing light emitted behind it. Catching its attention, it turned around as the light died down, and it was not happy once it saw who it was.

The new giantess that was Leni looked down and shifted her feet to see the ground below her shift and crack with every movement. She wasn’t the most attentive to specific jobs most of the time and usually strayed completely in another direction, mostly due to her ditzy personality. She couldn’t keep her eyes off of the many things near her feet that were so small to her new size; she was too mesmerized by them as many words echoed through her head.

The creature was very angry to have another giant girl to take care of, so it reeled back a bit until…

“Wow, I have to see what the mall looks like from this height! I bet it’s going to look like an old shoebox. Ooh, now I really have to know!”

Completely forgetting why she grew in the first place, Leni ran off in the other direction like the cream puff she was toward where the Royal Woods mall was, stepping on cars and causing holes in the ground where she planted her feet. The monster snorted angrily before it hovered after her.

As for Leni, she couldn’t have been more gleeful. She understood what Lori meant now when she was huge, but this would obviously go by differently. As she went down the streets, causing some slight mayhem with her sandals, she picked out the mall among the buildings cluttered together. She squealed in delight as she made her way over, making strong booms as her feet hit the ground, and easily compared her height to it. As usual, Leni was noticeably bigger as the mall barely surpassed her ankles, and then another epiphany popped up in her head.

She peeked over the roof and into the wide skylight glass. She tried to carefully lift it up, but she ended up shattering it instead.

“Oops, I hope I don’t have to pay for that!” Leni said. Thankfully nobody was under it, but that didn’t stop the people inside from screaming their heads off as they ran away from her as fast as they could. Being as clueless as ever, Leni glanced over to her favorite clothes shop in the mall before she grasped the sides of the roof. She cautiously lifted it up before setting it to the side so she wouldn’t cause any more damage. The clerk was likewise in shock as the gigantic Leni stared down at him before she set her sights on a set of clothes that made her eyes sparkle. One particular customer with purple hair came out of one of the dressing booths with a bag of clothes in her hand, looked up at Leni, and then shrugged her shoulders as she waited for her turn.

Leni used two fingers to pick up the dress that she wanted before dropping it on the counter in front of the clerk.

“Okay, I got that!” Leni replied as she reached into her pockets before pulling out a five dollar bill, also sized up in proportion to her. She dropped the money in front of the clerk, which completely covered him from the size, as she picked up her bought dress and stuffed it in her pocket. She was definitely going to try it out once she was back to normal size.

“No, it’s your sister Lisa.” The voice in her head echoed. “You are meant to be-”

“My sister Lisa has turned into a ghost?!” Leni exclaimed. “What is going on with this world?!”

“No, you’re supposed to be subduing the monster, remember?!” Lisa’s voice shouted. Leni, being as ditzy as always, ignored Lisa’s pleas and set her sights on more special buildings.

“Oh em gosh, those building are as tall as I am! Sorry my inner thoughts, but I totes have to take a picture with it!”

Leni tuned Lisa’s voice out as she merrily made her way to the skyscrapers in the distance. Right as she left the mall alone, the purple haired girl went up to the counter and set her money on the counter in front of the covered clerk.

“I’ll take this on the go since you have your hands tied. Mr. Gar will eat me out if I miss my shift so…I’ll just take my leave before the hole closes.”

The clerk was unresponsive under the giant five dollar bill as the purple haired girl left the counter before heading near the back of the store and into the rift back where she came from. Right as she left, the giant monster hovered above the mall and scanned the inside. It didn’t take long before it roared and made two of its rings hover out of two of its claws before sending them down to destroy the building, swooping into it again and again as the place collapsed into rubble.

For Leni, making it down to the southern part of Royal Woods didn’t take that long. They didn’t get many, but the ones that were there stood at an impressive height. Compared to Leni, they stood around the same height as her massive fifty foot body, and that was what made Leni very excited. She ran up to the first one she saw and couldn’t help but look at herself through the millions of tiny windows.

“I look SO gorge’ being this tall! I almost feel like never going back!” Leni exclaimed. She turned her back towards the building and got out her cellphone, which also grew with her, before she held it out and made some adorable duck lips. With one button press, a flash was shone as the picture was taken. Leni looked at her phone to see the results, and she grinned happily.

“Yes, this is like SO perfect! I might make this my new background! Thank you Mr. Skyscraper!”

To show her appreciation to the inanimate object, Leni stretched her arms out and gave the skyscraper one big giantess hug. She was too unaware of the situation as the millions of windows she glanced at earlier completely shattered on impact with her massive body as the structure caved in on certain floors. She squeezed it as much as she could, which did inadvertently cause her “mounds” to stick through the building around the middle, which thankfully was empty as Royal Woods evacuated pretty quickly.

Just about feeling tuckered out from being huge, Leni was about to go somewhere else when she felt something between her toes. Looking down, she noticed that it was an adorable stray cat fluffed right between two toes of her right foot. Her eyes sparkled as she got down for a closer look, and she got infatuated quickly. To think that a furry animal would instinctively nest itself in her sandaled feet was absolutely adorable in her eyes, so she quickly got out her phone for a good photo. With a quick flash, the picture was taken, but it spooked the cat out of it and made it run across her toes, also running along her blue painted toenails, to a safer location. Leni giggled as she double checked the photo she took, which made her ignorant of the skyscraper she hugged earlier getting loose. She didn’t notice until it was too late when the building fell over, crushing her under the rubble and making her hologram fizzle out.

As Leni’s hologram collapsed under the ruins of the skyscraper, the monster was busy wrecking houses. Each time it wrecked a building it would stay for a moment and scan the rubble only to erupt with rage and destroy more in the process. As if it couldn’t get any more destructive, with the two rings it used to destroy the mall, it summoned them back before it held two of its disembodied claws out before them. The action caused the gold rings to expand longer and longer until they were around the same height as the monster, and then their centers went purple as a vortex erupted in both of them. Haze poured out of the rings as the monster yelled.

Once that was said, two very large figures, around the same height as the monster, came crawling out of the giant rings. One looked like a young girl that had a round face with off pink skin and pink hair with two pigtails. She wore a white short dress, which almost had the appearance of a jumpsuit, with some big black boots for footwear. She lacked any sort of shorts below the dress, showing off her pink legs, while her fists were covered in some long red gloves that appeared to be capable of knocking someone out in one punch. The one that came out of the other ring was also a young girl, but she was under half the height of the first girl, not counting her pointy purple hat with two horizontal green stripes. With her body also sized up in proportion of the monster, her face was eerily pale as her eyes appeared scarily stagnant under her long blonde hair that had a weird purple hair ornament hanging in the back. Her body was completely covered in a purple dress with two large round green buttons, making her yellow stubby legs barely stick out along with her short arms that had green bracelets over them. Her most apparent feature was the obtuse triangular toy fish head that she held by the long red ribbon in her right hand, and it seemed to have a mind of its own as it flailed around with its mouth open, showing the rows of razor sharp teeth. Its eyes were basically two large multicolored bullseyes with its upper jaw colored light blue and its bottom jaw pale. Its neck was basically a round teal ball that connected to the ribbon the girl held to keep it in check. Unlike the first girl, she hovered in midair with her toy fish.

The two girls’ eyes flashed red as they separated and looked down toward the destruction near their feet. Like the monster, they also went on destroying anything with houses being their main target, and once they collapsed a building or tore the roof off of it they scanned their eyes over the landscape for a moment before leaving it and going to another. The rings that brought the two giant girls here stayed open as the haze spewed into the streets, which wasn’t lethal but made it hard to see on the surface.

Everyone in the bunker watched as Leni awoke in the pod. Their faces were pretty flat as Leni walked out, with Lisa probably the most upset.

“My thoughts exactly.” Kelly chimed in. Everyone else practically followed suite as Leni was as unmindful as always.

“Oh come on, it’s not that bad! I got to live it big and a new dress! Isn’t that great?”

She reached into her pocket to pull out the dress she had, but it was completely empty. She started to panic as she went through her other pocket, which was also empty. Before she could panic further, Lisa explained.

“You didn’t actually get that dress, your HOLOGRAM did, and since it failed under a pile of rubble the dress should still be nested there. Also as a consequence of your hologram failing, anything that manifested from it has vanished along with it. Anyone with a competent mind could see that coming.”

“AWWWW!” Leni cried out as she slumped to the ground. That dress was somewhere in the wreckage from where she was when gigantic, and with the monster and its new cronies destroying everything outside, it wouldn’t survive the onslaught.

A certain clothes sales clerk would probably get fired from the giant money disappearing.

“You think that’s an issue? Thanks to your prancing about with nothing being accomplished, you let that monster bring in assistance! Now it’s three against one!” Lisa said.

“Couldn’t you just make two more of that pod…things?” Lincoln asked. Lisa shook her head.

“That would require much more power, and even so I’m not sure if it would be possible to contain it without repercussions.”

“So you’re going to need more of those batteries huh?” Kelly asked. “I got you covered on that front.”

She turned around and bent over before revealing the bag of magic batteries, which surprisingly appeared to still have dozens inside. Lisa addressed the issue.

“While I know we have more than enough of those, extraneous precautions need to be kept so-”

“Restraints aren’t really applicable with the end of everything raising havoc on the surface.” Brian replied. Everyone in the room glanced at him like they just saw a ghost, causing the boy to embarrassingly rub the back of his head and blush.

“Point taken, it’s all or nothing now.” Lisa stated. “Luna, Luan, and Lynn, you three are next once I prepare the necessary steps with Kelly. It will be difficult, but I hope the machine can handle it.”

The three ones up next grinned as they prepared themselves for the tussle ahead, but Lynn was the one that was the most hyped. She may have gone through the machine once to take out a dinosaur, but now she would be able to touch anything like the giantess that she aimed to be.

Lisa went hard at work with Kelly to put in more upgrades over the enhancements she implemented earlier. With these, it should be enough to put enlarging holograms of more than just one, but there was a chance it would crash and burn, rendering the machine useless. Kelly made sure the batteries were put in place and weren’t going loose anytime soon, although there were some spots where she needs assistance putting them in hard to reach places. Iberico happily volunteered to help out with the endeavor, even though Kelly had Brian in her mind. However, with Iberico being made of plastic injuries wouldn’t be as severe if Brian helped out.

It was a grueling process, but after around half an hour of work the implementations were set. Instead of just one pod among everyone, there were now three up and ready to go. There were still cautionary emotions going through Lisa’s head, as she was still worried for the others’ safety, but there was no backing out of it now with even more huge threats lurking above. Once the pods opened Lynn dashed in as the eagerness was too much, with Luna and Luan looking at her weirdly before following up inside the other two. With the projection camera already placed above ground, Lisa activated the machine, sending the three sisters into dreamland and turning on the camera outside.

The giant sized bodies of Luna, Luan, and Lynn appeared once the camera turned on. Luna and Lynn may have had some experience being huge already, but for Luan it was a completely new experience. She glanced down at the wreckage around her feet and gazed in amazement. To see it in the movies was one thing, but actually living it out brought out different emotions.

“Wow…so this is how it feels to be a giantess…and I’m not talking about a huge part of the alphabet! Hahahahah, get it?!”

Luna and Lynn groaned under their breath. Even as big as she was she always had jokes up and ready to go.

“Can we talk later? I want to kick some giant monster butt!” Lynn exclaimed. “The Terlynnator has been unleashed! WOOOOOOOO!”

She held her arms up as she ran off to fight one of the three monsters, crushing a few streets and buildings in the process. Luna chuckled as she went off after her while Luan took a moment to adjust her clothes before following.

The three of them took off to one of the monsters individually. Lynn took the pink girl, Luan went with the one with the toy fish, and Luna took on the original monster. Luna and Luan were a bit uneasy with the handling of their targets, but Lynn was as eager as ever to wrestle as huge as she was. Her emotions made her get up to the pink girl before the others could make it to their targets. As Lynn approached her target, the pink girl was wringing her fingers through a decimated house, and she didn’t notice Lynn until she could hear her come close.

“Hey loser, you’re about to suffer of wrath of the Terlynnator if you don’t get out of here with a tail between your legs!” Lynn exclaimed. With an opposition now among her, the pink girl turned her attention away from the house and glared at Lynn with her red eyes. She held a group of tiny people in her left hand, who were screaming like no tomorrow, as she gritted her teeth.

“I suggest you let me carry out my objective before I get lethal on you.” The pink girl replied. “I won’t hesitate to end you.”

“With what, those tiny people you’re holding?” Lynn answered with a smirk. “Sorry sweet cheeks, but that won’t work on me.”

“I don’t intend to use them like that.” The pink girl stated. “They are going to tell me where I can find Beekan for Hoopa, and I WILL force the information out of them.”

The men trapped in the girl’s grasp all shouted again and again that they didn’t know what she was talking about, but it was met with the girl giving them a stinging glare before tightening her grip around them, putting them closer to some dark deaths.

“Let them go you creep, for the sooner you do the sooner I can get to kicking your butt!” Lynn exclaimed. The pink girl stared right back at her and sneered.

“You want these people to come out unscathed? I don’t think so…for I want to see them pop!”

The people in the girl’s hand screamed as they saw her increase her binding on them, nearly showing them the light where it would be their final resting place. Lynn was quick on her feet though, for she belted out an out of place war cry before charging head first, causing more destruction under her feet, smacking right into the pink girl’s midsection. This made her topple over to the streets and buildings below, making a large imprint in the miniature town, and lose hold of the people in her hand as they sailed through the air screaming. Lynn only seconds to react, so she desperately performed a well-executed baseball dive, consequently destroying things further, and held her arms out as best as she could. As if luck was on her side, the group of people plopped straight into Lynn’s open hand before they could hit the pavement.

“And this is why I’m the MVP on the baseball team.” Lynn thought as she got back on her feet and looked down at the small people in her palm.

“Please don’t eat us! We’re just complete bystanders in this affair!” one man said.

“As if I would personally hinder my metabolism by eating all of you. Better get out of here before I deal with this creep.”

She set her hand on the ground and watched the group of people run off to safety before turning her attention back to the girl, who just got up and was fuming.

“Now you just crossed the line you jerk! You want to see me angry? Well, consider that wish granted!”

The girl held her arms out before her pigtails curved to the side. Lynn stood confused for the moment before six steel clad rockets launched right out and bolted right for her, giving her only a split second to react. If her kickboxing lessons taught her anything now was the chance, so without thinking too hard, Lynn swung her right leg up and struck three of the incoming missiles before using the other to strike down the other three. She leered at the girl, if she was one in the first place, as she kept her fists near her midsection, another lesson she learned from kickboxing, as she slowly made her way closer. In retaliation, the pink girl’s pigtails spun around wildly as two sawblades took their places. They didn’t look lethal but one strike from them would definitely hurt, and that’s what she was aiming for. She ran up to Lynn as more things around her feet collapsed in an instant before she swung them right at the young athlete. Lynn ducked under one of them before catching the other in her hands, using all of her strength to keep the spinning blades away from her, as she kept her snarky attitude.

“Sheesh, what kind of messed up girl are you? Did you just get back from the doctor?” Lynn said in a slightly insulting way.

“I’m not just a girl, I’m a powerful robot!” the pink girl exclaimed. “I have more than enough to handle you; this is only a fraction to what I fully have!”

“Then keep ‘em coming so I can one up you in every way!” Lynn exclaimed back. With the blade mere inches from her face, Lynn motioned her right foot up with incredible speed, striking the girl straight in the chin before striking once more in the midsection, reeling the pink girl back. The girl held her chest before withdrawing the sawblades back into her pigtails. With her fingers aimed right at Lynn, the tips opened as round black bullets shot out. These ones came out quicker than the rockets, hitting Lynn in the face and blinding her temporarily, giving the pink girl an ample opportunity to wield the other sawblade right at her. As she rushed at her, Lynn made a choice gamble and, with the sound of the pink girl’s footsteps closing in, performed a blind leg sweep. While it did miss the pink girl, it did trip her up enough so that she toppled right on top of Lynn, mixing the two up in a tussle. They rolled for a bit as more buildings were crushed under their bodies until Lynn had the pink girl pinned to the ground.

“I won’t give in…that easily!” the pink girl shouted. An ominous pink heart shaped light shone around her midsection as she struggled, but before Lynn could react a powerful blast of light smacked her all over her front, sending her to the ground with a boom. Lynn’s body fizzled for a few seconds before she slowly got back on her feet, still having the persistence to not give up. Her legs shook and her body was torn up, but she wasn’t a quitter and didn’t want to look like a scared pansy.

She only had a few seconds to get together when an intense pain erupted in her chest. She clenched her teeth as she was forced to her knees, leaving the pink girl to observe and smile.

“Awwww, did I strike too hard?” the pink girl said in a seeping sarcastic tone. “All you need to do is tell me where Beekan is and I’ll MAYBE leave you to live. Otherwise, well, I hope you enjoy the taste of pavement.”

Lynn clutched her chest as she tried to pick herself up. She didn’t want to go out like this, especially not to the loser robot in front of her, but the pain was almost unbearable. That blast she took must have been a pretty damaging attack to put her in a state like this, but she had to buck up.

“Heheheheh…you almost tickled me. I ain’t…going down before you do…”

The pink girl growled before lunging at her once more. As Lynn kept toe to toe with her target, the other massive sisters had their own ones to pay attention to. For Luan, she took her time on the way to the girl with the fish toy, gazing at every possible street and building as her feet went through the streets. She kept the amazement to herself, as the experience almost felt like a dream. With the size she was at she could actually hold the biggest comedy act in history and nobody could contest her, something that gave her giddy jitters. She held that for later in case she ever got the chance to grow to this size again, although she kept the note to keep her mouth closed in the back of her head. She didn’t want another incident of accidentally swallowing something she didn’t actually mean to.

The fish toy girl kept her back to Luan as she tore the roofs off of buildings before looking inside, and her attitude was very childlike from what Luan was seeing.

“Oh Beekan! Come out and show yourself! You wouldn’t want to upset Hoopa…”

After taking a glance inside a house and not finding what she was looking for, the girl had a small hissy fit before her fish toy clamped the house in its jaws before tossing it over the horizon. She took a one eighty to go search another district when her eyes locked with Luan’s, and she wasn’t exactly happy.

“No, no, no, I’M supposed to be the only one to be this gargantuan! It’s no fair!”

“Being huge really puts your head in the clouds, so why don’t you get to know a guy named Wayne Wayne Goaway? Hahahahah, get it?! But seriously, your wrecking everything here, so if you could stop and-”

“NO!” the girl shouted. Her loud voice echoed everywhere throughout the town, making even some windows shatter. Her toy fish leered at Luan’s chewy body as the girl tried to recompose herself. Luan determined that the girl had to be quite young to angrily shout back like she did, and her possession of a childlike toy fish was also a good indicator.

“In case you couldn’t figure it out missy, I’m on the search for a particular Beekan for Hoopa. It hasn’t shown up just yet, but I’m certain I’ll be able to sniff it out. You haven’t been HIDING it from me have you?”

“I don’t know what nonsense you are talking about; I just want you out of here before you continue wrecking everything.” Luan replied. “With a toy fish like that, are you sure you don’t believe in Cod? Hahahahahah!”

The younger girl wasn’t laughing. In fact, it was just making her even angrier, and the look of her toy fish reflected it.

“How dare you lay an insult on my treasured toy! You know what? You just crossed the line, and I never hesitate to beat on someone like you, and just so you know…I don’t place nice.”

The young girl hovered higher into the air as her toy fish floated along with her while it gnashed its teeth. Luan wasn’t going to be getting out of this confrontation any time soon, but she stood her ground for the sake of Royal Woods. The young girl lashed out her toy fish, maw wide open, as Luan quickly got out of the way before it could get her. It chomped on some destroyed roads before angrily turning around and eying Luan like a predator. It lashed out once more, but Luan was ready as the fish toy suddenly found itself covered in creamy custard, leaving it temporarily blinded.

“Whoops, I forgot that you save dessert for later!” Luan jokingly said. “How about some punch instead?”

Before the fish toy could comprehend anything, Luan pulling out a playful extending box glove before squeezing the level, sending the boxing glove right into to fish toy’s face. It got sent winding backward before careening back towards Luan, only to be on the receiving end of the boxing glove. This eventually became similar to beating up a punching bag, as the fish toy was sent back with every blow before winding back and taking another punch in the face.

The young girl wasn’t having any of this as she pulled her toy fish in another direction as it reeled back once more. Luan prepared herself to smack it again with her extending boxing glove, but the young girl pulled it to the right at the last possible second, giving her toy fish an ample opportunity to chomp down hard on Luan’s right arm. Luan screeched, dropping her boxing glove in the process, as she shook around to try and get the toy fish off of her arm. She took a few steps back, unintentionally crushing a few houses in the process, before squeezing the flower on her shirt which squirted a small stream of water, hitting the toy fish in the eyes. It released its grip and withdrew, giving Luan a moment to see the damage. She expected to see a few deep bite marks, but surprisingly there were no signs of injury at all over her arm. Despite the lack of injury, her body did fizzle a bit from the damage caused. Any further hit would most definitely cause her to fizzle out completely, and Luan didn’t want to go out just yet.

“Awwwww, it was so hungry that it wanted to snack on your arm.” The young girl said in a sarcastic tone. “You could have at least stayed still and let me end you! Stop being so persistent and die already! Here it comes!”

The young girl lashed her toy fish out again, but this time it was against the small neighborhood below. It clamped its teeth around a clump of houses, causing shrapnel to fall everywhere, as it lifted itself up with the materials wedged in its mouth. Luan was unnerved at what might happen next, only to hear the girl exclaim:

The fish head then intensely slammed itself against the pavement, causing a damaging shockwave of bricks and fire to head toward her. Luan just barely had enough strength to muscle through the lethal attack as her water squirting flower helped extinguish some of the fire. Her body fizzled wildly from too much damage as she saw the girl try to lift her heavier toy fish back up. Luan took the opportunity to grab the ribbon the girl was holding to keep her toy fish intact and tug on it as hard as she could. Due to the weight difference, the girl was immediately forced along before Luan let go, sending the girl flailing around like a helium balloon before an explosion happened around her. She floated in the air with a very dizzy face before she suddenly started vomiting streams of bile to the destroyed buildings below. With her toy fish unable to pull out of the wreckage, Luan knew this was her chance to end it. With the occasional glance away to not get grossed out, Luan carefully directed the girl toward the giant dimensional ring that brought her here, the girl being too sick to her stomach from waving around everywhere to pay attention. Everything now in place, Luan winded her right leg back for the finisher.

“With puke like that and your toy fish, are you sure you didn’t get a case of SALMONELLA? Hahahahah, get it?!”

With one swift kick, Luan sent the girl soaring back through the ring, but one detail eluded her eye. Right as the girl disappeared inside, the toy fish had one parting gift for Luan. At the last possible second, before it was sucked inside, the toy fish spat out the shrapnel it had in its mouth from earlier right at Luan’s face, which was just enough of a blow to finally finish off her hologram, fizzling her out of existence. Once the girl and toy fish completely disappeared inside, the purple void inside the ring died out before it shrank back to normal size.

Even with the plights of both Lynn and Luan, Luna had hers differently. Being already familiar with being huge, Luna didn’t spend too much time looking at the stuff around her feet, although she did sneak a peek every so often since it was her hometown after all. She was faintly depressed to see nearly everything destroyed around her, but it gave her some motivation to end the monster doing all of it. With her giant Axe strapped to her back, Luna set her sights on the Hoopa monster, who was still glancing through houses before destroying them. Since her fight with the giant robot from New Donk City, she had the courage to speak up this time.

“Hey ugly!” Luna exclaimed. The dangerous monster got done eliminating another house before turning its attention to Luna.

“Don’t interrupt Hoopa! Hoopa searching for Beekan, and Hoopa needs Beekan!”

“Well you are treading on my turf and wrecking everything!” Luna replied. “You need to stop as you’re hurting thousands of people dude! You don’t need to do this to find-”

“HOOPA WANTS BEEKAN!” the monster yelled, shattered windows with its voice. “HOOPA WILL DESTROY TO FIND BEEKAN!”

Her words were unable to reach the beast, and all forms of reasoning seemed impossible. Whatever it was, it was set on its goal and wasn’t going to diverge any time soon. It turned back around to continue its rampage, with Luna seeing some small drops fall from its face, but she wasn’t going to let its process carry on.

“Oh no you don’t!” she exclaimed as she pulled out her Axe. With a guitar pick in hand, Luna let loose a chord that echoed throughout Royal Woods and damaged even more windows, but most importantly, it got the monster to its knees as it held the sides of its head in pain.

In one quick motion, the monster faced Luna and held one of its disembodied claws in front as a strong wave of indistinguishable energy suddenly forced Luna backward, her behind accidentally crushing a row of buildings under her. The one attack was enough to make her body fizzle somewhat, but she was still up and about, not wanting to back down. She charged forward while doing a short yell before bringing down the top of her Axe on the monster’s head. Two disembodied claws held it back as Luna attempted to put in more strength, but the extra arms the monster had gave the monster an edge as it tried to push her back. Knowing it was no good for now, Luna let a loud note play as she brought her guitar pick through the strings, forcing the monster to let go and hold its ears. With it temporarily distracted, Luna tried again as she swung her Axe. This time it connected, whacking the monster on the side and sending it to the destruction below. It got up quickly as its emotions were far from settled.

Luna only had a split second to act before a pink peculiar ray shot out from one of the monster’s claws. She held her Axe out to take the hit, which surprisingly it was able to do, before rushing at the monster, her purple boots making huge impacts into the streets below. She held her Axe up high as she continuously clashed against the monster, with the monster retaliating with its claws. Every time she would attempt to hit it, the monster would block, and with the extra arms it had it could do more than Luna. Some of them grabbed hold of some of the destruction amongst the ruins of houses before tossing them in Luna’s direction, which served more of a distraction than actual damage. Sometimes a rift would get in the way and spit out more dimensional junk, which meant that some of the shrapnel and ruins on the surface disappeared from existence to compensate. If it continued, the dimension would collapse and everything in it would cease to exist.

With her attempts continuing to fail, Luna went for a different tactic as she strapped her Axe in front. With the monster right in front, Luna used her guitar pick to strike another chord and hopefully immobilize the opposition, but the monster did a quick maneuver as, in a rather surprising way, it sunk into the ground as a trippy purple sphere encompassed it before vanishing. Luna was lost for words, completely dumbfounded at what the creature did.

Without missing a beat, the creature shot up from another purple sphere behind Luna, with the giantess not able to react in time, before unleashed a barrage of blows straight from its disembodied claws. The damage was so great that Luna’s body didn’t even get to fizzle before her hologram vanished.

Another sister was now down, leaving only a troubled giantess Lynn on the surface. She needed backup, and quick.

Everyone else watched from the bunker, thanks to a large display screen, on what the “larger than life” girls were doing to stop the threats, and their mouths were agape at what they saw. With only one of the sisters succeeding, some questioned whether it was even worth it to keep going. They were clearly outmatched in most areas, and now they were down four members already. Even worse, there was still one out there, and she was currently crippled with a massive ache from her torso. It was not looking good if Royal Woods was to survive.

Luna and Luan bolted awake in their pods once their holograms were lost. They almost looked completely drained, like how Lori and Leni were earlier from the same machine, but other than that they kept their unique attitudes. Everyone set their eyes on them in case something didn’t go right.

“Man that was one wicked onslaught out there.” Luna stated as she held her head in her right hand. “I tried my best dudes, but I was overwhelmed back there. Something must really be messing that monster up for it to unleash that kind of power on me.”

“Hey, turn that frown upside down for me though; I put that girl through the RINGER!” Luan chimed in. “That fish of hers really complied SWIMMINGLY! Hahahahah!”

“Not now Luan, we literally have bigger problems.” Lori said with a straight face. Everyone else around her mirrored the same emotions. Luna took a well-deserved seat with the others from her beating while Luan, with her cheery attitude unable to rub over the others, sat near her for comfort. Aside from maybe Leni, Luan kept a peppy attitude a majority of the time, and Brian could see in her eyes that she didn’t want to think about the negatives even with the situation going on. She could easily play cheerleader of the family if she wasn’t into the comedy game. In some ways he really felt like he could relate to her, with many of the family members putting a smile on as they see him. Even Luan liked to exchange smiles with Brian in a reflecting way, making them equal in emotions and providing good vibes when they needed it. He wasn’t the most perfect, but it felt right to exchange smiles when it’s needed. He had to give it to Luan for putting him through these positive thoughts.

“So we’re dropping like flies and now have a sister in pain taking hits from one of the monster’s friends. That’s dark…even for me.” Lucy stated.

“The numbers actually point in a different direction.” Lisa chimed in. Everyone glanced at her as the young genius had her eyes set on a clipboard in her hands.

“According to my calculations, whatever that Hoopa monster brought here from those rings was from other dimensions, but they don’t necessarily appear to be doing it willingly. Whatever kind of power that monster has doesn’t match anything in the database, but it is coursing through the pink giantess with Lynn and was impacting the other girl Luan handled. If the calculations are correct, and I did do some to myself, their minds are linked to the monster’s unimaginable powers which reflect-”

“Shortened version please!” Lincoln said. Lisa leered at him for the interruption before putting it in laymen’s terms.

“So it can summon infinite backup if needed? There’s no way we could handle it then!” Lola said. Before anyone else could speak on the matter, a yell erupted through their ears drawing everyone back to the big screen. The pink girl was constantly beating Lynn to the ground, and Lynn’s fizzling body reflected it. Even with all of the damage though giantess Lynn kept getting up to hopefully push back, but she quickly had to hold her abdomen in ease the massive pain coming from it. This mirrored to the original sleeping Lynn in one of the pods, as she began tossing and turning with constant low moans.

Lisa quickly made her way over to the specific pod and relayed words through the sleeping Lynn.

“Gee, I’ve been out here fighting some pink chick and I suddenly get huge pains in my abdomen. Does it LOOK like something isn’t right out here?! DANG IT, IT REALLY HURTS!”

“Calm down Lynn, you will be getting backup very soon.” Kelly stated. She glanced over to the other Louds, not knowing who was next in the birth order so they can show up with Lynn. Thankfully she didn’t have to worry long as Lincoln stood up. He shivered for a second as an unnerving tension went through his body, but before he could step in one of the spare pods, Lisa held a hand out.

“Wait Lincoln, I think you should assist with another problematic issue. Brian, you’re in this too.”

“There’s something else?” Lincoln asked. He cocked an eyebrow as Lisa shuffled through papers on her clipboard before turning towards the pod containing Lynn’s body. She flipped a portion on the side of the machine around, revealing a complicated panel with a screen showing Lynn’s body in a green wireframe alongside some dozens of tiny buttons and switches, as she typed over some buttons while glancing at her clipboard a few times. With the flip of a few switches on the panel, Lynn’s wireframe model switched to a T-pose as some red dots beeped around the abdomen before some thin arrows pointed the spots out. The child genius observed the windows as they spelled out, using her custom writing language, the status of certain parts, and once the messages were deciphered she cringed. Everyone watching was confused before Lisa explained what went on.

“Okay, first things first, I’ve implemented a special mechanism for these pods during the upgrade process that keeps track of the hologram’s status in case of abnormalities. It can’t repair them, but the specialized reports that show up aid in figuring out infected or damaged areas, and as a researcher on various topics-”

“It’s an antivirus but also not an antivirus, isn’t it?” Lori spoke up. Despite not liking getting interrupted again, Lisa let it slide before continuing.

“Errrr, it’s something like that. According to the calculations for Lynn, there are three atypical signatures around her torso that don’t appear to be injuries, but from the pain she’s currently in around that area I’m ninety percent certain something just came up, and that’s where I need your assistance Lincoln.”

“And you want me to do what exactly?” Lincoln asked. He may be unaware at what was coming up, but Brian had a grave hunch at what it was. She was cocking the gun right at his heart when the bullets unfortunately came.

“You’re going to take a trip into her digestive system and handle whatever is in there.”

Brian was shot and screaming in his head. It was all and done for him, there was no way he would willingly become someone’s lunch just for something that didn’t sound like a big deal. He kept clouding his mind with countless excuses as what harmless things were going on with Lynn, stomach aches, intense gas, everything including the kitchen sink. The other siblings just seemed to have their eyes fully wide as Brian tried to think of any sort of excuse.

“Ummmm…couldn’t you just, uhhhhhh…wake her up from the pod? That could work!”

“I’m afraid it’s not that simple.” Lisa answered. “Picture the apparatus here like a computer. Improperly shutting it down while there are programs still up could damage the system and corrupt data, so if I were to wake Lynn up while something is infecting her hologram, well, I don’t know what will happen to her main body.”

“Hey, I’m still here you know!” Lynn’s holographic body said over the monitor. “You’re saying that you’re sending-OWWWWW, IT’S FLARING UP! MAKE IT STOP, MAKE IT STOP!”

“We’re still discussing things, so please hold it a bit longer!” Kelly said. The others could see Lynn was still not handling it well. Getting ganged up on by another giantess while she suffered through something stuck in her stomach really put her on the breaking point. She was reaching her limit, and she needed the assistance quickly.

“Ooh, ooh, I could go in place of Brian! I always wanted to give someone a good gut check!”

“I’ll say it again Lana, I don’t think you can handle it. There are some things you really want to scrub out of your mind, and I can think of a dozen things just from what I experienced.” Brian said before taking a peek at Luan and shuddering. That was when the pig toy, who was silent until now, took a stand.

“Then I will go! A policeman’s work is never done, and I’m experienced in the class of sharp shooting…as long as there is a cookie around!”

“Hmmmm, you bring up an interesting thought.” Lisa stated as she put a hand on her chin. Iberico and Brian smiled, for the former was happy to have finally got through to someone while the latter hoped it would convince her to not use him.

“Okay, here’s what I’m thinking. Since Lucy is up next by birth order she will handle the pink girl while Lincoln, Brian, and the pig toy go inside Lynn and deal with whatever is happening inside her. Lana and Lola, you handle the monster.”

“YES! MY TIME HAS FINALLY ARRIVED!” Lana exclaimed as she put her hands in the air as a smile formed over her face. Lola was just as excited, as she squealed in delight before setting Brian down to give Lana a big sibling hug. Lucy was as emotionless as ever, but did slightly smile, while the other sisters watched how eager the twins were. Lincoln and Brian were feeling completely different though.

“Wait…so you’re sending me inside my sister’s stomach?! Are you honestly expecting me to go through with that idea?! I don’t want to see how food becomes poo first hand!”

“I agree! I have a life too you know!” Brian spoke up. Lisa’s face went flat before motioning for Lincoln to come close. Once he did so, she whispered something into his ear that caused his face to go sour. After about a minute, Lincoln pulled back and sulked downward.

“Well you may have changed his mind, but you won’t convince me to do the same!” Brian exclaimed. The experiences of going inside someone from before really skewed his outlook on the matter. From Lori as he was stuck on pizza, Lucy wanting to see if she was a vampire, the nightmare of Luna eating him as a snack, Leni sending him sailing into Luan’s body, and being extremely cautious inside Luna’s mouth as she swam through poison, they all contributed to the massive fear. He could never look at someone vomiting and not be reminded of what could have been, it was too much.

The tiny boy tilted his head up toward the source of the voice. He expected it to come out of Lori’s or Luna’s mouth, but he recognized the voice easily. There she was eyes set right on him, as her infectious smile shined over him. Even though she tried to cheer Luna up earlier, she wasn’t giving up on everyone else.

Lola contently obliged as she turned to Brian and set one of her gloved hands on the ground to let Brian climb on. Once he did so, she lifted him up to her face before making her way over to Luan and dropping Brian into her grasp. Her hand went flat as she kept him like a delicate flower, almost making him calm down somewhat. She put one of her huge fingers under his drooping chin and lightly pushed it upward so the shrunken boy could see her cute face. She giggled to herself as all of the other siblings, plus Kelly and Iberico, made their way around her.

“Brian…my trusted Dinky Shrinky, you are one of the sturdiest people I have ever met, and for once I’m not joking around. With all of the insanity that occurred since that fateful day when we discovered you, you went through every single one and dealt with it. Even with what seemed impossible you found a way out, and that’s a great perk to me. Remember when I accidentally ate you? Even in that state you found a way out of me. You’re kind, fun, and very smart, and even though you tend to freak out at times, just know that we always will help you out. Even if we separate, we will always support your endeavors…as you are a Loud to us.”

His heart throbbed as it could almost pop out at any moment. This was the final conformation, he wasn’t related to the Louds in any degree, but he was family in their eyes and they treated him as such. He did NOT want to handle the trial ahead, but it made him feel a little better to see the Loud kids will still be here for him when he gets back. It left one part as a sour taste, which only a few currently knew about but he didn’t see the feeling reflected on their faces. Even so, he didn’t want the others to know until he left to not dampen the remaining time he had with them, but there would be none if their dimension was wiped.

He shook a little, still unhappy about what he needed to do, but thanks to Luan’s kind words he tried to compose himself before slowly giving off a weak smile and a quick thumbs up. He could feel that it was the right decision as the smiles of the Louds around him continued giving him positive outlooks.

“Wow…you really do care that much for me…thank you so much. I guess there’s no way out of this dilemma now with those charming expressions, huh?”

“It may not seem like much, but you have literally brought this family closer together since you came here.” Lori said.

“I think now is you biggest time to shine Brian.” Luan said. “Ready to take center stage?”

“I’ll…try my best.” Brian stuttered. “Oh, and this is for really caring for me.”

He knew he did this many other times, but as a way to show his affection toward the siblings, he ran up and gave her gigantic clown friend a well-deserved hug. Luan showed her empathy by hugging back with two fingers, in a light way so he wouldn’t get squashed. Before he even knew it, all of the other siblings around him surrounded Luan and did the biggest family hug they could muster. Another wave of nostalgia hit Brian, reminding him of when the kids announced they would take him in. It was almost exactly the same as that significant day, showing their caring nature to him. He could feel tears leak from his eyes as he smiled in Luan’s chest, he didn’t want this moment to end, but there was a more dire issue at hand and he knew it.

“You guys really are special. You remind me of a few families back in my dimension, all strange and weird in their own ways, but all of them have the heart to care for each other. I pretty much explained myself about staying here a bit longer earlier so I don’t need to reiterate, but as much as I don’t want to be a killjoy we still have the end of everything among us.”

“…you’re right.” Brian replied. “We still have a monster to stop. I guess I’ll go whenever everyone is ready.”

Kelly nodded as the family separated. With everything now set in stone, Lucy, Lana, and Lola got up as Luan set Brian into Lucy’s hands. Like she usually did, she blankly stared at his tiny body for a few moments and poked him a few times, something Brian didn’t mind as much anymore. She could never get too much of him as her fascination was always in the back of her mind.

“I have that handled. It may be pretty thin, but there should be enough space to fit all of you.”

“So I’m going to have to cramp in with others? I…guess that is something.” Brian said. “By the way, something has been irking me ever since this chaos started.”

“Well, you’ve been having that stagnant expression the entire time, and I’m just wondering why. Aren’t you a tiny bit worried about the apocalypse happening? I mean, everyone else is worried out of their minds except for you.”

Lisa frowned as she quietly walked up to him, which also meant Lucy. She looked slightly clammy as gave her answer.

“Brian, to be completely transparent…I am scared. Even though I have the numbers in my head, there has always been the low percentage leering over the calculations trying to put an unceremonious conclusion to our reality. I’m holding these vibes back as best as my mind can, but these types of…things, such an ambiguous word, tend to slip out. I’m certain you can do the same, for it’s all in the cranium. You may not be a child genius, but you have the smarts to follow in my footsteps…if you wanted to that is.”

“Thanks Lisa.” Brian said. Lucy set Brian down in one of the pods as Lincoln and Iberico squeezed inside with him while the girls crammed into the other.

“Wait.” Kelly said before Lisa could activate the machine. “Take this slacker with you.”

She reached into her hair and pulled out her infamous ex-boyfriend, who looked a bit drowsy.

“Well now you’re going to help save this dimension, so stop bellyaching!” Kelly exclaimed before throwing the ball of hair into the pod with the boys, smacking him against the back. He was about to angrily reply back before the pods closed and the machine activated.

With one flash of the special camera, the three young girls came into existence on the surface as massive as the others before them. Lana immediately began to get giddy as she looked down at the many buildings now miniaturized compared to her. She could almost feel the landscape across her feet, but she wanted more than that. She ended up taking her shoes and socks off so she could feel things more clearly, for this was the Girlzilla she dreamed of being. Lola was less giddy than her twin, but she was still absolutely mesmerized with everything around her long dress. She could easily win with flying colors if there was some sort of “Beautiful and Gorgeous Giantess” pageant, but even at her new height she didn’t want to get too dirty. She even stuck out one of her pink heels and slowly used it to crush an empty house, and she got happy jitters from the display of power. She heard from her siblings about how she was very destructive, but her new size brought that trait to a whole new level. She was going to enjoy this new experience.

The one most interested and captivated with the smaller landscape however, was Lucy. She had her experiences holding Brian before, but that was when her surroundings were completely normal to her. She kept her secret of her amazement over being a giantess with Brian, but now she couldn’t talk about wanting to do it when she was actually living out that secret. Lucy didn’t pay attention to how most of the neighborhoods around her were destroyed in the mayhem; actually living out one of her dream fantasies was almost too much for her. She held back putting up a big grin to not give anyone signals, even though she knew Brian would obviously be thinking about it. She was living a dream and didn’t want to wake up from it.

“Yes, yes, yes, this is so AWESONE! I’m actually the humungous girl I always wanted to be! You better move over giant lizard, for you are NOTHING compared to the invincible Girlzilla!”

“Can you be quiet for once Lana?” Lola replied. “I’m trying to get used…to…”

Lola couldn’t finish as her eyes were glued to the ground around her pink shoes. She didn’t think it would be possible for her to become the “biggest princess”, but reality gave her a curve ball. She shifted her shoes around and watched the tiny landscape shift and move around, wrecking a few roads and stray cars in the process, for she now had the power to do things she never thought could be accomplished. A part of her wanted to hunt people down so they could worship her like the giant princess she was while the other wanted to cause as much destruction within the bounds of her personality. So many possibilities sailed through her head, but she couldn’t do them all in one sitting…could she?

She glanced over to her twin to see how she would react, but her sight was met with Lana walking away with her hands in the air as she stomped around as much as she could, causing more destruction by her feet.

“ROAR! I AM THE GREAT GIRLZILLA! THIS PLACE WILL BE MY NEXT STOMPING GROUNDS! RRRRROOOOOOAAAAAAAARRRRR!”

Lola couldn’t help but put on a small grin at the sight. It was typical to see her act like that especially with her newfound height. Playfully rolling her eyes, Lola strolled after Lana as her shoes crushed everything under them while her long dress grazed everything it went over, even causing a few trees to go bare from the force.

For Lucy, this was the moment she was waiting for. With Lola and Lana going somewhere else, she now had this part of Royal Woods to herself. She wasn’t the most playful of her sisters, but she had enough to privately do things that interested her. She kept getting a constant nag in her head to do something while being the giantess she dreamt of, and now she could do it with no eyes set on her. Looking down at the ruins of houses from the monster earlier, Lucy silently smiled as she got on her knees and gazed at the landscape below her. She couldn’t help but lower her hands to the ground and feel the tiny pieces of what were once houses between her fingers. It almost tickled her, contrary to what the majority would say, as if her huge size kept the damage at bay. To have the sort of power over others amazed Lucy, and her giantess status reflected it. She seeped and wriggled her fingers through the wreckage a bit more until another thought occurred to her. Even though she saw Lana do it, it almost seemed impractical for someone of her nature to follow in her sister’s shadow, but the interest was too much to pass up. Goosebumps crawled across her back as the weights tilted back and forth, but then one side tipped over the other.

“Sigh; if curiosity kills me I’ll accept its embrace.” Lucy thought. With a few more quick glances left and right to make sure that Lola and Lana weren’t around, Lucy carefully stuck out her feet before slowly taking her shoes and socks off. She set them to the side before seeing her exposed gray feet, her toenails coated in the pitch black nail polish she adored so much. She was thankful she wasn’t as athletic or dirty like Lynn or Lana, or else she would never hear the end about how her feet stunk beyond high heavens. Almost as if she was setting herself in a large pool, Lucy cautiously dipped her bare feet into the pile of wreckage among her. Like her hands, the shrapnel tickled her feet and didn’t hurt at all, forcing her to hold back slightly giggling from the touch. She wiggled her toes as her intrigue reached new tiers. She almost didn’t want to go back to being normal size and stay being a giantess forever. Her impassive face understandably masked her true emotions, but she couldn’t wait to tell Brian about her experience.

“You surpass new heights as the world ends around you. Keeping a leveled head exercises the emotions you know.”

Suddenly hearing a new voice, Lucy looked toward the ground to the source. To her surprise, it was none other than her goth friend Haiku, sharing the same emotionless expression as Lucy. Lucy’s heart skipped a beat as Haiku turned to see Lucy’s gigantic bare feet sticking out of a pile of destroyed buildings. She turned back to Lucy as the giantess tried to think of an excuse.

“Ummm, this isn’t what it looks like. I was put this way by my sister and-”

“It’s okay Lucy; I understand the emotions that come with the state you are in.”

Lucy felt a relief lift off of her back. Haiku knew that the experience was astounding and how she couldn’t help but test the waters. She was lucky to have a close friend in her, gigantic or not.

Haiku glanced over to Lucy’s bare feet again and walked over to them. She set one of her hands on one of the sides as she closed her eyes and let the thoughts come to her.

“Yes, the joys that come with the size and tension from the burdens form a cave of echoes that cloud the senses and put perspective to another reality. You make me want to see this myself someday.”

“Sorry Haiku, this came up so suddenly.” Lucy said. “I at least thought you would have evacuated at this point.”

“Sigh, I didn’t want to miss out on seeing the end with my own eyes.” Haiku replied as she patted Lucy’s foot. Lucy smiled lightly.

Haiku turned to Lucy and lightly smiled back, answering the question. The goth giantess set her left hand against the ground before her tiny goth friend quietly made her way over. Once she made her way on, Lucy lifted Haiku’s tiny body up to her face, their eyes reflecting the happiness under their masks.

Haiku gazed over the horizon from the new perspective, seeing all of the ruins among her.

“The end of everything…in some ways brings out peace. The quality brings a mesh of colors that forms candy for the eyes, yet sugar can bring your life to an end. Cherishing something can be taken in easily, but too much can bring the self-harm. Deep stuff…”

“I understand where you are coming from.” Lucy replied. “But as much as you predicted the apocalypse, it needs to stop.”

Haiku turned back around toward Lucy’s huge face as the two mirrored blank expressions.

“You intend to change fate. I don’t see an end to this madness as the world around you crumbles and everything you work for gets reduced to ashes. Everything is already going through like clockwork, and you can’t stop something like the end of everything from going through.”

“Possibilities extend infinitely, a way through is always available. Sometimes it’s not apparent, but the mind has the capabilities. Changes can happen at irregular intervals, we just need quick thinking and the adaptability to come up with an idea. You may just accept the fact that the box is empty Haiku, but hope reveals itself if you look hard enough.”

Lucy’s voice was darker than normal as she challenged Haiku’s ideals. They may be friends, but that didn’t mean they always thought the same. Even though she was way bigger than her friend and could crush her in an instant, Haiku didn’t express any sort of fear as she explained her viewpoints with Lucy doing the same. It was the most calm and collective argument one could possibly want between two friends, although the fact that they were both expressionless goths helped alleviate the tension that would come normally.

Shockingly, Haiku didn’t bark back. Instead, she did a half grin as she made eye contact with Lucy.

“You still have an outlook of optimism. I was just making sure you had the capabilities, and you passed very easily. To be very honest, while I did predict doom to befall this place I didn’t know what the outcome will be, but hearing your strong attitude and choice of words…it sways me to certain sides. If you can handle me, doomsday may crumble and the world will be saved. I really believe in you Lucy.”

“Anything for a friend.” Haiku stated. “But you should probably help out with stopping the end of everything right now.”

“Oh right, I almost forgot about that.” Lucy replied. “Let me set you down first.”

The giantess lowered her hand down as she let Haiku walk off and glance back at her one final time. Lucy got to her feet before putting her socks and shoes back on, giving Haiku a friendly nod which she did back. Lucy then quickly left in a hurry to not delay any longer, causing big booms as her feet hit the ground, while Haiku turned back around and quietly walked along the destroyed sidewalks marveling over everything around her. She was in no hurry to get to safety.

As Lucy made haste, Lynn wasn’t doing so well with the pink girl. The pain in her chest was unbearable which kept her out from her full potential, and the pink girl capitalized on it. With blow after blow, Lynn struggled to focus with her stomach constantly flaring up. She really hoped Lincoln and the others had it handled as she held her chest while trying to not give an inch of weakness.

The pink girl forced Lynn to the ground, clearing a district in the process, as she kept a leg over Lynn’s back with a transformed chainsaw pigtail hovering dangerously close to the athletic one.

“I expected you to match me, but it’s too bad your attempts went up in smoke.” The pink girl taunted. “Any last words before I end you?”

Lynn struggled to push herself up as the girl kept a strong leg over her back. Any more pressure would probably puncture a lung, and Lynn was already in enough pain.

The pink girl put more pressure on, giving Lynn more pain and making her hologram fizzle, before putting on an obviously guilty face with no ounce of remorse.

The pink girl bolted up as she unexpectedly found Lucy standing right next to her, releasing her hold on Lynn. Seeing her chance, Lynn sluggishly crawled away to another part of the town for safety.

“Great, the backup arrived. Tch, you don’t look so tough, and I’ve seen way stronger looking ones than you.”

“I don’t think you should judge something before your end comes.” Lucy responded. “I have unique ways of handling my problems, and I don’t think you will like them.”

“Oh really? You don’t look so interesting to me.” The pink girl replied. “Let me see if you aren’t just lying out of your butt!”

The pink girl wasted no turned turning her pigtails around and letting loose dozens of missiles. Lucy was actually more nimble than she looked, for she cleverly ducked under them and set off in another direction. The pink girl growled as she ran off after her, teeth gritted. She fired more missiles as Lucy kept the pace and held her lead. Countless houses were destroyed in the process as the giantesses stepped on them, but thankfully everyone already evacuated.

The chase continued for quite a while, and Lucy didn’t even bother to throw a punch as the pink girl threw out attack after attack, making her more infuriated. Suddenly, Lucy stopped, and the girl couldn’t have been happier.

“No…I already have you handled.” Lucy replied. Putting two fingers into her mouth, Lucy emitted a loud whistle. At first nothing seemed to happen, which the pink girl took as her time to launch more missiles, but as she was transforming her pigtails into the launchers a horde of black dots flew in and swarmed around her face. She tried to swat them out of the sky, but there were too many and she couldn’t concentrate.

With Fangs and his bat buddies keeping the pink girl distracted, Lucy had one final step to accomplish. Unbeknownst to the pink girl, Lucy had actually been luring her to one specific spot amongst the ruins of Royal Woods for one specific object, the giant ring that brought her here. She was too focused on Lucy to notice, and Lucy knew it well, but there was still the dilemma of actually forcing her through it. Fangs and company couldn’t keep her distracted for too long, so Lucy had to think of something quick.

It wasn’t her talent, but she needed to pull it off if the pink girl were to go through the ring. She took a few deep breaths and tried to think hard like her sister Lynn. She cleared her mind as best as she could before she recklessly charged forward. Detecting the charging behemoth, the horde of bats, plus Fangs, hastily flew out of the way as Lucy was just a few feet away from the pink girl.

The pink girl found herself on the receiving end of Lucy’s charging body. Both girls tumbled into the haze of the giant ring; with Lucy’s hologram fizzling out the instant it was fully enveloped. The ring’s middle went hollow, sealing the fate of the pink girl, before it fell to the ground and shrank back to normal. The careless maneuver may have cost Lucy her hologram, but it single handedly stopped the second summoned threat from causing more destruction alongside the monster.

The horde of bats watched in confusion, not knowing what just transpired, but Fangs knew with his constant visits to the Loud house. He screeched to his fellow bats to let them know what happened before the horde split off, with Fangs speeding straight to the secret bunker.

Lana and Lola headed off in the opposite direction to where Lucy was, toward where the Hoopa monster was situated. Lana took her time making way as she acted out like the gargantuan monster she always wanted to be, while Lola was more interested seeing the dozens of houses crushed flat under her pink princess heels. Lana took the lead as she tried to destroy as much as she could like the “Girlzilla” she acted out, crushing everything under her bare feet as she playfully roared.

She soon had enough of doing the basics of crushing everything under her bare feet for now, so Lana thought of another way to mess with Royal Woods. Turning around and holding her arms out, Lana tilted backward and made herself fall to the miniature town below, landing with a loud boom. Her enjoyment went further as she moved her arms up and down like a makeshift snow angel, forcing many tiny objects somewhere else with her strong limbs. She held herself back from grinning too wide and shedding tears, for the impossible for her finally became possible. From wrecking mud buildings and discovering Brian to wrecking actual buildings, she was overjoyed. To think it all started with the tiny boy no smaller than her toes, she would have to thank him for all of the insanity. She’s the giant kaiju now and she didn’t want to go back.

She laughed merrily as she made more “building angels” before getting antsier. In some ways, the ground below her actually felt like mud, and with her being as big as she was, now was her chance to bring out the animal in her.

“RAWWWWR! WATCH AS SQUASH YOUR TINY BODIES UNDER MY THICK SKIN! NONE SHALL ESCAPE MY ANGER! RAWWWWR!”

She flipped herself over and got on her stomach with the façade of an angry girl on her face. Without missing a beat, Lana turned around and rolled over as much of the destroyed houses as possible. If there were still any untouched buildings left, this probably wiped them out in an instant. Lana chortled blissfully as she was enjoying herself way too much being a giantess, being at just the right age to not worry about major consequences. Thinking first and acting later wasn’t something she would have come to realization over. The only exception to the rule would probably be Lisa due to her massive smarts, but for Lana that wasn’t the case.

She was so caught up in her playful rolling destruction that she almost forgot about her constantly growling tummy. She sat back up and felt around the area, and like it indicated, she was hungry. She scanned the ground in case there was any sort of spare building that was still standing, and thankfully she found the one she was looking for. She rushed over to it as she crushed anything unfortunate enough to be under her bare feet before she stopped at the front. Her toes squirmed in excitement before the front doors as the familiar logo made her eyes dazzle. The Burpin’ Burger may have given her some massive stomach aches in the past, but now her stomach was basically a black hole and she knew it well.

She tore the roof right off of the top, not caring about property damage, before glancing down at what was in the fast food building. As usual, nobody was inside, but that didn’t stop the giantess as she looked at the machines behind the counter. Her mouth drooled once she saw the dozens of burgers next to them, causing some parts of the place to get flooded.

“I NEED FOOD! THIS BIG GIRL NEEDS FOOD!” Lana exclaimed in as much of a monster voice as possible. She reached and picked up the piles of burgers before getting a good look at them in her huge hands. All neatly packaged in wrappers and ready to go, just the way Lana liked it, but she knew it would take forever to individually uncover each one. With a wave of impatience, Lana opened her mouth and dumped the whole pile inside, not caring about the wrappers. Even with the handicap though, Lana could still taste the juicy flavors they had, almost making her calm somewhat. She chewed for a few seconds before swallowing, but that was nothing to ease the hunger. That was only a fraction of food compared to her huge size, she wanted more and she wanted it now. She gazed around the parking lots for any sort of other fast food place, only to come across a group of healthy tall trees. Her mind groaned, for it wasn’t what she wanted, until she gazed at them a bit longer. She had eaten tons of gross things in the past, and trees weren’t even close to that level, but with nothing else in sight they were the only option at the moment. Cringing for a quick second, Lana used her giant hands to take hold of the trees before uprooting them with all of her might. A few birds flew out of them as Lana peeked inside each tree for anything extra. Luckily, there was nothing else on them, other than the birds that already flew off, so now it was time to chow down. Bringing in a tree closer to her face before widely opening her mouth, she hesitated before bringing her teeth down upon the top of the tree.

Lana stood speechless with wide eyes as she chewed. She had been hanging out with animals and rolling in mud since she was born, but not once had she put something in her mouth that gave her the savor she experienced at the moment. She swallowed before seeing how much she took off. A reasonable bite, not too much but not too little either, but she yearned for more. She forced another clump of the tree’s leaves into her mouth, and she couldn’t have been more of a glutton than now. Before she even knew it, she suddenly had the entire tree in her mouth. She chewed on the bark carefully before swallowing, not wanting any extra splinters stuck in her gums.

She took another uprooted tree and shoved it right in her mouth, not caring about taking off smaller parts first. They almost tasted as good as all of the bugs she ate in the backyard on a daily basis, which only fueled another thought in her head. She could fit nearly anything in Royal Woods into her mouth at the size she was at, giving her curiosities to how those would taste. There were dozens of destroyed buildings at this point, so she could try those out at any point, but there had to be more than that. It was then that it occurred to her. She was so huge now that her siblings looked like…bugs, and what did she often do to bugs once she found them?

She squirmed at the thought. Lynn was already getting a gut check from Brian and company, so it would be reasonable for her to get one as well. She actually had a secret passion of wanting to send Brian into her stomach at some point during his stay with her, but even she knew the consequences of something like that. Still, she ate bugs daily and she never knew how scrumptious certain things were as the giantess she was…

While her twin was munching away, Lola had her own stroll through Royal Woods at a much more regal pace. She didn’t want to accidentally step on something she didn’t mean to, even if most of the town was destroyed already, so she glanced at her pink shoes a couple of times for extra caution. Still, like most of her other sisters, she couldn’t believe what she was living out. All this time and looking down at Brian just only seemed to be a sample of actually living it big. She really was the “big” sister to her siblings now, so her authority was set in stone and she could become the massive queen of the house. She could force Lori to polish her gigantic toenails, Leni to make her the most elegant dress for her size…

She couldn’t think any longer as the back of her long dress got covered in rubble. As the prissy and noble girl of the younger ones, Lola took pride in how her image was portrayed, so she immediately picked up that side and flapped it up and down, releasing any sort of excess debris on it.

“Ugh, even as a giantess I still have grimy things to worry about.” Lola said to herself.

A low chattering noise rang through her ears which caught her interest. Scanning the ground near her feet, Lola heard the noise coming from the Royal Woods community center, the place where most pageants were held. For some bizarre reason the building was still standing despite all of the others around it gone completely. Reading a banner on the front saying “Little Miss Gorgeous and Lovable Pageant” got Lola’s blood boiling. She was always one step ahead when it came to pageant, but for one to be held WITHOUT her knowing about it was a very underhanded move.

She marched right on over as her stomps rumbled everywhere. Without even considering precautions, Lola straight up ripped the roof right off and tossed it to the side. Everyone inside gasped and stared at her like death was staring back at them, and like she expected, everything was set up like an actual pageant. Dozens of people sat in the stands while three judges sat in their own chairs before them. All of the contestants stood on the stage in a row, telling her that she showed up near the end of it all, but that didn’t change anything to her. Lindsey Sweetwater was one of the contestants on stage, who Lola knew could get pretty competitive when it came to pageants, so it was likewise that she kept the information away from Lola for an easy win.

“Oh dear…uhhhhh, sorry miss giantess, but errrrrrrr…we’re kind of wrapping up…” one of the judges squeaked, trying not to ignite her further. However, neither the audience nor the judges were the main target as she stared daggers at Lindsey, who was quite unsettled at Lola’s new size along with the other contestants on stage.

“Well, well, well, thought you could leave me out of this JUST for an easy win, huh?!” Lola exclaimed. She slammed a fist on a side of the road, which didn’t ruin anything but the noise did ruffle the feathers of everyone inside the community center.

“Wow, uhhhhhhh, Lola…you’re drinking milk I see?” Lindsey unnervingly said. It didn’t change Lola’s attitude. What Lindsey did was too much of an issue to her than anything else; she needed to show her up.

It only took a few seconds to think on it. Lola’s attitude suddenly shifted from anger to smug in just one quick expression.

“You know what? That actually was a pretty nice tactic you had there. Not telling me about this pageant? I would have probably done the same thing to one of my siblings at some point, so I’m going to show my appreciation by beating you the only way I know how.”

“And…that would be?” Lindsey asked. Lola took her eyes off Lindsey and over to the judges.

With that said, Lola withdrew from the open roof as she let everyone that wanted to see come out the front doors, including the judges. The tiny people wasted no time hastily rushing out, just so Lola wouldn’t get any more upset, as Lola watchfully made her way to the other side of the street. With the attention now on her, Lola took a deep breath as she did her most beautiful and sophisticated walk down the road while keeping track of everything around her feet. Even though she completely towered over everything, she still knew how to work it down a makeshift catwalk and show off as best as she could. She made sure not to step on the ones watching her as she did her best to appear like a pretty princess despite the noticeable size difference. Once she reached the end of the road, she looked down at the crowd watching while smiling and waving cutely like she was actually going through part of a pageant. Most of them practically had their jaws hit the floor as she was actually playing it completely seriously, leaving them stunned for the moment as the booms of her gigantic pink heels echoed through their hearing and her massive long dress brushed by them.

Once she made it back to the other end of the street, she glanced at the judges for how good she did. Her size casted a wave nervousness as the judges struggled to come up with an answer, but eventually one of them spoke out.

“Ummmmm, well…I know you came in pretty late, but that was a very good…pace you had there. Errrrrrr…”

The three judges scrambled through their papers as they tried to find the results from earlier, which didn’t take long but put them more on edge to not upset the giantess Lola.

“Well…Even with the sudden turn of…events, we have a winner. It’s, ummmmm…Yancy Stubb!”

Lola and Lindsey’s eyes opened up extensively as a young redhead in a blue dress came out from the crowd and accepted her dazzling tiara. Even with a form earlier, Lola’s massive handicap meant nothing in the end. Part of her wanted to scream and strangle Lindsey, which at her size was possible. She would have floored the competition if she managed to get here earlier…but then again Lindsey didn’t end up winning either. Reality slapped her across the face as it came to her that she couldn’t win it all the time. She forgot for the moment about her many pageant losses earlier in her career, and Yancy seemed to just be starting off. She didn’t see too many redheads in her pageant career, but she brushed it aside as the new princess wore the winning tiara happily.

Lola made her way over as most of the people turned tail and ran, not wanting to be at the end of one of Lola’s pink heels. The only ones that didn’t run away were Lindsey and Yancy, with the former being too shocked to move and the latter not knowing what the danger was. Stopping right in front of the two smaller competitors, Lola glared at Lindsey while putting her hands on her hips. Her rival sweated as her words came crawling out

“Okay Lola, we, ummmmm, both lost! You can let it…go now, there’s…always-”

“Oh no you don’t!” Lola interrupted as she reached down toward her. Lindsey’s eyes shrank as she turned around to bolt it, but Lola was quicker as she bound her fingers around Lindsey’s tiny body and held the worried girl before her huge planet eyes. The intense pressure from her angry gaze made Lindsey begin to tear up as she begged for her life.

“Okay, okay, I may have kept some info away from you for personal gain! I knew it was a dirty tactic and shouldn’t have done it in the first place! I won’t do it again I swear, JUST PLEASE PUT ME DOWN!”

Lola gave her a poisonous stare as her rival was bound helpless in her grasp. In some ways, it amused her to see Lindsey break down before her after the many underhanded tactics she pulled to get an edge over the competition at points. All it took was a difference in size to completely reign over what was once a girl that would do almost anything to win, and Lola was smart enough to know that Lindsey was lying through her teeth. Even in the direst of situations Lindsey didn’t change in the slightest, but Lola had the power now. She was her oyster now, and Lola wanted to make sure she would never mess with her again.

“I don’t believe an ounce of what came out of your mouth. I believe you deserve a better punishment fitting of how I see you.”

Lola didn’t want this to be a onetime deal, she wanted to hammer the point into Lindsey’s thick skull so she would never forget what transpired today, and Lola had the perfect tactic to do it. She innocently took off her right pink heel and obliviously looked upward.

Before the captive one knew it, Lola dropped Lindsey right inside the glamorous shoe who tumbled right to the front. She wasn’t hurt, but Lindsey knew something else was planned. She tried to crawl out, but soon found herself staring down one of the biggest feet she had ever seen. It blocked the way out and forced Lindsey back toward the front of the shoe, making her heart race. Trying to squirm past the huge foot was impossible at this point as the toes, with nails coated in pink nail polish, pinned Lindsey to the ground. She could only watch as her body was enveloped under the toes and soon the entire foot, applying pressure that made it difficult to breathe. Her tiny body couldn’t force back the behemoth of muscle above her as the fumes made her gasp for air, which left only one possible outcome. Lindsey wept silently as she closed her eyes and waited for her body to give way to the weight before everything went black…

That moment never came as the foot suddenly lifted the pressure off of her. Lindsey sat stunned with dried tears as the foot withdrew from the shoe, giving her the moment to make her way out. Before she could, the gravity suddenly shifted, forcing her to the backend, and the planet sized eyes stared her down one final time.

Lindsey rapidly nodded speechlessly as Lola dumped the scared out of her mind rival out of the pink heel before she ran away like heck with a tail between her legs. With that display, Lola knew she got the point across as she put her pink heel over her right foot. She wouldn’t be seeing that type of behavior again from Lindsey any time soon.

The giantess turned to make her exit when she noticed Yancy Stubb still on the sidewalk eyeballing her blankly. For some reason she didn’t seem spooked out like the others, catching Lola’s curiosity.

“Oh, I forgot that you were still here. Sorry if what I did to Lindsey worried you, it was personal.”

“But I thought all girls were supposed to grow up big and strong. My mommy said so.”

She didn’t appear to grasp the severity of what just happened before her. Lola got a closer look at her and figured out why, and she was surprised. How a girl her age managed to get into a pageant may have been unknown to Lola, but for her to win and not freak out on stage must have been a spectacle. She did seem to be around Lisa’s age, so it was likewise that she didn’t understand that life wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows yet. Granted Lola didn’t understand everything fully as well, but she was way past the point that Yancy was at.

Lola didn’t want to spook her away, so she got on her knees as the girl continued looking at her peculiarly.

“Girl, you still have a long way to go before reality catches up to you. This was your first pageant right?”

“Uh huh.” Yancy innocently replied. Her suspicions were confirmed, which impressed her for the fact that Yancy was as young as she was and ended up winning her very first pageant. In some ways Lola saw herself as she looked at Yancy.

“Well, I hope you don’t give up on the ones in the future. I’m speaking to you as a constant winner myself, but I’m sure you’ll understand down the road.”

“Thanks miss giant princess!” Yancy replied with a corny young smile. Lola ruffled through Yancy’s hair with one of her giant gloved fingers which caused the young pageant queen to laugh innocently. She then watched as the girl ran off to go find her parents, which Lola knew would be pretty easy in the direction they went, after they ran off earlier and Lola couldn’t help but silently giggle. It really was something special to see someone like that call her a princess, a giant princess to be more specific, that didn’t seem forced out. Yancy had potential, and even though Lola knew she was leagues above her, it was nice to give advice for the unseen potential ahead.

Her mind was interrupted as a loose rooftop hit her in the back of the head. She figured it was probably Lana muddying the area up with her being as big as she was, but once she turned her head she couldn’t have been more off. She was so focused on the new perspective that she completely forgot why she grew in the first place. Luckily for her the monster was too distracted tearing off roofs and looking inside each building to pay attention to her.

Knowing two was better than one; Lola quickly set off to find Lana. It didn’t take too long to find her as she was sitting in a vacant parking lot shoving as many smaller objects into her mouth. She tried to mumble something out, but her mouth was too full to make out anything.

“Oh right! I was too busy enjoying myself as big as I am that I almost forgot! Why didn’t you inform me sooner? Were you distracted by your new size too?”

“Something like that…” Lola trailed off, not wanting her twin to know the beef she had earlier. The two headed off back toward the monster as it was still looking through building after building before destroying them. Once Lola saw it go through one particular building she snapped.

“Hey, that’s the makeup store you jerk! I can’t look adorable without it!”

“Hoopa destroy until it finds Beekan! Don’t get in Hoopa’s way!” the monster exclaimed. Lola may be paying attention to ending the monster, but Lana noticed something else with it. If it was constantly leaking from the eyes, could it actually be…

Lana couldn’t think further as Lola ran forward madly, which was a bit “unladylike” for a proper girl like her. The dirty twin rolled her eyes as she went in after her. Lola prepared to pummel the monster the instant she made contact with it, but she found herself completely immobilized by a mysterious invisible energy as the monster’s eyes glowed eerily. Lana saw her twin in trouble and wrestled the distracted monster swiftly into the ground. She wrestled alligators before this, and now was the time to finally put those skills to use, but she didn’t account for the extra arms the monster had as two of them covered themselves in a coat of chilling ice. With her back turned, the fists launched themselves right at Lana, which Lola saw at the last possible second. She quickly picked up a spare vacant building from the streets below and tossed it in the fists direction. It smacked into the fist spot on and immobilized it, but that didn’t account for the other one as the chilling fist bashed right into Lana’s back, lurching her forward off of the monster and into some buildings below, wiping them off of the map.

The monster picked itself up from the attack, clearly furious, and set its sight on the two twins. With two sets of three arms aimed at one each, a weird shadowy blob formed in the center of them before it fired right in the direction of the giantesses. Lana was quick on her feet and easily got out of the way, but for Lola the long pink dress came back to bite her. She accidentally tripped over the front, leaving her wide open as the blob exploded right against her body, sending her to the ruined town below as her hologram fizzled from the damage.

“LOLA!” Lana cried out. She made haste over to twin as the monster, weirdly enough, backed off from attacking and went back to ravaging everything in sight. She accidentally stepped on a few houses with her bare feet on the way there, but that was the least of her problems. Once she made it over, she was thankful that Lola was still conscious, but she took the hit pretty badly as her hologram fizzled like crazy. Lana helped get her twin back on her feet as the two traded gazes.

“Lola, are you okay?! You really took a big hit back there; please don’t give out on me!” Lana exclaimed. She was met with one of Lola’s snarky grins.

“Oh thank goodness!” Lana replied as she ran up and gave her sister a quick hug. “I’m pretty sure we need to bring out the big guns for this guy. Twin Fight time?”

“Definitely Twin Fight time.” Lola responded knowing what Lana was talking about. The two shared sights with the Hoopa monster as it currently ignored them for more destruction time, giving the girls an ample opportunity. Glancing back at each other one final time and nodding in agreement, Lola and Lana took a quick moment to think before rushing forward like mad girls. The monster only had a quick second to turn around and notice before the two giantesses pounced right on top of it, forming a cartoonish dust cloud as they pummeled it as much as they could. The scuffle moved around through Royal Woods like a tornado, striking everything below it as they were demolished and thrown into the air like nothing. It was almost impossible to see what was going on inside the cloud, but tons of punching and kicking sounds came from it.

Lola eventually got kicked out of the cloud as the entire thing faded way, revealing an angry and toughened Lana pinning the monster to the small town below. She grinned as she got a good look at the monster’s helpless face, showing that she was more than capable of handling it, before winding back to deliver the knockout punch. She didn’t care if it was shedding tears before her, the monster had to-

The sudden observation gave the monster enough time to push Lana off and summon its rings off of its claws. Five of them hovered over the twins as the monster was ready to finish them.

The monster pointed at the two, causing the hovering rings to immediately swoop down and wallop against the giantesses over and over again, and it packed a punch. Dust formed everywhere, making a cloud that covered Lola and Lana as they took hit after hit, with the Hoopa monster even warping into the last sixth ring just to hover over the carnage and cackle loudly at their misfortune. Once the dust settled, the two were gone completely as their holograms couldn’t take it anymore. With another treat neutralized, the monster hovered back to the ground and went back to doing its rampaging business.

The holograms of Lincoln, Brian, Iberico, and Tad formed in once Lucy and the twins went their separate ways, just so they wouldn’t accidentally get stepped on. All of them formed in at about the same height as Lincoln, making Brian a bit discouraged that he wasn’t sized up relative to his age, but even so, Iberico and Tad were ecstatic being at an actual normal human height, especially for the police pig toy.

“No way…so this is what it’s like to look at you in the eyes.” Iberico stated. “It’s so…amazing.”

“You’re going to get used to it rather quickly, trust me.” Brian stated. Iberico smiled as the other boys stared back at him.

“You guys really are amazing in this dimension. By the way, and I’ve always wanted to do this…”

Everyone was astonished as Iberico ran forward and got everyone together in one big group hug. It was really nice for him to feel semi-normal to everyone around him, and now with his newfound regular size he could really begin to help out…if he knew how to that is.

“Nice…for you to be included…Iberico…” Tad squealed as he struggled to breathe from Iberico’s hug.

“Less talk…we need to find Lynn quick…” Lincoln also croaked. Realized her was nearly suffocating his friends to death, Iberico let go as the group set off through the ruined wasteland to get to the suffering Lynn. With so much destroyed and wiped completely, it really did feel like a nuclear bomb just dropped, but that would be considered a blessing to what was really happening. Lincoln almost went teary eyed once he saw the comic book store completely gone, which most of the group could relate to, and they had to avoid dropping into huge footprint shaped holes from Lincoln’s giantess sisters earlier. They could hear their voices above them as they worked to get everything back in order, and Brian could particularly pick up voices belonging to Lucy. Considering how much she constantly said to him about her amazement with becoming huge, it was probably a great heyday for her at the moment. Brian snickered to himself about it as the group continued forward.

They didn’t have to tread long as more buildings collapsed above them and Lynn’s huge body entered their sight, lying on her belly and wincing from the pain. Lincoln in particular cringed to see his much bigger sister in front of him. Even though she would never actually do it, she could easily crush him with those massive fingers, and the mere thought of it gave him chills. Brian was more concerned for another reason, but he didn’t need the point hammered in when he expressed it earlier. Iberico kept the feelings to himself, not wanting to express the nervousness he felt, while Tad had a wave of interest go over him. She was nowhere near as interesting as giant Kelly, but just the fact he was seeing someone as if he was an ant to them really opened his eyes. There were obviously things bigger than him, but for someone to actually grow bigger from some sort of incident, he couldn’t help but wonder how they must feel. Seeing everything from a different perspective…

He would have to try it out with Kelly once he gets back to his dimension and see how she feels.

Lincoln immediately ran up to his giantess sister and set a hand on one of her huge cheeks.

Lynn turned to face her really tiny brother with some discomfort, with her globes for eyes really unnerving him.

“I managed to temporarily…get away because it really hurts. This is so dumb…for if I didn’t have this-OH MAN, IT’S FLARING UP!”

Lynn tightly closed her eyes and she put both hands over her belly. Lincoln tried to get her to calm down while Tad made his way to the affected area. He expected to hear nothing but normal indigestion noises, for that was the most plausible scenario, but that was not what he picked up. Something akin to putting your ear to a seashell hit his eardrums, making him confused. It further confirmed Lisa’s analysis earlier, but they wouldn’t know what it truly was unless they made their way in there, and nobody was looking forward to that.

“Well we’re not going to solve the problem just standing here.” Iberico said. “As much as I feel uneasy about this, everyone knows what has to be done right?”

The other three grimly turned to the police pig and sluggishly nodded their heads, especially Brian. Lynn could see it in their eyes that they didn’t want to do this, but they had no other choice. Her hologram couldn’t safely shut down without all living things inside eradicated, and something was definitely inside her belly wrecking everything up. She was going to have to eat her brother so he could destroy something in her stomach…as if her large family couldn’t get any weirder.

“So…I’m actually going to have my brother as a snack…what sort of insanity-OWWWWWW, IT HURTS!”

“Easy there sis, it will be all over before you know it.” Lincoln replied in a soothing voice, as if to calm his giantess sibling down. “I really don’t want to be saying this, but Lynn…you will have to eat me. Now open up, errrrrr…and say ah.”

There was no way out of it, she was going to have to let them inside her body whether she wanted to or not, yet her brother remained somewhat calm. It was like today was just any old walk through the park, and if there was anything Lynn couldn’t stand it was to be stood up by a younger sibling. She didn’t want to be seen as the wuss of the family, the hard worker privilege only applied to her and her alone.

She felt another pain in her abdomen as she knew it had to happen. She slowly set her head to the ground, cringed for a quick second, and let it open.

The entrance to her insides revealed itself as a slimy wet tongue slithered out and set down before them like a makeshift red carpet. Everyone else was very uneasy to be the first to set foot on it, but Brian was easily the most skittish. He went on a trip through someone’s body before, but that was accidental. This time he was willingly setting foot into someone’s digestive system, and for what? Stomach pains. It almost looked like a gateway to the underworld, which he knew Lucy wouldn’t hesitate to go through, and Brian did not want death to catch up to him.

He started to get second thoughts as he slowly took small baby steps backward in an attempt to get away from all of it. Nobody seemed to notice, giving him a light feeling of ease, and after a few more steps he turned around to book it…only to suddenly see Lincoln in front of him with a skeptic face.

“Uhhhhhh…I forgot to use the restroom?” Brian guiltily replied. Lincoln just closed his eyes and shook his head at the response.

“Sorry Brian, but you’re going through with this. If all of us are willing to help my sister out, you’re in this too.”

“But you know what I went through with Luan; this is practically the same thing! How do you expect me to calmly do this and-”

Just to shut him up quicker, Lincoln slapped the older boy across the face and grabbed one of his arms. Brian fell to the ground and tried to break free as Lincoln dragged the rebelling boy to where they needed to go, Lynn’s mouth. Brian used his other available arm to claw the ground and try to pull away, which would have worked if Iberico and Tad didn’t quickly join in to help Lincoln pull Brian. Their strength proved to be overwhelming as they easily dragged Brian forward until they got to the massive tongue. They shivered for a second before Iberico took the first step, his foot sinking into the pink mass as it got coated in saliva. Lynn herself eyeballed the quartet as they made their way up to her mouth, and she too was very uneasy about the entire thing. To actually be swallowing her own brother…it really made her squeamish. Who knows what they might find in there? She knew she had a knack for eating meat and downing sports drinks on occasion, including a time where she ate a dozen hot dogs for a competition, so almost any of those were possibilities. Whatever they find in there, she hoped they would be able to handle.

The three dragging the one throwing a temper tantrum eventually all set foot on Lynn’s huge tongue, pulling Brian up onto it as it coated his upper body in saliva. Walking even further up, Lynn’s upper part of her disappeared from view as they set their first steps into her mouth. They made it past her teeth when Lincoln exclaimed:

“Okay Lynn, it’s time! Ummmmmm, close up and…I guess we’ll be handling the rest!”

Brian’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as time was running out to escape. The group got one quick glance from the outside world before Lynn withdrew her tongue. She shuddered from one more dire thought of what might happen before she complied and sluggishly closed her mouth tight. Now with the group in complete darkness and the first steps complete, the three holding Brian let go of the boy before he rapidly ran up to the front of the mouth and began banging on the back of her teeth again and again in a desperate attempt to get out.

“No, no, no, I can’t be going through with this again! Let me out of here, I DON’T WANT TO BE PART OF SOMEONE’S DIET!”

“Remember Brian, we always have your back. I know you are frightened about all of this, but we’re going through this too.”

Brian wheezed in and out before rapidly turning around and embracing Lincoln like a scared child. He really was experiencing one of his greatest fears, and even though he got the backing of the other Louds, it still didn’t ease the fact that he was purely terrified to actually do it. Lincoln couldn’t see him in the pure darkness, but as he held Brian in his arms he gave some compassionate pats on the back.

“There, there, we’re just as worried as you are. How about we take it slow for now, okay?”

Lincoln could feel Brian nod against his chest before separating from him. Then, as if a switch had been flipped, a light shone in their direction. It was Iberico, and he was holding a flashlight in his right hoof as Tad stood next to him.

“No…I’ll be fine…for now.” Brian stuttered as he tried to take some deep breaths. Iberico smiled as Tad ran up to the two for one last look through. He grinned once he found nothing wrong before running back up to Iberico as Lincoln held Brian’s hand to give him some much needed comfort. He made sure to slow down as they walked along the tongue so Brian could take it easy, wanting to make sure he didn’t freak out more.

As the group slowly made their way to the back, they took a gander around to pass the time. For an athlete that particularly loved to eat spicy foods, Lynn sure kept her mouth clean. They thought the only thing Lynn ever cleaned was her plate, yet they never noticed her great case of hygiene. Her teeth were hard and strong as always while saliva drenched everywhere, and not a single row of swollen gums in sight. Her tongue was hard to keep footing on at points, but they had each other in case anyone fell over, although drops of saliva fell from the ceiling of the mouth and drenched Tad at one point. He basically looked like a wet washcloth as soaked as he did, which cheered up Brian by a little bit from how funny it was.

Once Iberico saw the tonsils a few feet ahead they knew what was now in front of them. The uvula swayed above them, almost like it tried to cover up what was below it, as Iberico shined the light under it. Brian especially dreaded seeing the pounds of muscle leer at him with a certain stink, making him grip Lincoln even tighter. They even pulsated ever so slightly at points, and the heartbeat that echoed drilled into his head enough so that he couldn’t get the noise out. This was it, any step further and Lynn would be getting a “very special” lunch.

“So, uhhhhhhh…is anyone willing to take the first step?” Tad shakily asked.

Brian, Iberico, and Tad quickly used one of their hands to touch their noses or in Tad’s case where it would be, and as usual Lincoln was the slowest one.

“Dang it.” He said with a flat face. He looked down and shivered at the sight, it was going to be one constricted trip to Lynn’s stomach. He took a deep breath before lifting his right foot to let gravity take effect…only to slip from the saliva under him and tumble into the chasm below. Tad and Iberico exchanged glances at each other in caution before nodding, with Iberico diving in next followed by Tad. This left Brian, and he was as nervous and scared as ever. Once he dropped down he would be under the mercy of slimy muscles until he inevitably gets to the stomach, and Brian was too terrified to actually watch the process. He curled up into a fetal position and closed his eyes tight as he went with the dropping saliva as they slipped him down into the wraps of the esophagus.

He kept his eyes shut tight as the muscles pushed him further and further down, for he didn’t want reminders hammering into his head repeatedly. His body was soaked in slime and globs as he could hear Lynn’s heartbeat bang through his ears, just more things to tune out on the way down. Lincoln probably felt like a big brother by now with trying to calm him down earlier, and even then he had to have been keeping thoughts to himself. This wasn’t some random place they were going through after all; he was taking a trip inside his sister Lynn’s body. It must have been pretty hard for him to know that he was willingly getting swallowed by his sister, but he would do anything to help out family. This was probably why he wanted Brian to go with him, even if the situation required going through one of Brian’s greatest fears.

It only took around half a minute before the passage opened up and sent everyone into a freefall. Lincoln took a small splash into the acid first before everyone else comically landed on top of him. It didn’t hurt, but it did make Lincoln slightly cross. Once everyone got to their feet their eyes were set on the surrounding area. Tad almost vomited while everyone else was equally disgusted. They were in Lynn’s stomach alright, but what was in it really made them wish they didn’t have eyes. The walls around them oozed disgusting bile and the opening that brought them here was tightly shut by a strong flab, so they weren’t going to be getting out any time soon. They were covered in smelly stomach acid colored a sickly green, but it did nothing but tickle their bodies harmlessly. If they were in their regular bodies they would have to worry about getting dissolved by the bodily liquids, but since they were holograms it wasn’t an issue. They determined that Lisa much have enabled a setting on their pod so that sort of scenario wouldn’t happen. Those were just the cherries on top though, that wasn’t what everyone was paying attention to.

Their faces were almost green as they saw dozens of half-digested hot dogs lying around everywhere.

Lynn must have gotten into another hot dog eating contest before this point, for there had to have been dozens of those large wieners lying around the stomach walls waiting for the digestion period. Some were almost unrecognizable as they looked completely like a sickened lump of gross floating on the surface of the acid. These puppies weren’t barking to get out yet, and that was just one detail the group came to conclude on. If they were going to find out what was upsetting Lynn, they would need to traverse over them, which nobody was looking forward to.

“Ummmm…okay then…” Iberico said. “Whatever is in here has to be among…all of that…”

“I don’t think I’ll be looking at eating things the same way ever again.” Tad said. “I might actually get sick…oomph, or heave out…”

“You are not puking inside my sister’s stomach, for that would just make things double gross!” Lincoln stated. Tad held in his lunch as best as he could, but the scenery around him gave him a much different picture.

“Welcome to my world.” Brian muttered. With everyone getting their thoughts out of the way, the next part was just getting started. Iberico was forced to go up front since everyone pointed to him being a police officer, which the pig didn’t take too well but soon took upon. All four waded through the shallow waters of the gastric acids as they bobbed and weaved around the digesting hunks of meat while trying to not empty their loads at the same time. Brian felt a little better since he wasn’t in his real body and didn’t need to care about death taking him, but he still stood close to Lincoln just in case. Lisa would probably be getting a field day if she was with them, for she had her own gastro intestinal studies despite her siblings’ refusal to assist with.

They didn’t have to trudge too long before they heard the same odd noises from outside. After pushing a mass of a hot dog out of the way, the trouble revealing itself, or in this case…themselves. All three of them shared a similar body structure and height of around Lincoln’s size, but they each had their own individual appearances. The one near one of the stomach walls poking at them with some sort of frozen axe had some sort of round hat on its head with long blue hair extending underneath. Her face only showed round oval eyes as the collar around her professional looking aqua suit covered the bottom. It had no visible feet as it floated in the air to move around.

The one angrily beating the stuffing out of one of the digesting hot dogs had a similar looking hat around its head as its red hair underneath spiked out. The collar of its red looking outfit also covered its face other than its oval eyes while also not showing any feet under it. It floated like the other and had a sword in its right hand.

The last of the three, who stood by idly to watch the other two, had a hat the looked much rounder and fancier which had elegant straight yellow hair flowing under it. Its oval eyes were the only things able to be seen of its face as its regal yellow suit covered the rest but did show that it had no visible feet. It held a long jagged spear with valor as it looked over the other two with determined eyes.

There was no denying the yellow one of the three now, so the group came forward and showed themselves to the unknown three. Surprisingly, the yellow one was calm and collected as it slowly bowed forward toward them.

“Bonjam. I am Zan Partizanne, the eldest general of Lord Hyness. I and my sisters seem to have been sucked into a wormhole and ended up arriving here. I don’t suppose any of you know where we are now, would you?”

“Ummmm, you’re in my sister’s stomach miss…” Lincoln explained a bit shakily. Zan Partizanne slapped her forehead and shook her head.

“Jamblasted, we’re way off the path! Lord Hyness will chew me out if I don’t get out of here pronto! Francisca, Flamberge, get over here!”

Hearing their sister, the red and blue floating girls came down from checking the area out and joined up with the others, taking notice of the group right away.

“Juh? Who are these clowns?” the red one stated. “Were these the ones that dragged us here?”

“Hopefully they know how to get out of this…grotesque place. Please tell me you do.” The blue one said. The group of four glanced at each other nervously before Tad spoke up.

“EEEEEEH, I CAN’T BE TRAPPED IN A PLACE LIKE THIS!” the blue one screeched as she covered her eyes. Zan Partizanne floated over to her sister to try and calm her down as the red one glared at the group as the temperature around her heated up.

“You better know a way out of here before I burn those faces of yours to cinders!”

“But we don’t! We’re just as trapped here as you are!” Brian stated. The red one snorted fictional steam as the blue one calmed down and Zan Partizanne glared back at the group.

“Well if there’s no way out of here for now…at least we can claim this world as our own. If we can utilize the shards of the Jamba Heart we have collected, we could easily burst out of here. I’m certain Lord Hyness will give us extra brownie points for taking over a completely new world.”

“Hey, you’re talking about breaking out of my sister for one thing!” Lincoln angrily argued. “You are not going to harm her on my watch!”

Everyone else, excluding Brian, nodded in agreement and took a stance. It wouldn’t be until a few seconds later until Brian slowly stood by them in unison, just so he wouldn’t get left out. This didn’t sit well for the three mystical girls.

“You dare oppose the generals of Lord Hyness? I don’t think you understand how unmatched you are compared to us.” Zan Partizanne said. “Anyone who opposes Lord Hyness is considered an enemy, and there’s only ONE solution to that problem! Francisca, Flamberge, let’s kiss these lowlifes Jambuhbye!”

The three generals wasted no time bringing out their weapons and brandishing them among the group, for they were getting eager to use them. After a few seconds, the fighting started as everyone split up with a general focusing on certain individuals. Lincoln ended up getting the blue one, which he determined was Francisca since it didn’t fit the other one. Since he didn’t have any sort of weapon to strike back, all he could do was run around like a coward as Francisca swung her ice ridden axe in his direction, which was easier said than done as the stomach acid was thick to trudge through and the digesting hot dogs proved to be unnecessary road blocks.

“Can’t we just take it easy and let bygones be bygones? You risk hurting my sister with that weapon there!” Lincoln asked as he narrowly avoided another swing.

“That will be the least of your worries when we awaken the Dark Lord! You should consider this child’s play to our ultimate plan!” Francisca exclaimed as icicles formed around her before she fired them. Lincoln hastily hid behind a digesting hot dog as the icicles stabbed into it, avoiding yet another fatal attack. Francisca sliced the wiener to get to him and prepared another strike. She brought her axe down as Lincoln ducked, only to suddenly find it stuck tight halfway through another thick hot dog. She struggled to pull it out giving Lincoln a chance, so he gathered up enough courage to kick her away into a stomach wall and pull the axe out to use for himself. It was chilly to hold, but he could handle it.

“How dare you steal my beloved weapon of choice!” Francisca exclaimed. “Grrrrr, no matter, I don’t need that to take you down. Allow me to show you my OTHER weapon!”

Floating back down toward Lincoln, she instantaneously pulled out what looked to be some sort of toy water gun, something Lincoln thought was unorthodox when he first saw it. His mind quickly changed when Francisca shook it a little bit before firing a blast of water in his direction. He batted away the blast by flailing the axe around like a toddler, not knowing how to actually use it. Any droplets that hit the stomach acid or digesting wieners froze the affecting area instantly, showing that Francisca’s new weapon was more than what it seemed. She shook her gun again and aimed it at Lincoln, keeping a keen eye so she wouldn’t miss again, so Lincoln needed to come up with something and fast. In a motion of desperation, Lincoln swung the chilly axe into the stomach acid below, causing a visible large splash. The acid went toward Francisca and impacted with her face, causing her to scream as the intensive heat was almost too much for her. She took the moment to cover her face, giving Lincoln another ample opportunity. Belting out a stupid war cry, Lincoln ran forward with his head in the air as if his life depended on it and drove Francisca’s axe right into her cranium. The blow proved to be too much for her as she got launched into the stomach wall again, knocking her out as she landed harmlessly on a floating wiener. Surprisingly, she didn’t have any visible battle damage, not even from the skull splitter Lincoln just gave her, but it didn’t matter. Lincoln defeated her and made him feel like a hero for a moment.

As Lincoln handled Francisca, Iberico and Tad had their hands full with Flamberge, and she wasn’t holding anything back. With her main perk being fire related, likewise she had a short fuse and attacked with a flaming sword. While Iberico had some sort of weapon with his pellet projectiles, Tad had nothing but tried anyway with throwing mushes of digested hot dogs in her direction, which didn’t do much but made her even angrier.

“WHY…WON’T…YOU…DIE?!” Flamberge angrily yelled as she continued swinging her sword in the two’s direction, slicing a disgusting hot dog in two with ease. Her body ignited as she floated above the two and struck her sword downward. Iberico fired in a couple of shots before she quickly thrust downward, which Tad didn’t have time to dodge. He got stuck to the flaming sword like glue as Flamberge reeled back and aimed straight at Iberico. With one swift motion, she swung her sword as dozens of small fireballs erupted from it, along with launching Tad as he was coated in fire. Iberico shot most of the fireballs down but ended up missing a few as they smacked straight into his pork belly. Tad’s face went right into a mush of a wiener, and when he got out he was almost completely covered in gross digesting bile. Both Tad and Iberico fizzled from the damage, but they knew they couldn’t fizzle out while in here. If Lynn couldn’t properly fizzle out with stuff inside her, chances are they would undergo the same thing if they fizzled out from damage while inside her stomach. They risk losing their actual lives if they were to go down now.

Flameberge decided she was done playing games as she put away her flaming sword and pulled out something much more deadly. It was nothing more than a lethal fiery cannon that gave off an intense smoke effect, and she aimed it right at Iberico and Tad with an intense sting. A fuse behind it silently lit as the countdown started, causing the two to panic. Their eyes darted left and right in an attempt to find something, but all they found was a disgusting mass of digesting hot dog. With the fuse indicating that they didn’t have much time left, Tad did the unthinkable and dived head first into the pile. Iberico stood confused at first, but then realized that there wasn’t any other viable option and dived in after him. Their bodies disappeared into the pile of disgust right as the fuse completely disappeared, fully igniting the cannon. Without a moment to spare, Flamberge cackled as the cannon fired an intense stream of fire in their direction. The pile got torched and burned to a crisp, which would actually cook the hot dogs into something crispy but these weren’t regular ones anymore.

Flamberge growled as she started up her cannon again while Tad and Iberico stuck their heads out only to see the cannon aiming straight at them.

“Uh oh, got any bright ideas?” Tad nervously asked. Iberico twiddled his hooves as he looked at the cannon then back to Tad. It swiftly dawned on him, but he was sure Tad wouldn’t like it.

“Ummmm…” Iberico stuttered. “I, errrrr…OH MY GOSH, IS THAT KELLY WANTING TO GET BACK WITH YOU?!”

“WHERE?!” Tad exclaimed. While Tad was distracted, Iberico hastily grabbed Tad by the top of his hair and chucked the furry being right in Flamberge’s direction. Both were clearly taken by surprise as Tad’s massive body of hair latched onto Flamberge’s face, causing a tussle between the two as they tried to separate. Even with the distraction, that wasn’t going to stop the cannon as it was nearly finished charging, so with the open moment Iberico unleashed a barrage of pellets right at the cannon, striking it dead on. It was just in time too, for Flamberge finally managed to tug Tad right off her face and was about to fire the cannon…only to see it inflate and turn into a bright orange color. She didn’t realize what it meant until it was too late when the cannon suddenly exploded from under her, the force sending her right into the stomach wall hard, knocking her out. Iberico sighed as their fight was now over, but Tad wasn’t so happy. He soon jumped on Iberico and started his own personal fight with him, making a cartoonish cloud in the process. They may be close friends to some degree, but they easily had their differences.

All of those fights left Brian alone with Zan Partizanne, and she was easily the most experienced of the bunch. Electricity was her specialty as she zinged everywhere in an instant leaving Brian almost no room to do anything. Wherever he went to try and avoid her, she was already one step ahead and zapped him again and again with her electrified spear. It was a miracle that Brian’s hologram didn’t fizzle out despite the repeated attacks, but that was only the start. It was when Zan Partizanne brought out some electrified drums aimed right at him did he start to really panic.

“And I was getting to think this would go on for much longer.” Zan Partizanne said as she sighed under her breath. “You really are pathetic.”

Brian couldn’t argue with that logic. Even with the encouragement of the Louds giving their support, there was still the constant lingering fear that came up from time to time. His size really amplified that sort of feeling as nearly everything could end him with one misstep, and he lost track of how many times death came knocking on his door.

However, there was a flipside. The fact that he managed to get by each of those incidents without major repercussions was an amazing trait. He wasn’t invincible, but he just seemed to shave the thought of death with each passing situation, and that was really bold of him to do. The Loud kids were also a major blessing to his survival, and it was a shame that he could never pay them back greatly, but his presence seemed to have been the gift he kept giving them. They had his back and they always had him to cheer them up, so even if he was indeed a coward they would give him the strength to stand up for himself. He was never alone and he had the potential…

He felt better after his self-pep talk, but he still needed to find a way to end this quickly. He had no weapons so fighting back was out of the question; all that he saw was stomach walls, gastric acids and mushes of hot dogs digesting. It didn’t take long until a dire plan formulated in his head, and it had a high risk of putting him out, but he needed to take Zan Partizanne out through any means possible. He took a few deep breaths as the general fired electrical spheres from her weaponized drums, before taking the plunge and diving into Lynn’s stomach acids. If things worked out she would easily take the bait, but that didn’t help moving around under the surface. It was like swimming through swamp water, but unlike that it was too thick to even see anything. As grossed out as he was, all he could do now was wait and hope.

“You really thought you could hide in a disgusting place and hope I wouldn’t follow? You must really be that stupid. Jambuhbye to you!”

She revved up her drums as she took aim at Brian, but little did she know that was what Brian wanted. Once it was full power, she tried to fire…only for all of the stomach acid around her to light up. Both Zan Partizanne and Brian took an immense shock coursing through their bodies before the general couldn’t take it anymore and shot out of the acid, landing on a hot dog out cold. Brian trudged his way out as his hologram took the full hit, barely clinging to life enough so that his body was almost unrecognizable from the intense fizzling. He took a small break to the side before going to meet up with the others.

With all three generals defeated, it was time to send them back through the rift that brought them here. With everyone recuperated back together, with a few asking about Brian’s misaligned figure, it didn’t take long for them to find the rift in a corner of the stomach. One final huge toss later, all three generals sailed into the rift before it sealed up tight, ending the problem of Lynn’s digestive system.

“Wow…I can’t believe we actually pulled that off!” Lincoln exclaimed. “So this is how it feels to be a superhero!”

“It doesn’t matter much to me. All cops are superheroes in my book.” Iberico said. “I’m just glad I finally got to help out for once.”

“You still owe me on that.” Tad said as he glared in Iberico’s direction. Before anyone else could speak further, a voice echoed through their heads, which they could tell was Lisa.

“Hey, all of you in the belly of the beast, I’m not detecting any abnormal signatures coming from your location. I assume whatever was in there has been neutralized?”

“Yes…but just barely.” Brian stated. “I’m hanging on from a thread here. How are the others?”

“Unfortunately their holograms perished.” Lisa’s voice said. “I would have contacted them sooner but due to the way they went into the pod, which was all in one huge cluster, attempting to speak with just one would have been impossible. All of them would hear my voice instead of just one, which is why I feel safe doing it you all of you. You were all under the same objective after all.”

They could hear stutters and foreboding tones comes from the other end, putting red flags in their head before Lisa spoke up again.

“Ummmmm, well…I haven’t come up with a conclusive answer to that question yet.”

“WHAT?!” Brian yelled, echoing all over the stomach walls and riling everyone’s eardrums. The boy shook from all over as his mood dipped drastically.

“Well…everyone was so desperate to help out Lynn that I was caught in the mood and didn’t think about all ends at the time. Please don’t panic, I will have you out there in a jiffy!”

With that, everything went silent. Most of them just stood in shock but Brian was different case. His face went flat as he sluggishly sat down on the mushed hot dog and went into a fetal position, his mind was done. He just shut himself off from reality as he didn’t want to deal with succumbing to one of his greatest fears. The others quickly went over to support him as a low rumbling rang through the walls. Lynn wasn’t hungry, but something else was coming up and Lisa had to think of something before then.

Lucy and the twins woke from their pod and took in a massive breath of air. Even with the fun and games they had out there, their situations were brutal. Everyone else gazed at them to see their reactions from the whole thing, and Lola spoke up first.

“Now THAT was an experience! Darn, I really wish I could have stayed like that a bit longer, for I would have LOVED the tiny ones to grovel at my feet! Hey Lisa, can I go in again?”

“Sorry Lola, I can’t risk it after the drainage everyone is getting over their faces.” Lisa explained. Lola’s pupils shrank as she quickly got out her makeup compact, and once she saw her face her scream could be heard from the whole room. She dashed over to an open space in the bunker and began polishing up her face as soon as possible. Lana and Lucy had the same drained appearance, but they didn’t worry about it as much. Lucy’s could hardly even be seen with her banging covering her eyes as usual.

“I have to admit…actually living it out as Girlzilla was AMAZING! Crushing things, seeing so many things smaller than me…I would definitely do it again if I had the chance!”

“Glad you enjoyed it…except for the fact that you delayed your mission until later.” Lisa replied. “I would have spoken to you about it through the voice communicator, but you were bunched with Lucy and Lola so I couldn’t speak with you on an individual standpoint.”

Lana smiled and nodded as she made her way back to her siblings. She sat down and let her thoughts and personality come back to her. Her mind was in the clouds as she let her size get the better of her, like going down a mud slide and never wanting to get off. She chuckled at how much of a glutton she was as she nearly ate everything in sight, and she had experience eating all kinds of bugs. It was then she realized what she was thinking as she was eating everything, and that was when the negatives kicked in. How could she have thought about eating her own siblings and Brian to some extent? That was one dark mind clouding her mind as she got carried away, and she couldn’t believe that it even occurred to her. Doing harm to her siblings was never on the menu, for she cared about them very much. She silently sulked to herself until her reptile friends made their way over and began snuggling with her. She could always count on them to cheer her up when she needed it.

Lucy was the last one out, with Fangs coming to her aide, as she summarized her experience in only a few words.

Nobody in the bunker could argue with that as Lucy was the creepiest of the sisters and didn’t tend to express much. Of course Brian knew the real story behind her feelings of being a giantess, but she wasn’t telling that to anyone else anytime soon. She glanced over at the ones still sleeping in their pods and didn’t like the vibes coming from them.

Lisa tried to keep with her regular demeanor, but she couldn’t hide the fact that she was feeling shot. This eventually caught the attention of everyone else, so she couldn’t hide the facts any longer.

“Well…they…don’t have a way out yet. Don’t worry; I’m working on getting them out!”

Everyone just looked on with shock before gazing at their slumbering bodies in the pod. Lisa never had an answer to get them out of their sister’s belly, with the sister also still asleep in her pod, practically making them nothing more than an afternoon snack for Lynn. Part of them wanted to strangle Lisa for not thinking things through, but the other stayed calm. After all, Lisa was the brainchild of the family and came up with solutions in a flash, so there was still a chance something will come up. Either way, Lisa was the crucial factor to whether or not they make it through, so all eyes were set on her.

Everyone else turned to the direction of the voice, who turned out to be none other than Lana.

“Excuse me? Are you saying that we should just let the monster destroy everything and cause an imbalance that would destroy our reality?!” Lisa exclaimed. Lana shook her head.

“It’s not like that Lisa; I just think…something isn’t right with that monster.”

“I got up close to it as me and Lola were fighting it…and its eyes were pouring out. If it were bent on destroying Royal Woods I don’t think it would be looking like a crybaby.”

“Now that you mention it, I did see it shed a few tears as I fought it too.” Luna stated. “You think it has to do with what it keeps spouting every few seconds?”

“You mean that ‘Beekan’ word?” Lola wondered before turning to Lisa. “Have any thoughts Lisa?”

Lisa took in her sisters’ details that got her really thinking. She put a hand to her chin before walking over to the one empty pod. Bringing out the special panel again, Lisa pressed a few more buttons on it which made a wireframe model of the monster appear on the screen. She placed a finger around the wireframe’s head, causing most of the model to turn deep red. One miniscule spot near the forehead however was dark blue, confusing the young genius.

“Hmmmm, according to my observations when most of you fought it, pure rage is only making up ninety nice percent of the monster’s emotional status. There’s something lingering there holding it back from wrecking things completely. I’m missing other crucial data unfortunately.”

“That’s a possibility, but I’m going to need more conclusive data. Kelly, I’m going to need you to cover things back here.”

“I need to observe the monster with my own corneas, so there’s only one option. I’m going to have to go into the pod myself and grow to extraneous heights.”

This set the others in a bit of a shock. At most they expected Lisa to stay with the pods in the bunker and handle all of the technical stuff, they didn’t think for Lisa to go in herself, but she was one of the only ones left that didn’t get into a pod yet. Since research was the new goal for solving the crisis, she was the best bet on the matter.

They watched as Lisa set herself into the only available pod when Luan spoke up.

“Wait, what about the others? I thought you said that you would think of something to get them out!”

“As much of an issue that is, I really need this moment to observe the monster for any openings. Besides, I’m certain that with your minds combined you will figure out something on your own. I’m terribly sorry I can’t help you in this convenience.”

“I…guess we can live with that.” Kelly stated. “I’ll try my best to handle things back here, and if anything comes up I’ll make sure to explain through the speaker.”

“I appreciate your assistance Kelly.” Lisa said as she gave the big haired girl a smile. She was just about to close the pod when Lily suddenly made her way up to it with a straight face.

“Poo Poo!” Lily replied in a slightly angry tone. Lisa sighed to herself before picking up the baby and putting her in the same pod. It didn’t take long before the machine activated sending them into slumberland.

The projector outside took aim at an open spot before the light was shone and the two youngest siblings appeared, all sized up and ready to go. Lisa kept her eyes shut on the way through, for she wanted it to be a surprise, before opening them once she felt the machine finish. She was at a loss for words and couldn’t express at how giddy she felt seeing everything so miniscule to her enormous body. In her years since she gained her genius intellect, there had been nearly millions of comments thrown her way at how smart she was in such an undersized height. This left her alienated to the lower spectrums of the educational system regardless of how smart she really was, although she easily adapted to the preschool life. Still, the thoughts of her being the “dwarf” genius always lingered in the back of her cerebral cortex, enough so that she had plans to make an invention to raise her height at some point. Sure, she got a shred of the feelings when she held Brian, but that was never the main course. She never thought the day would come anytime soon, but today gave her the surprise of a lifetime. She could now say that she was the biggest Loud of the house.

She was so enamored by a dream finally coming true that she almost failed to realize Lily also grew with her. Gratefully, she seemed almost captivated by the small landscape herself to do anything mindless, but that didn’t stop her completely. She set her large baby hands against the ground in the middles of many small buildings and moved them around, simultaneously destroying anything that came into contact with her.

She innocently started to slam her hands against the ground and watched as everything crumbled under them. Lisa had to intervene and stop her from continuing by grabbing her around the waste and turning the baby toward her.

“No, no, Lily, we can’t be goofing off. Stay put while I do my research on the monster.”

Lisa knew she wasn’t getting to Lily anytime soon, she was a baby after all, but the thoughts quickly came to her. This was a once in a lifetime deal, there was no way she would be this much of a giantess on any other occasion. She would still have the projection machine after this, but there would be no safe place to ever use it without potentially leaking it to the public. This would be her only time being the bigger one of the house over Lori, and it seemed like a huge waste to use the time only for some monster that she could research later. Besides, there was some glaring bullet holes in some of her other studies that she could now go over being as huge as she was.

The genius kept her eyes on Lily for a few more seconds before her attention went to the many structures near her brown shoes. She kept her signature creepy smile to herself as she walked down the streets while shivering with delight. Her feet made deep impacts into the concrete, leaving large prints where they once were, showing that her size wasn’t just for show. This brought up a bullet point she had in one of her scientific notes, and she couldn’t have been in a better state to test it out. She got to her knees and stared down a wide untouched street as she set her right hand over it. With one dedicated press, Lisa withdrew her hand and smiled at the result. Like she theorized, it was too much for the street to handle as a large print in the shape of her hand took its place.

“That confirms my hypothesis on strength in size.” Lisa said to herself. “However, I…guess I could use a secondary test to cement the results…no pun intended.”

She knew she would never hear the end of it from Luan for that terrible joke, but there was a more different matter to divert her attention to. This time she lifted a finger over the street and set it down. With all of her might, the street cracked with one strong press. Her hypothesis could now be put to rest, but that felt too simple of a task to do at her giantess height. If she was going to have her fun finally being the big one for once, she needed more activities to do.

The answer came when her eyes caught sight of a particular standing building. She adjusted her round glasses to straighten her astigmatism and her eyes weren’t fooling her, it was one of Royal Woods’ candy stores. She could feel the torrents of drool build up and her knees chatter, but she tried to keep a leveled head. Falling victim to one of the seven deadly sins was undignified for an intellectual genius like her, for she saw Lana double down on it earlier. However, she did have a weak spot for a certain Theobroma Cacao.

“Ooh…well, I guess it wouldn’t damage my reputation much from just ONE confectionary.”

Her feet boomed across the streets as she made her way to the store. She effortlessly determined that nobody would be inside from everything currently happening, so she didn’t get any bad vibes from pulling the roof off. Her lenses glared as she made out the shelves of candy while taking note of the back room since there was usually backup candy there just in case. She held back salivating as she carefully reached inside and pulled out dozens of small confectionary bags of the sweet stuff. She stood for a moment to look at them, flabbergasted at how much of a different perspective her size put on things. A single bag didn’t even amount to a fraction of her hand, giving her more happy shivers to how much of a giantess she was. She couldn’t wait any longer as she dumped all of the bags into her large mouth, immediately giving her the tastes she yearned for. It was like her father’s lasagna but one hundred times more appetizing. They were miniscule bags of candy, but they already knocked her into a different state of mind.

Her eyes immediately went frenzied as she found herself wriggling her fingers through every single corner of the building for more of the sweet, sweet goodness. Her body shook from the rainbow of tastes as more bags filled her mouth, the heavens blessing her taste buds upon every contact. Her mouth couldn’t handle the ponds of saliva as the drops fell to the ground, her mouth filling in seconds with pounds and pounds of candy, and Lisa wasn’t even full yet. Her mind went somewhere else as instinct practically took over, and Lisa loved every second of it.

After having another pile of candy, Lisa pulled her head up and saw a group of bystanders watching her from the side. She froze as their eyes locked with hers, and she didn’t know how to explain herself. It wasn’t until a few seconds in that her eyes noticed the person in front of the group, but that didn’t leave her any less nervous.

“Geez, you really have been packing those shrooms since the last time I saw you, huh?”

“Ummm…it’s not what you think! As a girl of science, I underwent this choice of growth to, uhhhhhh…see how much confectionaries I can fit in an orifice! See, nothing it irregular!”

She reached into the building for another pile of candy to make things less awkward, without taking her eyes off of the tiny people. She hastily put the pile in her mouth and chewed, only for the person in front to look at her funny.

“First off, I’m no idiot and can easily see that something is abnormal here, and two…you just ate a counter and cash register.”

Lisa became even more of a statue at how clueless she was. She didn’t really feel any flavor come from the last batch, so hearing it wasn’t candy just made things worse. Nervously swallowing her current batch, one store owner would not be having his day when he came back.

“Well…okay, I made an invention to increase my height, but it was just to handle the monster terrorizing this town!” Lisa explained. “I wasn’t goofing off…much!”

“No worries, I’ve pretty much accepted the fact that there’s no such thing as being normal around here.”

“Thank goodness.” Lisa said before it occurred to her. “Say, I thought you lived in the south BiggerBetterBarbie. What brings you back to Michigan after that pageant?”

“It’s for another elite pageant up north.” The person in front, better known as BiggerBetterBarbie, explained. “It contains more doll collections this time, and they needed another expert in the craft. I also got special invites for these guys as well.”

“I’m Cubed, Barbie’s older brother. It’s very interesting to see someone like you!”

“It’s a pleasure to meet your acquaintance.” Lisa said. “I probably should get going to some degree. I’ve delayed my mission long enough, so if you-”

The voice rang through everyone’s ears, and once everyone turned around, they saw that it was none other than the titanic toddler Lily. She clumsily made her way over to Lisa as she held a loose car in her right hand, ignorant that she was walking toward B.B.Barbie’s group. They had to make their way out quick as Lily brought her foot down where they once stood before suddenly sitting down next to Lisa, oblivious as always.

“Cripes, I was so caught up in my own misdeeds that I forgot about Lily! Man, even geniuses like me forget details on current objectives.”

Lily laughed it up innocently as she set the car down and smiled with Lisa. For the group, they thankfully made it out unscathed…except for one crucial detail.

The one called Goomba ran forward toward the car Lily just set down, and once he saw its condition he started crying waterfalls in a very cheesy manner. The others, minus Lily, just looked on with a flat face.

“You don’t need to tell me twice.” Cubed said also deadpanned. B.B.Barbie was also as deadpanned as everyone else, but then she diverted her attention to the innocently happy Lily. In some ways, it was almost charming to see a baby tower over her like a reversal of ages, but Lisa wasn’t too far off Lily’s age either. This got her wheels turning, and then an idea formed.

“Wait, you’re giving me a good synopsis for a potential story. Hey, smart glasses girl, do you mind if we do something?”

“It’s Lisa first off.” Lisa replied. “And secondly, what do you have in mind exactly?”

“How’s a full body massage sound?” B.B.Barbie said. Now Lisa was the one confused as the others around her looked at her funny.

“I mean we’re going to climb up their bodies and rub their skin down…okay, you guys are going to do it because I need to pay attention to the details.”

“Are you crazy?!” Skull exclaimed. “There’s no way I’m risking my life for you to get story ideas!”

“You could always go with Goomba over there if you want.” Cubed stated as he pointed over to the crybaby still wallowing and crying in a very cartoonish way over his destroyed car. Skull got the message immediately following that.

“Thanks for the help!” B.B.Barbie said. Lisa knew there was no backing out of this, so she got on her bum and stuck her feet out, booming everywhere in the process. Lily watched and did the same thing as innocent as ever.

“Oh, so the baby wants some as well?” B.B.Barbie asked. Lily, in a moment that almost felt like she understood, nodded her head happily and giggled like a baby would. This caused the woman to look back at Cubed and Skull.

“Hey Skull, I’m going to need you and Goomba to handle the baby while me and my brother do Lisa. Is that okay?”

“As long as I don’t end up like the teary guy over there.” Skull replied, obviously referring to Goomba. B.B.Barbie nodded as she and Cubed split off with Skull to their respective giantesses, although Skull had to drag Goomba by the shirt just to get him away from his car and explain everything. Each pair decided to start easy, with the feet going first. While Skull and Goomba had no issues with Lily’s feet, making her laugh at points as their hands tickled certain spots, Cubed and B.B.Barbie had to ask Lisa to take her brown shoes off. She hesitated at first before complying, putting her shoes to the side. The most surprising sight for the two had to have been seeing Lisa’s extra toe at the end of her right foot, almost making them gasp.

“Nuclear experiment gone wrong.” Lisa explained before they could ask. Cubed chuckled a bit at her explanation before the two groups got started rubbing the giant girls down. Lisa admitted that it was kind of adorable seeing the ones much smaller giving her a massage, almost like tiny robots scanning over every inch of her for a data analysis. Cubed made sure to rub down the extra toe since B.B.Barbie insisted, while the woman looked back and forth between Lily and Lisa as she wrote some personal ideas down on a notepad. Once the two felt they had enough over their feet, they carefully got on their stomachs so they can do their backsides, except the unaware Lily as she got down with a huge boom, making her laugh innocently. It was a trudge to get up there, but once the groups did they got do work immediately. Like before, Lily couldn’t help but giggle as Goomba and Skull massaged her back, although Lisa kept her shirt on so they wouldn’t get the “wrong idea.” Goomba kept mellowing about his car, irritating Skull to the point where he smacked him across the face to shut him up, while Cubed was more delicate and didn’t want any accidental scrapes. He even managed to hit a sweet spot that stunned Lisa for a moment before keeping the gracious feelings to herself. B.B.Barbie just watched her brother and the other two keep massaging as more words filled her notepad.

“Okay guys, I think I got enough written down. You ready to finish with this Lisa?”

“I think my outer membranes have condoned enough of one of the senses, ergo, yes.”

To ease with getting Cubed and B.B.Barbie down, Lisa raised a hand and let the two get on before setting them on the street. Lily watched Lisa and did the same, surprisingly enough, setting Goomba and Skull to the pavement before clapping and giggling happily.

“Okay, my hands are practically set on fire from all of the rubbing. Anyone have a bucket?” Skull said.

“Too hot to touch?” Cubed asked with a snicker. Considering that he rubbed down a baby, Skull chuckled from Cubed’s remark and playfully jabbed him in the elbow.

“At least you are still in one piece. I swear that baby was giving me the stink eye!” Goomba stated as he looked back at Lily…only to see his destroyed car next to her. This started the whole process with him all over again, and everyone watched deadpanned as usual.

“I…think we should take our leave before things get worse.” B.B.Barbie said. “Thanks for inspiration Lisa!”

“It’s been an honor.” Lisa stated as Skull, yet again, grabbed Goomba by the shirt as the group head off somewhere safe for the incoming chaos. Lisa chuckled and put her brown shoes back on before B.B.Barbie took on final turn back.

“Oh, and Lisa? You may want to check your inbox, for a certain pink haired girl would like to have a word with you over that letter.”

Lisa’s feeling erupted with rage in the back of her mind upon hearing that as the group walked off and disappeared somewhere else. This caught the attention of Lily, who tilted her head in confusion, which Lisa quickly made an excuse for.

Lisa nearly jumped up in surprise by the sudden voice coming from her head, which apparently caught Lily as well since she started turning her head around confused. Of course Lisa could determine who it was, the bushy haired Kelly.

“Ummmm, I wasn’t…having some giantess time! It was all in the research for the monster! See, this building, ummmm, was filled-”

“Easy there Lisa, we understand.” Kelly’s voice stated. “In fact, we decided not to interrupt you as you and Lily had your time. Some of your other sisters did the same thing, and I think you deserved it after constantly monitoring them and keeping them in check.”

“Oh wow, thanks Kelly.” Lisa said. “I assume you need the research now?”

“You took the words right out of my mouth.” Kelly’s voice said. “That’s actually the reason I called you up. You sure you are ready?”

“As the one that managed to formulate a method to divide by zero, I’ve always been ready.” Lisa replied. The second youngest sibling got on her feet and, after mentally calculating a proposed area the monster may be in, headed off in the direction while accidentally crushing a few houses under her brown shoes in the process. Lily didn’t want to be alone in the endeavor, so she waddled after Lisa while causing more destruction due to her baby status.

The group of boys that also had holograms projected stayed put on a mesh of hot dogs as they waited for the others back at the shelter to come up with a way to get them out of the depths of Lynn’s belly. Brian already tuned himself out of reality so he wouldn’t freak out as Lincoln and the others tried to snap him out of it. Even though he seemed to be the only one absolutely frightened, Lincoln was equally as scared even if he didn’t show it much. This situation was more personal to him than the others thought, as this place was the insides of one of his sisters after all. He had to give credit to Brian for getting out of these grotesque places in one piece at the cost of some of his sanity. At least his other siblings instructed Lynn to stay where she was to not the situation worse for the ones inside her, but even then that didn’t completely calm everything as the rumblings of the stomach walls rang through everyone’s ears. If the remaining sisters didn’t come with something soon, Lynn will be getting a very personal lunch.

Lincoln managed to calm Brian enough to get him back on his feet, but he was still a bit uneasy.

“Nonsense Brian, we’re going to be out of here in no time, police honor!” Iberico exclaimed as he did a salute.

“You really need to tone down that attitude and get yourself back to reality.” Tad replied to Iberico.

“I’m ALWAYS down to reality. I just have different standards is all.” Iberico said. This drew the curiosity out of Tad, so he started to chat up with Iberico for more information. As the two went on, Lincoln got up to Brian for a small pep talk.

“Somewhat fine.” Brian stated. “I’m still worried about never getting out of here…and this is your sister we’re talking about.”

“We’re going to get out of here, trust me.” Lincoln answered. “I believe in my sisters, they will come up with a way to get us out. You’re among friends.”

Just as he said those words, the walls rumbled again as more gastric acids poured in. The group was startled at first before feeling the mesh of hot dogs they were standing on suddenly bob up and float. Before they could even comprehend what was going on, the mass started to move as the other hot dog masses swirled around the walls. The grim reality came to them as a massive hole opened up near the bottom of the stomach and started to suck everything in. Lynn’s stomach was done breaking the food down, now it was digestion time.

“Holy macaroni!” Lincoln exclaimed as the others were equally worried, especially Brian who held on to the bottom part of the mesh as best as he could so he wouldn’t fall off. If they were to get sucked in, there would be no way out as Lynn’s intestines would fully break them down into nothing, and they were sure Lisa didn’t outfit their holograms to withstand that.

Everyone held on for dear life as the pace picked up and the acids moved faster and faster.

Tad then lost his balance and tumbling into the rushing liquids, sending him on a wild ride. The rest scrambled to reach out and grab him, but it was nearly impossible with the gastric acids pulling him into the center. Lincoln clutched the edge of the hot dog mesh and held his hand out as best as he could, with Iberico and Brian catching on and holding him back by the other hand to keep him stable.

“Tad, take my hand!” Lincoln exclaimed through the rushing air. Tad struggled to keep his face over the surface as the force kept trying to suck him down, making him sputter as he held all six of his hands out. A small mesh of a hot dog smacked him in the back of the head that pulled him deeper into the center while the others also had it rough as they spiraled and swirled out of control.

The voice went through everyone’s heads, and they could easily tell that the voice was Lori’s.

“We’re…not in the best of positions…right now!” Iberico choked as he held Lincoln back with all of his might.

“You’re going to need to speak up; we don’t have any cameras where you are to know what’s happening!” Lola’s voice exclaimed.

“We’re…trying to survive…the beginnings…of Lynn’s digestion here!” Brian similarly choked. The group, including the drowning Tad, heard some gasps on the other side of the line.

“If you can just hang on a little bit longer dudes, your ticket out will come in a little bit!” Luna’s voice said.

“Thank Lana; she’s the one that came up with the idea…as gross as it is.” Lola’s voice said before Lana’s voice took the stage.

“Okay, if there’s anything I know about being gross and dirty, it’s going to be about taking in heavy meals. Lisa’s monitor is picking something up, and if I’m going to take a wild guess it’s more than likely a high dose of gas building up. That detail is going to be your way out.”

“Just hold on a little longer while Kelly modifies your hologram’s weight…once she figures out how.” Lori’s voice said. The voices went dead for the moment as the group continued to struggle to get Tad out of the swirling acids. He was almost near the center where the end was, not leaving much time left. Lincoln reached as much as he could while Tad did the same, their fingertips almost touching at points. At one particular point it almost looked like they might connect, but the suction got stronger and pulled Tad back. It appeared that they were going to be unsuccessful as a final suction dragged Tad down deep into the acids…when the walls of Lynn’s stomach rumbled again and bubbles formed on the surface of the gastric acids. An intense stinky heat started blowing upward, with everyone finding themselves being lifted by them. Kelly must have already modified their hologram’s weight, and as a surprise to some, Tad was lifted out into the air by the heat.

“Tad, you’re still here!” Iberico stated with glee. Tad was almost stunned for the moment that he didn’t end up getting digested. His hairy body was drenched obviously, but other than that he appeared perfectly fine.

“I…I almost thought I saw the light…so mucky…please hold me…” Tad stuttered as he made his way to the group and immediately went into Brian’s grasp. While he wasn’t exactly the right person for getting back into your comfort zone, it was somebody near him and Tad didn’t care who it was.

“I think we have a bigger problem right now.” Brian said. “I kind of figured out how Lana wanted us to come out.”

“And that would be?” Lincoln asked. Brian pointed upward as the gas took them further up toward the flaps that signified the entrance to Lynn’s belly.

Right as they neared them, the flaps opened up and forced the group past them and back into the esophagus. The muscles that would normally push them down retracted back and let them go by with no issues. It was only for a few seconds though, as the gas picked up the pace and zipped them right to the top to the back of Lynn’s mouth, which was only for a quick second they heard a massive belch echo through their ears with a sudden shot forward out of her mouth and back to the world they knew. Lincoln and Iberico crashed into a pile of bushes while Brian and Tad were left hanging in a tree.

“Ouch…that’s going to leave a mark…” Lincoln said. He cautiously made his way out of the bushes while Iberico did the same. Both Brian and Tad comically fell out of the tree, with thankfully no major injuries.

Once the group turned back around they saw the gigantic representation of Lynn staring right at them, eyes slightly wider than normal.

“Wow…so that’s how you were planning to get out of me? Color me impressed. You see anything messing around in the bowels of my belly?”

“It was just some more things popping out of a rift. We took care of them…with a few difficulties.” Lincoln explained. “You feel better now?”

The giantess Lynn felt around her stomach area a bit, and smiled at the results.

“I’m back to being one hundred percent baby! Woo, the Terlynnator is back in action!”

“Glad to see your hologram safe and sound.” Brian said. “Now you can finally shut yourself down safely and put this-”

“I’m not going to be doing that just yet.” Lynn interrupted. It raised a few eyebrows of the tiny ones at her feet.

“Lynn, you’re on the brink of fading and just had an issue inside of your stomach. I think shutting down and going back to the bunker would be the best course of action!” Iberico stated. The giantess closed her eyes and shook her head.

“You guys don’t fully know how I operate. I’m NO loser; going through to the bitter end is how I roll with the punches. All of you may be a hard rock, but for me, I always bounce back.”

“Are you sure you can keep going after everything that happened with you?” Brian asked. Lynn gave a firm nod before she got to her feet and headed off toward where the monster was.

“I don’t think I’ll ever see Lynn eating dozens of hot dogs the same way ever again.” Lincoln said.

Speaking of the monster, with only a small portion of Royal Woods not destroyed yet, it didn’t have much more area to cover as it dug through houses. That wasn’t the most troubling aspect though, for the reality around it was on its breaking point as color flashed to nothing and all matter split into double images for quick seconds on occasion, for there were too many dimensional objects getting dumped by the rifts for it to handle any further.

Lisa was already on the case as she arrived on scene. She cringed at the instability everywhere, but she needed to know more about the monster to possibly find out how to stop it and save their reality. She kept a distance and watched from afar to not spook it, all which keeping some mental notes on the monster’s behavior. If there was anyone to research the impossible, it would be her. There were the distinct features of the monster obviously, but she specifically kept a close eye on the creature’s face. Like Lana said earlier, it was completely wet as it constantly leaked from the eyes, much like how a person would weep from immense negativity. The easiest conclusion would be sadness, but more was needed for the genius to put the theory to rest.

She kept a silent observation for around ten minutes, experiencing the reality dipping signs at various points to throw her off track, and she came to a more conclusive answer than before. Just a few more minutes and she would shut down her hologram and share the info with-

Hearing Lily’s giggles, the monster turned its attention toward Lisa in the distance right as the genius slapped her forehead in disgust.

“Why so many…come to go against Hoopa?!” the monster exclaimed. “Hoopa need personal time!”

“At least I could probably get some info directly from it.” Lisa thought before speaking up. “No need for violence interdimensional alien, I’m just here to figure out what’s going on with you. If you could please just-”

“Hoopa needs to find Beekan!” the monster interrupted before turning back around to look through the wreckage under it. Lisa didn’t want to be ignored, so she slightly adjusted her glasses and spoke up again.

“If you could just tell me what sort of ideals are going through your cerebrum this could go by much quicker! Tell me what-”

“MUST FIND BEEKAN!” the monster interrupted again. She could see more drops fall from its face as its disembodied claws pulled away at the destruction around it. It wasn’t much, but Lisa could come up with a satisfying conclusion from the scraps she was given. She turned to Lily so she could shut her hologram down with her, only to find her not next to her anymore. She got confused for the moment before hearing a recognizable giggle in front of her. Once her eyes set their sights in the direction, she gasped. Lily somehow got around her line of sight and slowly waddled toward the creature, and before Lisa could exclaimed to Lily to fall back, the gigantic baby embraced forward and gave the monster one big innocent hug. It was a short moment however, as the monster suddenly turned around with one of the most tearful expressions, releasing Lily’s grip on it, and reeled two of its claws back toward Lily.

“DON’T…REMIND…HOOPA!” the monster shakily exclaimed. Lisa could only watch as Lily sat stunned toward the incoming claws, but then, out of nowhere, the older sister zipped in front of the youngest sibling and held the two claws back like the protective sister she was.

“Saving your butt, that’s what!” Lynn replied through tiring grunts. “I’ll hold it off; you get back to the bunker with Lily!”

Lisa didn’t want to deny the brief opening she was given, so she quickly ran forward and scooped up Lily, who had on a sad expression seeing Lynn struggle, before motioning for Kelly to shut down both hers and Lily’s holograms, leaving Lynn to deal with the monster.

The group of boys awoke first before Lily and Lily did. Iberico was more disappointed than the rest since he was back to being toy sized, although Brian was more content seeing as he did get to be regular sized in a few unorthodox times. Lincoln carried Iberico and Brian back to the others while Tad hastily made his way back into Kelly’s hair. Lisa was more exhausted than the rest from the sudden turn of events when she was huge, but Lily was startled. She was startled enough so that she started to cry, so Lisa took her over to Lori to hopefully calm her down.

“Any luck with finding out what’s going on with the monster?” Lori asked as she patted Lily’s back.

“I came up with a specific conclusion.” Lisa answered. “As much of an overwhelming point of view went through my senses, I made it back to a leveled head and researched an interesting phenomenon with the monster, keeping track of-”

“Short version please, you’re already hurting my head with your science thingys!” Leni said. Lisa’s face went flat from Leni’s incompetence of understanding before putting it in words she could easily listen to.

“First off, I concluded that Lana’s observations were spot on. The monster is definitely in sorrow and crying…but that’s only part of the picture.”

“There has to be a reason WHY the monster is that upset.” Lisa explained. “Judging from the ‘Beekan’ word it keeps spitting out, that’s probably what it’s after.”

“Tell us something we don’t know.” Lola stated as she rolled her eyes. “The real question is what that thing is looking for!”

“But what exactly qualifies as a ‘Beekan’ it keeps belting out?” Tad wondered out loud after sticking out of Kelly’s hair. Everyone in the room went silent for the moment to think, except for the crying Lily. Lori was finding it hard to keep her calm, for even babies could be unpredictable at times, so she brought out the youngest sibling’s favorite blanket, which she thankfully had on hand, and gave it to her. It calmed her down somewhat, but Lily wanted one more thing to seal the deal. She softly stated a word that was almost inaudible, but Lori picked it up and knew what she was talking about. The eldest sibling took a glance at Brian and nodded, which Brian could tell that she needed him, so Lincoln brought him over to Lori before putting him in her left hand.

“Lily…is this what you wanted?” Lori asked in a charming voice. Lily tilted up from burying her head in Lori’s chest and formed a nice baby smile upon seeing the shrunken boy.

The baby used a free hand to grab Brian and snuggle him up to her bare chest. The combination of her treasured blanket and Brian put her back into a cheery mood, and everyone couldn’t help but smile back at how adorable it looked. For Brian, it was nice to know that just being with the family put them in high spirits, and Lily especially gave off vibes that contributed back to helping him out. He didn’t want to think about it that much, but it puzzled him as to why Lily didn’t think of sticking him in her mouth considering she was nothing but an innocent baby. Maybe she felt like a big sister for once, explaining her action she did with him before? He dismissed the dire thought and went back to cheering up Lily with his tiny body squished into her pudgy young body.

Everyone’s thoughts suddenly snapped back to reality as Lisa’s voice pierced their hearing. She pinched her forehead and looked down like an epiphany decided to finally show up at the worst possible time.

“I talking about what the monster have been searching for all this time…and it had to be so obvious that I completely overlooked that minute detail!” Lisa replied.

If things went by normally, most of the Loud kids, plus Kelly, Iberico, and Tad, would have been greatly surprised by the sudden revelation, but everything about them was plainly abnormal for a family like them. Instead of that, most of the family felt so utterly bewildered at how obvious the answer was all this time. With all of the struggles of trying to figure it out, and it was right in front of them the whole time. Most of the siblings, including Brian and the others, slapped their foreheads in response, except for Lisa who went into a corner before pulling out a clipboard and banging her head against it multiple times. It was a complicated answer, but so simple at the same time.

“So…the monster is looking for me?” Brian asked. “Are you sure it isn’t just looking to kill me or something?”

“Brian, it’s literally crying over you. I don’t think it would do that with that kind of attitude.” Lori stated.

“So what’s the big deal then? We just give Brian over and everything goes back to normal! It couldn’t be any simpler!” Lana said.

“First off, we don’t know what the monster will do once it gets a hold of him.” Kelly explained. “And second, do you honestly think it’s going to listen to anyone with the attitude it has now?”

“That could work with the right backup.” Lisa answered. “If we calm it down enough we can show Brian to it and hopefully everything reverts back to what it once was. Lynn can’t keep it occupied for long, and we don’t really have anyone left to volunteer-”

Of all the sisters to knew about cheering young ones up and had a specialty for entertainment, it was Luan. For her to speak up and willingly put herself in the line of fire for a second time took a lot of guts for the kid clown, although it did cast a shadow of worriment over her other sisters. Going in the pod one time already drained their physical body by a decent amount, so a second time would really take a toll on one if they ever did go in again.

“But…but Luan, we don’t know how much more your body can take. If you were to take another trip into-”

“I know Lisa, the chances are glaring, but I know the clowning business and can put a smile on countless faces. If anyone were to cheer up that monster through laughter, it would be me.”

“She has a point dude.” Luna chimed in. It was a shaky decision, but Lisa knew what needed to be done.

“Well…okay, I’ll concede and let you go in a second time. Don’t come crawling to me though if your body can’t take the extra pressure!”

“No fair, if she gets to go twice than I should too! Girlzilla can use an encore performance!” Lana said.

“Sorry Lana, but I can risk any more second chances.” Lisa explained. “Someone will need to take Brian to the monster once it’s calmed down however, but with everyone already going in at least once I don’t know what to do.”

“Ummmm, not everyone got to be a giantess thingy yet.” Leni spoke up. It took a moment for everyone to find out what she meant, except for one. Before long, the bushy haired girl suddenly found herself being stared at by everyone in the room while they sported very apparent snarky smiles, which passed the message to her.

“Uhhhhhh…can’t we just think of another plan here?” Kelly squeaked out nervously as she weakly smiled and sweat went down her face.

“You’re the only one left dude.” Luna stated as the snarky attitude was all over her face.

“It’s not that bad once you’re out there, so just buck up and do it.” Lola said. Iberico snorted and gave a hearty police salute in agreement.

“Yeah, and plus I get to see you as the titan I always dreamed you would be babe!” Tad chimed in while standing on Kelly’s head like he usually did. While she could easily ward Tad off for being incompetent as always, there was no way she could do it with the Louds. She didn’t want to do it, especially since she wasn’t supposed to be in their dimension in the first place, but she did hear on occasion about how much of a perspective change it was from a close friend of hers. If her friend could handle it, there was a chance she could as well. Besides, she would finally get Tad out of her hair for once, and she said it herself that she didn’t want to see this dimension collapse. She helped with powering up Lisa’s machine, but more was needed if there was any chance of this dimension surviving and she was no stranger to helping friends out…especially to an unusual family of kids and a shrunken boy.

“As much as I feel uneasy from doing it…I said it before that I didn’t want to see this world go under, especially to friends like all of you. Okay, I’ll go in the pod and grow when it’s time.”

As the others went through on getting Luan and Kelly ready for their time in the pods, Lisa had some private time with her phone after B.B.Barbie told her about a certain response in her inbox. Once she opened it, she was…less than enthused. In response, Lisa already mentally prepared for a backup, so she secretly took the video backup of her time as a giantess and attached it in a reply back to the certain “pink haired one” while typing out her typical elongated response.

“Your endeavors are commendable, but you are no longer the youngest one with a sense of being to go through the process of exponential growth. Also, tell Ami that…”

Lynn couldn’t have been in a more difficult situation. Her hologram was hanging on by a thread and she had the monster to deal with, it wasn’t satisfying. She couldn’t afford to strike without risking her last form of vitality, which left her to do nothing but avoid everything coming her way while showing some resistance. Whatever the others were coming up with had to come quickly or she was done for.

She kept toe to toe with the monster for surprisingly longer than she expected. She didn’t think that she would even survive for longer than five minutes with it, astonishing herself mentally. She didn’t think too long about it though because she was Lynn Loud and always kept pushing higher over her limits. Challenge was always something she looked for.

She glanced over to her left to see that her help as arrived, in the form of something she didn’t expect. She thought Lisa’s machine could only allow you to grow once before your body needed to recover, but here was her older sister Luan back to being a giantess like her previous hologram never fizzled out at all! Clearly there were things Lisa didn’t inform her about, but that wasn’t mattering to her for now as she was getting her butt handed to her by the monster.

“I did, but I willingly went through it again after we came up with another plan.” Luan replied. “You mind helping when I need it?”

“Ummm, okay…whatever you mean by that.” Lynn answered as she backed off and let the giant Luan take the spotlight. The monster growled as another giantess now came before it, as they never left it alone to go search privately through the wreckage everywhere.

“No more big girls! Leave Hoopa alone!” the monster exclaimed. Luan approached carefully to not upset it further, accidentally stepping on some vacant buildings a few times, before putting on what she was made for.

“How can I leave someone like you alone as big as you are? With all of those rings you have, it sounded like a lot of HOOPLAH occurring with those!”

She could see a glint from the monster’s eyes upon her saying that joke, informing her that there was a sense of humor somewhere in the monster’s emotions and that it thought the joke was funny despite the cheesiness. Lynn stood on the sidelines as Luan set another joke on it.

“Don’t worry, for I’m not one to ignore those claws or yours. In fact, I heard that nine out of ten people that know sign language say it’s HANDY!”

The monster started to look more content and it slowly began to get interested in Luan’s jokes, passing Lynn the message immediately. For Luan, she couldn’t be any happier to do her classic comedy act to anyone that enjoyed it, but this time she was really the biggest comedian in the world. Birthday parties seemed like child’s play compared to now, and Luan loved every second of it.

It was time for Luan to kick it up a notch. Seeing some usable objects down by her feet, Luan reached down and pulled up around a dozen vacant houses. The monster watched with intrigue as Luan suddenly tossed them into the air and did a recognizable juggling act with them, captivating the monster as it watched them spin around and around.

“Hey Lynn, how about you give me a ROOF off the TOP?” Luan asked. Even though Luan fired her as a prop manager for her clowning business, Lynn knew she couldn’t fool around with the world on the line, so she did what Luan asked as searched around her feet for more buildings. Thankfully, there were still plentiful so she got down and picked up as much as her hands could carry. Once an opening came, Lynn cautiously tossed one over which was immediately caught by Luan and added to her juggling total.

“Keep them coming, for as big as we are we don’t want our heads in the clouds!” Luan stated. The act kept the monster’s eyes glued to Luan as Lynn tossed more which kept more going into the air. Her attitude reflected off of the monster like a young child watching her clowning act, which was always one of her main goals in the business. She knew how these sorts of things worked, and she could adapt quickly if something went off schedule.

This was just the first part of her act though. After juggling for a good amount of time, Luan decided to bring out the next act. In one hasty motion, she tossed all of the houses high into the air, mentally preparing for their descent. Once the first one was in close proximity, she stuck her right hand out and caught it with no effort, but it was the next one that made things interesting. Sticking out her hand with the house on it, the second one succeeded the landing and landed on top of the first one. The third one came next, then the fourth, fifth, sixth, etc. and Luan had to make sure they landed on the last one that made it while balancing the stack as it got higher. This was a cinch for Luan though, and once the last house was stacked effortlessly on the highest point, it was time for one final hurrah.

The monster wasn’t laughing, but her act did silence it to a more calming state. Taking it as her act making the monster enjoy itself, Luan went for a more straightforward one next.

Right as she finished, she pulled out one of her signature cream pies and splattered the dessert all over her face. Normally she would have someone else throw the pie at her, but there weren’t any extras to the side and she only had one with her. She made sure to always have one on hand in case of emergencies.

She happily laughed and expected the monster to laugh with her, but that moment never came. She wiped the cream from her eyes and was given one of the darkest gazes she had ever witnessed. She took a few steps back only to fall on her behind, destroying some buildings from her butt, as Lynn quickly ran up to put her back on her feet.

Lisa calculated the worthwhile time to delay Kelly getting into the pod. Eventually, the time came before Kelly hesitantly walked inside and the machine activated, turning on the projector outside. With one exponential flash, the bushy haired Kelly now stood at roughly the same height as everyone else before. She initially refused to move much out of fear from stepping on something, but once her eyes set on the ground below her mind changed. Everything was just so tiny compared to her now, from her pink pointy shoes to her now gargantuan bunch of hair, all of her features now appeared oversized to everything. She couldn’t keep her eyes diverted from the ground on account of her amazement; she now understood why her close friend got giddy after a similar incident beforehand.

“Wow…everything almost seems like a toy now…” Kelly said to herself. She kept her hands up to her face before Lana trudged out of the bunker with Brian in her hands. The regular sized girl stood mesmerized at Kelly’s now gigantic body before she knew what to do next.

For Brian, it almost felt like fantasy. If Lana was a giantess to his small body, Kelly was a deity. It almost felt like he was staring at something from mythology that could end him with just one flick of a finger. Her eyes were planets as her face and long hair contained galaxies. Getting lost in space was one thing, but getting lost on a body meant for gods was another situation completely. He grew terribly worried that the deity that was Kelly would easily lose track of him and have to get Lisa to shut her down just to find out where he was, which would most certainly result in his death. He would have to put faith in her for now to get him over to the others hurriedly.

Kelly got on her knees slowly before setting her right hand on the ground in front of Lana. It was almost a problem for Lana as Kelly’s fingers were almost too big for her to place Brian on them, but with enough patience she put Brian into Kelly’s grasp before giving a thumbs up and heading back inside the bunker.

Kelly stood back up once she saw Lana indicate that Brian was in her hand. From Brian’s angle, her face could take place of the sun with the amount of space in took in Brian’s eyes. He could see nothing but Kelly’s planet sized face and the landscape of her hand was nothing but an endless plain that didn’t seem to end. It was quite a nerve-wracking sight for someone as shrunken as Brian. At first he knew it would be pointless to even attempt to speak to her due to the drastic size difference filtering his voice to almost nothing, but then Kelly broke the ice.

Her voice boomed to deafening volumes, forcing Brian to close his ears at points.

“Oh, sorry! Size difference really puts a spin on things. Well…will this pitch work?”

This time she was more whispering than anything, but for Brian it was much more tolerable. He took his hands out of his ears and looked back up to the goddess that was Kelly. For her to see his motions from his nearly invisible size must have meant that Lisa put in some sight and hearing enhancements for better communication between them. Lisa really was one step ahead in problem solving.

“Ummmmm…that works.” Brian stated. Like he guessed, Kelly seemed to pick up his speech thanks to Lisa’s enhancements.

“Okay, good. So like I said, how do I look now that I’m the biggest thing imaginable to you?”

“You easily take the cake over everyone else from size!” Brian replied. He had to admit even with her different appearance from everyone else due to being from a completely different dimension; Kelly did look a bit cute as a giantess that rivalled the cosmos. She could be a bit demanding at points, but she was an understanding girl that knew her priorities. He would never hear the end of it from Tad for getting this lucky up close with her, especially as big as she was now.

Kelly giggled under her breath, which caused her hand to rumble at points, before putting on a snarky smile.

“Even I could tell just from looking at your face that you think I’m cute. I appreciate that, for you’re not so bad yourself after all. It almost makes me regret not taking you back to my dimension when we first met…even though I’m laying off dating for a bit.”

“Don’t worry; I don’t think either of us is ready yet.” Brian honestly said. The two could hear Tad’s echoing yells come from the bunker, making them hold in laughing at how stupid it sounded before realizing they had a mission to do. Kelly held the near micro sized Brian to the best of her ability as she made as much haste as possible to get to Luan and Lynn before something happened.

Luan and Lynn stood helpless as the monster had all of its six rings hovering very close to their gigantic bodies ready to strike in a moment’s notice. Their attempts to calm it down ended in failure and they were now at its mercy. One look at the monster’s bloody red eyes made the two girls more terrified than anything; especially to Luan who didn’t know what would happen if she were to fade out for a second time. To make matters even worse, reality was at its breaking point. Most of the destroyed buildings, landmarks, and structures have already distorted out of existence leaving only the ground to stand on, and sights were losing color as whites flash were as frequent as ever. Even the giantesses and the monster were beginning to lose shape, estimating only half a minute until dimensional collapse.

“Hoopa…doesn’t want more distractions! Keep away from Hoopa until Hoopa finds Beekan!”

“BE QUIET FOR HOOPA!” the monster shouted to shut Lynn up, which it did. “HOOPA TIRED OF CONSTANT ONES BRINGING ANNOYANCES! HOOPA WILL DESTROY EVERYTHING UNTIL BEEKAN IS FOUND, SO GET OUT OF HOOPA’S WAY…AND DIE!”

The rings tilted downward before the monster sternly pointed at the two girls. Luan and Lynn encompassed each other and tightly shut their eyes as the rings bolted downward toward them. Their teeth clenched as this would be the end of them, knowing full well the sort of nightmare their bodies went through with their situations from Lisa’s pods. With Luan going in a second time to Lynn staying in for way longer than anyone else, the outcome of fading out now would be catastrophic at this point.

The girls opened their eyes to see that the light never came. The rings that would have pummeled them stopped mere inches from their huge bodies as another gigantic body stood firmly in front of them. They were astonished to see Kelly, the girl accidentally brought here from another dimension, stand before them in front of the monster with a mean face, not caring how the monster appeared.

“Just look in my hands first, for I have what you want!” Kelly exclaimed. The monster wasn’t listening as it charged up one of its claws into an electrically charged fist and prepared to bash Kelly with it. It reeled it back with an intimidating glare right as Kelly opened her hands to reveal Brian. She winced for a moment expecting an impact, but as the claw was right in front of her face it suddenly stopped.

Even though the monster appeared as much of a god as Kelly did, Brian knew he had to prepare for now. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths to calm down before slowly walking up to confront the beast. This was the moment, no time to show weakness. With the encouraging words of the Louds ringing through his head from the moment he set foot among them, he couldn’t turn back.

He didn’t have to walk too long to reach Kelly’s fingertips since she placed him close to them anyway, and he soon had his eyes on two massive red planets of the monster. A part of his mind cowered behind him as they didn’t falter to leave him out in front, but he couldn’t show it. He stood firm and kept the thoughts of what the monster might do with him locked in the back. It was his time to finally settle things.

His voice came out swinging with a stinging punch. The fear melted to his feet as he mentally prepared for what the monster wanted to do with him. He forced himself not to wince as he kept a stern attitude and kept his legs up and stiff. It was the biggest gamble he had ever taken…

It almost sounded calm, a tone Brian didn’t expect to come out of the monster’s mouth. Time seemed to freeze on the spot as nobody knew what would happen next, for anything was possible at this point. The monster mumbled some inaudible noises as everyone was taken by surprise for a second time. The tears coming out of the monster’s eyes immediately started flowing rapids to the ground below as the claws and rings aimed at the girls went limp and withdrew to around the monster. The thousands of rifts around Royal Woods wavered and rippled as the monster acted.

Another change went over the monster as the redness of its eyes toned down dramatically until there was not a trace left, showing off two teary caring yellow eyes with a visible white sclera. The others could only watch as the monster glanced again at Brian in Kelly’s hands, and the menacing deadly grimace the monster expressed soon went into a culminating fanged smile. The tears petered out before going away completely as the monster set a tip of one of its claws over Brian’s front. It looked more content once it felt him, and Brian didn’t mind at all.

In what could be the most blinding transformation of them all, Brian and the three giantesses watched in awe as a white light encompassed the monster while it started to moan calmly, almost in a recovery manner. The rings and claws withdrew into its body as a more apparent change came into the sight of the others. Everyone gasped, including the ones watching from the Lisa’s bunker, as the monster’s height started to shorten and shrink while it continued to float in the air, all while various features modified under the blinding light. The rifts everywhere rippled and warped more crazily as the objects they dumped wavered themselves.

Everyone was speechless as the final touches finished, and the light around the monster suddenly dissipated, revealing something under the veil. The loss in height was more substantial than everyone thought, as it went from around fifty feet to what appeared to be just a little bit over one foot tall. Its skin was light purple as pink markings encompassed other parts, including a v-shaped mark on its small chest, which also housed a large golden ring below it, and bands around its two disembodied arms. The pink markings around its head included a tuft on top that resembled a ponytail, lying above a yellow ring shaped mark on its forehead. Both sides of its head sported a gray pointed horn, each having a gold colored ring hanging freely from them, and the legs of its previous incarnation vanished completely as a wispy structure took its place.

Whatever just transformed in front of everyone didn’t appear conscious as it immediately started plummeting to the ground from behind with its eyes closed tightly. Kelly was quick on her feet though and used her free hand to catch the creature before it could hit the pavement as Luan and Lynn walked up to see the outcome.

“So…is it over?” Lynn asked. The others were uncertain until they looked into the sky and saw the wavering rifts. As if one by one, each rift that suddenly appeared fizzled and rippled before closing up for good, vanishing in an instant. The dimensional objects each one spat out shined brightly before disappearing along with them, likely to the dimension they originated from. Finally, which most of the Louds would probably appreciate more than anything, every object that were taken by the rifts instantaneously popped back into existence next to the spot they were originally taken from, which most of the spots were among dozens of wreckage. The world they knew and loved slowly recovered as the colors and structures that distorted out of existence popped back into light, giving Brian and the giantesses the first breeze they felt before pandemonium happened.

The cheers of the other Louds, along with Iberico and Tad, rang through everyone’s hearing. They could even hear the emotionless Lucy celebrate on the other end, an unorthodox sound to hear on the other end. It truly was over, no more dimensional insanity. This finally gave everyone the first relaxation period in ages, and everyone could rest knowing that everything was now settled.

“Well, this is one chapter of our lives our parents will never hear about. In fact, let’s put a BOOKEND on this and start back from CHAPTER ONE! Hahahahah!”

“You really know when to say an appropriate joke don’t you?” Kelly asked with a slight snarky attitude. Lynn and Brian chuckled with Kelly as Luan was as bright as always before something else came into their hearing.

“I can’t believe it’s finally over. This is literally one of the biggest achievements we have ever accomplished! I’m totally going to text Bobby over this!”

“Oh ‘em gosh, we actually succeeded?! Let’s grow huge to celebrate, for I definitely have some more shopping to do at that size!”

“I think we should lay low on the growth spurts for now dude, but I have a rockin’ tune to express how happy I am! This is how you celebrate a world being saved after all!”

“I got to act like a real life superhero for once! That was something I thought would NEVER come across…and I didn’t even grow like the rest of you!”

“Spoken like a true police officer! I could easily get multiple police awards out of this!”

“Yeah, that’s not going to happen little guy. Hey Kelly, you think we could-”

“No.” Kelly replied blankly, knowing full well what Tad was going to ask. A scoffing noise went through everyone’s hearing before more praises came up.

“Saving the world…brings a tear to this writer’s eyes. This was so wicked…and I’m sure Brian knows what I’m talking about.”

“Girlzilla saves the world again! Oh, and Hops gives his gratitude as well, heheh.”

“The warrior but hero princess…that could be a good tagline for the one WHO SAVED THE ENTIRE WORLD! Thank you everyone, the awards go next to the dozens of trophies! Dolly, THANK YOU FOR SENDING MY POPULARITY INTO THE STARS!”

“The era of the rifts has reached its conclusion…and the percentages all came together. I’m happy the numbers didn’t lie…and the fact that my research provided valuable assistance.”

“Thanks for the encouraging words everyone.” Brian replied. “There’s still the issue with the creature we have…and the destruction everywhere though.”

“I advise that you take whatever that is back here for analysis. There are still many gaping holes to this outcome that need a firm explanation.” Lisa’s voice said.

“You’re not harvesting a kidney Lisa; I know what you’re already thinking.” Lynn said.

“I wasn’t going to go that extreme. Just bring it back here…shoot, she figured me out there.” Lisa’s voice replied.

With that, the conflict against the destruction of their world truly ended. Royal Woods would need some time to recover, but it was miracle that no casualties occurred. While the battle was won many questions were still in the air, and with the newly formed creature in their grasp the answers were about to come forth. As the giantesses made their way back with the creature in tow and the Louds celebrating their accomplishment of saving the world, one thing was certain.

Everyone met up in the front of the wreckage of the Loud house. Kelly set the creature down while handing Brian over to a more capable person in Lana since she was still gargantuan over the kids along with Luan and Lynn. The creature wasn’t dead, and even got a few choice remarks from the others on how it looked somewhat cute. From its display of power earlier, nobody knew what would come out of it next. All they knew was that the fight was now over.

“Wow…so this little guy is the main reason for our town literally almost getting wiped off the face of the planet…and it was all over trying to find Brian?” Lori said as she glanced at its unconscious body. “And I thought our lives were crazy.”

“You can’t judge something just from quick observations. Additional calculations are required by countless others.” Lisa replied. “Now if you’ll excuse me…”

“NO!” The regular sized Louds, including Iberico and Brian, exclaimed knowing full well what she wanted to do. This was meant by a quick roll of the eyes from Lisa, for she wasn’t going to be harvesting extra kidneys anytime soon.

Attentions were drawn to the creature upon hearing the giantess Lynn’s voice. They watched as the creature sluggishly stirred and breathed heavily for a moment before its eyelids trickled up. Everyone stood speechless as the eyes stayed halfway open, revealing the creature’s true eye color to be green with yellow sclera around it, before it glanced over to the small boy in Lana’s hands.

“Ummmm, well…my name’s Brian if you were wondering.” Brian stuttered. “Were you looking for me or-”

“It is Beekan…” the creature said softly. It didn’t have a nose, but everyone could hear very audible sniffing as tears fell down its eyes. Before they knew it, the creature bolted upward before zipping over and grabbing Brian from Lana’s grasp. It floated and twirled in the air as it held Brian close to its chest and shut its tear driven eyes. The others would have interfered, but from the very genuine expression coming from the creature it didn’t seem to want to do any more harm. It was almost a complete flipside to earlier, from a destructive monster to a lovable one in a single process.

The constant movements in the air almost made Brian sick as the creature had on one of the biggest grins imaginable and cried immensely.

“Hoopa so happy that Beekan still alive! Beekan seemed lost forever, but Beekan still lives! Hoopa went through so much to find Beekan, and Hoopa very sorry to lose you! Please forgive Hoopa, Hoopa never wanted this!”

“You’re…kind of squishing me…” Brian squeaked. Even with the positive vibes coming from it, everyone was still left in the dark and needed answers. Someone was going to have to man up and disrupt things, and while most were betting on Lincoln doing it, one of the giantesses did it in his stead.

The creature diverted its attention over to Lynn and slightly panicked at how big she was.

“Don’t take Beekan away from Hoopa! Hoopa looked everywhere to find Beekan and doesn’t want to lose Beekan again!”

“We’re not going to take him from you.” Luan said. “We just want to know who YOU are and why you want him, for you did just do a surprise appearing act earlier.”

The creature appeared to calm down somewhat, but the size proportions of the three giantesses scared it to not go further. Brian looked up toward the creature’s face while it glanced over to the others watching him.

“It would be nice to explain things.” Brian spoke to the creature holding him. It took a look down at the boy in its grasp, almost giving a mirrored feeling to him, before wholeheartedly agreeing.

“Name…Hoopa.” The creature reiterated. Yet another obvious wave of emotions circulated through everyone’s listening, for such an easy detail completely whizzed past everyone’s noses. They held back wanting to slap their foreheads as more information was needed.

“Well…that’s an interesting fact.” Lori replied hiding her true feelings. “But what do you literally want with Brian?”

“Beekan is Hoopa’s best friend, for Hoopa and Beekan…are dimensional travelers!”

The information sent a shockwave of amazement. Some couldn’t believe their ears at what they just heard, including Brian. The boy was more close to the Hoopa monster than anyone thought...but one remained optimistic.

“Really now?” Lisa asked. “From your destructive spree earlier, it almost seems like you just want to kill him right now.”

“It’s true! Hoopa speak the truth!” Hoopa replied. “Hoopa and Beekan love going through Hoopa’s rings to new places! Seeing the sights and experiencing the new worlds, Hoopa and Beekan want to see them all! The nice people, the great food, everything in each dimension are so amazing to experience with Beekan!”

“Hoopa remembers Beekan much bigger than this though. Everyone didn’t do anything bad to make Beekan so teeny tiny, did you?”

“No we didn’t dude. We found him like that actually and have been keeping him safe since!” Luna replied.

All of the Louds, plus Tad and Iberico, nodded their heads. Hoopa smiled before putting Brian down on the ground and floating over to them. Stretching its disembodied arms as wide as it could, Hoopa embraced them and gave one big hug, which the Louds also did back. It almost seemed childish in a way and Hoopa almost had a personality that reflected that, which was a complete one eighty to what it displayed earlier. Even so, the Louds treated him well as if the incident before never happened, like how they did with Kelly when she suddenly came up. Even Lucy was getting in on it and hugged back, and she usually didn’t prefer doing them. It made Brian giggle somewhat to see her like that.

“Hoopa thanks everyone for taking and saving Beekan! Hoopa so happy to know Beekan made new friends to help, and friends of Beekan are friends of Hoopa! To show how much Hoopa cares for keeping Beekan safe, Hoopa make sure to give everyone something VERY special!”

“Hey, we helped as well you know. Brian knows us too.” Kelly said. Hoopa turned its head to see the three giant colossuses of Kelly, Luan, and Lynn still looking down and seeing things unravel. It was worried initially, but the somewhat undemanding tone lowered its guard just enough to draw interest in it. It floated away from the other Louds, with Lana picking Brian back up from the ground, as Hoopa floated up to the gigantic faces of the three with a wave of bewilderment.

“It’s astonishing, I know.” Luan said. “We inSPECKted you and got some TOWERING results! Hahahahah, get it?”

Hoopa understood immediately and twirled vertically on the spot holding its stomach and laughing it up.

“Hahahah, Hoopa like that one!” Hoopa replied. It began to float around the three giantesses heads looking over every single point from the curiosity in its mind. The others didn’t mind, Hoopa was acting innocent enough and wasn’t doing any harm, so they just let it enjoy itself for the moment. It went over nearly all of the girls’ faces, from their ears to their nostrils, which it made sure to stay on the outside for safety, but it did happily take a plunge into the seas of their hair. It even had a bit of trouble navigating the outskirts of Kelly’s hair, but it soon made it out and everyone around giggled at the sight.

“Aah, Hoopa thinks Beekan made really great friends. Will friends accept Hoopa?”

“I mean, you seem like a pretty nice little…thing. If you know Brian from before that makes you a friend of ours.”

“Yay, Hoopa friends with Beekan’s!” Hoopa replied. It really was a young kid in Hoopa’s mind and a complete reversal from earlier, almost like the form before never existed.

“Hey Beekan, look at Hoopa! Reminds Hoopa of the dimension with that big princess! Remember that?”

Everyone’s attention was directed back to Brian, who stood stiff for the moment. Their eyes staring his way were one thing, but being unable to remember anything prior to the Louds finding him was another. His mouth clamped shut as he didn’t want the words to come out, but it got even worse when Hoopa floated down with a puzzling face.

“What is it Beekan? Beekan does remember that time right? Please tell Hoopa.”

It was really prying at the lock now. The needles of sincerity continuously shot at the lock hoping to get in the hole, but they would never make it. He couldn’t hold it in any longer and opened the doors himself.

The Louds sadly frowned before silently nodding. Hoopa head zipped back to Brian as its eyes were wider than ever and glistened. Its body trembled while its eyelids dipped as it looked at the shrunken boy.

“Beekan…Beekan Hoopa’s best friend. Beekan can’t forget all of the fun times traveling to new dimensions…with Hoopa. Beekan always had Hoopa, and Hoopa never forgot Beekan…please tell Hoopa that Beekan still remember! Hoopa doesn’t want to lose best friend to memory loss! PLEASE PROVE HOOPA WRONG!”

Brian was caught in a bind. He couldn’t say his memory wasn’t lost without lying through his teeth, but if he said that it did things would go downhill pretty quickly. Hoopa’s eyes were so caring too, he couldn’t lie to those. Too bad he took too long to come up with an answer, as Hoopa took the silence as an unofficial one, coming to its own conclusion as tears filled its eyes. Before long, Hoopa broke down crying from losing its best friend as it dug its face into its hands. Everyone around couldn’t help but feel sorry for the little guy, for even if it did go on a rampage in the process, it went through countless dimensions to find him only to reach him and find out that he wasn’t the same as he used to be. Lana even walked up to it to give Hoopa the comfort it needed, which it took with open arms as he embraced the young girl. While she satisfied Hoopa, she looked down at Brian as if he knew what to do, putting him in an even worse bind than he initially thought. He couldn’t think of a way to ease Hoopa and bring him back to the person he once was.

Everyone looked at Brian, including Hoopa through its waterfalls of tears, and was confused at what he meant. Once Brian set his eyes on Lisa it didn’t take a moment to figure out what he meant, with Lucy and Lana following up. He wanted to wait until later to do it, but with his apparent best friend crying its eyes out to get him back he didn’t have any other choice but to do it now. Lisa trudged forward and fidgeted a few times, knowing full well that she would no longer appear big to someone once he downed the concoction, but it was one of his main goals to get back to normal as soon as possible. She went into her back pocket and pulled out the cure in all of its green stinky glory, causing everyone around it to pull back and hold their nose including the three giantesses. Kelly, Tad, and Hoopa didn’t have noses and even they could tell how rancid it was.

“I know I go for grody things, but even I have to agree with you on that!” Lana replied.

“Easy there, Brian can tell you further.” Lisa said as she set the vial down next to him. Brian took a deep breath before outing the words.

“This…this is the cure I have been waiting on since you took me in. One sip of it and I’ll…get back to normal.”

The ones that weren’t Lisa, Lana, or Lucy widened their eyes. He could tell they were very surprised at the revelation, and they knew the consequences that would come. Some trembled and kept to themselves while some clearly expressed deep sorrow, and he could understand why.

“But Brian, once you drink that…we won’t be able to keep you anymore!” Leni said. “And I still have some designs for clothes I wanted to test on you!”

“We don’t have anything left after the destruction everywhere dude.” Luna said before turning to Brian. “But still, are you sure you want to take it now? You are such an awesome person to be around and I don’t know how we’ll handle without you.”

“I’m sure you will be just fine, especially with the amount of siblings you have.” Brian stated. “I’m just one person, and if my previous life had someone like Hoopa as a best friend, well…I want to make sure I know about it. Besides, I’m sure everyone wants to know how I became like this.”

“Hey, just so you know I was there when it happened.” Kelly said. “I can help reiterate certain points if you need to.”

“Thanks Kelly, I’m sure I’ll need it.” Brian responded as he saw Hoopa smile back at him with some tears still in its eyes. The Louds, minus Lucy and Lisa since they knew this day would come, stood very hesitant as Lisa tipped the vial down for Brian to drink, but they weren’t objecting to any degree. It was as if they knew Brian looked forward to this and didn’t want to interrupt the one moment he yearned for since he arrived. He wanted to look everyone in the eye normally without having someone put him in their grasp and feel like a normal person for the first time in what seemed like ages ago. He was a human being after all and not some toy they could throw away. Tad on the other hand was too enamored by his massive ex-girlfriend to pay attention to anything else, which kept him from talking for the most part. It didn’t go unnoticed by Kelly as she flicked a finger right across Tad’s face to snap him out of it.

With the vial partially on its side, the green liquid lay before him. The putrid fumes were almost too much for him, but he had to get through it if he intended to get back to normal. Trying his hardest to get the fumes out, Brian set his hands into Lisa’s cure and brought a portion to his lips and past the gums. It was almost tasteless, but it was already leagues better than the smell. Wondering how long it would take to finally kick in, it didn’t take long before his pupils expanded and his body fell on its back. Everyone started to slightly panic as everything once lost flooded into his mind with a surge of countless thoughts.

If anything could describe the dimension of Mewni, it would be anything but normal. The essence of mystics and magic wafted everywhere as the presence of creatures and peoples of all kinds littered the outskirts before the massive castle heralding the Butterfly family. As the many buildings of the castle village lay among the streets, vendors and shops of all kind occupied the extra space in standard medieval attire. Because of them, streets tended to get crowded fairly quickly as everyone made haste to get what they wanted before someone else got it, although there were some that took their time to look around and pay attention to the other shops. The princess of Mewni sometimes came down from the castle during the sort of busy shopping rush, making her almost indistinguishable from the many crowds, which also included some close friends from other dimensions. Today couldn’t have been a more perfect day to hang out in the castle town and shop.

This included a rather stout teenaged boy in a rather scientific white jumpsuit with dark blue splotches sporting black outlines on the elbows and knees. His shoes and gloves matched the white jumpsuit as a constricted white belt with a dark blue square covered his waist. To top it off was a long white scientific helmet that covered the back side, not the face, with a noticeable dark blue oval on both the left and right side. He stood around five feet tall as a ringed creature hovered around him, fidgeting through the air as it waited to get something from the shop the boy stood in front of.

“Beekan, Hoopa can’t wait much longer. Hoopa wants tasty candy!” the ringed creature that was Hoopa stated.

“I’m sure it’s going to be coming out any minute. The shopkeeper said that the candy is pretty hard to regularly make.” The boy that was obviously Brian replied.

“But Beekan and Hoopa have been here for five minutes and still nothing! Hoopa doesn’t want to keep waiting!”

“Patience Hoopa, we’ll be getting it.” Brian stated. “Don’t make me remind you of that dimension with the candy people.”

“You really learned to think before you lick that day.” Brian said. The two laughed it up before a middle aged man walked up from behind the counter holding two round pink sugary delights on a stick.

“Thank you mister.” Brian responded as he took the candy and paid the owner the correct amount. He handed one to Hoopa before they took off through the streets nibbling their confectionaries. Hoopa’s mouth drooled as the taste overwhelmed it, a well-known standard for anything sugar related in Mewni. The strawberry drizzle, the cotton candy feel, and a taste that almost didn’t belong to the mortal world all combined to make something truly unforgettable, and the two enjoyed every moment.

They continued walking down the streets and admiring the sights trying their best not to get into trouble with the creatures and peoples everywhere, but Hoopa didn’t see someone running up through the crowds until it was too late. It collided right with the ring creature and tumbled to the ground in a mess.

“Oh my gosh, are you okay Hoopa?!” Brian exclaimed as he got on his knees to try and pull it up. Hoopa was dazed but not seriously hurt but the one that ran into it was unknown. Hoopa shook itself awake as the other one got to its feet, with Hoopa atop its head from the tussle. Brian was surprised to see how much hair this new one had, almost making it look like a walking bush at certain angles, although the pink striped shirt and pointy pink shoes helped make it stand out. Its face was brown and had two light pink oval cheeks, but more surprising was the fact that the creature had no nose at all. He kept reminding himself that there were more weird creatures in this dimension as the creature spoke up all flustered, its voice telling Brian that it was a girl.

“Easy there, it’s okay! It’s pretty hard to see through these crowds anyway.” Brian replied.

“Same with Hoopa. Hoopa understands.” Hoopa replied as it floated to Brian’s side before wanting to get back to eating its sugary delight only to see it not in its hand anymore.

It didn’t take a rocket scientist to find out what had happened as Brian and Hoopa immediately set their sights on the girl’s head. Their hearts almost stopped as the girl suddenly got more startled.

Brian and Hoopa weakly chuckled as the girl figured it out for herself. She tried reaching for it but her bushy hair was too long to reach from behind, so Hoopa floated behind her to get a closer look. Brian didn’t want to lay a finger on any part of her to not upset things further, but Hoopa wasn’t like that as it wanted its candy back and it wanted it NOW. It grasped the candy with both of its hands and pulled as much as it could, which made the girl yelp for a quick second.

“Try more gently back there please!” the girl replied. Hoopa tried again and again with no success in getting its candy out of the thick hair, which only frustrated it further. It scowled under its breath before doing one final tug, which, while very painful for the girl, completely wrestled the candy out and back into its hands. The girl screamed one final time for a quick second before the tug pushed her forward to her knees, but even she knew that was all it took. Thankfully she had so much hair already that it didn’t leave any visible bald spots behind, but Brian went up to her just to make sure.

“Now it’s your turn to be asked if you’re okay.” Brian said with a smile. The girl smiled back.

“Yeah, I’m going to be okay.” The girl responded. “I may have bruised myself a little bit, but nothing major.”

“Girl got Hoopa’s candy all hairy!” Hoopa exclaimed. Looking at its treat now, the two understood what it was talking about. It didn’t have the appearance of candy now; it was practically a fluffy plush doll than anything. Hoopa sniffed and looked like it was about to cry, for his confectionary was all but ruined, but Brian came forth beforehand.

“Beekan…Beekan really would give own candy to Hoopa?” Hoopa asked. Brian nodded as he held his hardly eaten Dragon Sugar Dessert out for Hoopa to get, which the creature took after hesitating for a second. It didn’t take long before it set its tongue on it before vigorously digging in, making Brian chuckle.

“I would like to reiterate that I am truly sorry for bumping into you like that. This wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t rush things.” The girl said as she tilted her head down.

“It’s okay miss, there’s so many crowds everywhere that it’s almost bound to happen at some point.” Brian said. “Why were you running anyways? You see a ghost or something?”

“Shoot, there’s only about five minutes left before they’re sold out! Sorry mister, but I got to hurry!”

The girl attempted to run past Brian, with Hoopa still distracted by eating a sugary dessert, but before she could disappear into the crowds Brian quickly grabbed her by the left hand.

“That’s what you’re stopping me for?! Thanks, but unless you have something akin to jetpack shoes, I won’t be getting there faster anytime soon!”

The girl didn’t believe anything coming out of Brian’s mouth. She just met him after all, and now he just suddenly says he has a faster method to get to the store than legging it. Still, she would likely miss the deadline anyway if she continued running, but she would keep her guard up just in case.

“Trust me, I have a way. It’s the least I could do to help.” Brian said before turning over to the candy eating Hoopa. “Hey Hoopa, we need to travel by ring!”

“Come on Hoopa, it would be the right thing to do to help someone out.” Brian stated. Hoopa pouted in a childish manner before handing Brian the candy and floating up to the girl’s face.

“Okay miss, I’m going to need you to stay still for a moment while Hoopa reads you mind to know where to warp to. It’s a lot easier than it sounds.”

“First off, my name is Kelly.” The girl stated. “And second, how would I know if you’re not trying to smuggle information out of me?”

“Oh no, Hoopa never do that. Beekan says that everyone needs a private space and forbids Hoopa from going that far. Hoopa respects privacy.” Hoopa said. Kelly rolled her eyes not believing those words as Hoopa closed his eyes and held a disembodied arm over her forehead. After a minute of silence, Hoopa’s eyes sprang open as a grin formed over his face.

“Got the area memorized there Hoopa?” Brian asked. Hoopa turned and nodded while Kelly was still unimpressed. To her no progress was made at all and she would more than likely miss her chance to get there in time. She had her arms folded with her eyes as unconvinced as ever while Brian gave some sort of hand woven signal to Hoopa. The creature understood immediately as it took the golden ring around its left disembodied hand and looked at a short alleyway next to it that appeared to be the right size.

With a flip of the wrist, Hoopa threw the ring down the alleyway as the ring itself started to change. It slowly expanded before getting to around the same size as Kelly and Brian and then it stood up vertically. A dark purple haze with black streaks formed into the center of the ring before the transformation finished. Brian and Hoopa walked up to it while Kelly reasonably hesitated.

“Shoot, he really is serious.” Kelly thought before Brian waved back for Kelly to follow. She inched her way up towards it at a snail’s pace, clearly worried for her safety now more than ever. Her body shook and trembled as her feet almost had a mind of their own as they moved her in closer. Thankfully she had combat training in the back of her mind in case Brian was to try anything else, and she won’t hesitate to use it.

Once she made it up the haze glared poison darts in her direction, giving her more of an unnerving presence that Brian and Hoopa didn’t feel.

“Okay, I know it seems like a portal to the dark realms, but trust me when I say you can’t judge a book by its cover. It will warp you right where you need to go.”

“You’re really expecting me to set foot into something that ominous looking?” Kelly replied. “What’s next? Putting me in a chasm of blades?”

“Somehow I find that hard to believe.” Kelly answered. “Thanks for the attempt at helping me, but I think I might just skip out on-AAAAAHHH!”

Kelly found herself tumbling towards the ring as Hoopa grew impatient and pushed her. She disappeared into the haze of the ring as Brian watched in shock at what just happened. He expected for her to go in at some point, but not like that. He gave Hoopa a gaze as it stared back.

“That doesn’t mean you should just push her!” Brian said. “Ugh, we’re probably never going to hear the end of it. Come on Hoopa, we can’t leave her waiting.”

Brian shook his head in distain before setting foot inside the ring and disappearing, while Hoopa looked down and twiddled its thumbs as it followed behind. The effects of the warp were almost instant, as before they knew it Kelly, Brian, and Hoopa suddenly appeared right inside a relatively average sized building with dozens of coat racks and baskets full of clothes. Kelly tumbled out to the floor while Brian and Hoopa easily stepped out of the exit ring. Kelly initially sprang up to her feet and stood stiff with a scowl in front of both Brian and Hoopa, ready to lash out at them for putting her through that, but then her eyes caught glimpse of where she ended up. She didn’t know how they did it, but she now found herself inside the place she didn’t think she could get to in time.

“No way…” Kelly said to herself. She glanced around the coat racks and smiled at a particular piece of clothing in the corner. She had to navigate around some other shoppers, but her eyes dazzled from seeing the special shirt with the recognizable Mewni castle on the front. She wasn’t usually the shopping type, but the announcement of the limited shirt now in stock really irked her to go for it. She wouldn’t wear it all the time, mostly for special occasions, but it really made her happy that she actually made it before the deadline. To an even more extreme, it was the last one in the corner.

“Eeeeh, I can’t believe I really got this!” Kelly squealed as she picked up the shirt. “That kid really did something special to help a girl out…oh shoot, I need to thank them!”

She grabbed the shirt in haste and proceeded back to where she last saw the two, hoping they would still be there. Thankfully for her they were standing by the exit ring like she wanted. Brian wanted to make sure Hoopa apologized for earlier and to hopefully calm her down if she was still angry over it, which Hoopa tried to run out on but was kept in check by Brian. Her more upbeat attitude they saw when she came toward them did lift the burden somewhat though.

“Wow, you two really managed to pull it off. I can’t say I’m not impressed.” Kelly stated.

“It’s nothing; we do this all of the time as we travel countless dimensions.” Brian responded. “It does take some getting used to as it goes to your head; it gave me multiple migraines the first few times.”

“Good thing Hoopa was there to help soothe things for Beekan!” Hoopa said. Brian quickly shot Hoopa a relatively mean gaze which the creature caught on to immediately.

“Okay, Hoopa sorry for pushing girl through ring. Hoopa didn’t want to wait longer and just stand there doing nothing.”

It comically tilted its head down and made its arms go limp, making Kelly chuckle.

“It’s okay there little guy, if anything I should be the one to apologize for compelling you into all of this.” Kelly replied. “What are your names by the way?”

“Despite what Hoopa keeps saying, I’m Brian.” The boy said. “And I’m sure you know of my klutzy friend Hoopa.”

“Hey, Hoopa no klutz! Hoopa knows many things!” Hoopa stated. “Like how Beekan goes around cowering in fear most times until Hoopa comes for comfort! Not so easy for Beekan!”

“You’re a coward?” Kelly asked Brian with a raised eyebrow. Brian stuttered.

“Well…yeah, at most times. We do cover for each other when we can though, for that’s what friends do.”

“I can easily see that.” Kelly answered before picking up a shopping bag on a rack next to her. “I really have to thank you for getting me here quickly, almost like a pair of dimensional scissors. Makes me wish I had my own so I don’t have to rely on others, heheheh.”

“Anything to help out when someone asks us.” Brian replied to Kelly’s weak chuckle. “Just so you know though, Hoopa’s rings aren’t exactly like the objects everyone here talks about. To put it in laymen’s terms, they can travel through the multiverse OUTSIDE of your multiverse.”

“Oh really?” Kelly asked. “I know I’m busy right now, but how about you explain more at a meet up with my friends later? One of them could really get interested in what you actually mean by that, and all of them are very welcoming.”

“I really wish I could, but I promised Hoopa that we would go see some exotic bubblegum flowers around the outskirts of this place. It has been nagging me about that since we arrived here.”

“Hey, Hoopa likes bubblegum!” Hoopa chimed in. Kelly showed a distinct shred of disappointment from the response, but soon regained her composure.

“Okay, I understand. If you ever manage to come back here, don’t hesitate to call me when you have the chance. I’m certain my friends will really enjoy hearing about your crazy travels.”

“Thanks, I’ll make a note of it.” Brian stated as he and Hoopa set foot into the exit ring. “You want to warp back?”

“Nah, I still have some shopping to do and am in no rush to head off anywhere else.” Kelly replied. Brian smiled before disappearing into the ring while Hoopa gave Kelly a thumbs up before heading in after him. Soon after, the ring vanished leaving Kelly to ponder at what just happened until a rather thick sluggish customer brushed past her inadvertently knocking her to the floor.

“Hey, watch where you walk there!” Kelly exclaimed before walking off to fill more clothes into her shopping bag. She was in no rush and could now take her sweet time to mull over things and pick out what she wanted, although the occasional thundering noises from above threw her off track at points.

Hoopa and Brian set off to the outskirts of the castle town because Hoopa kept bothering Brian to go see the special flowers. Once Hoopa set its eyes on the gorgeous plants its eyes sparkled. It wasted no time plunging its head into each one before sniffing and chewing at the center, where Brian had to forcefully pull Hoopa out before it got completely stuck. Hoopa laughed while Brian laughed alongside it, giving Hoopa a very hearty smile. Even though it somewhat had the mind of a young child, Hoopa had a certain wave of charm that made Brian happy to be around it. It was one of the reasons why he loved traveling to new dimensions with it, the upbeat attitude that kept him going. He looked up to Hoopa and vice versa. They lost track of how many dimensions they went to, but Brian made sure to always keep a written log of certain signs when Hoopa throws its rings so they could keep a personal “dimensional map” of visited places so they could go back to that dimension when needed. Brian had the brains and Hoopa had the brawn, at least that’s how they viewed it.

After Hoopa defended Brian from a carnivorous plant disguising itself among the regular flowers, which Brian cowered in fear from, it was decided that it was finally time to take off to a new dimension. Brian wrote down the coordinates of Hoopa’s previous ring toss that got them to this dimension before getting back to it.

“Okay, let’s try a slight curve at around thirty degrees with a slightly higher height than last time and see where it takes us.” Brian said. “Think you can handle it?”

“Hoopa always ready for dimensional travels.” Hoopa replied with one of its infectious smiles. Taking the ring off from around its torso, Hoopa was ready to aim before Brian stopped him.

Brian came up to the ring creature and set his eyes on Hoopa’s back and arms. His sight didn’t fool him as dozens of small dark damage marks were all over Hoopa’s body which the creature failed to mention. Hoopa set its ring down and confronted Brian about it.

“Yeah, Hoopa did get hurt from saving Beekan. Nailed Hoopa right in the hurtful places before Hoopa fought it off. Hoopa didn’t want to bring it up so Beekan wouldn’t worry, for Hoopa feels fine!”

“Even so Hoopa, we don’t know everything about this dimension. That plant could have afflicted you with something and we can’t risk unexpectedly carrying viruses to other dimensions. Remember the dimension with the three superhero girls and what THAT gave us?”

“…Beekan has a point.” Hoopa replied. “Hoopa doesn’t want to get THAT sick and stay for an entire week in one dimension…unless dimension special to Hoopa.”

“That’s what I want to hear.” Brian said. “Now let me get a good look at it while I get out the potions.”

Hoopa groaned as it got on the ground. Brian always made sure to have them on hand in case Hoopa got any injuries, for even though he wasn’t its “trainer” Brian made sure it was in tip top shape before dimensional travel. It didn’t take long until some sort of spray type wound machine pulled out of Brian’s pockets, making Hoopa cringe as Brian got to his knees.

“Okay, it’s only going to sting for a second.” Brian said as Hoopa got uneasy. It closed its eyes as Brian nudged the nozzle on the top and sprayed one of the damaged areas. Hoopa winced as the stinging came full circle, but as Brian said it only lasted for a short time as the bruise faded away. Brian was happy to see the medicine working, as it was the most efficient method for healing injuries off of creatures like Hoopa even if it didn’t prefer it. Brian slowly made his way around Hoopa’s body and sprayed any other areas where Hoopa was injured as the affected creature kept its eyes closed so it wouldn’t see the process. A few on both arms and his back weren’t that much compared to other times in more extreme dimensions, and Hoopa really didn’t like talking about those times for obvious reasons. Although they were terrible times, Brian was always there with the supplies to put Hoopa back in shape.

Brian took one more glance around and noticed something else, frowning in the process. A part of Hoopa’s back had a small greenish tint which meant one thing, poison. A separate spray was needed to cure that, so Brian put the first spray back into his supplies and pulled out another spray type medicine of a yellow color. He made sure Hoopa was sitting still before getting it up close and spraying the nozzle. He knew Hoopa wasn’t feeling too great knowing something else was wrong, and these types of machines that helped it out tended to sting upon contact. He couldn’t risk it though, and with one final spray the green color faded.

Hoopa opened its eyes and stretched a bit before looking everywhere over its front, smiling at the result.

“Hoopa thank Beekan for the extra attention. Hoopa loves Beekan for that.”

“I’m always prepared to help you Hoopa. I also have to thank you as well.”

“Huh? Why thank Hoopa?” Hoopa asked. Brian set a hand on Hoopa’s shoulder.

“Because…you’re my best friend no matter what. As long as we’re together…you will always have a friend to look out for.”

“Oh Beekan…” Hoopa stated before going up and giving the young boy a very heartwarming hug. They truly were inseparable and never wanted to leave each other’s side. Even if Hoopa came forward and worried over losing him, Brian always insured that it would never happen even if things went rough. It casted a shadow over their minds, keeping them blind of grim realities that could come when the stars aligned.

“Okay Hoopa, I think it would be best to travel out of this dimension now. I think I just heard a few thunders in the sky and I don’t want to be at the receiving end of a downpour.”

Of all the buildings in the castle town of Mewni, only one could be declared the greatest restaurant in the vicinity. That honor respectably went to the one under the name “House of Clouse”, a place that didn’t appear impressive on the outside but more than made up for it from the inside. A natural old style cabin aesthetic with a pinch of the royal life, it was a match almost unheard of for the ones living in the dimension. Tables were set along the walls as the backs of the chairs dictated the boundaries between them, and the small baskets of relishes and toppings set near the centers of each table complemented the professional appearances. You could almost feel like going out and becoming a woods person just from the first few steps inside, natural but not natural at the same time.

A small bipedal mammoth creature in some red overalls was the waiter tonight for the group of girls as it gave each one a menu before leaving them to make a decision. The bushy haired Kelly had a particular eye out for a specific soup with a pinch of “ogre spice” while her other friends had their own preferences. One of them even went out of her way to speak about how she accidentally became huge one time and shrunk another friend on a separate occasion, much to the dismay of the afflicted one that day sitting next to her. The group laughed it up before Kelly even explained her encounter with Brian and Hoopa, catching the interest of the others. She would have spoken more about it if her hair didn’t emit a familiar voice at an unfortunate time. Once it was heard Kelly frowned and excused herself from the table for a moment and went into a short hallway where the male and female bathrooms were with a window in the corner. She reached into the front of her hair and pulled out a walkie-talkie she thought she threw away some time ago and wasted no time expressing her mind to the other side.

“Tad, did you personally sneak this back into my hair?! You absolute jerk! That’s no excuse! Is this how you handle all of your girlfriends?! That’s not an excuse either! Ugh, why do you keep-”

Her eyes scanned over the window as she berated her ex-boyfriend for the dirty tactic, and that’s when she saw the recognizable faces. She knew the restaurant was on the outskirts of the castle town, but not by the amount she thought. She watched as Brian and Hoopa conversed with each other, with words that she couldn’t make out, before they hugged as Hoopa gripped the ring previously around its waist and prepared to make another warp hole with it. She stood silent until her gaze went to the clouds above where she immediately froze. Mewni’s thunderstorms had a few knacks that made them more dangerous than normal, from chillier winds and more frequent booms, but the one that nearly everyone had to be prepared for was lightning’s heavier attraction to anything metal related. Every building in the vicinity, including the castle, had multiple lightning rods over their roofs to draw the lightning away from everything, but with that one ring Hoopa was holding…

“Hey babe? Is everything okay over there? You accepted my apology right? Does that mean we can-”

Tad never finished as Kelly quickly ripped the batteries out of the walkie-talkie so she wouldn’t hear him ramble on before throwing it in the trash. While this would be a time of relief, she didn’t have time to as she needed to get Brian and Hoopa out of there NOW.

The clouds continued to form above as Brian and Hoopa prepared to leave Mewni to another dimension. They had to be quick to avoid the incoming storm, giving Brian a few jitters from the chilly winds. They felt a slight drizzle over their heads as the storm began to start and the clouds bunched into mounds of the sky. It was the calm before the storm.

Brian felt another chill from the winds as he instructed Hoopa to throw the ring. They were distractions at best, but any slight mishap could prove disastrous when it came to dimensional travel. Hoopa actually didn’t know of them until Brian started instructing Hoopa to throw the ring in a slightly different way, either by angle, distance travelled, and even height. There were always the factors that went into which dimension Hoopa’s ring would lead to, but for now the two kept it simple with minor changes in each throw for safety’s sake. This meant that Hoopa needed to really focus its mind and put everything into a perfect ring toss, something it had to learn for itself from travelling to millions of dimensions with Brian. Drowning out noise and images was just the cherry on top, and despite the dozens of travels, Hoopa was still learning to fully concentrate. Brian was always there to assist when needed, even when things looked bleak.

Brian put a hand over Hoopa’s shoulder as Hoopa looked back at him. They exchanged smiles before Hoopa looked ahead and took a deep breath, gripping its ring tightly. With its right arm winded over its chest, Hoopa reeled the ring back before shouting its signature phrase.

Brian and Hoopa never saw it coming until Hoopa screamed from the ten million volts. Its body lit up as loose static coursed through it, forcing Brian to back off for a second. The ring was thrown out of Hoopa’s arm ahead of them, the outer golden circle seething with static around it, as Hoopa itself fell to the ground after the few seconds of electrocution. Brian ran up to see if his buddy was okay, making sure not to touch, but he only got a few seconds of seeing his charred friend before feeling a rushing wind. Brian could only mutter two single words.

The ring was set up and ready all right, but it wasn’t what he was used to seeing. Loose electricity surged around the outside gold rim as a grim darkness formed in the middle, awaiting the death of anything to go in it. Black holes don’t have anything on the other side, and that was one glaring gate to nothing that Brian didn’t want to experience. The wind it was sucking in almost guaranteed something was going in there, and whatever it was would definitely see their demise.

The rushing air picked up speed with a target set in Brian as the downpour of the storm came in full force. Brian tried to keep his footing but the combination of the soggy grass and violent winds made Brian trip and fall to the ground, landing on his stomach as the ring continued pulling him in.

The injured Hoopa barely had enough strength from the lightning strike to tilt its head up and see the trouble Brian was in. Its eyes expanded as it acted quickly by taking another ring off from one of its disembodied arms and driving it into the ground. This kept the ring stuck firm into the ground as Hoopa held on from getting sucked in while using its other arm to reach out for Brian. The boy mustered up the remainder of his strength into grabbing Hoopa’s arm as the suction got stronger, pulling in debris from the dirt ground and dozens of raindrops from the storm. It kept to the best of its ability to keep any of the excess electricity it suffered to from going to Brian, for the boy’s life was now on the line.

The thunderstorm got worse as the rain got thicker and thunder boomed through the clouds like sacrificial drums. The ring’s suction was getting so strong that Brian suddenly lifted off of the ground, gripping Hoopa’s arm as much as he could. The two looked at each other in the eyes like their life depended on it.

“Hoopa…trying!” Hoopa exclaimed back. “Beekan…Hoopa’s best friend!”

Brian kept hold of Hoopa as everything got worse and worse, and the storm wasn’t helping things. Brian felt Hoopa’s arms trickle with the rain, but Brian didn’t want to think of the signs and kept clouding his mind with the information that he would get out of this. This wasn’t a big deal; they have been through incidents before, as the thoughts tried their best to shield Brian from the terrors while Hoopa’s arms trickled even more. Almost inaudible squeaks laughed at the inhaling guillotine from Hoopa’s grip while the struggles kept them entertained. Everything was against them and the rain pounded against their helpless bodies, the flashes roaring at their souls to concede. The curtains parted as the dark thoughts came forth into his mind, but this time Hoopa wasn’t there to comfort him. His body went hollow as his grip faded and faded.

Brian screamed as Hoopa could only watch and hold its arm out as the winds took their captive. Its best friend’s body disappeared inside the ring right as Kelly managed to run up and see the outcome, too late to do anything supportive. The darkness inside the ring vanished as the electricity and suction that came from it went away before it started to shrink. Once it went back to its regular size, it stopped hovering and fell to the ground, landing on the muddy ground with a squish. Those last few noises rang through Hoopa’s head endlessly and it sat motionless with its eyes stuck on the spot where Brian was taken. As for Kelly, she really wished she could have gotten here sooner to possibly do something, but all she got to do was witness the aftermath of a horrible accident.

She couldn’t find the strength to speak as she saw Hoopa’s eyes fill with tears. They were hard to distinguish from raindrops as Hoopa almost didn’t have the will do move from the one spot. The storm boomed overhead as the two of them were drenched beyond belief, but it didn’t matter. Brian was gone.

The light that blinded Brian’s vision slowly faded away as recognizable figures filled his sights. They stood over him as a voice rang through his ears.

Brian lifted his head up with a slight headache as the fuzziness of the images faded away, revealing the ever-loving Loud kids, plus the extras like the current giantess Kelly, looking at him with warm hearted smiles. It must have been a huge memory rush to conk him out for what seemed like an entire day, even though he was sure Lisa would tell him the actual passage of time.

“Uhhhh Lisa, I thought you said that I would grow back to my original size along with the memory resurgence.”

It was true. While Brian did regain all of his memories back, Lisa also said he would grow back to normal size once he took the cure. That didn’t happen though, for he was still looking up at everyone and had his half an inch tall height. Everyone glared at Lisa for an answer, causing the young genius to sweat.

“Well, uhhhhhh…I had to make some substitutions for rarer ingredients, and, errrrrr…they didn’t seem to do the trick.”

“So you’re saying Brian is permanently stuck as small as he is?” the giantess Lynn asked.

“Hoopa can’t have Beekan so teeny tiny when traveling through dimensions!” Hoopa spoke up. “Please Leeza, fix Beekan for Hoopa!”

“It’s LISA first off.” Lisa responded while addressing Hoopa. “And second, I think I may have cracked the last few elements in the timespan when the world was in jeopardy.”

Everyone cocked an eyebrow as Lisa walked up to Hoopa before taking out some sort of portable scanning device. She took a slight hold on one of Hoopa’s rings as she waved the device over it, smiling upon seeing the results.

“Yup, it’s just as I predicted. That’s the missing link to the problem.”

“Deducing the last few elements needed to completely cure Brian.” Lisa explained. “To bring you up to speed, I scanned Brian some time ago and found a substance coursing through his body that kept him the way he is now. I didn’t think much of a certain trait back then, but the substances that kept him tiny and the ones blocking his memories had certain stigmas to differentiate them from each other. Ergo, my cure eliminated the substances blocking his memories but not the ones keeping him miniaturized.”

“So you just need to make something to get rid of the remaining ones?” Lincoln asked.

“I actually don’t need to make anything…for we have the cure right here.”

“Again, it’s LISA. Get that drilled into your cranium.” Lisa said before explaining further. “Anyway, I’ve been doing some mathematics on those rings of yours ever since you arrived here, and the process of going through them looks as if it pushes away negativities brought by them. Since Brian was covered in a corrupted substance-”

“Layman’s terms sis!” Lori interrupted before Lisa could continue. The genius gave her a nasty glare before putting it in simplistic words.

“Using Hoopa’s rings to go to another dimension should cause the rest of the substances in Brian to be flushed out, restoring his size in the process.”

“So all I need to do is travel to another dimension with Hoopa? That’s easier than I expected.” Brian said. “There’s still the matter with cleaning up the destruction around here though.”

“I know you have a conclusive way to do that with your memories now back.” Lisa stated. “Speaking of which…I would like to be informed on the matter of your arrival here for record’s sake.”

His answer was met with all of the regular sized Loud siblings, along with the pets and Lana’s reptiles, bundling around him like one big campfire story was about to unfold. Brian chuckled to himself as he also saw the gigantic faces of Kelly, Luan, and Lynn stare down at him, although Tad and Iberico had to crowd in through everyone to get to the center.

“I’ll help reiterate certain points and give my own experiences when needed.” The giantess Kelly said. Brian gave Kelly a quick thumbs up as Hoopa hovered near, wondering how its best friend would explain things.

Brian glanced up at Hoopa with the eyes of the dimensional explorer he was. The experiences practically reflected to both of them as words didn’t need to be exchanged. When he first was brought in by the Louds there was nothing but a shell yearning to be complete, but now at the end of his ride here, his body was filled and knew what it was for. He was Brian, the traveler through dimensions.

“Beekan…BEEKAN!” Hoopa shouted as it rushed forward and gave Brian one of the biggest hugs it could muster to the shrunken boy. It made small tears as it held Brian close to its chest, knowing well that it expressed its massive relief earlier and didn’t need to reiterate the same point.

“There, there, we’re back together and everything is going to be okay now.” Brian said to Hoopa. “I’m going to need to explain everything to the others here to bring them up to date, and once I’m back to normal we can get back to travelling through more dimensions, okay?”

“Me too buddy, me too.” Brian replied before Hoopa released him back to the center of the circle. With all eyes now set on him after Hoopa had its moment, Brian got down to recalling everything that happened that fateful day to the family around him. The gigantic Kelly gave her own two cents on events that happened with her during the time, such as her stay at the restaurant with her friends that Brian didn’t know about, to help bridge events together and restate more important points. While everyone listening was astonished at what was coming out, some of them were more interested than others, like Lana who couldn’t help but fantasize the amazing dimension Brian and Kelly talked about while imagining herself being there at the same time, Lucy because she was already so absorbed with everything Brian goes through, and Lisa as she was mentally storing every detail for “research” purposes.

It did take quite a bit to explain all of it, but once Brian concluded he was almost out of breath, although Kelly was okay since she only came in when needed. Everyone listening had their opinions on the matter, but most followed the same path.

“Wow…that was literally harsh.” Lori stated. “I can’t imagine how you must have felt.”

“Well I lost my memories in the incident so everything was blank at the time.” Brian responded. “I’m sure everyone knows what happened next after that.”

“Yup, that’s when I found you stuck in the mud pits.” Lana said. “It’s kind of hard to forget that fateful day when you introduced us to the insanity ahead…and that was probably the most enjoyable experience of my life!”

“Yeah, I’m probably going to lock those memories away for a long time just to calm myself from all of it.” Lincoln stated. “So…what happened to Hoopa after Brian was forcibly dragged here?”

Hoopa quivered as it knew it was its turn in the spotlight, and it didn’t want to relive those terrible moments. Kelly understood more than anyone else since she was with Hoopa at the time, but that didn’t make it any more nervous as it described the details.

“Well, first off…Hoopa felt terribly sad. Hoopa never lost Beekan as Beekan was always with Hoopa no matter what, even when travelling through so many dimensions. The Keelly girl sat by Hoopa to try and sym…sympee…”

“Yes, what Loonya said!” Hoopa replied. Both Kelly and Luna had to hide their amused faces at Hoopa’s misspelling of their names as it continued.

“Keelly tried to sympenteeze with Hoopa to try and help, but Hoopa didn’t want to listen and then, ummmmmm…well…”

“It slapped me across the face.” Kelly finished. Hoopa turned to the side to shy away the guilt to an extent as all eyes focused on it.

“Hoopa summoned up a ring to go after Beekan, but even with directions Beekan gave Hoopa couldn’t find Beekan. Hoopa went through so many dimensions for any ounce of Beekan, but Beekan was never there. Hoopa even tried connecting with Beekan’s mind and got nothing, which was very weird to Hoopa as it always worked before.”

“It’s nothing major.” Brian answered. “I’ve been with Hoopa for so long and went through so much with it that we’ve connected to each other in a mental state. It allows us to know where in a dimension we are and what emotions we’re going through, a handy perk to have in a profession of dimensional traveler.”

“That would have most likely been the cause of your nightmares if the calculations are correct.” Lisa said. Now that Lisa brought the topic up, she probably nailed it on the head as clear as day. Early on when he was with the Louds, the flashes of blue colors and mumbling words when he blacked out or fell asleep were pretty tame, nothing spectacular but really confused him as to what was going on. When the ominous laughter and red flashes started appearing was when things started to darken, eventually leading to full blown bloody onslaughts every time he fell asleep. He now knew why that was the case: Hoopa’s emotions were deteriorating at a rapid pace as it searched for him, eventually becoming pure rage with a pinch of sadness that got stronger and stronger, and they were being mirrored to Brian through their mental bond.

“Hoopa then felt all hope to find Beekan was lost, and then…Hoopa can’t remember anything after that. Hoopa sorry, Hoopa doesn’t know any more.”

“Considering what you did Royal Woods…you turned into a huge monster and went on a destruction spree through dimensions to find my dolly.” Lola said. “You owe me ALL of my stuff you wrecked out there, especially my pageant trophies of long running winning streaks!”

“It’s okay Lola; Hoopa is perfectly capable of restoring everything back.”

“Wait, what?! It’s possible to get all of our stuff back, including our house?!” Leni exclaimed. Brian nodded.

“We don’t usually do it that often, but considering the circumstances it’s our only option. Hoopa can’t usually pull it off without me beside it due to how much power is required, and it really drains its body even after one use. It’s essentially a personal reset button in case of dire emergencies, but there is a pretty harsh side effect to using it.”

“And that would be?” Iberico asked. Brian’s eyes practically reflected the negative emotions to the others as the words came out.

“When Hoopa resets any area, everything goes back to normal…including memories. We can’t risk anyone remembering an incident as apocalyptic as what occurred today, for that could really turn a dimension on its head, so…”

“Yup, all of your memories of me, the rifts, all of the dimensional junk that was dropped here, and Hoopa’s destruction of Royal Woods will be erased in the process.”

“But…but…you gave us some of the best experiences we have ever gone through!” Lana exclaimed. “You have already become a second brother to us, a really tiny awesome brother! I don’t want to forget about everything we went through with you! Please, you can’t erase our minds!”

Everyone else was equally on board with Lana’s plea. Near the beginning of the year, Brian was found in a mud pit where Lisa promised he would get back to normal size in around nine to eleven months, and since then he had taken the Loud kids on a joyride through incidents of dimensions and crosses with what seemed to be the impossible. They had to admit that they were experiences that really turned their perspectives in the opposite direction and gave them a once in a lifetime opportunity to see the unimaginable become reality. No other family could say that they went to another dimension, saw dozens of rifts pop up and dump objects out of nowhere, accidentally have someone for lunch and have them travel through their bodies, and grow into giantesses to stop a rampaging monster from ending reality. All of it would be gone upon Royal Woods reverting back to normal, and they didn’t want those memories to be gone forever.

“…who said we were going to erase the minds that gave it their all to make sure I was safe for all of those months?”

“In all of my time spent with all of you, I couldn’t help but feel grateful about how you treated me. Initially I didn’t think I would even make it a few days as tiny as I am, but your dedication and care helped me push forward and stay alive from everything that could end me in seconds. You said that my influence in the house changed your lives, but you also changed mine. I’ll miss all of you and never forget all of the times we spent together, so I’ll leave you with this small token of my appreciation. When we reset Royal Woods back to normal…your memories will be safe.”

He was met with the most amounts of heartfelt smiles he had ever seen. They truly were special to him, and any form of memory wipe wouldn’t make them the same as they were now. He also made some mental notes to keep the memories of some of their friends intact, mostly the ones that already came across him that also assisted somewhat. The ones he kept in the back of his mind were Haiku, Sam, and Carol Pingrey, along with obvious ones in Kelly, Tad, and Iberico, which he made sure Hoopa would be informed of before resetting everything. For Ronnie Ann, and supposedly Bobby since Lori said she told him everything, she was safe too since she lived in another city and wouldn’t be affected, but Brian made sure anyone who evacuated Royal Woods earlier wouldn’t remember the incident just to be on the safe side.

“Umm, I know everything is getting concluded and all, but could someone please wake my body up from the pod now? As much of a different point of view it is being this huge, I’ve had my fair share of it for one day.”

“Really? I could be like this for weeks and not get tired!” the giantess Lynn responded.

“She does have a point Lynn.” The giantess Luan chimed in. She was met with Lynn’s typical rolling of the eyes and unappreciated groan as everyone else in was on board with Luan.

“I’ll get all three of you back to normal size in a jiffy. Just give me a moment.” Lisa said as she walked over to the entrance of her fallout shelter that everyone hid in. Pulling out the access panel, Lisa inputted the password to open it last time, but strangely it refused the combination. Lisa lifted an eyebrow before going for a different older password, but it was rejected as well. In an act of desperation, Lisa typed in more passwords she knew her other siblings used in the past, but nothing was budging the giant lid.

“Okay, which one of you siblings was the last to input the access code to the bunker?” Lisa asked as she turned to the others. Everyone who came out of the bunker earlier pointed to the sibling she dreaded it would be. It was none other than the dumb one of the bunch.

“What? You said the last one to come out of that hole would need to make a new access code at random, and I did as you asked!”

“Then come over here so I can know it for later!” Lisa responded. That’s when Leni’s obliviousness turned head.

“But I don’t know the password! I turned around before closing my eyes then pressed buttons randomly like you said, for that’s what you wanted!”

“Leni…you really need to stop taking things so literally.” Lori stated as everyone immediately gazed at her with very flat faces. Leni was as clueless as always as this meant that Kelly, Luan, and Lynn would be staying huge for a while longer.

“Well that’s just great. So we’re stuck like this until Lisa cracks the code. Really smooth move there Leni.” The giantess Kelly said with a sarcastic tone.

“So what exactly are we going to do until then?” the giantess Lynn asked. Thankfully Luan was already on it.

“I think I may have something BIG planned, hahahahah, and Hoopa could easily help out!”

“Looeen requires Hoopa’s help? Hoopa will do anything for friends of Beekan!”

Luan silently discussed what she had planned as the others were left in the dark for the moment. Lincoln turned to Brian with somewhat of a confused face.

“So the entire reason for all of these dimensions going haywire…was because your dimensional partner went crazy?”

To think there were still untouched spots of Royal Woods standing almost sounded like a fever dream, but to everyone’s surprise it actually happened. One spot near the backside of the town was completely intact from the insanity, and that’s where Luan planned to have her big show, pun intended. Hoopa warped in dozens of chairs from its rings along with what could possibly be the biggest stage in the world for Luan to show off how truly massive she was. There was a sheet of worry that there would be nobody around to sit in the chairs thanks to Royal Woods being completely ruined, but in a wave of astonishment there actually were some surviving residents of the town that wanted some enjoyment after the tragedies of everything around them. Even though the Louds were almost dumbfounded seeing them, they didn’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth and didn’t worry about it. That wasn’t to say those were the only people coming to see Luan’s giantess getup, there were others that just arrived back into town from safe towns and cities that were curious seeing the giant stage and took a seat with everyone else in the audience. Soon enough the chairs were packed and more people started to come in, which meant that Hoopa had to “ring” in some more chairs. It didn’t mind though, for it was helping out for once and not destroying everything now. The show was really going to get good now.

The regular sized Louds, along with Iberico, were granted special privileges to sit in the front row, although Tad was nowhere to be seen which nobody cared to notice since before he was too busy staring at his humungous ex-girlfriend with awe. Lana held Iberico while the one who held Brian was none other than the one that always wanted to unfeelingly stare at him, Lucy. She was a bit upset to not be a giantess with Lynn and Luan, but at least she appeared like one to Brian. She poked Brian everywhere around his body with her fingers on occasion as she still had a persistent fascination of being considerably bigger than someone, which Brian didn’t mind at all ever since she discovered it with him. He made sure to keep the secret between him and Lucy despite secrets being impossible to keep among the family, and for now it seemed to be locked up safely.

Lucy kept her huge fingers around Brian as the shrunken boy wondered what Luan could be preparing for behind the stage. She was too big to use her personal “Dinky Shrinky” so it had to be something else, but he had some hunches with Hoopa helping her out.

His body jumped up in Lucy’s hand from surprise before looking up and seeing Lucy’s emotionless massive face staring down at him.

“Sheesh Lucy, you’re still giving me the scares!” Brian said. “Besides, how the heck did you manage to know what I was thinking?”

“I have my ways.” Lucy replied the all too familiar phrase before following up with something else. “So you have been thinking about Luan and what she’s doing with your friend?”

“Well…you pretty much nailed it.” Brian replied. Lucy’s constant low frown went straight as she ruffled Brian’s hair with one of her fingers.

“She’s going to be okay Brian. She always thinks one step ahead and plans things out in advance. Trust me, I know.”

“This is because she helped you out with that poetry festival isn’t it?” Brian replied referencing a moment Lucy talked with him about before she found him. Lucy shook her head.

“I have way more experience with Luan than that. If you do manage to find your way back here at some point, there’s much more to Luan that I’ll gladly explain to you.”

“Knowing how much you focus on literary works of some of the best English writers, I’m certain that you have a lot to talk about.” Brian said with a hearty snarky smile. Lucy inaudibly chuckled before lightly rubbing his back with one of her huge black fingernails. She really was going to miss that sort of attitude when he finally leaves, but even she knew that it was temporary. He was an important figure to the family during his time with them after all; he was going to find a way back to see them again. She secretly wished he would also come back being his half an inch tall self just to remind her of her fascination with appearing greatly taller and massive, even if she didn’t want her other siblings to know. It was only going to be a temporary goodbye, for he was an unofficial member of the family.

The lights dimmed down as things were about to start. Everyone set their sights on the stage when a large spotlight shone near the center, quieting the audience. Some rather whimsical noises emitted throughout the area before a large leg stuck out from behind the curtain. Soon enough, the gigantic comedian that was Luan took center stage as she pulled the curtains away, showing just how gigantic she was from everyone thanks to Lisa. There was no way the audience could be classified as anything but bugs compared to Luan with how big she was, for even her shoes could fit in a building or two. This put some pressure into the front rows as her shoes were only a few feet away from them, and any misstep could prove disastrous. Even then though, this wasn’t a first for Luan and she knew to keep caution with her extraordinary height.

“Wow, I didn’t expect this many ants coming in on my picnic! Don’t expect to get any fruits for your lovers little bugs, for you will be BERRY BERRY sorry to steal anything for the APPLE of your eye! ORANGE you glad I’m not selling any product placements to your LADY BUGS? You know I don’t SALADS you know!”

All of the micro people around her feet laughed at all of the punches she pulled out. Even in the aftermath of the almost apocalypse, Luan could put a smile on everyone’s faces and make them remember the good times in life.

“Don’t think I’m letting up the FRUIT PUNCHES for you ants, this has been only the CHERRY on top! The APPETIZERS are done; it’s time for the MAIN COURSE!”

The giantess that was Luan then reached behind the curtain before pulling out a well-balanced unicycle…that was also sized up for her massive body. Hoopa really did put in the work to “ring” in what she needed, and with the endless multiverse they didn’t need to worry about objects. That wasn’t only thing Luan got out though, for one other thing was behind the curtain and it was a doozy. A large pile of intact buildings now sat by her feet, which most of the audience gasped at, but Luan had it covered. Without missing a beat, Luan hopped on her unicycle as she picked a bunch of the buildings into her arms and juggled them with ease. The acts captivated the audience rather swiftly as their eyes followed the buildings go into the air before Luan expertly caught them. Most performers would go for something simple like a piece of fruit or a small bouncing ball, but with how Luan was now she could easily handle something as extreme as buildings for they could practically fit in the palm of her hand.

Buildings weren’t enough for this clown, and nobody expected what came next. Even though she helped out earlier, Lynn couldn’t be trusted to handle the rest of the props Hoopa warped in. This left only Kelly, where she didn’t mind helping out a friend. The big haired giantess girl stood by the sidelines of the stage with the aforementioned giant watermelons, also at sizes relative to the giantesses, until it was time for her cue. Once Luan said her quirky pun, Kelly picked up two watermelons and carefully tossed them in Luan’s direction. Luan let the watermelons almost hit the ground near the audience, causing some unnerving tension, before suddenly catching and adding them to her juggling routine. Now the objects she was handling looked like a wheel of spinning bricks and giant fruits, an unusual pair of sights.

“The ants won’t be getting squished for my picnic, even if all of you are watching the FRUIT FLY! This is also the greatest SHOP LIFTING spree in history you know!”

The audience couldn’t stop bursting with laughter as Luan continued on her unicycle for a few more minutes before it was time for her next act. She handed Kelly the buildings and watermelons before getting out some very colorful deflated balloons, also sized in proportion to her. It was expected for her to make some balloon animals, but even her closest siblings didn’t think she had the unpredictability in her.

“I know many of you bugs are getting ANTSY, so my next trick will require some audience participation! Don’t worry, I’ll AIR out the problems!”

Multitudes of people at her huge feet raised their hands and shouted to be picked, although for safety’s sake Lucy kept silent for Brian. Luan was a bit too big to handle him after all, and even earlier when the giantess Kelly handled him he was practically microscopic to her.

Knowing how much of a showstopper she was, Luan wasn’t surprised to see so many volunteer. Thankfully she was ready for this type of situation.

“Well, looks like there are a few jitter bugs in the colonies! Luckily there are enough balloons for everyone!”

She set the balloons on the stage and pulled up the opening on one of them to let the people inside, making sure to keep her feet away so she wouldn’t step on anyone.. The fact that Luan wanted to get people inside it made some onlookers nervous, but there were tons that took the chance and ran in, including all of the remaining Loud siblings minus Lucy and Lynn. Once the first balloon was filled enough with small people, Luan took out another and let the entire process go again, eventually having three deflated balloons filled with her beloved “ants” with plenty still in the audience eager to know what will happen next.

“Okay everyone, time to inflate these!” Luan said. She took a moment to make sure everything was perfectly safe before taking one of the balloons carefully, ironically the one containing most of her smaller than ever siblings, before closing off the opening cautiously and proceeding to blow inside, forcing the ones inside to the back from her breath. The rubber of the balloon kept them safe from injuries, and most of the younger ones already wanted her to do it again. Strangely enough, nobody was finding it hard to breathe despite the amounts of carbon dioxide being blown in, but Lisa caught one of Hoopa’s rings in the corner of her eye that was small enough not to be noticed by the majority and accidentally fall in. There was nearly a whispering noise coming from it as a small gust constantly wheezed out, which remarkably got air flowing inside and made it possible to stay in the balloon without suffocating.

“Get ready, for these ants are about to sprout wings and take to the skies before my other assistant Lynn catches them with her bare hands!”

The mood changed to be slightly more panicky Luan carried each of the three balloons with people inside to one side of the stage. Then, making her starring entrance, the giantess sports superstar Lynn showed up on the other side, the booms of her shoes rumbling through the area.

“Don’t worry tiny people, for you’re about to be caught by the great SaiLynn Moon and her magical sports skills! Oh yeah, let’s do this!”

Some of the crowds looked at her flatly for the terrible pun, but the show needed to continue. With one balloon held been her hands, Luan reeled back before letting it loose through the air. Everyone inside the balloon almost felt weightless after the initial zip up, and the image below them zoomed out as they went into the air. This was a cinch for Lynn, as there was hardly any sort of breeze and the balloon fell like a feather, and at most all she did was move back a couple of steps, making sure to not step on anyone from her giantess size. She held her arms out as the balloon came into her grasp, making a touchdown landing in her eyes.

“Woohoo! That’s one for the record books!” Lynn exclaimed. She looked at all of the small people inside the balloon as her fingers gripped it tightly, but not so much to make it pop. Her planetoid eyes almost took up everyone’s vision with a blue tint as that’s what color the balloon was.

“So all of you tiny spectators, am I the biggest sports star you have ever seen? C’mon, give me some noise!”

The ones inside the balloon, along with the audience watching, shouted with praise and approval to Lynn’s high energy attitude. It felt good to be large and in charge, and getting noticed by hundreds of people, especially ones nearly a fraction of your height, complemented things very nicely. Lynn kept up her upbeat snarky smile as she set the first balloon down and waited for the next one, which Luan already had in her hands. With one stern reel back, Luan tossed the next balloon high into the air. Everyone inside were sent soaring as Lynn mentally prepared herself. She wouldn’t be using her hands this time and instead decided to use something different. As the balloon of people floated towards the ground, Lynn stood under and opened up the wide maw of her. Some people panicked at the sight of Lynn’s mouth as it came in closer, but as grim as the outcome appeared Lynn knew what she was doing. The balloon was about halfway over the previous throw when Lynn did a really gutsy play. With legs tucked in as much as she could, Lynn leapt straight up with an impressive distance and snagged the rubber encompass right into her jaws, making sure not to put in too much pressure. The waves of worry became blankets of relief as the audience, plus the participants, erupted with cheers as Lynn waved while still having the balloon in her mouth, giving everyone inside a clear view of the insides of her mouth. While everyone could easily shake it off now, it gave Lincoln and Brian some chilling undertones from earlier if taking a field trip inside her stomach wasn’t anything to go by.

Lynn spat the balloon out and set it next to the other one in preparation for the final one.

“Alright Luan, bring on the last one! This dog has plenty more bark in her!”

Luan smiled and nodded before picking up the final balloon, but this time her eyes darted to a small opening in the curtains for a quick second before very slightly shuffling her left foot, which almost nobody caught on to. Soon after, the small Hoopa ring inside the balloon blew out a different type of air that didn’t feel any different from normal to the ones inside the balloon, but it made a clearer change to the one holding it. Going from approximately weightless to a few more pounds would really alter how Lynn was going to handle it and Luan knew well. She positioned herself accordingly before taking a deep breath and throwing the balloon as high up into the air as possible. Many were taken aback by the difference in weight as the balloon went up, including the ones inside it as they saw Royal Woods below them from a way different perspective from the last two, but the more shocking twist the horizontal distance went much further than intended. Luan bit her lip while Lynn had to adapt quick, keeping her eyes on the prize. She backed up at first before realizing where it was actually heading, so she started rushing back toward her end of the stage before getting off the stage completely. With her feet now among miniature buildings, Lynn saw it come in fast and dove for the balloon like she was in a baseball field. Right as it looked like it would hit the ground, Lynn outstretched arms caught it before impact.

Everyone that watched likewise went wild as Lynn got herself up while panting slightly from the extreme maneuver. She put on her traditional snarky smile as the ones inside the balloon joined in with the praise.

“Thank you everyone! Looks like I won the gold today with me and my giant bod! GIANTESS LYNN LOUD WINS AGAIN!”

The crowds went nuts as Lynn showed off while walking back to the stage with the balloon in tow. She tried to show off a bicep as she set the last balloon next to the other before Luan came over to unhinge the openings. The participants inside each of the balloons started walking out as the small Hoopa rings vanished and Lynn made her way off the stage. They made their way back to their seats, including the other Loud siblings, but little did they know that there was one final trick to really show the talent behind the scenes.

The last person to come out of a balloon was a certain young girl which Luan suddenly stopped with one of her huge fingers.

“Just a minute there little ant, I’m going to need one more bug to assist this picnic goer! Why don’t you help me out with this grand finale?”

“Oh really? Sure, I’ll go!” the girl said. To Lincoln, he could easily recognize that voice and pretty face from anywhere, for the girl that was volunteering was one that he met on a bus one day. Her name was Stella, and she was known as the “new girl” at the time that wanted to make friends with him. Things…didn’t work out the way he wanted initially especially to his other friends, but they soon made their apologies and accepted her as a close friend. Since then, she’s been very nice to him and helped out when needed, even if she was the tallest one of the group. She did express to Lincoln and friends once about her standing out more, not because she was the only girl in the group of boys, because she did have a marginally larger height than most other kids in the school, but it didn’t let her down as she considered it a very nice perk to have. She was really eating those words now that she was seeing Luan’s giantess height.

Luan set her hand on the ground to let Stella climb on, which the girl did with no issues. She lifted her up near her face as the crowds got curious to what would happen next.

“Okay everyone, as much as I would love this picnic to continue, everything must come to an end, so I’ve prepared a very special dessert for all of you ants! It’s going to be CAKE for everyone!”

Everyone had their eyes on Luan and Stella before a loud rumble echoed through everyone’s ears.

“Oh man, I’ve been letting these ants eat my food that I forgot to save some for myself! Where am I going to find something now?”

Luan’s head darted back and forth to find something only to lay her eyes on the tiny Stella in her hand. Brian particularly sensed a dark chill as he thought he knew where it was going, crying out in his mind for her to not do it. It wasn’t worth it; it was just not worth it.

“Wow, I never noticed how adorable you are when you’re that tiny to me! You look cute enough to eat!”

Things turned pretty quickly when everyone watching witnessed Luan immediately drew in close before tossing Stella right into her mouth. She didn’t chew at all and with one large gulp, she swallowed Stella whole. Waves of gasps wafted through the area as Brian easily felt it hit him the most, especially after many previous incidents where similar things happened.

“Mmmm, now she was very tasty! Too bad she wasn’t a clown, for I think she would have tasted funny! Hey Kelly, do you mind handing me a glass of water to wash it down?”

People were still pretty shocked over Luan’s cannibalism as the giantess Kelly made her way back on stage. She reached into her hair to see if there were any drinks for Luan to take until Luan quickly stopped her.

“Wait just a minute there; I think you have something stuck next to you ear.”

Kelly stood still as Luan reached back to the girl’s left ear and started feeling around for something. The entire place was silent as Luan felt further and further down, and then she suddenly formed a smile.

Right then and there, right as her arm came out, was Stella, and she was completely unharmed.

Nearly everyone was taken aback at what just transpired. They didn’t know how Luan pulled it off, but they were amazed nonetheless as they erupted with applause and happy cheers. Stella was never in any danger; Luan just pulled the wool over everyone’s eyes and made them believe in the unexpected. For one particular shrunken boy, he had a faint idea on how Luan came up with a trick like that, bringing up some pretty dire memories. At least this one went by safely unlike the previous incident.

Everyone watching clapped for the young girl as Stella nearly blushed at how much attention she was getting. She looked back up to Luan and Kelly one more time before making her way off stage, which Lincoln took the chance to walk up to her as Luan wrapped things up. Lucy and Brian sat close enough to them to listen out on their conversation.

“Well that is my sister on stage after all.” Lincoln replied. Stella’s eyes opened up.

“Really, that giant girl is your sister?! Dang, that really makes me feel like a dust mite compared to her!”

“You don’t know the half of it.” Lincoln said. “Blame one of my other sisters for that.”

“Knowing what you tell me about your family, I can easily see where you are coming from.” Stella said. She glanced up at the giantess Luan and Kelly as they started to conclude the show and did a small sigh.

“Man, it really must feel so exhilarating to see dozens of people down at your feet, and I joke around with everyone at school about how much of a colossus I am for my grade. It’s not much, but I don’t let it weigh me down, and yet it really makes a girl wonder you know?”

“Being as gargantuan as your sister is.” Stella responded. “It really makes me want to open Pandora’s Box to see for myself…you do know what that is right?”

“Errrrr, somewhat.” Lincoln replied with a sheepish smile, obviously since he tended to space out during history class. This only got Stella to chuckle under her breath.

“I mean that I’m curious to know how it feels to be a giantess like your sister silly! You think that could happen someday? That would really make a girl like me happy!”

“I’m sure anything is possible if my sister could go that big.” Lincoln replied. The two laughed it up as Brian silently watched. For some reason he felt pity for Stella, since the only reason Luan, Lynn, and Kelly were huge was due to one of Lisa’s inventions which meant she never got the luxury of craziness like that. She really seemed like a nice girl, and so many others he came across all wondered what it would be like if they were the huge ones, but at least those girls got some experience whether it was from rift shenanigans or by meeting the shrunken boy in all of his “glory.”

Yet again, Brian bolted up in the clutches of Lucy before looking up to see her huge face staring down at him, still as unemotional as ever. I was still a mystery how she was able to know what he was paying attention to, but he didn’t want to find out on account of Lucy being…special to an extent.

“Uhhhh, well…I guess it would be nice.” Brian said. “I mean, Lincoln did talk to me about her always sticking out in school because of how tall she is. Knowing that she wants to see how it feels to be so huge, I-”

“It’s okay Brian, I know you mean well.” Lucy interrupted. “I’m sure my siblings wouldn’t mind if one more person was let in on your existence. You are leaving soon after all.”

“Yeah, I guess you make a good point there.” Brian replied. “How do you suppose I should, you know, ‘make my entrance’ and whatnot?”

“Don’t worry; I think I could help you on that.” Lucy stated with a very small smile. Before Brian could reply, Lucy covered his body as she cupped her hands around him. It put him in complete darkness as he could feel Lucy move around, but couldn’t figure out what she was doing.

Lincoln however still was conversing with Stella over various subjects, including school subjects and “next week’s cafeteria situation.” If there was anything Lincoln could do well among others, it was keeping conversations engaging especially with his go lucky attitude. Even with the subjects though, something kept nagging him in the back of his head but he couldn’t figure out what. All he knew was that it due to the Stella talking about her height, but he shoved it to the side as he had more important things to talk about.

Both Lincoln and Stella bolted up in surprise as Lucy suddenly appeared right behind her brother. You could never get used to her jumpscares.

Lincoln frowned. He really wanted some friendly talk with Stella, but his sister was here wanting to break it up. He huffed under his breath before turning back to Stella.

“Okay, I’ll still be here when you need me!” Stella replied. Lincoln stepped away from Stella as he went with Lucy around the corner, not exactly happy that he was pulled out.

With those few words, Lucy opened up her cupped hands to reveal Brian under them. He did need to shield his eyes for a moment from the light but otherwise was unharmed.

He tried to pass off his emotions with a tepid smile and small hand wave, but Lincoln didn’t buy it.

The tiny boy stuttered. He didn’t actually think it through to how he would ask Lincoln about his friend Stella without turning things the wrong way, although his current nervous attitude put the signs above his head. He wasn’t the best at hiding emotions even if Lucy constantly had him to herself. He had to speak up about it or else things were going to get really awkward.

“Ummm, well…” Brian stuttered. “It’s…it’s kind of about your friend there…”

“You mean Stella? What about her?” Lincoln asked. The torrents of emotions went haywire in Brian’s head.

“I…I was thinking maybe…I could get to know her…maybe? I mean…she did want to see…”

Lincoln caught on to what Brian was trying to say, so he held back the insidious chuckles he had in the back of his mind. Brian wasn’t perfect, but the little cracks that came out were amusing to some degree. Instead, he put on an understanding smile and looked at Brian in the eyes.

Brian still couldn’t get the words out, so Lucy decided to get him to spit it out in a way only she could pull off. Without any sort of warning, Lucy almost instantaneously poked Brian in the back, jumpscaring him for the moment to force it all forward.

While Lincoln could cover up his feelings beforehand, this broke him as he could help but give off a few laughs at how stupid Brian looked when saying that, even giving Lucy a few low chuckles which spoke volumes considering how she acts. Brian really appeared to be like someone who just lost a few brains cells getting hit in the face. This was one of the many things the Louds like about him, his unpredictability at times.

“You didn’t need to be nervous about asking that Brian, I’ve known you since you arrived here and stayed with us. It’s not that embarrassing to ask about another girl not from the family around here, and trust me, I learned about that the hard way. Besides, I was getting a really nagging feeling in the back of my head and I think I know now what it was asking for.”

“Friends got to stick together, especially after everything that happened since you came here. Lucy, may I?”

“Of course.” Lucy answered. She held her hands out and dropped the tiny Brian into Lincoln’s grasp. Before the two could thank her, in one quick blink Lucy was already gone. The two boys felt chills down there spines.

“Shrunken or not shrunken, that’s STILL one of the creepiest girls I know.” Brian said.

“I’ve pretty much had that engrained into my mind ages ago.” Lincoln said before addressing the other issue. “Do you mind if I makes this a bit of a surprise to Stella?”

“Go for it.” Brian replied. The boys exchanged smiles as Lincoln covered Brian up with his other hand. He didn’t get a hold of Brian that often, for his sisters tended to want him more often than he did, but he really appreciated the extra boy to hang around with even if he dwarfed him in height. He would really miss that privilege when Brian leaves, so this would really be the last hurrah before he goes for good.

With the shrunken boy now safely in his hands, Lincoln turned back around the corner and was relieved to see Stella still in the same spot as he last saw her. She was talking with some other students from the school that happened to stay for the show as he walked up to her, hands still clamped over Brian.

“Oh, you’re still here Lincoln. I know it wasn’t long, but hey, socialization really helps the senses you know? You need me for something?”

Stella tilted her head while one of her eyebrows tipped down. She glanced at Lincoln’s cupped hands before locking her eyes at him, catching the attention of the two classmates previously conversing with her.

“Well…if it’s nothing too personal or anything. You’re not pulling my leg are you?”

“You know I would never do that to a close friend…except if you count that one time with the other guys when we met, but other than that one time I would never mess with you.”

It took a moment for Stella to look back at Lincoln’s hands before going back to his face, but after that she came to a conclusion.

“Heh, I can’t mess with an honest face like that. Okay, I’ll come with you.”

“Thanks Stella, you’re the best.” Lincoln said. Stella excused herself from the other two classmates before Lincoln lead her back to the corner around the stage where they could be in private. Lincoln had to admit that Stella was a bit cute, but after an entire fiasco involving his other friends he knew she wasn’t interested in dating anytime soon. They were just kids after all and they still had a long way to go before things change. It was no wonder she wanted to make friends with him when she came to Royal Woods, for friends make life worth living.

He was also glad she wasn’t as rough as Girl Jordan. That girl REALLY had a trigger finger in dodgeball.

“So Lincoln, what do you want to talk to me about? Does it have something to do with whatever you’re holding in your hands?”

“Well…yeah, that’s it.” Lincoln replied, almost getting as nervous as Brian is. “Remember when you said you wished to know how it feels to be as big as my sister that was on stage?”

Lincoln quivered a bit. The interest wasn’t being thrown at him, but he still felt the waves of unnerving tension being emitted by Brian’s emotions from earlier. He couldn’t see him as he had Brian cupped in his two hands, but he could feel what Brian must be thinking at the moment. Even though Brian’s been around many massive faces, he was used to being around him and his family since he got to know them from staying with them for so long, but for someone he didn’t experience prior he essentially put himself on lockdown. Lincoln couldn’t blame him though, for he was essentially made of glass as small as he was and any single misstep could prove fatal. He did have to break out of it a few times, but it must have been hard to force himself on someone he didn’t know.

Stella began to get more confused, but before she could ask Lincoln again, the only boy among eleven siblings opened his hands up to reveal the shrunken one underneath. Brian was likewise a nervous wreck as the light hit his eyes and his vision was taken up by Stella’s body. He knew it was polite for a boy to introduce himself first, but when the one you’re up against was taller than the biggest skyscrapers in the world it really made you look inferior.

He really struggled to get the words out as his emotions kept a stranglehold on his body. He didn’t know what Stella would do next and silently braced for anything while Stella didn’t know how to act at first. Her face loomed over him as her eyes curiously gazed in his direction.

“So…you brought a doll or something Lincoln? I don’t understand why that’s so important to keep private about…besides being a girl toy obviously.”

“I’m not a doll…I’m actually a real…shrunken boy.” Brian stuttered. This got Stella much more interested as she looked more closely at him. Once realization hit she reeled back and gasped, not believing what she was seeing.

“Ummmm…yeah, that’s what he said.” Lincoln reiterated. Brian was still very nervous as Stella’s huge face loomed over him a second time, now more interested than ever.

“Wow…this is so amazing! How are you even that small? Where did Lincoln find you?! Ooh, there are so many questions I need answers for!”

“Uhhhh, can we leave the, well, questions for later please?” Brian timidly said. “I’m…still very fearful over if you might…act rough.”

“So that’s why you’re not opening up right now?” Stella asked. Brian creaked his head up and down it a timid nod as Stella kept her eyes on him.

“He’s still a bit on edge since anything could kill him at that size.” Lincoln said.

“It’s…true.” Brian added in. Stella lightly smiled as if she understood where he was coming from.

“It’s going to be okay, any friend of Lincoln’s is a friend of mine. I NEVER hurt a close friend no matter what the size, and you sound like someone who really respects others. You want me to prove it?”

Her words made Brian let up just a little bit, but he was still unnerved by her huge presence to him so Stella turned to Lincoln.

“Yes, you can hold him.” Lincoln replied. He did so very gently to not upset Brian further, and soon enough he transfer Brian from his hands over to his friend Stella’s. A burden was lifted off of him for a bit as Stella caressed him gently, almost like she was his caretaker. He still quivered on occasion as his head slowly creaked up to see Stella’s sweet hearted face gleam down at him with glittering eyes. He still feared for his safety, but it was nice to see a friendly face. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad after all? First impressions really spell out people’s personalities at times, and Stella really kept the safety net over him.

“See? You have nothing to worry about around me.” Stella said. “Are you still scared?”

“Ummmm…a little…” Brian replied. “I am happy that you aren’t playing rough on me instantly.”

“Again, I know the fragility of someone of your size. You’re going to be okay around me.” Stella said. “Do you have a name?”

“Well then it’s nice to meet you Brian. I’m Stella, if you haven’t heard from Lincoln earlier.” Stella said. “I’m sure he told you about how much I stand out from the others, especially in the height department, and the fact that I wished to know how it feels to be a gargantuan girl.”

“Don’t worry, he did.” Brian said as he slowly started to warm up to Stella. “That’s actually…why I came over to meet you.”

Brian’s heart sped up as he tilted his head up and down steadily in a nod. Lincoln stood on standby just in case as Stella put on one of the uplifting expressions she ever did.

“That’s…very nice of you. I may not be as gigantic as Lincoln’s sister on stage, but having a tiny person in your hands is equally as satisfying in my book. You really made me a happy girl.”

“Ummm…you welcome. Anything for a friend of Lincoln’s.” Brian stated. Stella ruffled the boy’s hair heartedly with one of her fingers as she giggled to herself, giving Lincoln a good sign that Brian granted Stella’s wish despite not actually growing to huge size. He stayed silent to not interrupt anything and watched the two interact.

“Wow, I still can’t believe I’m actually holding a tiny boy. It feels so…exhilarating, almost like I hold the power to decide life or death. You know that I’m not that kind of person now, right?”

“Simple. I set you down on the ground and you try to run away from me. Try to stay away from me as long as you can, with the longer you go I will get more convinced to give you the win. Are you up for it?”

Brian’s chest twisted from the inside, this was not what he expected to come from Stella. Missteps can happen, and he didn’t want to experience the feeling of being at the bottom of someone’s shoe, even if he did inadvertently go inside one of Lynn’s shoes at one point. Stella could see Brian’s uneasiness so she clarified a certain elephant in the room.

“I know this might seem grim, but I swear to not step on you at any point. I’ll be very careful, trust me.”

“Are…are you sure?” Brian spluttered. “I’ve had some pretty…close experiences and, well…”

Her eyes looked at him with the greatest of sincerity. Brian still worried for his life, but just from the appearance of her face some of those feelings were wiped away. Maybe she really meant it…

“You have my solemn word.” Stella answered. She got on her knees and set Brian on the ground as the silent Lincoln backed away to give them some room. As Stella went back on her feet, her “taller than life” presence to Brian really made him consider second thoughts. She really would be taller than most of the world’s skyscrapers from his perspective. He really was taking her word about not going to squish him or else his life seemed short in a flash.

“So am I the biggest thing you have ever seen from this angle? I bet you would be cringing beyond belief if this was any other situation.”

“You…sure are!” Brian replied with a shaky thumbs up. Stella could easily see that he was still very unnerved over her.

“You’re going to be okay; I already stated it over a million times. Now I’m going to give you a ten second head start, just to give you a fair chance, and you are going to not be as scared as you are, okay? This is just a game, so don’t freak out.”

“Good, that’s what I want to hear.” Stella said before beginning to count down. “3…2…1…go!”

Brian bolted the moment the magic word came out of her lips. Ten seconds didn’t seem like much, but he made sure to make use of every possible moment. His legs were already on fire as he didn’t bother to look behind him so he wouldn’t get any more additional pressure. Even with all of the countless times he had to run away from something bigger than him, he didn’t fare any better than those times. He lost track of how much time passed as he was too focused on running, getting his heart pumping. The adrenaline coursing through his body slowly started to flush out the fear he had earlier as determination took its place. He really felt like he could win this game and prove that he was more than a cowering idiot. If his lungs weren’t so emptied of air, he would really appreciate his efforts at this point.

His hearing picked up some loud booming from behind, telling him his ten seconds were now up. Brian kept up as much pace as he could as he could feel the sweat pour down his face before a large shoe stopped in front of him. Brian didn’t stop and did a quick ninety degree turn to the left, feeling the pressure he didn’t want to experience. He shut his eyes for the moment from the sweat as he kept going only to see another giant shoe stop in his way. Like something out of a movie, Brian kept going head strong toward it before grasping the side and madly climbing on top of it. Without even a moment to waste once he made it on top, Brian leapt right off it to the other side. He landed without injury as he heard some giggling above him before he continued to run, only to see a dark shadow loom over him. Before he could even assess what was happening, his sweaty shirt was pinched from behind as he found himself getting lifted into the air. Brian’s muscle almost went limp before he was suddenly dropped right into Stella’s eager palm in front of the giantess’ happy face.

“Got you.” Stella said with a smile. Brian couldn’t speak as he was too out of breath, but even then he pretty much got his workout for the day thanks to her.

“Wow, you really attempted to get away at that size. I appreciate that kind of enthusiasm…even if you didn’t exactly get that far. I was already on top of you by the time those ten seconds were up, so I decided to let you go a little bit longer and mess with you for a bit. That climb over my shoe really was a smart play if I have to say anything!”

“Thanks…for the…appreciation…” Brian stuttered as his head went dizzy and weighed him down. He eventually fell over onto his back completely out of it as Stella couldn’t help but give off a few laughs. Just looking at how he acted put her in a good mood, especially with how small he was. She wanted to know how it felt to be massively huge, and even though this wasn’t what she expected it was just as good.

“Hey, do you still want to play a bit more? Looking at you right now the fear seemed to have washed away from you.”

Despite being so incredibly tired and laying on his back in the palm of Stella’s hand, Brian stuck a hand up before giving Stella a thumbs up.

“Thanks Brian, I’m glad to call you a new friend.” Stella said before turning over to Lincoln. “Hey Lincoln, you’re in this next game too so come over here.”

“Oh really? I almost thought you forgot I was here!” Lincoln replied as he made his way over. He too couldn’t help but laugh at how exhausted Brian was in Stella’s hand, she really made him run a marathon back there.

Before Stella could explain the next game, a very loud shout ran through their ears before some sort of green thing whizzed over their heads and smacked right into the trunk of a nearby tree. Stella’s and Lincoln’s heads zipped over to where the object was tossed from, only to see the giantess Kelly standing over them with her teeth clenched and fire in her eyes. Her giant pointed shoes faced them as she glared at where the object was thrown, giving the other two the impression that she wasn’t after them, but she was anything but calm at the moment.

“Woah, what’s going on with you Kelly?!” Lincoln exclaimed in a slight nervous tone. Kelly’s eyes dipped down to Stella and Lincoln by her feet, which calmed her down a bit but not by much.

“That absolute JERK of an ex-boyfriend thought he could lay low and hang out in my hair the entire time during the show! He wants a front row seat to see me all because I’m stuck as a giantess, but even so this girl NEEDS her privacy!”

“Totally…worth it…” Tad muttered from under the tree while giving multiple thumbs up. Lincoln and Stella paved their way back as Kelly stomped over to a dazed Tad, making very strong quakes as her shoes slammed against the ground, before Tad turned with a very stupid toothy grin against his rather humungous ex-girlfriend.

“Agreed.” Stella said back nonchalantly with her eyes wide open. They slowly started to back away to another part backstage as Tad was completely enveloped in Kelly’s shadow, which didn’t go unnoticed by one particular guy sitting a fair distance away.

“Even as a police officer that’s hired to break up dire skirmishes, he really had it coming.” Iberico said to himself as he pulled out a large chocolate chip cookie he “borrowed” from the Loud kids before munching on it.

As Kelly had a more “personal beatdown” with Tad, Stella and Lincoln did a few more games with Brian now that Stella wiped the tepidness away when around her. There was a game of catch where Lincoln and Stella tossed Brian back and forth while making sure they didn’t drop or miss him at any point, one where Brian climbed up the backs of both of them as they laid on the ground, giving him shivers when going up Lincoln’s for some reason, and one where Brian was placed into their shirts before sliding out of their sleeves. While hesitant at first, Stella’s reminder of being as gentle as possible kept him from completely denying any suggestions, and she was already enjoying being and playing with him. Lincoln even got a spotlight set on him as he finally got a chance to do stuff with Brian without worrying about his sisters wanting him for themselves. While he did get Brian to hang out with him on occasions, he never got the chance to actually do activities with him until now and he couldn’t have been gladder, especially with a friend like Stella. She got the experience she wished for; being the giantess she was so interested in feeling for herself. She even got to know Brian more closely as he and Lincoln eventually spilled the beans over everything that happened up to this point, since she was already in the knowledge of Brian already, which she promised to keep a secret like everyone else wanted. Brian made sure to let Hoopa in on the occurrence so her mind wouldn’t get reset when Royal Woods went back to normal later.

She didn’t want the good times to end, but once her parents started calling she had to bid Lincoln and Brian farewell. She was a good girl, and Brian didn’t mind if she wanted to play with him again…if he finds his way back to this dimension again. He didn’t let that sad thought ruin the moment, as it was time to help Luan and the other giantesses clean up the stage. He couldn’t do too much, but he did assist in cleaning up any loose trash. Lucy even got her moments to blankly stare in his direction just because she could, which Brian didn’t mind but gave him the creeps when he looked back. The giantesses did most of the heavy lifting, including Lynn who didn’t care because she worked out on a daily basis, but the other siblings had their moments. Lori even got a text saying that Luan was almost up there with a certain acrobatic monkey girl in terms of professional performing, which she didn’t hesitate to tell the giantess Luan about. This made Luan the surprised one, for the last she even heard from that girl was around the time she found out about Brian, so this naturally put her in high hopes. Someday she would catch up to that Pudding girl and claim the title as the best child performer.

Once the stage was all cleaned up and put away, Lisa finally cracked the code to her secret bunker, finally allowing her to shut off the holograms and bring Luan, Lynn, and Kelly back to reality. Lynn was the most upset as she really enjoyed being the biggest athlete in the world, but then she had to be reminded that she stayed in one of the pods way longer than anyone else. It made her somewhat reluctant to go back to normal, but she still didn’t like it.

With the holograms shut off it was time to see how much drainage their actual bodies took in the procedure…

Luckily for them Brian told everyone that their bodies would also reset when Hoopa brought everything back, even if Kelly didn’t stay in a pod for nearly as often as Luan and Lynn. With the now normal sized Luan, Lynn, and Kelly, everyone got together on the sidewalks overlooking the absolute decimation that was caused by the scuffle earlier. It was time for Hoopa to hit the reset button. Hoopa itself was almost a nervous wreck for the exponential power would take a lot of energy out of it, but Brian knew all it needed was his hand by its side, even if it was incredibly tiny. Gripping one of Hoopa’s disembodied arms; the creature now had the confidence to revert everything back. It took a few deep breaths before floating silently and concentrating, with the others also going mute to not upset anything. Around a minute of silence passed before Hoopa gripped one of its three rings tightly and exclaimed to the skies above.

It then tossed its golden hoop into the air as it start to expand and stretch out. Eventually it became as big at the entire destroyed town, but that was just the easy part. Hoopa’s eyes glowed white as it growled under its breath before the power started to take its toll on it. Brian gripped Hoopa’s hand tighter as the Louds, plus the extras, could only watch and hope that everything would go through all right.

“It’s okay Hoopa, just a bit further buddy!” Brian said. His kind words hit Hoopa in the right spots, encouraging it to go further through the tough time. Its teeth clenched as a white clear shell outlined over its body before suddenly lifting its arms up. The giant ring around the town slowly got a pure white void formed in the center as Hoopa’s breath got deeper and more sporadic. Hoopa needed just one final push…

Lola woke up first. She bolted upward as she let he eyes recover from the blinding light, and when the image hit her eyes she put on one of the biggest grins imaginable.

The other around her were a big groggy, but they soon stirred awake. Lana had her mouth wide open as drool trickled down her cheek, which sounded gross normally but to Lana it was everyday life, while Tad was snuggled right next to Kelly. He ended up with a few more bruises once his ex-girlfriend woke up. Lisa helped Brian to his feet since even he was knocked out, and to help him see things better she picked him up and held him in the palm of her hand, getting some “being the bigger one for once” jitters in the process. Nobody appeared to be hurt, but that wasn’t the most astounding things that everyone saw.

Hoopa actually pulled off the impossible. Royal Woods was completely repaired with not a single instance out of order. It was as if the apocalypse never occurred in the first place. The streets were no longer broken, buildings were perfectly aligned, cars were parked with no damage to speak of, and everything in Royal Woods was running again. One of the more surprising quirks was, like Brian indicated earlier, that all of the Louds still had their memories of everything beforehand. They wouldn’t have to worry anymore about forgetting the good times they had with Brian, and they truly were as happy as ever to have everything back again with no more rift troubles. Even the ones that were truly “ugly” after staying in one of the pods for too long had their appearances reverted back to what they once were, although Brian stayed the same miniature size since the only way to truly put him back to normal would be to go through one of Hoopa’s rings to another dimension.

The Louds were eager to go rediscover all of their stuff that was no longer destroyed, but before they did so a small moan caught their hearing. They turned around and gasped, except for Lucy who said the word instead, as they saw a very wrinkled and washed up creature of Hoopa on the ground appearing to be just barely clinging on to life. Brian ran through the tall blades of grass until he was right up to Hoopa’s big face and set a hand on its cheeks with an expression of worry.

“No, Hoopa will be okay.” Brian replied. “It’s just very exhausted. That sort of reality bending power really takes a lot out of it.”

“You did great buddy, it’s all over. We’ll get you all rested up before we leave okay?”

Hoopa stirred a bit before it coughed and wheezed a few times. It lay on the ground almost immobile as one of its disembodied arms twitched and floated over to Brian before touching the boy on his tiny head. Brian was met with a hearty smirk as Hoopa’s eyes painted a picture.

Its voice was weak, but from the tone they knew Hoopa was going to live. Everyone was very happy to see Hoopa finally awake, but it was going to be a few hours before it would fully recover…

The Louds all stormed their house to see if their coveted items all did return, while Hoopa laid on the couch silently to recover from the intense drainage. They were ecstatic to see everything back where it was as if nothing happened in the first place. Lori grinned as she saw her untouched vanity with all of her various polishes and makeup, immediately texting to Bobby about the ordeal. Leni practically embraced her dozens of custom fabrics and clothes before snapping a cute picture of her with her phone. Luna screamed with delight over her collection of instruments, plus her Axe, completely intact with not a single scratch, making her do a personal jam session to show how happy she was. Luan gave her beloved Mr. Coconuts a big hug before doing one of her famous quips with him, very happy to have him back. Lynn, unlike the others, ran to the backyard and smirked upon seeing her sports gear back where she left it, immediately putting on her hockey mask and roller blades before whacking the puck just for the heck of it. Lincoln kept his eagerness to himself as he set foot into his room, his mouth going open upon seeing everything inside completely unscathed, so he got out one of his coveted comics and started personally reading it…in his undies of course. Lucy stayed as emotionless as always, but she did smile a little upon seeing Edwin where she last saw him. She got out a pen and her beloved poetry journal before expressing her feelings in words only she could come up with…while working on another poem about her experience as a giantess and wishing she would get to experience it another time. Lola had the tea party of a lifetime after the intense world saving, which she even invited Kelly over to. She even got the privilege to stylize Kelly’s hair to a degree as she served tea, while humoring herself seeing Tad all “dolled up” as he sat in his chair, clearly upset that he was dragged into it. Lana went wild with her reptile friends as all of them sprayed mud all over each other, including her new painted turtle friend also named Brian. Lisa immediately locked herself in her room and refused to let anyone in on what she was working on. Finally, Lily walked around all innocent as usual with her special blankie while trying to get others to notice her.

Brian comforted Hoopa on the couch, for Hoopa was the most comfortable around its best friend and he felt it best to have some private time especially after searching for him through so many dimensions. Its breathing was slow as its head lay on the armrest with eyes closed, almost completely fatigued. It was going to take a very long time to clean up all of the dimensions it wrecked in its rage, which was something the Loud kids wouldn’t want to hear come out of Brian’s mouth, but it had to be done. The Louds were carefree at most, but Brian wasn’t like that. He almost felt pity for himself as he saw Iberico speed past the couch in his toy police cruiser with chocolate chip cookies he “borrowed” from the kitchen before Lincoln came down from the stairs back in his regular clothes. He walked over to check up on Brian as the tiny boy set a hand on Hoopa’s head, wishing his buddy the best. He invited Brian to go read one of the latest Ace Savvy comics with him, but Brian turned it down so Hoopa could have some own private time with him even as it was recovering. It was practically his soulmate after all.

It almost seemed like a few minutes have passed to the Louds when Hoopa came up in tip top shape. They were so into their own agendas that they forgot about whom they were waiting on, but that also meant one final thing had to be done. After it made sure nobody was around Hoopa floated up to the sidewalk in front of the Loud house and dislodged all three of its rings. With a few expert flurry of tosses, all three rings stopped a few feet away and hovered vertically still before the centers lit up a mix of white and blue colors. Everyone else stood behind Hoopa feeling less than enthused before the creature turned back toward them.

“Rings all set! Lead back to original dimensions, no strings attached!” Hoopa replied.

“Phew, that’s a relief! I didn’t think I would ever see my household again!” Iberico stated. “I don’t know what happened when I was gone, but I hope nobody forgot me!”

“Knowing that attitude of yours, I think you’ve pretty much engraved yourself into everyone’s heads.” Brian stated. The pig toy heartedly patted Brian on the back before speaking up to everyone.

“Man, you kids really livened up this police officer’s life during my stay here. So much activity, personality, and strength really put my duties on overdrive, so much different back from where I came from. I’m happy to have straightened all of you up in my time here, for a police pig’s work is never done, and to have met some very special friends that actually made me feel needed. Ohhhhhhh, if only all of you were actually into the police department I would have made you deputies without hesitation…especially with your handling of the apocalypse back there! Say, ummmm, may I…”

“Got you covered.” Lori replied as she pulled a chocolate chip cookie out of her pocket. Iberico could nearly taste the scrumptious sweet goodness as Lori kneeled down and handed it to him. He snorted happily before Brian suddenly spoke up.

“Hoopa can’t get enough of saying it, but Hoopa really thanks Laood family for watching over Beekan. To show how much Hoopa cares for Laood’s help…Hoopa grant each Laood a wish!”

“Wait…Hoopa had an extraordinary power like that and I WASN’T made aware of it?!” Lola exclaimed, clearly upset.

“It’s actually not that simple.” Brian explained. “Hoopa can only bring up objects through its rings; it can’t handle any other types. Still, I’m certain there’s at least ONE object you would want to wish on and Hoopa can warp it here in an instant.”

The Louds siblings started to get giddy over what they wanted. This was a chance no other family even had, and it was all in thanks to helping out a shrunken boy get back to his friend. One sister already had something in mind.

Lana preemptively stopped her wish before staring down at the tiny boy in front of her shoes.

“I know you are eager to get it out there as soon as possible, but I think it would be best until after we left. That way you have something strong to remember us by…and so you don’t try to entice me to stay longer.”

“You have a point.” Lincoln replied. “But how will we get our wishes with Hoopa gone with you? I mean, travelling among realities isn’t exactly short in time.”

“Trust Hoopa, Hoopa will know when Laoods make wishes. Objects will appear instantly for Laoods when wishes are said.”

“So does that mean me and my babe get wishes too? We were stuck here already but ended up helping out when the time came…along with Iberico down there.”

“True that!” Iberico chimed in. Hoopa took a quick glance at Kelly and Iberico with an outcome already determined.

“Hoopa didn’t forget about others. Beekan told Hoopa everything, and Hoopa said that anyone who helped out gets Hoopa’s special gift…including Keelly and others!”

“Thanks for the appreciation there!” Iberico stated. While it was good news to them that they would be getting wishes from Hoopa with the Loud kids, time was running short. The longer they waited out in the open the more likely someone would come across them, and Brian didn’t want Hoopa to tire itself again from resetting Royal Woods for a second time. He didn’t need to say anything to get the point across; he just put on a pretty unhappy expression and mirrored it over to Lori, whose gaze nearly went past him as she looked at everyone around her. Her authoritative demeanor and keen eyes managed to catch Brian’s expression before turning to face her siblings. Soon enough, everyone caught wind of her stern face whether it was by another or their sight scanned over her from their eyes darting everywhere. They now knew what needed to be done if they wanted their wishes, and they didn’t want to see it happen. Lori really knew her siblings well, but even she could feel the sorrow from her heart.

Iberico mustered up the courage to go first. He got out his toy police cruiser and sluggishly drove it forward toward the ring to his dimension. He glanced over to the cookie he was given in the passenger’s seat, reminding himself of all the mayhem he went through in his time here. He chuckled under his breath at how stupid he must have felt driving off with a poet’s journal when he initially arrived despite the fact he had nothing to do with it, and the time when he made off with a jar of cookies that tired out most of Lincoln’s sisters. Those were some moments he would never get to experience again, but if anything it reminded him of how important he is in being a peace keeping police pig. He didn’t get a lot of time in the spotlight, but he didn’t need it when keeping others safe was his purpose, and the many others back where he came from needed him now more than ever.

He put on the brakes as his car was a few feet away from the ring. He opened up the driver’s door and got out for one final gaze at the area around him. There everyone was, looking down at him with grateful expressions as the ring to his world sat before him, appearing like a gateway to the skies above. He held back the tears as best as he could, although it wasn’t a very good job as they still went through.

“Even though I don’t need to reiterate it, I…really appreciate the care you showed me during my time here. With everything safe and sound this place doesn’t need me anymore, but that won’t stop me from my job. Feel free to bring me back if anything goes out of order, but for now…my household needs me.”

The toy police pig did a stern protective salute as everyone else sternly saluted back in respect. Iberico held back more compassionate tears as he shuddered before getting back in his police cruiser. He snorted heartedly like the pig he was before doing the inevitable and hitting the gas, sending him and his car forward into the dimensional ring. They disappeared in a flash as he was now no longer among them. The gluttonous pig that acted like a police officer was safely back to his own dimension where he belonged. The ring got hollow and shrank back to its normal sized before Hoopa retrieved it.

“Well…he’s gone.” Luna said. “I’m kind of going to miss that little dude.”

“Yeah, he was pretty funny the way he acted.” Luan said. “That’s one little piggy that didn’t go WEE WEE WEE WEE all the way home! Hahahah, get it?!”

Everyone knew who Lori was talking about as they glanced over to the second open ring before turning to face the bushy haired girl. She appeared to be staring right at the ring with no reaction whatsoever, although she was breathing normally.

“Hey girl with a bush for hair, we’re speaking to you!” Lola angrily exclaimed.

Kelly quivered slightly before she bent her knees, seemingly ignoring the others’ words. This was very abnormal, even for someone like Kelly who had her ex-boyfriend living in her hair. Everyone started to get worried as to what was going on with the dimensional girl before she crossed her arms over her chest and closed her eyes silently. Leni tried to walk up to her for some sort of support, but Lori held her back.

Finally getting some sort of response, the Louds were glad that nothing was wrong with her, but her statement really got their minds twisted.

Kelly opened her eyes as she turned her head to the others with no other bodily movements. Her frown gave off a wave of uncertainty.

“I’m talking about everything I went through since I was dragged here. I was brought here by one of those rifts, and back then my first priority was to get back with no interruptions. I didn’t know what this place was and didn’t want to find out, once I got back I could just forget this entire incident and never go back. Being stuck with Tad didn’t help things either, although I could easily tune him out when needed, but I kept telling myself that I’ll only be here for a couple of days and then things would turn in my favor.”

She closed her eyes, did a half smile, and chuckled lowly under her breath before shaking her head lightly.

“Heheheh, boy was I dead wrong. Days turned to months of being stuck here, and my expectations went south fast. I was on the brink of it being all over for me, never going back to my original dimension and staying here with nothing but the clothes on my shoulders and the many things in my hair that I can’t pull out, but then…all of you stood by my side…”

Some low sniffling noises came from Kelly as some small tears formed in her eyes.

“For once it all seemed to turn around, even as I stayed in hiding, and I actually felt safe. You invited me to birthday parties, let me crash into your rooms on occasion, and even took me on outings. I was a total stranger to you, but also…not one at the same time. Even as I broke down absolutely worried for my life when the end was coming, you were there to make sure I was okay. I didn’t think it was possible to make friends in a new completely unknown dimension, but it happened and yet…it made me so conflicted.”

“About what?” Luna asked. That was when everyone started to see Kelly slowly crumble before them. Her teeth clenched for a moment as more tears fell down her face and her legs shook.

She took a few steps toward them before completely breaking down in pure sadness.

She ran forward almost blinded by her tears before embracing the tallest one of the siblings, Lori, and digging her ruined face into her chest, making her look like a large leaking bush to everyone else. Everyone else huddled around her to give support, keeping a small distance just in case, while Brian kept close around Kelly’s shoes. He could understand the type of sorrow she must have been feeling, like being stuck to something for so long that you start to get used to it, and he knew Hoopa and Lana had the same sort of understanding. Kelly really thought of the Loud siblings as very close friends and didn’t want to leave them.

“Oh Kelly, we think you are an awesome friend to be around, but you can’t stay here you know. You can’t keep relying on us when you stay hidden in the trees from everyone; you have your own dimension to go back to.”

Kelly temporarily lifted her face from Lori’s chest, still with many tears in her eyes.

“I know I have my own dimension to go to, but…there’s a part of me that doesn’t want to leave. It’s like getting squeezed between two large pieces of sandpaper…with a chain around your neck. My mind is so screwed up…I can’t think straight!”

“Easy there, we completely understand.” Lori replied as she gave Kelly some small pats on the back before a voice came from below.

Everyone’s attention was drawn to around their feet, showing the tiny Brian down below looking up at them. Kelly stopped crying for the moment and looked slightly puzzled.

Kelly took her head off of Lori’s chest as the others made room to let Kelly get on her knees and lower her hand down for Brian. The boy climbed on top like she wanted before she stood back up and lifted him up to her tear covered face.

“Now that I have you, explain.” Kelly said. The others had their eyes on him as Brian spoke further.

“Well, as I was saying, you already have the solution to come back here at any time…when I figure things out with dimensions and everything. Remember, I travel dimensions on a daily basis and wrote down where that Mewni dimension is located on my own personal map. I know it’s not your original dimension, but if I see you hanging out there for shopping or whatnot I can easily bring you back here using Hoopa…right Hoopa?”

He gave Hoopa an intense still of a glare as Hoopa reeled back with a hint of nervousness. It was obviously payback from back when Hoopa pushed Kelly into one of its rings out of impatience.

“So you’re saying…you can bring me back here to visit?” Kelly asked. Brian nodded his head as a few of Kelly’s tears disappeared and a small smile formed on her face. Before he even knew it, Brian suddenly found himself up against Kelly’s warm cheek as she softly rubbed him up against it.

“Thank you so much. You really do know how to help a girl out.” Kelly said before withdrawing him. Brian’s face was red of high apprehension as some of the Loud siblings couldn’t help but bob their eyebrows at the display.

“Okay, this is good and all dudes, but we got to get this going before anyone else sees!” Luna said. Kelly understood what Luna was talking about immediately, so she set Brian back on the ground before looking back toward the open ring that would end her time here. Everyone else stood ambiguous over Kelly as she trudged over with a straight face.

…only for an indescribable mess of a beat up hairy creature to pop out of Kelly’s cranium. Some had to hold in their lunches as it was the pinnacle of grotesque to come out of him. Bumps and bruises patched over the endless hair as three of his arms were laid in casts, with one of them twitching on occasion. Both of his eyes were injured black as one huge carbuncle kept his back up with multiple cuts and scrapes to spare. When he opened his mouth many teeth appeared to be missing while some were still loose to a certain extent, and his cheeks were enflamed as they puffed out from massive swelling.

It was Tad in all of his beaten up glory as the injuries Kelly put on him finally came forth.

“Wait, I’m still in this too! What about my thanks?” Tad said as his words slurred from his swelled cheeks.

“Oh man, I think we were already getting thanks from not seeing that!” Lincoln replied while wincing from the sight. “What the heck did she do to you back there?!”

“Everything…just about everything…thankfully PG rated.” Tad explained. They could imagine all of the damaging measures Kelly did after Tad became somewhat of a “peeping tom” during Luan’s show. Whether it was by her shoes, hands, or even the inside of her mouth and stomach, Kelly probably did it all and didn’t show any remorse.

“I think I punished you enough back there.” Kelly stated. “Don’t EVER do that sort of thing to me EVER AGAIN. Even as I was a huge girl back there, I NEEDED some time alone.”

“Again, it was…totally worth it.” Tad replied with a crooked smile before a loose tooth fell out of his mouth. Kelly rolled her eyes as the others let her resume going forward towards the open dimensional ring. Kelly’s strictness kept Tad’s mouth shut before she was only a few steps away from leaving. She paused for a moment as her eyes gazed at the blue and white swirls.

She took the final step before the ring took her into its clutches and made her disappear inside, but Tad hit the top side of the ring, since he was on Kelly’s head, which made him fall to the ground below and put most of his nerve cells into the spotlight upon impact. He yelped for a second before angrily running inside the ring, disappearing after his ex-girlfriend. Hoopa retrieved the ring while everyone else was sad to see Kelly leave, for she was a real nice big haired girl to be around, especially to the Loud sisters, but even they knew she wasn’t supposed to be here in the first place. She had her own dimension to head back to, and they couldn’t interfere with taking her out of it.

“Wait a minute…that girl was from that Star TV show! Oh em gosh, I never noticed that before now!”

Everyone around Leni gave her one of the flattest expressions they could muster. She really was too oblivious of nearly everything to pay attention to the detail set right in front of her, but that wasn’t really the important situation now.

“Okay Beekan, time to go! Hoopa can’t wait to travel through more dimensions with best friend!”

Brian legs were coated in cement. This was really the end of his time with the Louds, and he struggled to keep the emotions in. He experienced so much in the one year he stayed with them, from insane circumstances to family matters, and this was the punctuation. He looked at Hoopa, who showed a sign of worry over how he was acting, then at the exit to the many worlds waiting to be visited and felt so conflicted. He really was feeling like Kelly earlier, but she didn’t stay with the family as long as he did. He tried to shut his eyes and turn himself off from the world around him, his chest holding back the creature wanting to burst out. He couldn’t let it out, for leaving the Louds in that sort of state would leave more of a negative impact on them and he knew some were more vulnerable than the rest.

The voice pierced his dome and pulled him out of the confines of his head. Brian opened his eyes and zipped his head up to see all of the Loud siblings gazing down at him. Some appeared more concerned over his mess of a figure, although all of them shared similar frowns. Lana was trying to hold back her torrents of tears, but she wasn’t doing a very good job.

“Yeah, it’s just…a wave of nostalgia I guess.” Brian replied. “To think it would all end here…it really seemed like it would never come. I can’t thank all of you enough for everything you did…but I can’t help but understand how Kelly must have felt.”

“Then I think you deserve one final gift from us before you leave.” Lori said. Brian tilted his head in confusion.

“I think each of us should explain how much you literally changed our lives since you arrived. I know all of us have something to say to you before you leave to your travels.”

That really gave Brian some good tingly feelings. Both sides have contributed to each other most of the year, but the Louds wanted to give one final goodbye to the tiny one. Now Brian’s mood changed from Kelly’s emotions to Lana’s, and he also had to hold back several tears. Brian even turned to Hoopa to see if it had any second thoughts, and while Hoopa did have a childlike mindset most of the time, there were moments of maturity that it understood to certain extents. Brian’s expressions mirrored to Hoopa as the ring creature silently nodded to let things proceed. Having the power to sense each other’s feelings from the bond they had also helped the two recognize what they were going through. This wasn’t meant to be a sorrowful moment after all, but clearly some weren’t easily getting the memo.

The siblings agreed on going by birth order to not confuse things, so Lori got to go first. Not wanting Brian to just be staring at her shoes as she spoke, she lowered a hand to the ground to let Brian come aboard. Brian complied and walked to the center of Lori’s palm before the oldest lifted the shrunken boy up to her face. He was happy to see Lori’s face as gorgeous as always, especially up close, not a single defect in sight. She really had the attention to make sure nothing was out of the ordinary for her appearance, and it clearly showed since she had a boyfriend even if it was long distance. It was almost so mesmerizing that Lori had to chin up Brian’s tiny head with one of her bright pink fingernails so he could pay attention to what she had to say.

“Brian…you literally brought a smile to my face in your time here. There needed to be a hint of maturity in this house and I’m glad it came from you, even if it wasn’t completely one hundred percent. I can’t imagine how it must have felt being with us as someone who is half an inch tall, especially like the time where I almost swallowed you and where you were forced into my golfing practice with Carol Pingrey, but I’m glad you made it through. You have a sense of boldness among the confines of you scared demeanor and it really helps a girl out. From helping paint my toenails to wanting to stay close to me after one of those nightmares, I’m glad to have had you as part of this family. I’m never going to forget what transpired with you during this year, with all of the chaos that happened it’s pretty engraved into my mind beyond any sort of erasing, and I hope you always keep me in the back of your mind as you visit dozens of other dimensions with Hoopa. If you do end up getting a cellphone during your travels I would ADORE it if you call me up sometime, for you are almost as important as my Bobby Boo Boo Bear and I would LOVE to hear about your travels. Don’t forget it, okay?”

“Don’t worry, I won’t.” Brian replied with a small chuckle over Lori’s seriousness about calling her.

“Thanks little guy.” Lori replied. “Oh, and I believe I owe you a little something from a while back.”

“Hmm?” Brian wondered. Before he could ask Lori what she meant, her beautiful face came up close to him before she puckered her lips. They were planted right over Brian’s entire body before she withdrew, leaving the boy coated in lipstick. He initially stood shocked as his heart almost stopped, making Lori giggle a little bit, before he almost collapsed on his back. She actually kept her promise from all those months back, since the moment was interrupted prematurely by Brian going unconscious from a nightmare, and never forgot about it. She really knew how to be a sweet girl when needed despite the maturity she held over her siblings.

Brian almost staggered as he got to his feet as the caring Lori loomed over him and gave him one final rub on the back with one of her pink fingernails. Leni was waving her hands silently for her turn, which Lori caught on to fairly quickly. She carefully moved her hand close before dumping Brian into Leni’s eager grasp. Leni expressed her signature ditzy smile while trying to make Brian as comfy as possible. She had her moments beforehand even if she misinterpreted some major points, but that just made her different to understand than most. Klutzy but charming was the perfect description for Leni Loud.

“I can’t believe it’s been almost an entire year since you came with us, something I thought would never come to be. With the rift thingies and something about “dimensions” whatever they are called, they easily made my head spin! You made Royal Woods almost like a roller coaster with everything that happened, and as you know I love riding on those. You know I always wanted to have a track go over our house just I can wave hello to all of the passing riders and give advice for when they empty their-”

“Not about that Leni.” Lori interjected. Leni, hearing Lori, realized that she was going off course and readjusted.

“Oops, what I mean to say is that I appreciate all of your time with us. I still have so many pictures of all those clothes I made for you, and you were SO GORGE! If only you could stay for a bit longer I would have tested out some more designs, for I’ve been keeping them written down just in case, but I know you have your own life to get back to and respect that. I won’t get to make clothes for someone of your size anymore, but I won’t let that turn me down. I’ll make sure to keep my forehead all clear so we won’t get stuck again if you are wondering!”

“Yeah, we don’t want something like THAT to happen again.” Brian replied. Leni laughed back.

“I have to admit that we did look pretty stupid that day!” Leni responded with a smile. “Anyways, I’ll really miss you. If I may, can I take one final picture of you for the memories?”

“Sure, go right ahead.” Brian said. Using her other hand, Leni reached into her pockets and took out her personal cellphone. With Brian standing still on her palm, Leni aimed her camera at the respective spot before pressing the button. The picture formed on the tiny screen of her phone, and Leni couldn’t be any happier.

“You’re welcome.” Brian replied. It didn’t take a lot of brainpower to deduce that it was now Luna’s turn, which Leni caught on pretty quickly and made her slightly depressed. She didn’t want to let him go, for he was so “gorge” as tiny as he was in Leni’s eyes, but she didn’t want to upset Luna by having some extra time, so she turned as Luna held her hands out and plopped Brian right among Luna’s fingers. Now being held by the rock and roll girl of the family, Brian stared up at Luna’s close face as the giant girl gave a warm gaze back. She wasn’t the most eye-catching of the family, but she didn’t need to be as she had one of the most diverse personalities of the family. She had her gripes and talents that really made her stand out, which in some ways made her the most appealing to many. Fascination with music, a cute British accent, and unique attire wrapped up to make a fantastic combination of a girl. She was all Luna and proud of it.

“Man, time really did fly since that day, huh lil’ dude? You rocked the Loud house the moment you set foot in our home and really helped bring out the rock star in me. I mean, your shenanigans got me to rock out to an entire city while I was bigger than a skyscraper! I’m never going to forget a life defining moment there dude. Even with those minor moments you had with me, like when you stayed with me in the basement that one time, nearly every moment was special. The house will definitely change in your absence, but I know you are too good to not forget us. I’ll say it again just in case, if you get into a tough spot being nervous and everything, feel free to come to ol’ Lunes for comfort. Listening to some good tunes really soothes the soul after all, and if you do come across some good tunes in your travels, than feel free to hit me up. I may be a wandering musician with Sam, but there’s still some places out of my reach and would love to hear what they got.”

“I’ll make a note of that.” Brian replied as Luna gently poked him in the stomach with one of her fingers. She then sighed lightly.

“Okay, I know this might sound a bit weird, but I’m going to miss having someone so incredibly tiny among us. You may get back to normal size when you leave, but I’m going to miss your ol’ half an inch self.”

“I’m pretty sure you aren’t the only one.” Brian replied, silently referring to Lucy, Lana, and Lisa who expressed the point earlier to him. Feeling that her time has come, Luna gave Brian one last tap on the back with one of her fingers before the jokester Luan came up to them. She already had a big grin on her face as Luna handed Brian over to her, giving the tiny boy a full view of her face from the center of her palm. Despite having braces and a slightly higher crazy personality, Luan had a pretty cute face for her age. He would never guess from a first glance that she was a professional prankster and showgirl. He could argue that her sort of talent was wasted with an appearance like her, but if there was anything he learned from his time with the Louds was to expect the unexpected. She takes her clowning business very seriously and doesn’t care what others think. She knew how to act and didn’t care what others thought, she was Luan, the certified family clown.

“It’s a real shame that I have to bid farewell to my special stage partner. Funny Business Inc. will definitely miss the entertaining Dinky Shrinky and his crazy antics, but I’m doing it with a smile on my face. It almost seems like yesterday when you performed with me for the first time, you were the perfect fit for the job even with next to no experience being a clown. You did screw up a couple of times that day, but I’m happy that I actually got to do it with you. Even with your stroke of luck on April Fool’s day, which I’m still very salty over, and your accidental travel into my guts you gave me a really good time. There’s always going to be extra room for you at Funny Business Inc., and I will always keep your Dinky Shrinky presence in the back of my mind. If you DO end up back as small as you are now, would it be okay if you…”

“Yes Luan, I’ll always be your stage partner.” Brian finished. Luan was so glad that her tiny partner was willing to still perform with her that she drew him in close before putting him up against her left cheek before gently rubbing him against it. Even though she wore braces, her face was as cute up close as it was from a distance. Even her skin was silky smooth as Brian’s body brushed against her cheek.

“Th…thanks Luan…” Brian stammered. Luan pulled him away from her face only to see Brian’s face lit like a ripe tomato. She would have laughed it off if she didn’t come up with something better.

“Wow, you just got a tomato for a face! You didn’t see the SALAD DRESSING did you?”

The other siblings listening in couldn’t help but utter a few hearty chuckles while some of Brian’s embarrassment went away from the smart quip. She knew how to turn frowns upside down when needed and loved every second of it.

Brian gave her a friendly smile before she felt that she had her share of him and was about to go to Lincoln next only for Lynn to immediately make her presence known. Feeling slightly guilty of forgetting her, Luan walked over to Lynn before giving the shrunken boy to the sports fanatic. She had on her spunky smile as she held Brian and let him have the moment with her. She may act like a wild animal at most, but for someone as fragile as Brian she knew how to handle it. He could see all over her face that she did care for him and really wished she could have done more stuff with him. Finding some sort of sport to do with him without any sort of tussling was like solving a puzzle with five hundred pieces and Lynn hated any sort of hard brainstorming. She was happy to find some sort of compromises, like helping her do motocross from under her racing helmet, but it wasn’t the same. Brian kept the sad thoughts in the back of his mind to not upset her, but it wasn’t all bad. He could look up at her determined attitude and see it reflect to his own character, giving him the courage to continue forward despite what needed to be done. Lynn was the family jock, but also the one to pull everyone through tough situations and empower their spirits.

“Oh boy, you really threw this girl a curve ball when we discovered you. If I were you I would have embraced the challenge and went all out, wrestling giants and giving insects a good arm wrestle, but I understand the limitations. I hoped there was some sort of sport I could have done with you before now, and I’m still trying to figure that question out! Even so, I appreciate your show of guts when the going got tough even if it wasn’t always there in the beginning. I can imagine how worn out your legs must have felt after there were so many things on a bigger scale, including me, almost like running a marathon at your level. If I wasn’t much bigger than you already I would have been SO jealous, but turns out I actually like being a giant girl to someone! I still recall you rubbing my feet and me cracking your aching back with just one finger, and those moments made me feel great and powerful. However, if you never came into our lives I would have never got to actually become the giant girl to my own siblings! From wrestling a dinosaur to some robot girl, you brought this girl the joyride of her life and I couldn’t have been happier.”

“What about the times where you got me stuck against Leni’s forehead and forced me to take a trip inside your stomach? Those weren’t the most pleasant if I may add.” Brian responded.

“Oh, well those…weren’t so great.” Lynn said with a slightly nervous tone. “Still, you gave this girl the kickoff to a wild game this year and I loved it. While it was fun to see you as a small bug, we can finally get to doing sports games together once you’re back to normal size. I already got this crazy new wrestling maneuver and need someone to try it out on.”

“Ummmm, I’ll keep that in mind.” Brian replied with some small nervous sweat trickling down the sides of his face. Lynn almost didn’t want to let Brian out of her grip but Lincoln was already glaring at her to make sure she knew, forcing her to give him up. She set her hands down in front of Lincoln’s as he set his flat so Brian could come on. After a small trek across, Brian went from Lynn’s hands to Lincoln’s with no issues. The chipped tooth grin as Brian looked up at him was almost like a signature to the only boy of ten girls. Of course his white hair stood out as well like a sore thumb. In some ways he could understand Lincoln and how he functioned in such a chaotic family, and that was one of the points Lincoln liked about Brian. He actually got to have somewhat of a brother living with him and while he spent most of his boy time with Clyde the moments with Brian were pleasant. He was a good kid that didn’t go mad from having such a big family, only Lincoln could fit that description well.

“It’s such a shame that I have to let go of you as the months passed by. Having another boy to hang out with was such an awesome opportunity for me, especially after I got you into my favorite hobbies. Sure, you may not have been normally sized to do video games and all, but I really enjoyed the other activities we did. You even got me to experience some really amazing sights like dozens of rifts dumping thousands of objects out, witness a giant dinosaur, take out some weird wizards, even if it did occur inside Lynn’s stomach, and even go inside my friend Ronnie Ann’s dream! Nobody could ever say they did something as crazy as those situations, and if we never found you I don’t think I would have been lucky enough to see things that were thought impossible! You really cranked up the craziness factor for this family by a million fold in your time here, and I’m happy to call you a part of it. If you do come across some interesting places in your travels I would really like to hear about them. You will keep in contact with us right?”

“I’ll always have you in the back of my head.” Brian answered with a smile.

Using his other hand, Lincoln reached into his pocket and pulled out what looked to be an amalgamation of some sort of small baseball hat, with dirt patches and bent portions standing out for all to see. It was small enough for Brian’s shrunken head, and he could barely make out an indentation on the front detailing something that he couldn’t make out, probably a brand name.

“This was part of one of my long lost action figures, which was an expert baseball player. Charles chewed in beyond recognition and this was the only part still somewhat intact. I’ve been keeping it safe since then but I think someone extra special could keep it for me, and I know who that someone is.”

Lincoln handed the tiny baseball cap over to Brian as the shrunken boy stood stunned for the moment. He took one more gander at it before wiping it slightly and putting it on his head. Even though there was grime on some portions and it felt like plastic, it was almost a perfect fit. The backside hung downward, but other than that there were no other major problems.

“Wow, I say this looks pretty good on me!” Brian said. “How do I look from your angle?”

“Like an all-star baseball player I say!” Lincoln answered. “Take it as you travel so you won’t forget me, as you basically are now my unofficial brother at this point.”

“Thanks Lincoln, you’re practically an unofficial brother to me too.” Brian replied. The two boys exchanged smiles until Lucy instantaneously appeared, scaring the bejesus out of them. Now knowing her turn has come, Lincoln gazed at Brian in his hand one last time before giving the tiny boy to Lucy. The Goth of the family had Brian in her grasp once more, something that pretty much became a common sight over the year. Even though he couldn’t read her face from the near emotionless expression, she completely revealed her feelings and thoughts to him in the past. She was probably the sibling that he knew more of than any of the others because she frequently kept him to herself, including times where she wanted to do nothing but stare at him almost endlessly. She tended to be the sister that most of the siblings didn’t pay attention to often, but for Brian she was the one with the sirens and bright lights on her head. Mysterious yet understanding, that was how Brian would describe Lucy.

“What? You’re not even going to say anything before he leaves? You’re just being cruel now!” Luna exclaimed. Brian caught on rather quick to what Lucy meant.

“Easy there Luna, it’s nothing big. There are many things to Lucy that you do NOT want to know about.”

“Well…okay there, I trust you man.” Luna responded. It was obviously a white lie, but there were some bits of truth to it. Lucy practically revealed everything during her constant activities with him, there was almost nothing to her that he didn’t know of already. The other siblings weren’t aware of Lucy’s revelations and she intended to keep it that way, including her own personal goodbye she said to Brian before the “almost apocalypse” happened. She especially didn’t want anyone else knowing about her secret interest of being a giantess and appearing incredibly massive to many tiny people around her, for she didn’t want others to think of her like that. Only Brian was aware of it since she was using him to figure the obsession out early on and that she trusted him deeply, along with Haiku due to the fact that she caught Lucy enjoying herself privately as the giantess she was earlier. Brian may know everything about Lucy, but there were some crucial points she did not want anyone else to know.

Lucy had a few quick moments with Brian, such as poking him everywhere with her black fingernails, since she was still absolutely fascinated over being a “big girl”, and even, surprisingly, a very deep felt hug that astonished the other Louds enough so that Lori silently got out her phone a took a quick picture of it, since Lucy almost never showed signs of affection like that, before having her share and turned to hand him over to Lana. However, she wasn’t initially in the greatest moods at the time due to holding in her sadness as well as she could, so Lucy went to Lola instead, who was very eager to have her moment with Brian.

After he was dropped into her gloved hands, the two exchanged gazes. Of all the Loud siblings to get a hold of him, Lola was the most possessive. Since she kept most of her dolls off limits to anyone other than herself this also included him, her most precious “dolly” of the bunch. She did have to argue with her twin on occasion over who got to play with him, but when she got him she kept a close eye on him. Most of his time with her was spent on dolled up tea parties which meant he had to wear girly dresses, and to make it even more awkward they were meant for dolls a bit bigger than him. This formed a pretty stupid sight, a shrunken boy sitting in a chair wearing a pink dress that sagged to the floor. As much as he didn’t like it, everything else with Lola went by greatly. He even learned how to speak formally and royally perfectly while under Lola’s care, since she had a certain etiquette when doing tea parties that eventually rubbed off to him. There were other occasions where she wanted him for something else, such as getting opinions on certain outfits and costumes for future pageants, so she wasn’t always one noted with him. Lola had her times with Brian, and the snobby young princess loved every second.

“Aww, it’s so sad that I have to let my dolly go! For once I actually felt like a proper princess with you by my side, especially on the size spectrum. How many families can say they have someone living with them that are so incredibly tiny that you can hold in your hands? Nobody, that’s what! You’re my dolly and nobody else’s! Not only that, but you gave this pageant queen so many great sights that it makes my head spin! I got to see one of my all-time idols, stylize a dimensional girl’s hair, and show up my stage rival as a giant princess, something most families would kill to see for themselves! You have given this adorable princess so much more and it makes me very unhappy to watch you leave. It’s also going to be unfortunate to not appear as the biggest princess to anyone anymore, for it is kind of charming to see at least one tiny person walk around my feet. If I could demand anything from you, STAY SMALL when you come back. I mean it, okay?”

“Heheheh, I’ll see what I can figure out.” Brian replied while chuckling under his breath. She was yet another sibling that wanted him to stay miniscule, for if he was normal sized he would no longer be her prized “dolly.” If there was a “We Like Appearing Huge” club, she would definitely be joining with Lucy, Lana, and Lisa.

“Oh, and I’m going to want you to polish my toenails as well. If you can do Lori’s and Lucy’s then you can do mine since Leni can sometimes miss a few spots.”

“Fine, I’ll do that as well.” Brian responded, holding back the urge to groan. She was also THAT type of sister, and if there was anything to go by with Lori and Lucy it was that he really didn’t like doing it. So many feet…this was one thing he would DEFINITELY shove aside when he got back to normal size.

“Thanks dolly. You really fit the bill for Girl’s Best Friend.” Lola said. She nuzzled Brian a little to the side, which at his size was almost his entire body, before turning to her nearly wrecked twin. Despite almost looking to crumble at any moment, it was her turn to get access to him even if Lola loved to hoard toys and dolls to herself and let nobody touch them other than her. Using her other hand, she tapped Lana on the shoulder as the muddiest of the family sniffed a glob of mucus back up her nose and tried to keep herself together. Brian was dumped into Lana’s hands and was now at her mercy, but judging from her expression she didn’t seem to want to do anything rash. Hops sat on top of her signature cap as the girl tried to calm down.

“Keep it cool Lana, you promised you wouldn’t cry when I had to leave after all.” Brian stated. Lana sniffed before using her other hand to wipe some of the sogginess off of her eyes. She was more content now but still very upset. Of all the sisters that cared for him, Lana had to be one of the deeper ones even if she didn’t appear to on the surface. He couldn’t blame her tough, she was the first one to notice and take interest in him. He was really lucky to have her as the first and not someone that would squish and think later. Since that day she really cherished the moment and vowed to not eat him like she usually did to any other bugs, but look over him and even spend some deep and dirty moments with him by her side. Even her reptiles she keeps with her eventually got used to seeing him around, although El Diablo did need to be scolded a few times for mistaking him on occasion, and she felt it nice to have another person to call a friend. She could even call him a partner since she had him on occasion to help out with mechanical and plumbing issues when there were spaces too small for her to get through. Lana really thought special of Brian in a way different from her other siblings, and that was why she was taking his leave rather hard.

“How about you take it slow for now? I know you have some choice words for me.” Brian said. Lana took a few breaths but still wasn’t the happiest.

“Brian…you have to be one of the greatest friends I have ever come across. I took the day ever since I found you to heart, and since then you have made most of my dreams come true. I adored the fact that every time I woke up in the morning something crazy would happen with you around. I even got to see an all-powerful giant dinosaur for crying out loud, and I got to actually live out being the Girlzilla that I always wanted to be! So many incredible moments came and went and it all happened when you arrived, but you were also a great person to hang out with. Hops in particular really loves to bring out the moments of you riding on his back, and when the plumbing and mechanical business gets tough I always had you to go in the tight spots. Sure, I know you have your flaws, like being a nervous and scared wreck, but it’s those traits and more that make me want to always stay by you. I didn’t want this end to come by so soon, but you have a life outside our family…and I have to cope with it.”

“I know you feel very sad about this Lana, but like I said to you earlier I won’t forget you.” Brian explained. “Tell you what, like some of your other siblings I’ll make sure to tell you everything about my travels as I wander the dimensions, and I’m pretty sure I might come across a few dragons or maybe…giant lizards?”

Lana’s attention slowly started to come up as she tried to wipe more tears from her face.

“You mean…like that one from the movies? You really think there’s a dimension where he is real and you can see him in person?”

“In the multiverse Lana, anything is possible.” Brian replied. “I’ll make finding a dimension like that one of my top priorities just for you, and maybe even get…a special souvenir?”

Lana held back her intense urge to gasp. Before he even knew it, Lana held the tiny boy up against her wet chest in one of the biggest hugs imaginable with a wide smile on her face.

“That would be SO AWESOME just for me! You’re one of the greatest friends a girl could ask for!”

“Errgh…thanks…Lana…” Brian squeaked through the intense pressure. Realizing what she was doing, Lana hastily let go of the hug and put Brian back into her hand. Hops used the moment to go down and give Brian a happy croak before shooting out his tongue and licking him. Brian laughed as he was covered in slime before one other reptile came forth to show its affection, and this one was particularly special. The painted turtle, also named Brian, slowly trudged toward him before giving a small nudge to the side with a smile. The tiny boy patted the turtle on the head as the two animals withdrew back, Hops going back on top of Lana’s hat and Brian the turtle on her shoulder.

She didn’t want to let Brian go, but she also didn’t want Lisa to wait too long either. With one final sniff of her stuffed nose from crying earlier, Lana held her hands out and let Lisa scoop Brian into her stubby digits. As usual for when she held him, Brian could feel her shake and smirk a little from the fact that she got to be a bigger girl to someone else. Even though she was already around four years old, she felt pressure for being so short yet so smart, something she continuously explained to him as she used him as a lab rat. He really didn’t like being the one taking the brunt of her experiments since the Louds took him in, but Lisa did return the favor by giving him a place to sleep even if it was sub-optimal. She tended to stray away from her siblings for safety precautions when doing her science which only left Brian, her personal guinea pig, to be with her just in case of needing a test subject. It was taken very seriously at points, for Lisa lived for any sort of scientific discovery, so Brian had a tendency to stay silent during those types of experiments. Even so, he got used to it over time, even if he didn’t exactly like it, and Lisa seemed to enjoy his company next to all of the beakers and vials. They made a good pair, with Lisa being the front of it.

“Well, can’t say I’m not surprised with this stunning conclusion. I got to tackle so many different experiments in my time here, but what you provided was research for the ages. I initially set my dimensional notes to the sidelines until you came in and brought them to the forefront. It was a good thing too, for I would have never predicted the outcome that turned reality on its head. Thankfully you were there to test certain compounds and elements, even if they were, ahem…less than stable.”

“Yeah, I’m still feeling the side effects of your mix of ‘black widow and zebra’ after all.” Brian said as he scratched his back.

“That combination will save lives in the future!” Lisa retorted before getting back on subject. “Anyways, I would have never got my dimensional research done without your help. Sure, I may have used you for other subjects, but I’m happy that I always had someone to test out on. I feel terrible to have put you in more extreme cases, like the spider transferring and the attempt at fecal studying, and when you do come back I’ll try to simmer down and take it easy at first. Any sort of hard pressure is awful for the body and bones aren’t the most flexible after all. Even so, you brought a kindle to this young scientist’s life, and I will miss your presence at our household. Are the circuits I put into Hoopa’s rings working properly?”

“Yup, all up and running.” Brian replied. “They should hopefully repel any harmful elements to make sure the end of everything doesn’t happen again…and so you don’t track us.”

“Err, uhhhhh, what are you talking about? I didn’t put anything extra in those-”

“Stop it Lisa, we found those tracking chips in there and all of the OTHER thousands of extra ways to track us. We took all of it out.”

“If I didn’t enjoy being as big as I am to you I would have definitely taken great offense to that. Oh well, I guess that’s another thing I’ll miss once you leave. I’ll always have someone like you on standby when you come back, for I have many more experiments in need of a test subject and you nearly fit the description perfectly.”

“Fine Lisa, I’ll be your guinea pig as usual.” Brian replied with a playful smile and a roll of the eyes. Lisa gave Brian a quick hug against her chest to show her affection before getting ready to put Brian back on the ground. She was swiftly interrupted by the baby of the family as she cried out for attention. Everyone turned to face Lily before realizing what she wanted. Even though she was just a baby, Lily had her times with Brian on occasion and was just as important as everyone else. Lisa chuckled for a moment seeing Lily want some Brian time before glancing at Brian one more time and handing the boy off to the young baby.

Lily kept her chunky fingers around Brian, sporting her signature oblivious smile. She giggled as her eyes stared at his small body with intrigue. If all of the siblings had their time with Brian, Lily was the one that didn’t spend too much time with him, but it was more of a safety precaution than anything. Even though she had a spark of awareness tucked in her cranium, there was always the looming caution of how unpredictable she could be. Even so, there were moments with Lily that he enjoyed like the times where he got to hang around as she stacked blocks, and even the time where tried to play older sister for once by holding him close to her chest. In all of the time he was with her, Lily never bothered to squish, crush, or eat him at any point; almost as if she knew that he was a part of the family. She was a special little tyke, and Brian was glad that she had some care for him.

“Yeah Lily, Brian has to go byebye.” Brian replied. Lily’s eyes started to get soggy as her pupils grew, giving everyone signs that she might start up another one of her crying fits. Everyone braced for it, but then Lily did something nobody expected. The baby hoisted Brian up on her shoulder and put her two pudgy hands over him in one of the most adorable baby hugs ever conceived.

Brian was in shock. Even through her babyish speak; she was really giving Brian a friendly goodbye. For once Brian felt calm, and both Lori and Leni thought it was so adorable that they quickly took out their phones and snapped a photo.

“…I’ll miss you too Lily…” Brian said softly into her ear. Lily took him back into her grasp and put on one final smile before setting Brian back down to the pavement. She didn’t need that much time with him as she still had some unaware innocence due to being a baby.

With one gaze upward to the Louds surrounding him, all of the Louds gave their final goodbyes as Brian felt his heart being touched. For a family of eleven kids to take in someone that didn’t even reach the top of their feet almost seemed unheard of, but they proved they were a special kind. Everyone had their times in the spotlight and set their attentions to one another, nobody would be forgotten in the household of the Louds. His time came and went, and now he had to give his goodbye to the ones that kept him safe.

“I…I think we should do one last group photo together. From the bottom of my heart…I never want to forget you.”

“Oh…em…gosh, why didn’t I try that out sooner?!” Leni exclaimed. “One final photo of everyone would be TOTES great to keep you in our thoughts!”

Everyone else was on board with Brian’s suggestion, for they also wanted one final memorabilia of all the great times they had with someone shrunk to half an inch tall. Lori thankfully kept a selfie stick with her at all times, so she got it out as Leni started her phone up. Even though it wasn’t on her phone, Lori could just get Leni to send her the picture so she can have it personally. Once Lori put the stands up, which was an extra feature of her selfie stick, with Leni’s phone in the middle, she set the alarm as everyone got into position. The tall Louds stood in the back with the shorter ones in the front, and to keep everyone from fighting over who got to hold Brian, Hoopa held Brian instead. In fact, Hoopa thought it would make for a better picture if Brian got to stand on top of its head, and while it was tough getting his footing at first Brian soon got a firm place to stand without worry. With the alarm ticking down, everyone put on their most genuine smiles, even Lucy surprisingly, before the camera flashed. Lori quickly ran up to get the phone and stand before returning to the others, turning open the phone to see the results. To everyone’s eagerness the photo was perfect, not a single hair or leg out of place.

“Of course the camera loves me, it would never…HEY, MY TIARA WAS SLANTED!” Lola exclaimed. “Ugh, well since this is something special I let it slide just this once…”

“You’re also looking good there Brian! The camera literally captured your entire body with no discrepancies.” Lori stated.

“I can see that…and I actually have a pretty good smile!” Brian said. Everyone happily laughed as Lori gave the phone back to Leni before she saved the photo to the system memory. With that, they could always look back and remember the times they had with Brian, crazy or not. He was pretty sure all of the siblings would want a copy of the photo just in case, for some did take him more closely than others and would want to keep it wedged into their mind for as long as they lived.

The Louds stood silent as Hoopa set Brian back to the ground among their feet. Now he was the one that was feeling sorrowful as he shed a few tears. His legs were formed of bricks as he slowly made his way toward the giant ring, with the blue innards giving off a paralyzing gaze. He shuddered and almost tripped to the ground as a soft tune played in his mind. It was a special song Luna made to express her caring nature of everyone in the house, one that she didn’t bring out often due to her heavy metal outlook. He got to hear it around the middle of the year when she wanted something Brian would remember her by, which at first he didn’t think would be truly significant. Now he understood, she wanted him to be prepared for the end. The fact that most of the melody only used one instrument really tugged at Brian’s heart strings, for it was used in all of the right places to truly make him feel that the experience was all over and his goal was reached.

He took one final look back at the ones that cared for him before he set foot inside the ring, with Hoopa floating beside him with a similar expression, probably due to the mental connection it had. They were just the way he knew them during his stay. Lori, the mature caring one, Leni, the ditzy stylish one, Luna, the hard musical one, Luan, the hilarious pranking one, Lynn, the athletic sport star one, Lincoln, the enjoyable boy one, Lucy, the dark emotional one, Lana, the grimy mechanic one, Lola, the dazzling child star one, Lisa, the young genius one, and Lily, the innocent baby one, all of whom were special in their own rights. Some were more emotional than others, like Lana who was still holding her sadness in with failing results, but they knew Brian did as much as he could despite his size and that his time with them was up. Brian also swore he saw some deep tears fall from under Lucy’s bangs…

“I’ll miss you dolly! Don’t forget, you will always me my treasured dolly!”

Brian almost felt the need to cry over so many encouraging words. This was the final push he needed to wrap everything up, with his heart throbbing beat after beat like a constant alarm. He made a quick glance over to Hoopa as the ring creature glanced back before he turned his attention back to the Louds.

“All of you Louds…I will always keep you deep in my heart…goodbye…”

His presence in Royal Woods was completed as his body fizzled inside the ring the same time Hoopa did. He was no more in their dimension and his time was finished.

The Louds could only stand and watch as the ring vanished along with their tiny adoptee. Their legs stood stiff as their mouths stayed shut since they didn’t know how to act at this point. The shrunken kid they had for almost a year was no longer with them, back with his best friend after a drastic accident separated them. Their bodies almost felt hollow as the image of the giant ring reflected into their eyes, and it was devastating.

“He’s been working up to this moment…since we got him.” Lori said. “I’ll literally miss seeing him down near my feet…”

“Mom and dad are never going to believe what we went through this year.” Lynn stated.

“Let’s not tell. We already have enough friends knowing about him, we don’t need any more.” Lucy stated. Everyone else seemed to agree on that issue as they proceeded to trudge back to the house to try and get back to their normal schedules, except for one. Noticing one missing, Lincoln turned back to see Lana blankly staring in the direction where the ring was.

“Hey Lana, are you okay?” Lincoln asked. He was met with silence as the shell of a girl stood before everyone. They started to get worried before they saw Lana take a few steps forward until she got to the spot where the ring was. She held a hand out as her fingers stretched out before coiling nothing but thin air. She shook for a second before drawing her hand back to the side. Everyone watching didn’t know what was going on, for Lana was usually never this silent and secluded from reality around her. It was almost as if she was in a dreamy trance with no possibility of waking up, which multiple siblings could relate to on occasion. Someone was masquerading as their little sister, and they didn’t see the real one before them.

“He was really an awesome brother…running around my toes that were colossal to him…I promised I would stay strong…and then he left…”

Lana fell to her knees as she hunched over and set her hands to the ground before her head dipped downward. She dripped waterfalls of tears to the cement below as she screamed to the skies above.

She sobbed deeply as her other siblings walked carefully up to her to not upset her further. She had a very deep connection to Brian, but the others didn’t think it would have been that deep. They have never seen Lana this upset since she was a little young tyke.

“Lana, I also wanted Brian to stay with us forever, but we couldn’t keep hiding him. He had a life to get back to…”

“I already know that Lincoln!” Lana shouted as her nose stuffed up and more tears fell down. “That doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do! How could he just leave us when there’s someone that really cares for him?! It’s…its awful!”

Lana dug her eyes into her hands, soaking them completely, as everyone else huddled around her with a sense of sympathy.

“I can’t believe that when he just gone with that…creature!” Lana exclaimed.

“You can believe it when he told us directly that he would find a way back.” Lucy stated.

That got Lana to let up just a little bit, but she was still pretty unhappy. Lori got to her knees to look Lana in the eyes.

“Lana, Brian said it himself that this isn’t the end, for he’s taken us to heart. We’re so close to him that he’s willing to fight tooth and nail to see us again, but he needs some time to recollect with his close partner after they’ve been separated for so long. He will be back, but until then you always have us. We’re family, and we deeply love you.”

Lana tilted her head up to see everyone as Hops made his way off of the top of her hat before giving his best friend a slimy lick on the cheek. Brian the turtle even nuzzled her gently in an attempt to cheer her up, catching her attention. The rest of the Louds then came together in one big family hug for Lana, and she certainly got the message. She was still pretty sad about seeing Brian go, but she felt something warm in her heart to know that her family was always by her side. Until the day she would see Brian again, she always had her siblings and reptiles to look up to.

“You guys…are so great…” Lana stuttered as she wiped some tears away. “You’re right, he’s too important to forget us…and I’ll love it when I get to see him again. I…need some time alone…in my room…”

“Go for it sis.” Lola answered to her twin. With that said, the Louds kids all supported Lana as everyone went in the house, including the pets. The kids needed to put on a good impression to their parents so they wouldn’t suspect anything. It was the Loud house after all, and chaos always happened with them on a daily basis.

Things progressed normally through the Loud house for the next few months in typical “Loud House normal” fashion. Running through the halls, messing with each other, causing ruckus, there was almost everything and the kitchen sink. Even the upcoming holidays were never normal for the Louds, for there was always something crazy happening at all times. Lucy had her time in the spotlight around Halloween as she “spooked” up the house and everyone got to help decorate the tree for Christmas. It was typical family affair…with a pinch of family chaos in the middle. Lori stayed on her phone chatting with her friends most of the time, Leni acted klutzy through many activities as usual, Luna practically rang through everyone’s ears with her music, Luan practiced her comedy routines, Lynn stayed active outside with many sports and games, Lincoln played video games and read comics book while trying his best to avoid the insanity around him, Lucy stayed in the shadows while writing in her poetry journal, Lana rolled around in the mud and fixed the plumbing on occasion, Lola practiced for her pageant career, Lisa kept going with her studies and experiments, and Lily wandered around as the innocent baby she was. Everything was typical for everyone in the family.

When the boy no more than half an inch tall appeared in their backyard their lives changed forever. What followed was almost more than they could handle from rifts appearing just to drop endless amounts of objects, travels to other dimensions, other living beings showing up from other dimensions, and even growth spurts to stop a rampaging monster. That was a very special year that no other family could say they went through, and it was all thanks to that shrunken kid. They kept their parents in the dark about all of it, along with everyone else but some certain specific people, just to be on the safe side. Even as the months went by they always had him in the back of their minds, and they waited for the day he would return.

Lori went back to being the sibling that kept things in order while having time to speak to her friends and her boyfriend Bobby. She posted on social media regularly while giving herself new facial makeovers and outfits on occasions. When she polished her fingernails and toenails however she always remembered the times when she convinced Brian to polish them for her, his body small enough to completely stand on each one. As much as he really didn’t like it at all, Lori thought it was pretty charming for him to be small boy working on them, and while it wasn’t perfect he did try his best. She already talked about how much of a cutie he was being so incredibly small, not as cute as her Bobby Boo Boo Bear though, and even shared her feeling with Carol over the phone when given the chance. Of course she didn’t forget about the wish she was gifted in that time, and she had the perfect use for it. For her one special wish, Lori asked for a cellphone battery that would never run die out, and in one quick warp it appeared right in front of her. She was ecstatic as she put it in as soon as possible and to her surprise it actually worked. She made a note in the back of her mind to thank Brian and Hoopa when they find their way back but until then she had some calls to make. She wanted to talk with Carol about the activities they did after golfing that one time with Kelly and she had some choice words to express.

Leni had the knack for exquisite styles of clothes during the last few months. As the fashion expert of the family, Leni knew what the trends were and designed clothes accordingly. As she searched through her closet of clothes for certain fabrics she came across some of the miniscule clothes she made specifically for Brian. She giggled as she remembered the times she took Brian for measurements and modelling, those were some pretty silly moments. It did make her pretty disappointed that she won’t be making those sorts of clothes anymore. It made her think outside the box and go for methods she never thought of before then, and they paid off. Those were some of the most creative designs she had ever come up with, and it was all for someone so incredibly tiny to her. She also hoped he could have done her toenails at one point, for Lori did say to her that he was pretty good at it. As for her wish, in typical Leni fashion, she couldn’t think of anything at first and nonsensically wished for knowing what to wish for. Thankfully for her, Hoopa was a friendly one and was told by Brian about her “dumb” moments, so it was told not to grant any sort of mindless wish from her and wait until she caught herself. She did quickly come to and realized her mistake, so she went for something more typical. Instead, she wished for a near endless supply of new fabrics and clothes, which was immediately granted. There was a special room in the back of her closet made specifically to contain all of the clothes, which didn’t even stick out from the rest of the house and made it harder to notice. To make it even more secretive, only Leni and anyone she granted permission to could enter. Anyone else would only feel a wall. With so many clothes to choose from, Leni could forge any sort of outfit from the millions of options, although she would still go out for anything extra from time to time. To put in something extra, there were even some special fabrics from other dimensions wedged in the piles, as if Leni needed more excuses to make clothes.

Luna continued with what she knew best, exquisite music. With her signature Axe and audio equipment, she expressed her feelings and attitude through sound. She even got some gigs working at different schools with her friendly band, which included Sam, and got the starring role every time. Even though they were great venues they couldn’t hold a candle to the crazy New Donk City from a while back, and it was all thanks to the “lil’ dude” Brian. Even though it was in another dimension, she got to rock out to the entire population while she was bigger than most of the skyscrapers, something most rock stars would die for. To think her lifelong dream of performing for an entire populace, let alone an entire dimensional city, was accomplished that day spoke volumes to Luna, and she even still had the stylish clothes the Mario fellow bought for her just for the occasion. She knew that day in a completely new dimension was a once in a lifetime moment. She always had Hoopa’s wish in the back of her mind, and she knew what to use it on. With a few quick words, a beautiful gold metal guitar appeared before her and she loved every bit of it. It wouldn’t replace her Axe, but she would use it during some gigs just to shake things up. Since Sam was the only one of her crew that knew about everything, she was also trusted with the secret to how Luna got her new guitar. They even got to chat about the time Brian accidentally went to her house for the night, which got Sam’s eyes to dazzle. With Sam’s trust and her new “rockin’” gold guitar, Luna would reach the stars in fame.

Luan always had her clowning business to attend to, while also practicing quick standups with her family. She would have a lot going for her if Lincoln wasn’t her close assistant, for he was great in handling any extra props. Even so, she always remembered her extra performing partner that really helped boost her business. How could she not forget about the fantastic Dinky Shrinky and the wacky antics she did on stage with him? It seemed like they were almost the perfect clowning duo, with many possibilities opening up with such a small sized partner. Luan may have been the clown doing most of the work, but the shrunken one gave the support she needed. Balloon acts, banana slipups, unicycle while juggling, miming shenanigans, the two did it all and the people loved it. Even though she missed acting with him, that didn’t mean she would stop Funny Business Inc. anytime soon. In fact, it only motivated her to do better, for she shouldn’t slack off just because there was less work for her to do. She found it difficult to come up with a wish at first, but after thinking about it hard enough she came to a decision. Once she said the few words for her request, what looked like a regular old book appeared right in front of her. You couldn’t just judge it from the cover though, for this book was anything but ordinary. The instant she opened it the pages were flooded with all sorts of jokes and quips she could use in the future, but any sort of joke book had those. She closed up the book then opened it back up, and the same pages that had certain jokes on them were replaced with brand new ones as if she just opened the book for the first time. With this on hand she would never run out of jokes and could always keep the ball rolling even if she had many stocked up already. She enjoyed coming up with her own jokes so she would only need to use it when absolutely necessary, but it would always serve as a good backup. She had to give it to Hoopa; it really got the details of her wish just right.

Lynn kept standing up as the sports MVP of the family. She juggled between five different sports on a daily basis and was always asking for more. She was “Lynner” of the house when it came to sports. The muddiest of all sports she did was always with the dirt bikes of motocross, which she was shaping up to be the next big star. She chuckled to herself at point remembering the times she hid Brian under her helmet for extra navigation, which ended up giving the tiny boy motion sickness from all of the bumps. Even so, with the extra set of eyes she dominated the track. Most would say it’s classified as cheating, but Lynn considered it to having an extra person in the passenger’s seat. If they could have a backseat driver for racing, than she could too. With that she didn’t feel guilty when bringing him, but even then that was only a fraction to what she experienced with Brian. Tussling with a giant dinosaur and giant robot girl on even playing fields were moments Lynn thrived for. It kept her heart pumping and muscles on fire from feeling the burn. Appearing as the giantess sports star was the cherry on top, as Lynn always appreciated cheering crowds of fans by her feet. In fact, it also reminded her of the times she got Brian to wrestle one of her fingers, which, while obviously one sided, really amused Lynn and made that a common activity with the shrunken kid. There were also times where he wrestled one of her big toes, even if it required some intense convincing, which were equally as fun to do with Brian even if the boy didn’t like it that much thanks to her stinky feet from sports. She already had a wish on standby as she knew immediately what she wanted, a sports buddy she could always turn to when nobody wanted to play with her. In one quick flash, it appeared. Lynn was surprised to see it basically look like a robotic version of her, with a sleek metal coating and silver colors all around it. She didn’t complain about it though, for the only one that could keep up with her in sports…was herself. She named the robot “MaLynna” since it rolled off the tongue better. For some reason that name seemed to strike Lynn in a certain context she couldn’t determine…but she soon forgot about it as she immediately got to playing with her new buddy. If her parents asked, she would say that Lisa invented it since robots and machines were kind of her thing.

Lincoln stayed as the only boy of ten girls that got into sibling crossfire at points. From comic books to video games, someone needed to fill those shoes and Lincoln was the one to do it. He didn’t need to keep it to himself as he always had Clyde to hang with when needed, but it made him reminisce at points about the previous year. Back then he actually had another boy living with him, albeit only half an inch tall with severe memory loss, and he could do activities with him when Clyde wasn’t around. He couldn’t do most normal activities, but what he could do really drew Lincoln toward him. Helping point out minute details in Ace Savvy comics to providing back seat commentary to his favorite video games, Lincoln appreciated moments like that. That didn’t mean Brian didn’t provide anything in return, it was quite the contrary. Since then he got to go inside Ronnie Ann’s dreams, witness a dinosaur like it was straight from some of his favorite movies, and even act like a big brother for once when Brian felt uncomfortable. He considered himself one of the luckiest boys alive to go through so many crazy circumstances with such an interesting kid in Brian. He considered the wish he was given a great parting gift to such a stunning conclusion, but that didn’t mean he didn’t have something to wish for. His coveted wish was for game console that would automatically adapt and morph into the latest of its kind, but if he didn’t like the newest system he could always revert back. His specifics were rewarded, as the aforementioned game console warped right before him, and he was thrilled to try it out. It took on the appearance of the current console for now, making Lincoln more excited to know what would come after.

Lucy stayed in the shadows and made her presence as unknown as possible like usual. She wrote in her poetry journal and kept a strong relationship with Edwin, for he was destined to be her undead soulmate. As she wrote her deep poems, she always kept Brian in the back of her mind. Ever since her covered eyes set sight on him a kindle lit in her mind as a completely new enthrallment came forth, one she never thought until then. She needed more exposure from him to deduce what it was and after a process it was then that she figured it out; she was charmed with appearing so incredibly huge to someone as miniscule as him. Since then, she couldn’t help but constantly want him to do stuff with, and she ended up being the most common sibling Brian saw day by day because of it. For once she could enjoy her dark activities with someone who also enjoyed it, although he did have some limitations that Lucy hoped to fix at some point. Even though she was emotionless on a normal basis, she really did care for her tiny friend and trusted him deeply. She told him basically everything about her, and since then Brian never leaked the information to anyone, something only true friends would ever do. He even kept the secret about her fascination of appearing as a giantess, something she didn’t want out there under any circumstances. It was up there with her enjoyment of Princess Pony books, which she also revealed to Brian, for even she needed a break from the darkness every now and then. As for her wish, it was a rather unusual one, and coming from someone like Lucy that would speak volumes. She wished for a very secret room containing a miniature city for her to walk through without any repercussions, and it was granted without delay. Similar to how Leni’s wish worked, anyone that wasn’t Lucy would only feel a wall next to her bed and not see any sort of entrance, which Lucy intended to keep that way. Inside the room was the fascination of her dreams; an entire mini city covering the whole room that was brimming with life. From subways, skyscrapers, and even small planes, it almost looked like Lisa made her shrink ray early and miniaturized an entire population just for the heck of it. Most of the buildings came up to her knees as Lucy took her first steps inside, already seeing some tiny people by her massive feet, obviously fake ones as Hoopa wasn’t that cruel with the wish. She didn’t emote often, but the sight of the city made Lucy form a staying smile. Other than her, the only other person she secretly granted access to the miniature city room was Brian, and when he came back she wouldn’t hesitate in showing her gratitude. Until then, she was going to enjoy herself watching the many small intriguing sights and maybe experience more of the city with her hands and feet. She may be a dark Goth girl on the surface, but she had her fascinations deep down with only Brian truly knowing about them.

Lana stayed as muddy as ever, with a pinch of mechanic work here and there. She kept Hops under her cap just in case she needed him and for the extra company. Even so, she could never forget the one little guy that started it all. Ever since Brian left she spent the first couple of weeks by herself to try and cope to the life she had before meeting him, but it kept bringing up the fact that she really missed him. The road to recovery wasn’t the smoothest transition as even looking at her sisters would remind her of the awesome times she had with the shrunken kid, even resorting to some counseling from Lisa to try and get him out of her mind. It was a very rocky and due process, but eventually she started to slowly get back into her regular mood. Her reptile friends, including Hops and her new painted turtle named Brian, also snuggled around her to get their caretaker back to her normal dirty self which hammered in the fact that she needed to stop being so negative. If there was to be any sort of that emotion in the house it would only come from Lucy, and that was only because she was commonly used to it. Like she said some time earlier, she already had her wish up and ready. What was it? Nothing more than an entire room to filled with mud and dirt everywhere. To keep it hidden from her parents, the entrance stood behind her frog cage and didn’t stick out, while also sharing the same lockout qualities Leni’s and Lucy’s wishes had. Unlike those two however she didn’t mind restrictions except for her parents for secrecy reasons, so anyone could enter if they knew where to look. However, there was one part of the room she kept for a special purpose, and that was to hang the one special photo of everyone prior to Brian’s leave. It was situated near the entrance so Lana could look at it every time she left the room, giving her a warm feeling inside. She took Brian’s words to heart about coming back to see her, but until then she always had her new muddy room and her friendly reptiles. She would definitely give him the biggest family hugs when she sees him again, for he made her life that much more special.

Lola went back to being the pretty pageant princess of the house with the spoiled attitude. There were dozens of local pageants that occurred in the last couple of months, and while she didn’t win all of them it only left her primed up to win next time. She kept her beloved signed poster of B.B.Barbie, since it was restored after the reset, safe attached to the wall next to her bed, which inspired her to keep going to maybe get the chance to see her again. As she gazed at her prized possession it made her recollect the moments of all the outrageous circumstances she went through with her prized “dolly” of her collection. There were dozens of tea parties, a doll lovers pageant, and even a romp as the biggest pretty princess while showing up one of her greatest rivals. Those were moments that only she could have gone through thanks to her dolly, although she did feel a bit disappointed knowing that her scare against Lindsey was reset so she wouldn’t remember any of it. Still, if Lisa were to invent something to make her huge again she would force the genius to use it on her first, for she adored having tiny people grovel by her feet like actual royalty. Sure, she could use her free wish to do just that, but she had something more reasonable in mind. What she wished for was an endless supply of makeup and eye shadow so she would always have something in mind when a certain pageant came up, and it was granted before her. Soon enough, the inside of her makeup cabinet was filled with various kinds of makeup, some were even exclusive to certain dimensions for an extra bonus, and once she picked out one another bottle immediately took its place. She grinned, knowing that she now had a leg up over the competition when it came, before sitting on her stool to try some of the powders out. Knowing her dolly, he would have convinced Hoopa to give her the best of the best, so she didn’t waste time picking up a powder puff and dipping it in one of the bottles. Her pageant career was nearly flawless and if she put on more good impressions there was a chance she would see B.B.Barbie again and, for the ultimate dream gift, even make her do a story about her. She shuddered at the thought before getting back to her endless makeup supplies.

Lisa continued being the genius of the family and kept at it with various subjects and experiments to study on. She didn’t want to waste any time doing any other activities for the sake of her knowledge as she calculated that people lose valuable information over time the less you study. Therefore she did her various tests on a daily basis and didn’t do much “sport and/or play” for the sake of her intellect. Of course if she still had her “lab rat” shrunken boy the experiments would go by much quicker, allowing her to focus on other projects situated on the priority ladder. For her, Brian was probably the pinnacle of test subjects she had ever come across. His small size made it easy to test certain supplements on a grander scale and made it so she didn’t have to get much of a certain element to test out a desired effect. She also finally got to experience what it’s like to appear as the tall one for once, shuddering at the thoughts of the times she held him in her stumpy young fingers, while also getting the chance to see and experience visuals that went “beyond science” which blew her mind away. She was still trying to comprehend the appearance of that weird dinosaur from a few months back after all. Her wish was straight and to the point, for she asked for a high tech up to date scientific laboratory so her siblings would stop complaining daily about her more dangerous and explosive field studies. It was granted as a new chrome door showed up deep in her closet. Inside was probably the most advanced place of study that almost made institutes look like potatoes on a stick. From dozens of labs chairs, cylindrical processors, and even copper circulators, Lisa’s jaw basically hit the floor as it had everything she ever wanted and more. Her wide grin reached her ears as she immediately zipped over to one of the lab tables and started work on her first project. She already had an idea in mind for she expressed it to Brian before Luna’s concert, and it was nothing more than the recognizable common shrink ray. With that sort of invention she would never have to worry about appearing as the “short genius” ever again, making her quite giddy and giving her goosebumps just from the mere thought of it. She was thinking about the schematics before her personal cell phone went off, and once she saw who sent it along with the attached message she angrily frowned. For about the millionth time, Lisa immediately got to typing to the supposed pink haired “child mascot” about how much of a better genius she was compared to her. She would be so into her long message that she had to put the shrink ray project on hold for now, although she would get back to it later.

Lily stayed the baby of the house and was as unaware as usual. Thankfully the family was around to steer her in the right direction as she played with her blocks and cuddled with her plush toys. Even though she still lacked many insights to living, some vague pictures came up more than others. There was a small speck of a person in her infant mind that was commonly floating around and Lily innocently giggled at it. There were times when she kept the speck close to her as he felt like a sack of diapers and even a time where she tried to burp him like she was his mom. For some reason the speck was more than just that, although the details were fuzzy in her infant mind, and it enjoyed being around her and her family. When she stacked blocks into messy constructions she could see the speck standing on one of them telling her words she didn’t know about and when she came back from daycare the speck was by her feet once her mother left. She really like the speck and it liked her back, but then she had to see him go. She didn’t know why he left, but she had the name remembered.

Because Lily couldn’t make strong decisions on her own yet, Brian thought it best to wish up something easy for her to take. Even though she was just a baby, she knew what she always wanted around her, cute stuffed toy animals. That one piece of insight into what she liked was all Brian needed to figure out what to give her, and in one quick flash a new stuffed doll was now in her collection…and it was in the shape of Hoopa of all things. Even though it was a cheeky move on Hoopa’s part, Lily actually didn’t care what it looked like and loved every plumped portion of it. It wasn’t as memorable as her big teddy bear, but Lily didn’t want to leave it to the wayside as it was still a very cuddly plush toy. If her parents asked where it came from, her sisters explained that Lori got it for her in the toy department.

While the siblings did miss Brian, they weren’t the only ones that had memories of the guy.

Iberico arrived back to his dimension in one piece and got to be the police pig of the house once again. He was back to freezing up and going immobile when a person came by, but by night he was up and running as usual. He always had the amazing dimensional experience in the back of his mind at all times for it changed his perspective on how he worked. He made a commitment to work better than ever since then although he still had a certain sweet tooth for cookies. No matter if it was a toucan shaped alarm clock, a walking tomato with a guitar, or an inflatable toy wrestler, he wouldn’t let any of the suspicious sort by on his watch. Over the course of the months since he arrived back, he started to slowly realize that his police cruiser wasn’t as good as it used to be, as he got cramped in various places and found it hard to make it out of the driver’s door. Luckily he remembered that he had a wish from Brian and Hoopa, and while he would have loved to use it to get an endless supply of cookies he had to take a detour. To make travelling around the house easier when he was on patrol, he wished for a better functioning toy police car to drive, and it was granted in an instant. In a quick flash, a more “modernized” toy police cruiser appeared before him, which he immediately took for a test drive. He was amazed at how smooth it performed for the turning was slick and responsive while the siren flashed brighter than the old model. There was even a compartment in the front large enough to store loose crumbs and even a few cookies for a late night snack, a great bonus for the police pig. While he wanted to use it as soon as possible he also didn’t want to tarnish it early, so he kept the new model in storage while he handled crimes on foot for now. As for his old police cruiser, he gave it to the family dog and never saw it after that. Maybe a special tiny robot would bring it out of retirement at some point, but until then he would handle things the old fashioned way. He was the only one in the household to go after crime and he couldn’t slack off…without some small cookie breaks every now and then.

Kelly was back safe in her own dimension and got back to hanging out with the friends she didn’t see for months. The instant she got back she kicked Tad out of her hair to lift the burden of having her ex the entire time she was trapped in Royal Woods. She felt so relieved to finally get back to recognizable territory and see familiar faces, especially her bubbly princess friend. She even explained to her friends everything that happened in her absence, which some took with incredible amazement as she was still living to tell the tales. As much as she loved to finally get back to her normal life, she always had an annoying irk in the back of her neck. There was a part of her still drawing the nostalgia card, reminding her of all the insanity that happened back when she was stuck back in Royal Woods. From having to avoid anyone from seeing her, hanging out with a special family that actually did activities with her, witnessing craziness come out of dimensional rifts, to even becoming a giantess towering over buildings, so much happened during that time that was hard to wrap around. It was rough at first, but over time she learned that the dimension wasn’t as grim as she thought, which got her to come out of the shadows more often and see the one family that always came in with open arms. She even got to see the boy that she came across on accident that one time, even if he was a fraction of the size she remembered. Those were times that Kelly never wanted to forget, but she didn’t want it to be a final goodbye. She knew she had the option to wait for Brian to come to Mewni when he figured out where on the “dimensional map” Royal Woods was, but she saved her wish for a reason. For her one special wish, she asked for her own dimensional scissors, a common item where she came from, but with a special perk. She wanted her dimensional scissors to have the ability to go beyond her multiverse…to the multiverse outside it like Hoopa can. She didn’t think it would be granted at first, since it was going to have a similar ability to the ring creature, but in a sight of astonishment the respective scissors she wished for plopped right before her. Even though she wanted to use them immediately she knew better than to whimsically use them without caution. If Brian and Hoopa were still in the process of figuring out where they went with Hoopa’s rings she would definitely have a worse time without some insight. She kept the scissors safe in her hair until she met up with Brian again for more info, but until then she had some old friends to hang out with. Her bubbly up tempo princess friend even got to explaining how she met a small pink puffball after being dragged into a spatial rift, catching Kelly’s interest…

Tad didn’t have the greatest of times since he got back to his dimension with Kelly. Not only was he ditched immediately upon arrival by Kelly, he didn’t have anyone else to turn to. His life had been all about Kelly the moment they got together, but now he was…nothing. It really got him thinking to what he went through back when he was stuck with Kelly. No matter how much he tried, she rejected him every time and kept her focus on getting back home. He was blinded by getting back together with her for so long that he tended to not pay attention to the others around him wanting to know who he was, including a small pig toy and a shrunken kid. Was he really losing his mind? He needed more time to himself, a first in his lifetime, to reconsider how he was going to act now that he was back to being single. Even though there were negatives, he did remind himself of the interesting moments that happened back in that dimension. He got to see somewhere else in a whole new light, become a literal golf ball for his giant ex, and even take a trip inside a girl’s digestive system. While he preferred to not think about the last point, everything else almost felt like a life changing experience. It proved that he could make friends with almost anyone if he put his mind to it, for the police pig toy and shrunken kid seemed like they understood what he was going through. With so much to reconsider about his life he almost forgot about the wish he was given from Hoopa for helping out. He initially couldn’t think of anything, but after some intense thought he was ready. Because he was so amazed with seeing Kelly at such a huge height, he wished for something that would make someone grow to huge heights. It was originally a joke wish at first, but soon enough a medium sized bag popped in right before him. Inside were some really weird lumpy mushrooms with beady eyes near the bottom of each, although there were also some large chunky ones with large orange caps and red spots. Whatever they were, he would hold off on them until he saw Kelly again. She would more than likely flip the lid with him if he sneakily did it on her behind her back, so until she was friendlier with him he would keep them for later. For now, he had some major reconstructing of his life to get to and he didn’t want to skip out on something so important to him.

Brian went back to travelling through the endless amount of worlds before him with his best friend Hoopa now that, just like Lisa hypothesized, he was back to his normal size. They had to go to the dimensions that Hoopa trashed in its rampage and clean them up as best as they could, much to Hoopa’s dismay, while writing them down in their own personal dimensional map. That didn’t mean they stumbled across any new dimensions during that time, far from it, but some were far easier than others. From humanized crystals to sexy ninja girls, Brian and Hoopa have seen millions and they were nowhere near to seeing all of it. They even came across a dimension that was nothing but ruined cities with a giant lizard destroying all of it, which they kept their distance from for their own safety. Those dimensions were few and far between for the two travelers and there was many more to come.

The two eventually settled in a dimension of “magic” proportions. While there were many areas to go to in the dimension, from a waterfall where mermaids lived to a caravan of zombies, Brian and Hoopa stayed in a safe haven of a small town that bustled with activity. That didn’t mean they never left the place, but after nearly getting ambushed around every corner by living cacti to female archers they decided to not venture too far. They caught the eyes of many townsfolk from their unnatural appearance even if they didn’t want to be noticed much. They also managed to pick up some loose gems from the scuffles out of the town earlier, which Hoopa wasted no time buying something…only to get smacked in the face from a “Super Pike Ball.” Brian uttered a few laughs before Hoopa got up and mirrored his expression, they really did look like happy idiots in this place.

They later went down to the beach for some sun until they came across two friendly girls in their usual two piece bikinis. Brian was so happy to now be looking at others straight in the face and not their giant feet, another glad reminder that he was no longer the tiny one of the bunch. He turned to Hoopa to see how it was faring, only for his face to go flat. The ring creature was infatuated by the one with the long purple hair, so Brian snapped it out of it with a friendly face slap, making the two girls laugh as Hoopa’s cheeks lit up like a tomato. The other girl in blonde hair invited the two over for a game of volleyball since they seemed like a fun duo, which the two accepted before heading off with them to the sandy court.

“Looks like we won there.” The blonde haired one said. “You two okay over there?”

Brian picked himself off the ground and got the volleyball off of his chest. He really saw the stars when the purple haired girl spiked the ball into him, but otherwise he was okay.

“You learn a few things when you are the town’s protector.” The purple haired one replied. “How’s your friend though?”

Brian wasn’t looking forward to answering that, for he could see the result right in front of him face down in the sand. He walked over to the little ring creature before grabbing its two horns and pulling it out. The first thing he saw from Hoopa was the flat straight face…and the puffed cheeks full of sand. He had to hold back from laughing as it spat out the torrents of small rocks and washed its tongue of any excess sand. Hoopa may have been an all-powerful ring djinn creature with the power to warp space through its rings, but it was no top athlete and won’t be winning medals any time soon.

“Blech…Hoopa dirty but thankfully not hurt.” Hoopa replied as it spat out another clump of sand. The two girls walked over to Brian and Hoopa just in case.

“Well, even though you weren’t the best that was a good game.” The purple haired one said.

“Hey, I enjoyed playing and that’s what really counts right?” Brian answered in a joyful manner. The blonde haired one chuckled.

“I like the way you think. It’s nice to know that someone thinks that winning isn’t everything. Are you up for another game?”

“Actually my friend and I have to get going before it gets dark.” Brian replied. “Maybe when we get back I’ll ring you up and we’ll go at it again. I won’t be so forgiving next time.”

“Riiiiiiiiight.” The purple haired girl said with a playful smile and a roll of the eyes.

“Beekan serious! Hoopa and Beekan win next time!” Hoopa added with a hint of seriousness. It got the girls giggling for the moment.

“Whatever you say little guy.” The blonde haired one replied. “I guess we’ll see you around then.”

The two girls ran off in the opposite direction before turning around and waving at the two. Brian and Hoopa waved back as the two went out of sight. To make sure they were still on their time schedule, Brian looked up at the sky. He got a front row seat to the amazing sunset this dimension had, with the mix of warm colors reflecting into his gazing eyes. He could even see a few stars fade into existence as the nightfall was on the horizon. Sights like these were one of the many perks Brian loved about travelling to so many dimensions. He never knew what sort of eye candy would come and give him a personal slideshow.

He didn’t want to trail off too much as he needed to give Hoopa the current timestamp.

“Okay Hoopa, it’s currently dusk and I don’t want to find out what comes out at night so you better get a ring up and running.”

“Hoopa got it Beekan!” Hoopa responded. “Hoopa get a ring up…except Hoopa needs to use the restroom.”

“Quick Hoopa’s middle name!” Hoopa answered before zipping off. Brian couldn’t help but chuckle at Hoopa’s childish nature as it disappeared. It helped being a sense of playfulness to what could be a serious and dangerous hobby. Even in the face of some lethal combinations of the endless multiverse Hoopa kept a smile up and did what it can to help. It was one of the traits Brian adored about his best friend.

That didn’t mean it was the only friend. As Brian waited for Hoopa to come back he reached into his jumpsuit and pulled out the little plastic cap he was given back at the one dimension. He lightly smiled from all of the happy memories he had with that one particular family even if he wasn’t at normal size during the time. It’s been only a couple of months since he left, but everything was still crystal clear. Since then he’s been hard at work trying to find the right paths in his personal dimensional map to find the special dimension but the progress was harder than it looked. Every single time he thought he was close only to end up somewhere completely different, he lost count of how many times it happened. It was a really bad turn of events, but he wanted to see the Louds again. He clutched the little plastic cap and held it close to his chest as he tilted his head down. Hoopa may have been family to him for many years, but those kids were also close to be considered family.

He was so deep into his mind that he almost missed Hoopa tapping him on the shoulder.

As he turned to face Hoopa, he noticed that while Hoopa appeared to be normal the gold ring around its torso was not there. He didn’t get to think about it for long until Hoopa spoke up.

“Heeheehee, Hoopa not tell until Beekan gets there! Hoopa certain Beekan would like it though!”

Even though they needed to get going to a new dimension, from the way Hoopa acted it must have been pretty big for the ring djinn to hide something from him. He decided to play along and see where it ended up.

“No peeking Beekan! A super surprise ahead, no, an ULTRA surprise! Let Hoopa direct Beekan and Hoopa tell Beekan when there!”

“Fine, I’ll let you guide me to wherever your surprise is since you seem to be really amped up to show me.”

Brian kept his eyes closed as Hoopa held his hand and led him to the particular spot. It wasn’t exactly the most efficient in leading the way since Brian did trip over a few things and got a face full of sand, which while hilarious to Hoopa wasn’t so for him. It even began to speed up at portions just because it couldn’t contain the excitement. The sun started to set even further in the timespan as billions more stars showed up in the sky, but since Brian was shutting his eyes for Hoopa he couldn’t see it. Whatever Hoopa wanted Brian to see must have been very important for it to accelerate to this degree.

It wasn’t until five minutes in that Hoopa suddenly stopped forcing Brian to also do so behind it.

Doing as instructed, Brian opened the lids. His sight set on some visuals that nearly made his heart stop. It was Hoopa’s missing ring all right, but it was what was in the center that got Brian surprised. The golden hue of the ring glittered under the constellations looming over it as it floated upright with a very recognizable image in the center.

“It is Beekan, the dimension Beekan loved so much.” Hoopa replied. “Hoopa really had eyes peeled to find it. Hoopa personally did own research behind Beekan’s back and managed to find coveted dimension the last couple of days. Dimension wasn’t easy for Hoopa to find.”

Never had Brian been in such a great mood for Hoopa to do something for him. He’s been hard at work to find the one special Royal Woods dimension with no luck so far, but to hear Hoopa also handle it personally and actually succeed was a symphony in Brian’s ears. Hoopa wasn’t the brightest one, but when it did get a spark of brainpower it made use of it very nicely. He almost felt like crying, but held back as much as he could although a few tears did fall down his face.

“Hoopa…you’re the best friend I have ever had.” Brian said and he walked forward and gave Hoopa the greatest heartfelt hug he could ever do. The ring creature embraced back to his best buddy, mirroring the grateful expression Brian had. The two were an inseparable duo that kept a strong friendship to help out when needed.

Brian let go of his best friend since he didn’t get what Hoopa meant. That was when Hoopa looked downward with a sad expression.

“Hoopa understand Beekan when Beekan left Laoods. Sorrow, sadness, and all of the negativity in between Hoopa felt. Laoods didn’t want to see Beekan gone after almost a year with Beekan, Laoods…loved Beekan. Isn’t that what all people strive for? To make Beekan and Laoods happy…Hoopa leave Beekan to Laoods until Hoopa cleans up dimensions Hoopa wrecked. Hoopa thinks scenario best for Beekan…and Hoopa respect it.”

“Oh Hoopa, that’s such a great service for you to do all of this especially since I couldn’t determine where the dimension was on my own, but going there alone wouldn’t be the same unless I had my best buddy with me. We’ve been through much more together than when I was with the Louds, I can’t just toss you aside and pretend you didn’t exist. Even when I lost my memories on you and everything we did, there was one piece of the puzzle that was emptier than anything else. I was missing you in my life Hoopa, and all of your problems are mine as well. We’re dimensional travelers after all, and we stick together by our partners.”

“You’re mine as well Hoopa, you always will be.” Brian replied. “Let’s both give the Loud family a very happy welcome.”

The ring creature slowly crept up a warming smile as it sniffed one more time in happiness. The stars shined as the night came up before Brian held out a hand. Hoopa slowly took hold of it as the two looked at each other in the eyes. Their eyes glistened under the lights above, reflecting all they have been through as travelling partners, making Hoopa’s arm quiver. One was the one that kept things in order while the other was the playful airhead, and many say that opposites attract. The two set their eyes on the image in the ring before them, preparing themselves for the wave of friendly faces upon their arrival. Lori would probably take out her phone and snap a photo for the moment, Leni would try to find the perfect shirt for them, Luna would bring out her cool jams and rock it, Luan would get going with dozens of jokes on the subject, Lynn would immediately want to wrestle since she wanted to before, Lincoln would give updates on various comics and video games, Lucy would want them all to herself for dark activities, Lana would want a quick mud fight, Lola would want them to comment on her technique for an upcoming pageant, Lisa would want to conduct multiple experiments on them, and finally Lily would want to snuggle with them like the baby she was. He assumed they would come up with some excuse for their parents on how they know him, but other than that his presence would be welcomed by all of the kids. Once Hoopa gave him the coordinates on where the dimension was on the map he could even pick up Kelly from her dimension and bring her with him. She did want to keep in touch and visit her new friends after all.

Brian and Hoopa glanced at each other one final time with smiles of valor before taking their first step. With their positive attitudes up front, the two disappeared inside the ring before it vanished under the dazzling lights of the stars above.