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Messages - foxgamer01

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1
Art Gallery / Re: Halloween Sketch-a-thon 13 (Open!)
« on: October 21, 2023, 01:48:12 AM »
#64

Zelda's ref: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/42092588/

I like to see Zelda as a nine-tailed deitysune, looming over Virmir with a wide grin.

2
Writer's Guild / Lycanroc TF
« on: October 01, 2023, 09:00:04 PM »
Conall finished the night shift and left work before sunrise. Driving home, he saw a store not there the previous night. Curious, he decided to check it out. After all, what is the worst that can happen?

This is one of those stories I was not originally going to make. XD;

To explain, I was chatting with AtrocityAtWork on Twitter (or X) when he showed me a WIP of this picture. As a fan of muscles and Lycanroc, I love it to the point of wanting a Lycanroc character (or at least another Lycanroc character). He gave me a suggestion that, along with further thoughts, caused me to create this story.

I hope that you all enjoy it!

-----

When Conall walked into the breakroom, the punch clock ticked to 5:00. The room smelled heavy with coffee. One of his coworkers stood behind the coffee maker machine, watching it through exhausted eyes pour coffee into a paper cup. Another coworker stared into his smartphone close to his eyes. The audio from it played baseball news from the previous night.

Conall walked over to the locker part of the room. He stepped before one with his name on it and unlocked it with a turn code. Within, his brown canvas side bag sat alone, with no single sticker on the walls. He pulled it out and slung it over his chest, with the bag bouncing against his hip. He patted his bag before reaching for his phone pouch on the opposite hip and unstrapping it from his black belt. It held his smartphone, which he pulled out and held. He stuffed the phone pouch into the locker and closed it, locking it back up.

He breathed in for a moment while walking over to the punch clock. The clock already turned to 5:02 in the meantime. He woke up the smartphone he held, with it showing a QR code on the screen. He hovered the code underneath the clock machine’s scanner. It beeped and, a second later, clocked him out.

Conall glanced at the smartphone for any messages and saw none. He sighed, which a yawn mixed in with, and placed the phone in the back pouch of the side back. He stood a couple of steps toward the exit before stopping himself. Feeling he had forgotten something, he patted his brown pants’ pockets and found his keys and wallet still there. He reached up his dark green polo shirt and touched a white button. It clicked at last on what he had forgotten.

As a final part of ending work, he unbuttoned the topmost button.

Conall sighed again and walked out. Along the way through the hallway, he passed by the Employees of the Month wall. It held photos of various coworkers and the month they won the award. He glanced at it with his purple eyes and sighed, turning away. After all, he knew that his face would never join them.

A second later, he stepped onto the main floor of the store. Tall pallet racks dominated the area, reaching up to thirty feet high. They held various dry goods, such as boxes of cookies or crackers. Meat, fruits, vegetables, and drinks lay at the north end of the store. Clothing and personal care items lay on standard shelves at the centermost part of the store. Despite cleaners’ best attempts, the building still smelled of warehouse dust.

Conall strolled over to the front door, where the morning-shift manager, Wade, stood beside.

“Heya, buddy,” Wade said. “How is it working the night shift?”

“So far, it’s alright,” Conall answered. “Just busy stocking up the shelves. At least I don’t have to deal with customers as much anymore.”

Wade smiled. “You’re a hard worker. Always laser-focus on the task at hand.”

“I guess,” Conall answered. This tone lacked any belief in that. Part of him wondered what his coworkers and bosses saw in him. After all, he would lurk in the back and read a book on his smartphone during downtime. A genuine hard worker, he felt, would always find something to do.

Even if he did and worked until his back gave up, it still would not grant him any award.

If anything, pity would be all he received.

“Hey. I mean that, buddy.” Wade gave Conall a thumbs-up. “You always go the extra mile to ensure the store count is accurate and alert us if the count is off. Plus, you make sure the products go in the right spot.”

Conall nodded out of politeness. “Have a good morning.”

Wade raised a fist toward Conall. He hesitated for a moment and raised his own. They fist-bumped.

Once done, Wade opened the front doors for Conall. “And you have a good rest of your day, buddy.”

Conall nodded again and stepped outside into the darkness. Various streetlamps shone bright lights in the large parking lot like beacons. The front door closed behind him with a light thud. Conall glanced around until he spotted his sunny blue sedan at the other end of the lot.

He reached into his side back and pulled out his Nintendo 3DS. He flipped it open and waited until the screens turned on. There, it displayed various download games like Mario Kart 7 and apps like the Animal Crossing clock app along with the game in the slot: Pokémon Ultra Moon. While walking to his car, he smiled and turned the slotted game on. By the time he reached the sedan, he had opened his game file.

“Enough time for this,” Conall said. It showed his player character, a blond-haired girl named Fiora, on the field during dusk. He opened up the menu and tapped on the Pokémon team. He smiled wide. “Hey there.”

His Dusk Lycanroc, Dusty, took the first slot while Jade, his Absol, held second. Chompy, his Garchomp, housed the third slot, and Sniper, his Decidueye, bore the fourth. Hotcakes, his Raichu, contained fifth, and Mine, his Pelipper, kept sixth.

“Ah, my amazing team,” Conall said. “You always make me happy to see you.”

Once done, he closed the game and Nintendo 3DS. He stuffed it back into his side bag and patted it briefly. He pulled out his keys, unlocked the car door, and swung it open. Once inside, he closed the door behind him.

“Ah, time to go home,” Conall said. He took off his back and set it on the passenger seat. “And then, to bed.”

Conall inserted the key into the ignition and turned it. The engine rumbled to life, with it giving a soothing purr. He turned on the headlights and changed gears. The sedan rolled out of the parking place. Within seconds, he drove it onto the streets.

He tapped on the steering wheel, nodding to imaginary music. It usually took five minutes of driving between work and home, so bringing music to his mind was not worth it. It would be if it took a half-hour or even an hour.

He preferred to listen to entire soundtracks instead of a single song in a single or a couple of drives.

Much of the stores Conall passed by kept their lights off. A few cars drove on the empty streets this early in the morning. Assuming he could call it morning yet. Only a faint glow from the east suggested the sun coming up soon. At the very least, it meant that the travel home would—

Lights flickered on from the store to his right.

Conall blinked in confusion. Nobody had run that store’s location in years, one of the last to go in the shopping center. While he heard of renovation plans in the area, nothing happened. Only parents or teachers training teenagers to drive bothered to come to this abandoned center.

As he drove closer, more oddities nagged him. When he passed by last evening, the store held no name, yet one hung above the door before sunrise. The store title, Gaming Goods, bothered him more. Why would a gaming store open before a more solid store such as a grocery or hardware store?

Conall felt he should obey his instincts and drive on. After all, he worked eight hours and should go to bed. Hey, he could imagine the store all along due to fatigue. A nagging feeling, however, demanded that he check it out. After all, it could hold something cool like a Pokémon toy. Plus, if he checked it in the afternoon and it did exist, a swarm of customers could block him.

News traveled fast, even in a city like this.

Conall thought about it for a second. “Ah, I guess I’ll check it out.”

He turned to the right, entering the parking lot. He glanced around for other vehicles in the lot but saw none. His suspicions rose high to the sky. Trucks carrying supplies like shelves, counters, and products should be surrounding the store. Also, construction workers like painters, plumbers, and electricians would take days, if not weeks, to get everything up to code. It would take a miracle for a store, even one in a small location, for all of that and cleanup in one night.

Even if the impossible happened, there should be vehicles for a manager and maybe a couple of employees.

Conall yawned and shrugged. “Too late to back out now.”

He parked in front of the door and grabbed his side bag. He exited the sedan and shut the door while slinging the bag on him. A neon sign with the words ‘OPEN’ glowed above a wooden door. Posters, toys, and video game consoles lay on the front displays to the left and right. He clicked his tongue and pressed against the door. It opened, with the bronze bell ringing above him.

The impossible happened.

At this point, he might as well proceed.

He stepped into this store.

Conall’s eyes widened at the sight. This store stretched out way farther than this small spot could hold. It made even his workplace, a store warehouse, look small. Endless rows of shelves reach so far that he doubted he saw their end. Each shelf carried plush toys, action figures, wooden toys, and more. From the most recent release to decades past, video games lay behind glass counters and shelves. He blinked at a few consoles like the Game Plus and HyperScan, wondering if they existed.

He rubbed his purple eyes for a second. For a moment, he wondered if he somehow grew so tired that he dreamed of it all. It still existed when he stopped rubbing his eyes and opened them. At once, he thought about how such a store like this existed. Perhaps this store replaced the entire shopping center, not just this one. Plus, good paintwork would generate the illusion of a massive store. At the same time, logistics would make this store more than impossible to exist in one night.

The only other answer would be magic.

So, he rationalized that a miracle worker did all of this.

“Hello there,” a voice said to his left.

Conall turned and flinched. A man stood leaning against the registers. He wore an unusual full-body costume of a jackal with golden-brown fur. His long tail, at least doubled his height, swayed behind him. Conall thought that the suit must hold advanced animatronics within. It would explain the moving tail, flickering ears, blinking green eyes, and moving lips.

“Uh, hey there,” Conall said.

The man chuckled. He walked forward, showing off his digitigrade feet-paws. The claws on them tapped against the stone floor. His cyan shirt and navy blue jeans snugged tight against the suit. He extended his hand-paw, which Conall took and shook. The padding and fur felt so natural to him.

Conall wondered about a third possibility: it all happened in his head.

If so, it explained everything.

He would wake up in the sedan in front of his store if lucky. If not, well, he hoped to wake up soon.

“The name is Luke,” the man dressed like an anthro jackal said. He chuckled. “How are you doing on this fine evening?”

“Uh, technically, it’s morning,” Conall said. He showed Luke his digital watch, with the time displaying 5:18 AM. “Or every late night, if you want to call it that.”

“Huh. Really?” Luke rubbed the back of his right ear. “How did I— OH! Right! Duh!” He smacked his forehead. “When I calibrated the store to materialize here, I forgot to consider the time differential from hopping from one part of the world to another. Sorry.”

“Ah, you’re welcome?” Conall wiggled his polo shirt’s lower button in confusion. The words flew past his head.

“Yeah. I’m still learning. Of course, the last owner would say that as an excuse.” Luke chuckled for a bit. His green eyes flashed as though remembering some adventures. “Still, want to come around and check out this store?”

“Ah, sure.”

Luke strolled ahead, his long tail curling around and wiggling joyfully. Conall followed while rubbing the bags underneath his eyes. While he worked the night shift for only a month, it felt like the first time. Exhaustion crawled all over him.

He wondered if sleepwalking felt like this.

If so, it meant he did not fall asleep at the wheel.

“This store has a long and rich history,” Luke said. He swung his arms around. “It was founded, oh, sixty or so years ago thanks to Athrú technology the first owner discovered. Since then, this store has taken on various forms as it passed from owner to owner. For example, the first sold costumes while the previous sold rings and plush toys. But they have the same pattern thanks to this technology. I should warn you, don’t touch anything without permission, you hear?”

“Uh-huh,” Conall said. His bored and tired tone suggested otherwise. The words bounced off his ears, such as ‘Athrú’ and how this store changed from owner to owner. Besides, if Luke felt concerned about someone taking products off the shelves, he should lock them up like the video game cases. “I’m listening.”

“Good!” Luke glanced at a Midnight Lycanroc and nodded to it. “Someone could get hurt or your favorite clothes destroyed. Do you know why?”

“Ah, I think so?” Conall stopped walking. He focused on the Midnight Lycanroc plush. “Why?”

“You see, the Athrú has a strange sense of humor,” Luke said.

He walked onward, still talking without glancing back.

Any further words Conall heard turned into a low buzz.

“This is pretty cool,” Conall said. He reached for the Midnight Lycanroc before stopping himself. Though the warning rang in his mind, it did not convince him to leave it despite loving that Pokémon. Instead, he preferred something more solid as a toy than a plushie. “Maybe there’s something else here.”

Conall walked into the aisle, with it stuffed with various Pokémon toys. Some held Pokéballs with gold-plated cards while others occupied Pokémon figures. One had a Midday Lycanroc plastic toy with its head poking out from a Pokéball. He inched towards it, with it being the—

A shine came from the lower shelve.

Conall blinked and kneeled. He gasped at the various plastic Z-Crystals of many types in rows. Most of them held the shape of a four-point diamond. He skimmed them from Buginium Z to Waterium Z with great interest. A brown one glinted farther along the shelf. He crawled over and widened his eyes.

This brown Z-Crystal held unique tips at the top and bottom, different from the others, holding square ends. It contained a canine face, with the left half showing cheek fur and an ear while the right half a mane bent over from the top and covered it. Such a Z- Crystal never sold in reality, yet here it sat to Conall’s surprise.

“Woah! A Lycanium Z!” Conall stared at it for a few seconds longer. The warning from Luke about not touching the products returned to his head. He shook it and yawned. “Ah, what’s the worst that can happen?”

Conall reached and snagged it off the shelf.

He stood up and walked out while shrugging.

He leaned up, about to shout for Luke—

The first of the morning light shone from the horizon through a window. The light landed on the Lycanium Z, causing it to glow. Conall blinked and glanced at it with confusion.

“Huh?” Conall raised the Lycanium to his head level. With his other hand, he wiggled the lower polo button. “Why is it doing that?”

It glowed in a mixture of three colors. At first, it lighted green before shifting to red and then blue. Afterward, it burned in a mix of all three colors. It glowed brighter, as though it shot beams of light. Even closing his fist around it did little to dampen its light. He leaned back, brushing back his black hair.

A few seconds later, it stopped glowing.

Conall uncurled his fingers around it. The Lycanium Z rolled to the tip of his fingers, but he caught it before it fell off. He stared at it some more, expecting it to shine light or glow again. He breathed in and out, startled.

Regardless, this must be one wild—

White fur sprouted on the tips of his fingers. He blinked and stared at them closer. His fingernails grew long and thick, browning in color. The Lycanium Z fell from his hand, clattering on the floor without breaking or glowing. He spread his fingers out and flipped his hands over. White fur grew, replacing skin, while white padding hardened on his palms and some parts of his fingers.

“Ah, what?” Conall said.

The white fur spread up his arms until halfway up his forearms. There, it turned orange-gold while spreading up the elbows and under his sleeves. He gasped and took a couple of steps back. He tugged on the fur, hoping it might fall off, but it pulled the skin underneath it. He squeezed a chunk of his skin and twisted it, feeling pain.

“Ah-ah-ah?”

His feet squirmed, feeling tight in his yellow shoes suddenly. Lumps formed underneath his shoes and socks, as though his feet had expanded in size and changed shape. Part of him wanted to remove them, but then brown claws ripped through the front. They stretched from his toes, at least half a length longer than his finger-claws. His feet stretched out longer, tearing through the top of the shoes with chunks flying off. He stumbled, taking a couple of steps forward until he stood on the front of his feet.

“Gah! What is going on?”

White fur grew on his feet, which took a digitigrade form. They stretched out what remained of his socks while spreading upward. He felt itches throughout his body from the fur growing underneath his clothes. He reached for his polo shirt at the waist, trying to remove it, but his claws poked holes through it instead. He sighed and gritted his teeth.

Conall grunted, feeling pressure around his neck. White fluffy fur grew around it, stretching the shirt’s collar until the second button popped off. Four brown rock spikes grew around his neck, with the frontmost pointed at a downward angle and the backmost pointed upward. A couple of the spikes rubbed against the side bag’s strap without damaging it. He reached up and rubbed one of them. It held a rocky texture to his fingers.

A tickle rolled down his spine until it reached the base. He went back and felt a lump growing underneath the seat of his jeans. He grunted at the pressure, with the bump running out of room. He felt paralyzed on ripping his jeans off, unable to handle the pain but unwilling to embarrass himself. It ripped through before he could, however. Bones, flesh, nerve, and blood stretched this new appendage, with white fluffy fur covering it. It stretched down to his ankles while his brain registered it. His new tail wagged back and forth.

Conall blushed. “Ah, wh-what?”

“Hey! Where did you go?” Luke shouted from a distance. “Did you touch one of the products?”

Orange-gold fur spread up the sides of his face. It stretched out longer on his cheeks, forming three pointy tuffs. His hair shifted color, whitening while fusing with the mane. It also grew longer, with the frontmost growing long enough to reach his nose. As it grew longer, the tips of each hair piece fused with the others while hardening. It formed into a brown rocky end that pointed forward.

Conall’s mouth protruded forward along with his nose. His nose flared, flattening while blackening. His stretching muzzle turned blocky, like a dog’s snout. The upper half of his face moved forward a bit, angling somewhat. White fur spread up from his neck, covering his muzzle and around his eyes. He opened his mouth, exposing his long, wider tongue and long, sharp, white teeth.

Meanwhile, his ears shifted upward to the top of his head. They stretched into triangular shapes while pinkish fur covered the inners. Orange-gold fur sprouted from the sides and back of his ears while the tips turned brown. His eyes shifted in color, turning from purple to bright green. He touched his torso and legs, feeling the fur itching inside.

Conall gasped, having turned into a Dusk Lycanroc.

“W-woah!” Conall flipped his hand-paws over. “This is one funky dream.”

Luke rushed out from the aisle behind Conall. “Is everyth—” He stopped and sighed at Conall. “Gah. Too late.”

“Ah, I mean it. This is—” Conall blinked and turned around. “Too late?”

Luke shook his head. “I tried to warn you. I really did. But it seemed that I was talking to a brick wall this entire time.” He sighed and shook his head. “I swear, I’m just as bad as my mentor in this?”

“What are you talking about?” Conall asked.

“This store is magic!” Luke answered. He tugged on his golden-yellow hair-fur. “At least, the Athrú technology is powered by magic. I was telling you about how they love transforming others. It’s in their very instincts, which are reflected in their creations! Because of that, their magic leaked into the store’s products, causing them to transform buyers. Dices are not safe here! Motherboards are not safe here!” He flailed his arms around. “Yes, my sensors detected them transforming their buyers as easy as a ring!”

“Woah, woah, woah! Slow down!” Conall said. He felt a hint of anger from the back of his head. He grabbed his side bag’s leather handle and squeezed it. “Back up! Isn’t this a dream?”

“A dream?! This isn’t a dream! You actually transformed into a Dusk Lycanroc!” Luke reached back and pulled forward his tail. “This shop also transformed me, which is why I have a tail that is more like a second body to me!”

“Wait? You’re actually a jackal?! A real, anthro jackal?!” Conall blinked while rubbing on his polo shirt where the lower button once sewn on. “I-I thought that’s some funky suit!”

“Yes!! I am a jackal!!” Luke rubbed where any zipper or sewn spots would lay if he wore a suit. Instead, flesh lay underneath. “Ugh. I should’ve kept a closer eye on you.”

“Hey!” Conall growled while grinding his teeth. He squeezed the leather handle tighter. “I didn’t ask for this. Hey, I bet you tricked me!”

“Tricked you!?”

“Yeah!” Conall’s eyes glowed a pinkish red. “Why else would you keep these products on the shelves free for the taking instead of behind glass or cage?!”

Before Luke answered, Conall’s ears flopped forward in a button ear style. The four spikes around his neck shrank into the fluffy mane until they disappeared. The mane shifted, rolling down from his neck until it stretched to the sides under his armpits. The chest fluffed up, some poking out from the polo shirt. On his sides, where the mane lay on the sides, two black rocky spikes grew, curled around like ribs. They rubbed against the side bag through the clothes. The upper back also fluffed up with a thick mane, stretching his polo shirt. The tail shrank in length until it only poked out from the seat of his jeans. The orange-gold fur shifted into a red color while ruffling. His head turned downward while the spikes on his claws and front of the mane-hair blackened.

Conall growled, having turned into a Midnight Lycanroc.

“Woah!” Luke said while taking a step back. “How did you do that?”

“What are you talking about?!” Conall said through gritted teeth. Even the fangs grew a bit longer. “It’s because of you that I—ah?” He glanced at his arms. Not only did he see the red fur instead of orange, but the fur pattern changed. Instead of staying halfway up the forearms, the red fur stretched down to the hand-paws at the sides. “Huh?! I-I thought I turned into a Dusk Lycanroc!”

“You did.” Luke rubbed the back of his ear in confusion. “But you changed forms. I never saw anything like this before.”

“Great. I thought I was the second for a moment there.” Conall rolled his eyes. “What a great, a fantastic morning here!”

Luke rubbed the back of his ears a few seconds more. He glanced from the Lycanium Z to Conall to the window and back again. He hummed, deep in thought.

“You know,” Luke said. “Now that I think about it, shouldn’t you turn into a Midday? Why did you turn into a Dusk and then a Midnight version?”

“How should I know? You own this shop!” Conall sighed and rubbed between his eyes. “Gah. I just remember. I’m scheduled for this night at work as well. How will I explain it to them? That I turned into an anthro Pokémon thanks to a magical shop? They’ll never accept that excuse. But then, they’ll consider it a suit and demand that I take it off for safety reasons. How will I convince them otherwise?”

Luke smirked and wagged his tail. “Good thing I’m here since—”

Conall’s fur and claws shifted color from red to light brown and red to brown. His eyes stopped glowing, though the bright green changed into blue. His ears straightened up into triangular shapes like before. The rocky spike on his hair-mane and his extra fluffy chest and upper back retracted into nothing. At the same time, his mane moved up from under his armpits and around his neck again, fighting the polo shirt’s collar for space. The rib-like spikes underneath his arms shrank to nothing. At the same time, the four points around his neck regrew back into existence at the same angle. A new spike formed at the back of his head curled backward and rubbing the back of his shirt. His tail extended in length again, reaching his ankles while fluffing up.

Conall lifted his head upward while rubbing his chin, ignorant of turning into Midday Lycanroc.

“Uh, what?” Luke said.

“What?” Conall asked. “Did something happen— HUH?!” He glanced at his arms. He saw how the red already changed into light brown. He flipped them and noticed the light brown fur stopped halfway down his forearms before turning white. “Again?! Why am I in Midday form all of a sudden?!”

Luke rubbed the back of his ear faster. He glanced at the Lycanium Z and raised an eyebrow. “Hmm. I wonder.”

“What is it?” Conall asked.

“I have a theory.” Luke bent down and picked up the Lycanium Z. “When you brought it out from the aisles, the first morning light touched it, correct?”

“Ah, now that you mentioned it, yes. It shined in three colors, too: green, red, and blue.”

Luke nodded. “What I think happened is that thanks to the morning light, the Lycanium Z got confused on which form to change you. After all, there isn’t a Dawn form, is there?” He waited until Conall shook his head. “So, to resolved it, it changed you into all three forms at once.”

All three?!” Conall widened his eyes. “But then, why didn’t it turn me into some kind of fusion or, I don’t know, cause me to sprout two more heads? Why is it changing me at random?”

Luke hummed for a few seconds. “Not random, I think. Try thinking of lazy thoughts.”

“Huh?”

“Just do it. After all, you should be sleeping at this point, right?”

“Ah, right.” Conall yawned. “I should be, now that you mentioned it. It has been a long and tiring night, full of lifting boxes and putting them on shelves.”

During Conall’s yawn, his fur changed from light brown to orange-gold. His eyes turned from blue to bright green, which shone like emeralds. His mane-hair stretched forward over his forehead. The rocky spike at the back of his head shrank into the mane to nothing. Meanwhile, a new tip fused from the hair-mane, stretching between his eyes and pointing over his moist nose.

Luke grinned at the Dusk Lycanroc Conall.

“I knew it,” Luke said. He snapped his fingers. “It’s not random at all.”

“Huh?” Conall glanced at himself and blinked. “I-I’m back to Dusk form?!”

“Yup. Thanks to your moods, you’re changing from one form to another!” Luke grinned wider. “When you’re tired and want to relax, you become a Dusk Lycanroc. When you’re serious and doing, heck, thinking of work stuff, you become a Midday Lycanroc. When you’re angry, or even passionate, and want to vent out, you become a Midnight Lycanroc.”

“So, you’re saying that I’m a living mood ring?” Conall asked. He waited until Luke nodded to sigh and shook his head. “Gah. That’s going to be a pain.”

“What is?” Luke asked.

“It means that my coworkers and bosses can tell when I’m lurking instead of working.”

“Oh.” Luke nodded. “I do have a solution, though!”

He reached into his pants pocket until it engulfed his entire forearm. He wiggled and grinned before pulling it out. He carried a necklace between his fingers with a glowing blue gem on it. He tossed it to Conall, who caught it while blinking.

“This gem here can revert you into a human as long as you wear it,” Luke explained. “It’s something we handed to customers who like it but want to hide out as humans in public. For those that hated the change, I can contact a fellow who can revert it.”

Conall stared at it and, for a moment, lifted it toward his muzzle. He paused and thought about it some more. He would not need to explain this transformation to work or anyone. This would be his and Luke’s secret. At the same time, he loved Lycanroc and all of the alternative forms. Who would not want to be one, let alone change into the other forms?

It would mean explaining to everyone, family, friends, and work, about what happened. At the same time, would it be so bad?

Conall tossed the necklace back to Luke. “No thanks.”

“You sure?” Luke asked. When Conall nodded, he gave a thumbs-up. “I’m glad that I’m not the only one who made the same decision.”

Conall laughed. “Good. Also, I still want that Lycanium Z. At least if it will not change anyone else.”

“Nah. Once used, it’s used.”

“Sounds good to me.”

#   #   #

When Conall the anthro Midday Lycanroc stepped into the breakroom a couple of months later, the punch clock ticked to 5:00. His modified yellow sneakers, form-fitted for his digitigrade feet-paws and claws, squeaked against the floor. He rushed to his locker, unlocked it, and pulled out his side bag. He slung it over his chest, causing his Lycanium Z necklace to bounce off and on his chest. He took out his smartphone from his belt’s phone strap. After removing the phone strap from his belt and stuffing it into his locker, he locked it and went to the punch clock.

When he scanned the QR code on the punch clock, it ticked to 5:02.

At once, his form changed. His fur changed from light brown to orange-gold. His eyes transformed from blue to bright green. The spike on the back of his head shrank while the front of his mane-fur grew in length. It bent down toward his nose, ending with a brown spike at the tip.

Conall the anthro Dusk Lycanroc unbuttoned the topmost button of his dark green polo shirt, finishing his end-of-shift duty.

He rushed out of the breakroom, passing by a coworker about to clock in. He stepped into the hallway and paused, glancing at the Employee of the Month wall. For this month, it held him during his Midday form.

Conall beamed with pride and walked out.

In half a minute, he reached the front doors where Wade stood by.

“Heya, buddy. I’m glad you got employee of the month,” Wade said. “Heading out?”

“Yup. I’m off tomorrow night, and I want to enjoy it.” Conall wiggled his ears.

“Sounds good.” Wade rubbed his chin. “You know, I still can’t believe that you turn into a Pokémon.”

“Same here. I’m still learning what my body can and can’t do. Safely.” Conall glanced at his hand-paw. “For example, I found that I can use the moves Lycanroc can use.”

“Cool! I should watch you when you have the time. Also,” Wade winked at him, “I heard that the district managers are considering raising your payment if you join back to the day shift. They heard how much business boomed during the nights, especially when word came out about you.”

“Words travel fast in this city,” Conall said.

“So, what do you think? Will you rejoin the day shift?”

“Ah, lahaha.” Conall rubbed the back of his head while giving a sheepish smile. “I’ll have to think about it. I don’t want to get mobbed by customers, after all, especially those who want to tug my tail. It took a while for people not to do that. Along with the ears and the spikes.”

Wade nodded. “I understand. Take it easy out there.”

The two fist-bumped each other and laughed.

#   #   #

“LAHAHAHAHA! TAKE THAT, PUNK!”

Conall, in his Midnight Lycanroc form, grinned at the television screen. A cable hooked the TV to a computer for streaming his playthrough. A mic hung beneath his muzzle, recording his voice. He gripped his Nintendo Switch Pro Controller tight while avoiding breaking them with his black claws. He wigged his short tail in glee, leaning forward to give it space. He licked his lips in anticipation.

“Almost there, come on.” Conall leaned closer toward the screen. There, his player Link raced in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, passing by a player he knocked out with a red shell. He reached second with only a mushroom. The lead player slowed down, which made him raise his eyebrows. He glanced at the mini-map and saw a blue shell flying inbound. “Oh, you SUCKER!”

Despite the danger, he zipped ahead to first place. The finish line appeared on the screen. His fur ruffled up, and his heart beat faster and harder against his chest.

The blue shell hovered above Link.

Conall activated the mushroom, granting Link a boost.

In that split second, Link zoomed ahead, dodging the blue shell’s explosion.

Another second later, Link drove past the finish line.

“LAHAHAHAHA!! YES! YES!” Conall leaped from his chair and raised his fist high. On his computer screen, the stream chat exploded into cheer and shock. “I DID IT!” He flopped back to his chair. “Oh, jeez. For a moment, I thought I was going to screw myself.” He turned to the webcam that recorded him, though displayed to the viewers as a VR version of his Lycanroc form. “But I didn’t!”

Conall laughed some more.

3
Writer's Guild / Re: Alephmon's New Recruits
« on: March 04, 2023, 11:19:47 AM »
The five Digimon traveled through a castle with Stry leading them. Well, as much as Stry could, with plenty of areas being blocked off by rubble. Toximon almost leaped over a gap in the floor before Stry stopped her.

“You can’t make the leap from here!” Stry said. Bits of red appeared on his cheeks. “Both Aleph and I tried and it’s too wide.”

“I-I can make it,” Castmon said in a voice so low that no one heard it.

Still, plenty of rooms were still open. For example, the kitchen and dining room were almost pristine outside of a hole in the ceiling. The ground floor held a sizable training room for all kinds of Digimon. A lovely garden lay on a roof section with gorgeous flowers and a couple of fruit trees.

“And now for the main event!”

Stry lead the group down the stairs. Toximon ate through a peach fast before it rotted too much. The pit decayed into nothingness. Stormymon glanced around for any possible danger for the others, such as missing steps or falling ceiling. Nekozukimon kept to the shadows much like a ninja trying not to be seen. Though, in some ways, Castmon did a much better job at shrinking into the shadows.

“How far is it?” Stormymon asked. He stepped over a hole.

“Not too long now!” Stry pointed at a doorway at the other end of the hallway. He led them over to the door with a spiral symbol on it. The group traveled over there with anticipation building within their bodies. Stry stopped before the wide door and swung them open. The others stood next to him, three blinking in confusion. Castmon, the exception, gasped in wonder and shock. Stry said, “And here it is!”

The room, at a mere glance, appeared to hold nothing within. No treasure, no weapons, not even photos and whatnot. With that kind of perspective, the room itself was an overhyped disappointment like several AAA games.

At least until the floor symbol glowed somewhat. The symbol itself looked like a four-corner diamond. Four spiral arms extended out from the center, never crossing over the other. They stretched out through the four diamond corners and only stopped at the walls. The glow ebbed with only markings remaining.

“Woah.” Castmon kneeled down in wonder. “I-I only read about this in books, but to see that it actually existed is-is shocking.”

“Looks more like a strange symbol to me.” Stormymon snapped his fingers with electrical sparks generating out. He pressed it on Castmon’s head. Nothing happened with not even a tail or ear twitch from him. Stormymon lifted his hand-paw up and frowned at it. “Hmm.”

“Wooooah! That is so coooooool!” Toximon stared at the symbol. “What is it?”

“It’s a portal,” Stry answered.

“N-not just any portal,” Castmon said. He blushed deeper. He glanced at Stry. “Um, is it alright?”

“Go ahead.” Stry patted Castmon’s head-fur.

“W-well,” Castmon began before stopping, losing his nerves. He breathed in and out for a few seconds. “As Stry said, it’s a portal. But this portal doesn’t open pathways within this universe. It’s a portal to other universes.”

“Wait. You’re telling us that this can access the multiverse?!” Nekozukimon asked. He widened his eyes.

“Yup!” Stry nodded. “How this came to be, Aleph and I have no idea. We found it like this when we founded the castle and even tested it. To our surprise, even after thousands of years, it still works. We guessed that the previous owner, the Digimon knight with his image all over this place, created it somehow.”

“Wooooooooooah!” Toximon’s eyes sparkled. “That’s like amazing! You two are awesome!!”

“Ah, shucks.” Stry rubbed the back of his head while blushing. “Thanks.”

“Hmm. Interesting.” Stormymon nodded. “If any other Digimon, even other agencies meant to help others, found out about this, they’ll do everything they can to seize this castle and the portal.”

“I know.” Stry leaned forward. He became exhausted all of a sudden. “We’ve been keeping it a secret for that reason. It’s hard to do so when you’re with Aleph.” He shrugged. “Though I like to see them try using it without a way to guide it. Any notes on how to do so got destroyed by time. And it’s only because we got lucky that our first few attempts didn’t trap us.”

“Hmm. Do you know how to?”

“I got an idea now. And we once got into a universe that does use a portal system like this somewhat regularly. They promised to send us documents on how to tune it for accurate multiversal travel.”

“Hmm. What kind of universe is it? Another Digimon universe? Maybe a human universe?”

“Neither of those things, actually. It was—”

Behind came a pitter-platter of feet-paws steps. The five Digimon spun around in confusion. The sound came closer with a silhouette of a flof Digimon running in. Stry gasped before giving a wide grin to the other.

Alephmon rushed over to them with a wide grin and a wave. He wagged his tail, no longer flat as a piece of paper. And he still maintained his dignity with the others. Stry rushed over and pounced Alephmon in a hug with surprising force. So much so that Alephmon yipped and fell on his rear.

“Welcome back, buddy!” Stry said.

“Thanks, dear buddy,” Alephmon said. He rubbed Stry’s head a few times. Stry got off of him while chuckling. Alephmon rolled up while brushing away any dust on him. He snickered and approached the four Digimon recruits. “Hello, new friends!”

“Oh hey there, Alephmon!” Nekozukimon poof to his side. He gave Alephmon a wide, confident grin.

“It’s the hide-and-seek master!” Toximon rushed over to Alephmon. She bent her knees in admiration.

“Sigh. Forget it.” Stormymon shook his head. He approached Alephmon and extended his hand-paw. “It’s good to see you.”

“Good to see you too, maf!” Alephmon took Stormymon’s hand-paw and shook it.

“H-hi, Alephmon.” Castmon blushed. He took little steps over to Alephmon and smiled. “H-how are you doing?”

“I’m doing great, maf! How about you?” Alephmon grinned at Castmon.

“W-well here.” Castmon bowed to Alephmon. By the time he stood straight, he held up flowers out of nowhere. “Th-these are for you.”

“Woooooah!” Alephmon accepted the flowers. He sniffed them, filling his nose with a sweet aroma. “How did you do that, maf?”

“W-well, I-I always wanted to be a-a magician.” Castmon blushed some more. He glanced away out of shyness. “B-but I g-get so overwhelmed by stage f-fright.”

“Awwwww.” Toximon patted Castmon on his shoulder. “Like, you’ll do fine.”

“Hmm.” Stormymon nodded to himself. He turned to Alephmon and winked. “Say, how did we do?”

“Maf?” Alephmon blinked in confusion.

“Come on. I know that the whole ‘mission’ that Stry said that you’re on is pure bogus. You were here all along, observing us new recruits and seeing who we are without your presence.” Stormymon wiggled his fingers when he said ‘mission.’ “So—”

“That’s right! You were, like, playing hide-and-seek with us!” Toximon giggled. Stormymon sighed and rolled his eyes far back. “You, like, did an awesome job hiding from us! Even from a ninja like Nekozukimon!”

“Hey! I still think you managed to hide from us by being flat!” Nekozukimon rubbed behind his left ear. “Only a ninja would think of that. Where did you hide, though?”

“Oh!” Alephmon blushed deep. “Er, maf—”

“Say, everyone?” The other Digimon turned to Stry. “Try not to overwhelm him when he just got back. OK?”

“Y-yeah! M-maf!” Alephmon nodded. “Say, let’s step outside, maf.”

“Hmm. OK.”

“Like, sweet!”

“Sounds cool to me!”

“S-sure.”

“Stry?” Alephmon winked at him. “How about you?”

“I can’t just leave my best buddy behind, can it?” Stry winked back. “Let’s go!”

All six Digimon nodded at each other. They stepped through the hallway and then up the stairs. The stairs crumbled beneath them, but it held. Alephmon led the group with a confident grin. Toximon followed close behind while admiring him. Stormymon crossed his arms while glancing away. Nekozukimon pressed his palms together before he disappeared in a puff of smoke. Stry and Castmon walked side by side while having arms over the other’s shoulders, almost like a father helping his shy son.

Up they went until they reached the ground floor. Nekozukimon reappeared beside the group and winked at them. Stormymon rolled his eyes in annoyance before poking him in an electrical shock. It coursed through his body, causing his fur to stand up. He frowned and stomped his feet at a smirking Stormymon.

“Maf. How long have they known each other?” Alephmon asked Toximon. Stormymon turned his back on Nekozukimon, which proved to be a mistake. Nekozukimon snapped his fingers to summon a fireball. He set it under Stormymon’s tail; his childish smirk became wider. Stormymon yipped, jumping up and down until the fire went out. Alephmon sweated before he continued, “They really want to get the other.”

“It’s their way of teasing the other.” Toximon giggled.

Stormymon rubbed his tail, nursing it. The burnt-off fur fell out with fresh one regenerating a moment later. He closed his eyes and hummed. Tense seconds passed as though the world paused for an explosive response. At the end of the final second, he chuckled. He patted Nekozukimon’s head.

“Like, trust me,” Toximon stuck a tongue out, “you don’t want to be in their way when they’re serious.”

“Maf, if you say so.” Alephmon grinned. He waved at the others toward the large double doors. They all gathered before him and it. “Know that, from this day forward, we are a team, maf. We work together, eat together, and live together. We help anyone who’s in need, maf. That is our creed. Are we in this together?” He raised his fist into the air. The others followed his gesture. “Good! Now, let’s—”

Alephmon pulled on the door handle, but it snapped off. The hinges holding the doors cracked off. The doors leaned over to them as though a beast pouncing on its prey. Alephmon flattened his ears back while widening his eyes. The white flag from before appeared on his other hand-paw.

“—go?”

The doors landed on top of the six Digimon with a squishing sound. Each one yelped in surprise with no time to avoid. The door pinned all six flat on the ground in a quarter of a second.

Well, five of them.

Nekozukimon slid out from under the door with ease. He held up his hand-paw and twisted it into a spiral. He grinned despite his entire body being flat. He spun his fingers around until two flat kunai appeared around them.

“Good thing I’ve been trained in the martial arts of flatness!” He tossed the two flat kunai at the door. They quickly burned down the doors with little ashes remaining within half a second. The others lay there, each one as flat as him. He snickered. “I didn’t realize how squishable you are, Stormymon.”

“S-shut up!” Stormymon growled between gritted teeth. “If you tell anyone about this—”

“EEP!!” Castmon planted his flat hand-paws against his red face. “Th-this is just as bad as on stage!”

Toximon rolled herself up. She stood against a flat Alephmon and a flat Stry. The white flag had disappeared already, its purposed fulfilled again. She planted her hand-paw against her face to hide her giggle. “W-woah! Like, I didn’t know you two could get so flat as well.”

“W-well, there’s one thing you did right, buddy.” Stry’s eyes were spinning in spirals. “You found the right Digimon to recruit.”

“Maaaaaaaaf!” Alephmon blushed deep. His self-dignity before the others lost. What will they do now?

#   #   #

“So, that’s what happened,” Nekozukimon said.

The six Digimon sat underneath a tree’s shade. Alephmon and Stry were still blushing in embarrassment at how luck or fate turned out. Meanwhile, Stormymon faced away from the group with his arms crossed. Nekozukimon snickered at him and even folded himself into a shuriken to tap on Stormymon’s head. Stormymon responded by tossing him at the tree.

“I swear, if you lot told anyone else about this,” Stormymon said through gritted teeth, “I’ll—”

“Awwww. You, like, shouldn’t be too embarrassed about this,” Toximon said. She hugged Stormymon with her flat arms. “After all, you’re in good company! Even our awesome leader Alephmon is super-squishable!”

Stormymon growled with his face turning red. “I have my pride to maintain!”

Nekozukimon unfolded himself back to his normal but still flat form. His foot-paw remained on the tree, but he dislodged himself off with a shake. He snickered some more. “It seems like you have a pride of a cat.”

“Wolves are meant to be noble, elegant, not silly.” Stormymon glowered.

“Well, aren’t you going to admit it?”

“Hmm. Admit what?”

“That I was right!” Nekozukimon winked. “Not just that he was flat when we checked that room, but I also managed to trace his movements accurately! If it wasn’t for you, Stry,” he stuck a flat tongue at him, “we would’ve found him.”

“Hmm. Fine. I admit it.” Stormymon shrugged. “Just don’t let anyone else know about this. OK?”

“I wouldn’t tell another soul!” Nekozukimon said. His tone suggested otherwise.

Stormymon folded his flat ears back in annoyance.\

“I-I guess that trying to hide what happened to me what kind of pointless after all,” Alephmon said. He blushed so bright that his flat head might explode. “Is it?”

“Well, kind of.” Nekozukimon snickered. “If you didn’t, maybe Stormymon wouldn’t stay after all and he wouldn’t show himself—MROOOOW!!” He jumped in the air. Stormymon chuckled with his hand-paw glowing from flat electricity. “What was that for!?”

“I won’t let you wound my pride any longer.” Stormymon shook his head. He glanced at his hand-paws. “Hmm. I would like to pop back into shape right about now.”

“Oh? You don’t know how?” Nekozukimon tapped his nose. “Why, it’s a simple technique that all ninjas know. So simple, in fact, that I’m going to help teach you all free of charge.”

The other five Digimon turned to him with greater interest. Toximon’s eyes sparkled as though fireworks went out in her eyes. Stormymon sighed but stared at him with a hunger for knowledge. Stry and Alephmon glanced at each other before nodding. Castmon twiddled his thumbs while glancing at Alephmon with greater interest.

Nekozukimon gave a thumbs up. “Excellent! Of course, it’s all unique to each Digimon who are super squishable like us. But there is a common theme, though.” He held a finger at Stormymon, who nodded. “It’s to use our personal theme to pop back into shape.”

“Personal theme?” Stormymon half-closed his eyes sarcastically. “What do you mean like that? That I must summon a mighty bolt from the sky and it’ll pop me back into shape?”

“Say, I didn’t know you took ninja classes as well,” Nekozukimon said teasingly. Stormymon blinked, but he let Nekozukimon continue. “That’s the secret. Watch.”

Nekozukimon pressed his palms together before making hand-signals with his fingers. Once completed, his entire body burst into flames from head to toe. The other Digimon stepped back in surprise. The fire, rather than spread to the grass or to the tree, faded away. Nekozukimon posed for them, showing that he returned to normal instead of being flat.

“Nekeke. See?” Nekozukimon winked at Stormymon. “Now, you try.”

“Sigh. Why me?” Stormymon got up while frowning. He stepped away from the tree, grumbling all the while. The wind blew by and slammed against his flat body, which almost caused him to fall. He fought against the win to remain standing, which he won when the wind died off. He lifted his hand-paw up. “Awooooooo!”

A lightning bolt fired down upon him despite no clouds in the sunset sky. Electricity crawled through the ground, shocking everyone within the distance. The very air sparked with light and sound. A fluttering sound came from Stormymon, though it was not because of his flat body. It was because of his cape.

Stormymon gazed with shock at his hand-paws, even flipping them over. “I-I’m not flat anymore.” He jumped into the air with joy. “Yes! No longer will I have to wait for hours!”

“Well, at least he’s happy. I think that’s the happiest I have ever seen of him.” Nekozukimon turned to Stry. “Want to try?”

“No worries.” Stry crossed his hand-paws together so they formed a V sign. The V on his cheeks and forehead glowed somewhat. He swung his palms down, which made a whistling sound. By the time they lay on his side, he had popped back to normal. “When you’re dealing with someone like Alephmon every day of the week, you learn quickly how to restore yourself.”

“Maf? But I haven’t known how and I’ve been flat just as many times as you!” Alephmon’s eyes widened before they turned white with black outlines.

“Maybe you haven’t found your style. Veveve.” Stry winked at him.

Alephmon opened his mouth wide. His face turned blue from the shock. Toximon giggled and rubbed Alephmon’s flat shoulders, which calmed him down. He twisted his head at her.

“To be honest, I, like, don’t know what counts as my own style as well.” Toximon blushed at him. “Perhaps we can, like, figure it out together.”

“Maf? But how?” Alephmon folded his head to the side.

Toximon hummed for a few seconds. “If you, like, want to know, I always wanted to join with you. I heard of your exploits and your drive to be a Digi-paladin. And, like, hearing your speech reaffirms what I always like about you.” She reached behind her back. Out of nowhere, a mallet was pulled out from behind her. “I also want to be a Digi-paladin.”

“Maf. You-you do?”

“Yes! And let’s do it together!”

Alephmon’s lips curled into a wide grin. He reached for Checksum and unsheathed it. He held it pointing up at a sixty-degree angle. Toximon grinned as well. She raised her mallet toward his sword

“Maf. Together.”

Their weapons collided and a shock went through both of their bodies. They both blinked in confusion. With a couple of pops, Alephmon and Toximon returned to normal along with their weapons. They blinked some more before they grinned. The two hugged each other close.

“Now ain’t that sweet,” Stry said. He turned to Castmon. “What about you?”

Castmon blinked for a few moments before he flinched. His focus on Alephmon broke for the moment. He blushed some more. Stry chuckled and patted his neck.

“What’s the matter?” Stry asked in a somewhat teasing voice. “You’ve been focusing on Alephmon since we all got flat.”

“I-I—” Castmon blushed bright red. “I’m so impressed with how toony Alephmon is. I-I thought I was the only one like that.”

“Ain’t that sweet. Looks like you got another fan.” Stry winked at Alephmon. “But what is your unique style in popping back to normal?”

“Oh? It-it’s this.” Castmon stuck his thumb into his mouth. He chomped on it and blew. His limb swelled up, which spread all over his body. A stretching, rubbery sound came from his body. Once he popped back into shape, he removed his thumb. “It-it’s what I always do. Wh-what do you think?”

“Well, that’s simple and yet effective.” Nekozukimon nodded in approval. “And you see? All of you are now back to—MROOOOW!!” He leaped into the air from another massive shock. Stormymon snickered some more. “What was that for?! I helped you!!”

“I wanted to tease you.” Stormy laughed. He turned to Alephmon. “Hmm. I can’t say that I approve of being flat, but hearing you and Toximon’s little speech touched my heart.” He rubbed his hand-paw against Alephmon’s hair-fur. They all stuck upward when he removed his hand-paw. “Very knightly of you.”

“Maf, thank you.” Alephmon nodded while blushing.

Stormymon turned to the others. “Hmm. Now, here is the one who brought us all here to join his agency. And though I haven’t seen him in combat, I have no need to. I can see the type of Digimon he is. For he is the one I want to help and support. Do all of you agree to join him, despite being, er, squishable?”

The others said, “Yes!”

“Good. Very good.” Stormymon nodded to Alephmon. “We will help you, our leader.”

“Maf. All, shucks.” Alephmon blushed while rubbing the back of his head. His stomach rumbled, which was followed by everyone else’s belly rumbling. He blushed. “Maf, it seems like our first mission should be to get dinner first.”

“Sounds like a great idea.” Stormymon’s eyes sparkled like thunder. Then, without waiting for a response, he sprinted for the castle. “Last one there gets to cook!”

“Hey! That’s not fair!” Stry sprinted after Stormymon. “You can’t just announce that while running while we just stand still!”

“Hmm. Yes, I can.”

Nekozukimon laughed. “No one can outrace a ninja.”

He slammed his palms together and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Castmon blushed deeply. “I-I guess I should catch up, then.”

“Maf, you better start now, or else—” was all Alephmon said when Castmon stretched his arm out. It stretched farther into the distance, five, ten, fifteen, twenty feet. His arm squeaked and creek louder the farther he stretched it out. Once he reached thirty feet, he grabbed the ground. Castmon rocketed forward with his arm retracing back to shape. He became a blur, passing by Stry and Stormymon.

“Wooooooooah! A rubber Digimon!” Alephmon’s eyes became stars.

“Woooooooow! Like, I have never seen him do that before!” Toximon’s eyes also became stars.

They turned to each other with a grin on their face. Without another word, they nodded at each other. They sprinted forward, catching up to the rest of the group. All the while, the two laughed in joy.

4
Writer's Guild / Alephmon's New Recruits
« on: March 04, 2023, 11:19:11 AM »
Commissioned by Aleph

Alephmon and Stry were training on the roof of their crumbling castle when Alephmon got flattened as usual. Usually, that wouldn't be a problem. Except that new recruits are coming and he wants to be presentable with his dignity intact. Stry promises to help him hide, but will he succeed?

Note: This story is unrelated to the previous Aleph stories. This is an alternative universe Aleph where he was a human before using his Digivice to turn himself into a Digimon.

This is another fun story that I wrote. Aleph always wanted a story where he remains flat for most of it. I hope that I succeeded.

Enjoy!

The art in the thumbnail is made by Aonik!
Nekozukimon belongs to https://twitter.com/Leo_Nekozuki
Stormymon belongs to https://twitter.com/StormyWolf295
Castmon belongs to https://twitter.com/CastawayCollie
Toximon belongs to https://twitter.com/ToxinChinchilla

(Will be posted in two parts)

-----

The sun shone upon Alephmon the Flof Digimon. He wielded his sword, Checksum, up into the sky. The sun’s light reflected cold and bright on its polished iron blade. When Alephmon smiled, his two canine teeth poked out in a cute way. His yellow eyes glimmered from the sunlight.

He stood on an improvised battlefield on top of a castle’s ruins. Around him stood three cobblestone pillars, the fourth fallen long ago. The castle itself once belonged to a knight Digimon millenniums ago. He vanished without a trace of where he went or what happened to him. What remained of his existence were carvings of his knightly form with armor from head to toe. One such is a statue erected near the battlefield atop the castle. Bits of blue and white paint remained on it; the rest decayed away.

Alephmon swung his sword at Stry the Veemon. Stry jumped to the side while grinning with confidence. His red eyes narrowed at the blade. He bent his knees low as soon as his feet-paws touched the ground. He pounced forward, aiming his yellow V on his forehead at Alephmon. He leaned back with a grunt to avoid the attack. Stry grumbled as he instead zoomed toward a pillar. He headbutted it so hard that it collapsed with cobblestones flying all over.

“You need to do much better than that, maf!” Alephmon flipped back onto his feet-paws. His long, white claws scratched against the mossy stones, leaving behind scratch marks. His black, fingerless gloves snug tight against his swollen hand-paws. He pointed Checksum at Stry. “What do you say about that?”

“You’re getting much better at dodging,” Stry said. He rubbed his unharmed forehead to dust away any dust on it. He wiped away the sweat while ensuring none got on his red bandana around his neck. He turned around at Alephmon and gave him a thumbs up. “Even when you were a human and a lot frailer, you often stood there like a tree!”

“Don’t remind me.” Aleph blushed. He rubbed against his khaki shorts with his other hand-paw. He tightened his own red bandana around his neck with a grin. The bandana itself lay over his white, extra-fluffy chest. “Again, maf?”

“Always!”

Stry swung both arms in a circle. He charged at Alephmon with a loud battle cry. Mossy stones flew off from Stry’s claws from how fast he dashed. “Veveveve!”

Alephmon braced for the attack by raising his sword to block it. His muscles tensed up. His other hand-paw pressed against Checksum’s flat side with the blade shining cold. He lowered his head and swallowed. He dug his claws deep into the mossy cobblestone ground.

Stry struck his sword with enough force that a shockwave emitting from it. Alephmon slid back until his back smashed against another pillar. He wiggled his feet-paws to dislodge any stones that stuck onto them.

“You really should’ve dodged that one!” Stry jumped three times while charging at Alephmon. With the final jump, he leaped high before rocketing toward Alephmon with both feet-paws forward. Alephmon grinned with his short muzzle and jumped away. Stry’s kicks instead crashed through the pillar, kicking out a bunch of cobblestones. He landed and spun around, blinking in confusion. “Huh?”

The remaining stones that held the pillar up shattered. It creaked as it toppled toward Stry. For his part, he folded his long, floppy ears back. His eyes widened in anticipation and horror.

“Oh.”

The pillar crashed on top of Stry. It squashed him as flat as paper with cracks all around his body. His eyes spun until they became black spirals. Alephmon rubbed the back of his fluffy head with a satisfied grin. He stepped toward the shattered pillar and planted his palms on it. He pushed it with a grunt, rolling it off of Stry.

Stry groaned. “Who called in the train three hours early?”

“Whew. I’m getting better at being sneaky, maf,” Alephmon said. He crouched over to Stry. The wind blew; Alephmon’s light blue fur swayed with the breeze. A few seconds passed and Stry popped back to normal. “Alright there, buddy?”

“Uggggggh.” Stry rubbed his blue head before he shook it. He opened his eyes, with them back to normal. He turned to Alephmon and gave him a thumbs up. “OK. You tricked me there.”

“Yay!” Alephmon danced around while blushing pink. His two black belt suspenders hanging against his legs bounced up and down. He sheathed Checksum into the scabbard on his back. The black belt that held the sheath wrapped around his right shoulder and left waist. “I’m improving!”

“Um, Aleph?” Stry swallowed. The third remaining stone pillar cracked. The shockwave from his attack damaged it much more than he thought. “Pay attention.”

“When the new recruits come and join our freelance agency, I’m sure they’ll look up to me!” Alephmon fluffed up his fur. He closed his eyes and leaped up in joy. “And I won’t be lagging behind, maf!”

“Aleph.” Stry took a couple of steps forward. “Open your eyes and pay attention. You’re—”

“I’m so hoping that they’ll be impressed with me!” He pressed his palms together before rubbing one of his hand-paws’ backs against his cheek. Joy-filled sparkles emitted from his body with a couple impacting the pillar. The pillar cracked more, with a few pieces falling off. “I can guess what one of them would say, maf. ‘Oh, Alephmon—’”

“ALEPH!!!”

Alephmon winced and opened his eyes. He turned over to Stry in confusion. “Wha—”

The pillar made an audible crack as it crumbled. Alephmon blinked and turned to the pillar. Dread crawled up and down his body, knowing what will happen. It toppled and fell toward him with its shadow all over his body. He gulped and, out of nowhere, pulled out a white flag.

“Maf.”

It crashed down on top of him with a loud boom. Cracks spread out all around, almost like a spiderweb. Stry smacked his hand-paw against his forehead. Regardless of what he did, fate or luck always flattened Alephmon in one way or another. He gritted his teeth for several seconds before he sighed. He hurried over to the pillar.

“Oh, Aleph. What am I going to do with you?” Stry crouched down next to the pillar. Sweat drops formed behind his head in an exaggerated manner. “Doing alright there, buddy?”

“Maaaaaaaf.”

“Good.” Stry dug his palms underneath the fallen pillar. He lifted with his entire body while trembling. He grunted and wheezed while gritting his teeth. The pillar cracked as he elevated it inch by inch. He flipped it off of Alephmon with sweat all over his body. When the pillar landed with a bang, he sat down next to it and Alephmon. He planted his back against the pillar and panted. “I swear this kind of bad luck happens to you a lot.”

Alephmon’s eyes spun into black spirals. His mouth hung open with a tongue sticking out. The white flag he held disappeared by that point; its purpose fulfilled. He wiggled his flat head until his eyes returned to normal. He rolled up halfway and lifted his hand-paws in a thumbs up.

“It-it could’ve been worse.” Alephmon snickered. He got up and stood with his two paper-flat feet-paws. He stumbled a bit before he steadied himself and stood straight. He twisted around, his body remaining as flat as paper. “It could’ve been raining, maf.”

“Tr—”

Thunder rumbled across the cloudless sky. As though by command, clouds rolled in within seconds, blocking the sun. Stry gritted his teeth and slapped his forehead just above his pointy nose. Alephmon hung his mouth open in a wide smile. Thunder roared again and, following that, the ringing sounds of rain.

“Never mind. False.” Stry stared at Alephmon with half-closed eyes with wrinkles below them. Rain drenched them so they became soaked all over their bodies. Alephmon wiggled in defiance despite the shower feeling like countless punches against his flat body. Stry sighed and piled Alephmon up over his shoulder. He carried Alephmon over to the hatch. “What else can go wrong?”

He lifted the hatch with exasperation. A moment later, he stepped down the ladder with Alephmon. Before he got to the bottom, he closed the trapdoor so no more rain got in. The weather may have turned for the worst, but at least they were close to home.

Much like before, the clouds swept away along with the rain as though by command. The sun shimmered down upon the Digital World as though it was never cloudy in the first place.

If Stry realized it happened as soon as he closed the hatch, his brain would crash and need several minutes to reboot.

He swung the flat Alephmon around until all water droplets sprayed off of him. Alephmon blushed in embarrassment, his head bright pink. Stry carried him to the clothesline that held several clips. He grabbed two of those clips and checked them. Satisfied, he hung Alephmon on the clothesline with the clips on his long flat ears.

“That’ll be a good place for you to dry off.” Stry rubbed the back of his head. He added in a low voice, “And hopefully won’t get into too much trouble in the meantime.”

“Maf?” Alephmon wiggled. “What was that?”

“Oh! Nothing!” Stry grinned wide at Alephmon. “While you hang there, I best prepare for the incoming new recruits today.”

“Today?” Alephmon folded his face forward. “I thought they’ll come in tomorrow.”

“No. It’s today.”

Alephmon kept silent for several seconds. One could almost hear his head processing this information, like gears turning or fans blowing. Once completed, his eyes turned white in a panic with a black outline around them. He wiggled and flapped against the clips, trying to break free. Stry widened his eyes and sweat-dropped in shock.

“Aleph?”

“I CAN’T LET THEM SEE ME LIKE THIS!!” Alephmon’s entire body turned white with black outlines. “IF THEY DID, THEY’LL NEVER TAKE ME SERIOUSLY AGAIN!!”

“Aleph, buddy! Settle down!” Stry rushed forward and grabbed his legs. The ruins became somewhat agitated by Alephmon’s screaming to the point that cracks formed. “It’s not that big of a deal!”

“I’LL BE A LAUGHING STOCK!!” Alephmon’s tail puffed up despite remaining flat. “HOW WILL—”

Stry punched Alephmon’s face hard enough for it to stretch out. “CALM DOWN!!”

Colors returned to Alephmon’s body. He panted with his flat tongue sticking out and his ears drooping low. He rolled down his head. “Thank you, maf. I needed that.”

“OK. Now that you’ve calmed down, let me show you something.” Stry reached over to a wall where an Agumon clock lay. He took it off from the wall. He showed the clock to Alephmon. “As you can see, it’s about 1:07 PM. They’ll be here by three. That’s plenty of time.”

“B-but I won’t be able to pop back to normal by then, maf.” Alephmon’s eyes became white with a black outline around them. “H-how will I—”

“Relax, buddy.” Stry patted Alephmon on his flat head. “I don’t think they’ll look down upon you for it. If anything, they’ll be amused by it, especially since it always happens.”

“S-still, that isn’t the impression that I want to make.” Alephmon wiggled closer to Stry. “I want to be seen as awesome, not silly. Maf.”

“That’s a tough call,” Stry said in a low voice. He added in his normal voice, “But if you’re still worried about that, when they come and you’re still flat as paper, I’ll do my best to cover for you. OK?”

“Whew.” Alephmon relaxed. He closed his eyes in exhaustion. He raised his flat arm up and gave Stry a thumbs up. “Thank you. You’re the best partner a Digimon could ever have, maf.”

“It’s what I’m here for, buddy.” Stry gave Alephmon a thumbs up in return. He strolled away with heavy lines over his eyes. “Welp, luck be a lady today.”

#   #   #

Time passed by with the sun crawling from the top of the sky to the west. Scattered clouds covered the sky, each avoiding the sun’s path like the plague. Meanwhile, the sun baked the ground below with its sunlight. A cool summer breeze went by to combat the heat, with the leaves and grass wiggling. A droplet strugged to remained on a leaf, but it fell and landed beautifully on the ground.

In short, a beautiful day in the Digital World.

Stry stepped outside through the tall front doors. Little of the original wood remained on the door; the rest rotted away. The replacement lumber for the door stuck out from how crudely they were nailed on and how little they matched the original. Stry stretched out with a grunt that turned into a yawn.

“One of these days, we’ll get this place repaired,” Stry said to himself. He turned ahead and blinked. He leaned forward with his hand-paw over his large eyes. Ahead traveled four figures coming to the castle. “They’re here!” Stry waved at them with a wide grin. He whispered to himself, “It’s a good thing I already hid Aleph in the closet. That should be a good hiding spot.” The four travelers rushed forward, though two hurried their walk instead of running. “Welcome!”

The foremost ran with his arms spread out behind him like a bird or a plane. His long, maroon hair-mane flowed behind him down to his tail. Short, sandy-colored fur coated all over his body. Six bright vertical red lines lay on his cheeks with three on each, becoming shorter as they reached his muzzle.

“You must be Nekozukimon,” Stry said. He extended his arm to him. “Welcome!”

Nekozukimon the lion Digimon poofed into white smoke. Stry flinched and took a step back. A plushy version of Nekozukimon rolled out and stopped against Stry’s feet-paws. He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned in that direction. Nekozukimon stood there while spinning a kunai on his finger.

“Pretty cool, eh?” Nekozukimon winked one of his brown eyes at Stry.

“W-woah!” Stry took a step back. Nekozukimon snickered at him. “H-how did you d-do that?”

“Nothing you need to worry about.” Nekozukimon snapped his fingers, summoning a fire above them. “After all, you’re not a ninja like me!”

Stry nodded and turned to the next one rushing in. He recoiled and widened his eyes. The one rushing in reminded him somewhat of Alephmon until she got closer. Unlike Alephmon’s light blue fur, she held light green fur with sick green eyes. Her short and fingerless gloves contained dark green pigments. Her eyes flashed sick green in joy.

“S-so you must be Toximon,” Stry said. He recomposed himself and extended a hand-paw to her. “Welcome!”

Toximon the chincat Digimon nodded with a wide grin. She reached out to his hand-paw, but missed. She tripped and fell down with her face planted on the ground. Nekozukimon laughed and helped her up. Toximon blushed bright, but she laughed. Stry winced at the sight, especially at the grass dying where her face landed.

“I’m OK!” Toximon giggled. She brushed off the dirt from her red bandana around her neck. “I heard so much about you and Alephmon! You guys are like super awesome!”

“Um, thanks?” Stry shook Toximon’s hand-paw. “It’s good to have you here.”

The remaining two Digimon walked over to the others. The front of the two stood a half-foot taller than the rest. Black and blue fur coated much of his body with blue on his torso, hand- and feet-paws, and the bottom of his tail. White wrappings covered his forearms and right foreleg. His electric blue eyes sparkled as though they contained lightning.

“So you must be Stormymon!” Stry extended his arm to him. “Welcome!”

“Likewise.” Stormymon the wolf Digimon said. He took Stry’s hand-paw and shook it tight. His facial expression remained cool as the wind. Stry thought an electrical spark had come from his hand-paw. His black and electric blue cape fluttered with the breeze. “Hmm. Didn’t think your base would be in such condition.”

“Oh, this?” Stry blushed. He glanced back at the castle with some embarrassment. The cliff behind it helped protect it from possible attacks and weather. Even so, parts of it fell off with gaping holes. “We’ve been trying to repair the place. Hopefully—”

“Hmm. Just concerned. That’s all.” Stormymon set his hand-paws behind his back. “Can’t be too safe.”

“Right, right.” Stry nodded. He blushed more despite himself. If only Alephmon didn’t get himself flat. He sighed and turned to the final one.

The fourth one blushed out of shyness, enough that his face was more pink than light brown. Brown, fingerless gloves stretched up as far as his elbows. A plaid red and black scarf wrapped around his neck and extended down to his feet-paws. His golden eyes glistened in the sunlight.

“And you must be Castmon!” Stry grinned. He extended his hand-paw over. Castmon the fox Digimon glanced from side to side before he took it for a shake. His grip felt rubbery to Stry. “Welcome!”

“Th-thank you!” Castmon kept his tail, light brown with a pale tip, still. He inhaled and exhaled to calm himself down until he stopped blushing. “This sure is an interesting place.”

“Why, thank you!” Stry bowed to him several times. “Alephmon and I found his place. It’s practically a gold—”

“I’m sure you can show us,” Stormymon said. He leaned his elbow on top of Nekozukimon’s head just above the headband. Nekozukimon lifted his sleeveless shirt’s collar to cover his frown. His tail tip burst into a flame. Stormymon ignored that and added, “Though I can’t seem to find Alephmon.”

“You know, he got a point.” Toximon twisted around. “Like, I came to see him specifically. But where is he?”

“He, uh, got tangled up in a mission,” Stry answered. Sweat drops formed on the back of his head. “We got one at the last minute and he volunteered to take it. It offered good money for repairing the castle.”

Stormymon half-closed his eyes with them full of doubt. “Really?”

“Yes, really!” Stry laughed for a few seconds. “Why? What do you think happened to him?”

“Hmm.” Stormy stopped leaning on Nekozukimon’s head. Instead, he rubbed his smirking snout. “Perhaps he’s hiding? That’ll be a clever thing to do.”

Toximon gasped. “You mean like hide-and-seek? That’s my FAVORITE game!”

“That’s not what I—”

“Why, I bet he saw us right now and is hurrying to find the PERFECT spot to hide in!” Sparkles emitted from Toximon’s body. “And I bet the one who finds him first gets a super special gift!”

Toximon rushed to the high doors. She swung them open with a great deal of force. The hinges groaned from the stresses. She entered the castle while leaving the others behind. Stry stared out with wide, horrified eyes over losing control. Stormymon rubbed his face in exasperation. Electrical sparks emitted from his body.

“Toximon, come back. It’s dangerous to go in a half-collapsing castle.” Stormymon stepped inside with his head low.

Stry stammered. “I-er-uh—”

Nekozukimon laughed. The fire on his tail sputtered and fizzled out. He slapped Stry’s back. “Oh, Toximon. Always getting into so much trouble.” He set his hand-paws on his hips where the fiery design on his shirt lay. The red and orange fire pattern separated the solid black jeans from the black shirt. “Might as well join them, then!”

Before Stry could stop him, Nekozukimon slapped his palms together. Despite the sudden force, he did not make a sound. In a blink of an eye, he disappeared from the area with a whistle. Stry dropped his jaws to the ground, turning white in dismay. Castmon shifted around before he tapped his shoulder. Stry flinched and turned to him.

“Um, permission to go in?” Castmon asked. He blushed with his ears folding back. “I-I know that the others haven’t, but—”

“No. It’s OK.” Stry sighed. He patted Castmon’s shoulder in a feeble attempt to relax. “Let’s go in.”

“OK.” Castmon nodded.

The two stepped inside without a sound. Stry smiled at Castmon, though he was panicking in his head. The shade covered them up from the blazing sun. Stry closed the doors behind them with a loud thud. It echoed in a doom-like sound throughout the large hallway. The door handle cracked somewhat, though Stry overlooked it for other problems. For example, finding the others. He swallowed and went up the stairs. Behind him, Castmon followed close.

#   #   #

Alephmon lay hidden against a wall within a closet. Ahead several clothes, including some oversized coats, hung above. Dust hovered above his flat nose to the point of tickling it. He wiggled in an attempt to suppress a sneeze. The inch grew more potent to the point that he doubted he could contain it.

Outside, a door crashed open just as he almost gave in.

“Alephmon! I know you’re here somewhere!” Toximon said in a teasing tone.

Alephmon wiggled his ears in fear. He covered his nose and pressed hard against it. Meanwhile, Toximon rushed through the room in glee. She pulled on blankets and sheets on beds for a hiding Alephmon. A peek under the bed proved the same. Drawers opened up, curtains pulled away, and chairs pulled out from desks. She even checked the blue vases on the bedsides. All showed to Toximon that Alephmon was not hiding there.

Stormymon stepped in while shrugging. “Toximon, this is a bedroom. It’s rude to search in here like in the last few rooms.”

Alephmon inhaled. He recognized that voice anywhere.

“But like he must be hiding here!” Toximon spoke with a cute tone. “He must be an expert in hide-and-seek!”

“Toximon, I didn’t brink it up because I thought he was playing a game. I thought—”

Alephmon’s face turned bright red. He pressed on his nose harder, trying to suppress the sneeze building up within. It won, and he sneezed.

“What was that?” Toximon twisted toward the closet.

“Hmm. Perhaps he hid here after all.”

Alephmon shifted from side to side in a panic. He brushed against an oversized coat and an idea formed in his head. He slipped into one of the coats with it covering much of his body. He folded his head into the collar. The closet door swung open with light filling it up.

“Huh?” Toximon bent down below. “I KNOW I heard something from here.”

“Hmm.” Stormymon checked the sides and the ceiling. “I don’t see anyone. Do you?”

“No. Wait! I know!” Toximon grinned. She got up and grabbed some of the clothes. “He must be hiding behind these clothes!”

“Um, Toximon. Unless he weights as much as a piece of paper, he couldn’t have—”

“It’s something that I would do!” Toximon yanked the clothes out, batches at a time. They fell on the floor behind her. Stormymon flattened his ears back and shook his head in disappointment. All of the clothes lay outside on the pile. No Alephmon hid in the closet. “Huh. He wasn’t.”

“And now you made a mess.” Stormymon sighed. He tapped his foot against one of the oversized coats. He rolled his eyes. “I’m not cleaning that up.”

“There you two are!” Nekozukimon appeared between them out of thin air. Toximon yipped and fell on her rear. “Woah. There’s a lot of clothes on the floor. What happened here?”

“She did it.” Stormymon crossed his arms.

Toximon giggled and rubbed the back of her head in awkwardness. She blushed with her eyes shifting up to her upper right. She got up and blushed some of the dirt off. “I guess I did, like, let myself get carried away.”

Nekozukimon glanced inside the closet. “So, what’s with tossing out the clothes from here?” He snapped his fingers and a fireball formed above his palm. Orange light filled the closet with all the nooks and crannies visible. “There’s nothing here.”

Alephmon poked his head out from the coat. Blue lines covered much of his face in dread. The clothes on top of him pinned him down with little wiggle room. At least the other three stared into the closet instead of at the clothes. If they did, they would have seen a panicking Alephmon wiggling.

“Toximon here thought that Alephmon must be hiding in the closet,” Stormymon answered. His ear flicked with electrical sparks falling out.

Alephmon swallowed and wiggled out of the coat bit by bit.

“Yeah! Like, we heard a sneeze coming from there!” Toximon giggled again.

Alephmon loosened himself out from the coat and clothes pile.

“So, you thought that he might be behind the clothes?” Nekozukimon smirked. He laughed and his tail tip burst into flames. “That’s so like you, Toximon!”

Alephmon twisted into a spiral from side to side. The bedroom door remained open as though granting him freedom from the other. He tensed at the thought of a quick escape through there. He wiggled toward there until he heard pawsteps coming up. He paled and stopped himself. He pressed his head against one of the two beds and an idea formed.

“Yeah! I must say that Alephmon must be a better hide-and-seek player than I thought!” Toximon laughed.

Alephmon swallowed and inhaled. He knew it was a silly idea, but he had little choice. He slipped between the bunk and mattress. His tail flicked before it hid with him. It was a tight squeeze, but he sighed in relief.

“Like, really good!”

“Would you please let me complete what I think he’s doing?” Stormymon shook his head. “Alephmon isn’t hiding for som—”

“What in the wide Digital World just happened?!”

Stry the Veemon stood at the doorway. His eyes widened in horror with his arms hung loose on his sides. Beside him, Castmon glanced around with a curious expression. He took a couple of steps in before he stopped. He blushed out of shyness.

“I. Have. Nothing. To do. With this.” Stormymon gritted his teeth. His tail flicked out of annoyance. “That was all Toximon’s doing.”

“It was a clever hiding spot.” Toximon stuck her tongue out. “Like, I bet you’ll do it too if you were hiding.”

Once Stry’s head rebooted, he shook it. He rushed in in a fury. He shoved Nekozukimon aside as he headed into the closet. He turned all around in the closet down to up. He sucked his lips from how out of control everything got. But where did Alephmon go?

“And to think all of this happened is because you heard a sneeze.” Nekozukimon laughed into a screech. He produced a kunai out of thin air and spun it on his index finger. “But there is one thing you’re all missing.”

“What’s that?” Toximon rubbed her palms together. She wagged her tail fast.

“A ninja like me!” Nekozukimon smirked. He flung his kunai into the air and caught it. “You see, we ninjas are experts in hiding. It’s part of our jobs, in fact. We know all about the art of hiding. How well? Why, I might be hiding as we speak!”

Stormymon rolled his eyes. He snapped his fingers to generate an electrical spark on one of his fingers. He poked Nekozukimon’s shoulder with it to transfer the shock. Nekozukimon jumped into the air with all of his fur standing up.

“Hmm. Nah. You’re not hiding.” Stormymon chuckled.

“That was a figure of—”

“Could everyone PLEASE step out of mine and Aleph’s bedroom!?” He twisted back to the others. His blue and white face turned red. “You lot shouldn’t even be here in the first place!”

“That’s what I thought as well,” Stormymon said. He sighed and strolled over to one of the beds. “And with all of the other rooms Toximon searched. Besides, as I was saying, Alephmon wouldn’t be here. And he’s not doing it because of—”

Stormymon sat on a bed at that moment. The same one that Alephmon hid under.

“Yip!”

A cold chill crawled into the room that only Stry and the hidden Alephmon felt. Stry flinched back in horror with his face turning white. Stormymon blinked and got off the bed. Toximon and Nekozukimon stared at the bed in confusion.

“Could it be that he hid underneath that bed all this time?” Nekozukimon asked. He folded his left ear to the side.

“B-but like, I checked that bed. Even underneath the blankets.” Toximon folded her ears back. “He wasn’t there.”

“But did you lift the bed off from the mattress?”

“No.”

Alephmon breathed faster. He poked his arm out the other side and slid it underneath the blanket.

“It’s nothing!” Stry stomped a couple of times. “And again, Aleph isn’t here! I told you that he’s out on a mission!”

“That’s what you say.” Stormymon gripped the mattress tight. “But I doubt it.”

Alephmon gritted his flat teeth. He slid out more until he hid underneath the blanket. He held his breath and clutched the sheet tight.

Stormymon lifted the mattress up at a forty-five-degree angle. Nothing, not even dust, hid underneath it. He frowned and lowered it back down. “Hmm. Strange. I know something yipped underneath it.”

Nekozukimon pulled down his shirt’s collar to rub his chin for a few seconds. He closed his eyes, deep in thought. Toximon and Stormymon heard a sneeze of some kind from the closet. They searched it and discovered nothing. Now, everyone heard a yip from a bed for sure. Stormymon searched, but he did not find it. Strange, was it not?

The fire went out from Nekozukimon’s tail. He paced around for a few seconds. Twice, a sound was heard. Twice, they searched for the source but could not find it.

Unless it moved.

Nekozukimon snapped his eyes open and snapped his fingers. “Aha! I figured it out!”

“What?” Stormymon turned around while crossing his arms. “What are you talking about?”

“Oh, that Alephmon is such a genius! I could learn a thing or two from him!” Nekozukimon grinned as bright as his reignited tail. “He is here!”

“Ohhhh?” Toximon’s eyes dazzled. She rubbed her palms together. “I knew it!”

“Why are you guys LIS—”

“Look, you said that you heard something in the closet, correct?” Nekozukimon cut through Stry’s words. “Here’s what I think happened. He WAS in here! And he hid in the one place that only a ninja like me could think of!” He pointed at the tossed-out clothes. “In there!”

Stormymon flattened both of his ears back. He let out a smirk before he snorted. “Hiding in the clothes? Really?” He leaned back and laughed. “That’s the silliest thing I heard all day! Even if he was in those clothes, we would’ve spotted him as soon as we opened the doors!”

“Not if he was flatter than paper.” Nekozukimon grinned.

Stry sweated at the words. At least, until his mind clicked. He strolled away from the group without a sound. He sighed in his mind when even Castmon got absorbed by the conversation.

“Oh, come on!” Stormymon shook his head. He laughed again. “You’re telling me that our brave new leader is malleable like that? Really?”

“Why not?” Nekozukimon smirked. He leaned in closer to Stormymon. “It’ll be beneficial for a leader to become flat.”

Stry tiptoed to the other side of the bed.

“Uh-huh.” Stormymon shifted his eyes away. “Supposing that he was ‘flat’ and hid ‘in the clothes,’ where else could he go?”

“Simple! He snuck underneath the mattress to hide!” Nekozukimon winked in confidence.

Meanwhile, Stry checked underneath the blanket. Alephmon remained still underneath it, sweating flat sweat drops while sucking his lips. With his one chance, Stry rolled him up bit by bit.

“However, you blew his cover by sitting on the bed!” Nekozukimon grinned with his teeth sparkling.

Stry held the rolled-up Alephmon while glancing around. A blue vase lay nearby on the bedside. He swallowed and stuffed Alephmon inside it. He set the blanket back as before and strolled away. It all comes down to this.

“Uh-huh. One problem.” Stormymon half-lowered his eyes in sarcasm. “I just checked under the mattress. Still, nice theory.”

“Except that he managed to sneak out quick enough!” Nekozukimon stepped toward the bed. He glanced at Stry leaning against the wall. “May I?” Stry flinched but nodded. Nekozukimon smirked and gripped on the blanket. “So, the one place that Alephmon snuck into, the only place that he could hide in quick enough, is right under—”

He yanked the blanket off.

“—here?”

Nekozukimon blinked in confusion at the Alephmon-less bed. He patted it a few times and checked under the bedsheet. Stormymon gave a slow clap before he laughed. He shook his head.

“Hmm. You were saying?” Stormymon asked in a half-joking tone.

“B-but he should’ve been there!” Nekozukimon lifted the mattress up. “H-how? Why?”

“Hmm. Maybe you’re being too clever for your own good.”

“Awwww. I wanted to see Alephmon. Like, even a flat Alephmon.” Toximon’s ears drooped. “It made so much sense too.”

“Yeah. So much sense.”

“Like, really?”

“No.” Stormymon shrugged. “Hmm. I think we’re done here. Right, Stry?”

“Oh? Um, yeah!” Stry nodded. He puffed his red cheeks out in anger, though it was half-acting. He pointed at the door. “Now that you’re done searching, PLEASE LEAVE ALEPH’S AND MY BEDROOM!!”

“Sure.” Stormymon wiggled his index finger until electrical sparks came from the tip. He poked Nekozukimon with it while smirking. His sandy and maroon fur fluffed up or stood up straight from the shock. “Come on. Let’s head out.”

“Y-you don’t need to do that!” Nekozukimon flattened his ears. He stormed out of the room in a huff.

“Yes, I do.” Stormymon chuckled. He crossed his arms again. He took a couple of steps forward before glancing back. “Come on, you two.”

“Alephmon must be, like, an expert hide-and-seeker even for a ninja. I’m liking him so much more now.” Toximon rubbed the back of her head. Castmon stood next to her and his eyes shone. He clapped his palms together. When he pulled them away, he held a flower between his fingers. He offered it to Toximon while blushing. “Awwww. Thank you.”

Toximon and Castmon strolled over to Stormymon as though he was their big brother. He rolled his eyes in disbelief but led them out. Stry waited until the remaining recruits left the room. Once that happened, he rushed to the door and shut it tight.

“As I keep trying to tell you all, Alephmon isn’t doing this to play a silly game. He’s hiding from us so he can observe us from a distance. That way, he can judge us better on how we behave without his presence affecting us.”

“Ohhhhh. I get it.” Toximon paused for a few seconds. “I don’t get it.”

Stry ignored Stormymon’s sigh and the following comment. Instead, he rushed over to the blue vase. He flipped it over and tapped on the bottom. A rolled-up Alephmon slid out and unrolled on the floor. He sighed in relief, his dignity intact. Stry picked him up and carried him back to the closet.

Stry gave Alephmon a thumbs up and a grin. Alephmon returned the gesture with his own flat thumbs up and grin, despite the flat sweat all over his body. Stry picked up the clothes and dusted the dirt off. He hung them back into the closet. Once done, he shut the door somewhat hard. Relief washed all over him. So much so that he did not notice that he lay his back against it and slid down. He sighed.

“That was a close call.”

He got up with determined renewal. He picked up the pillows and fluffed them up. He set them back onto the bed. The blankets followed, covering the pillows halfway. If one could take a look at the bed, it would be picture-perfect.

Stry wiped away the sweat and inhaled long. He followed it up with an exhale, which is perfectly normal behavior. He went to the bedroom door and opened it.

“—and being flat is such a ridiculous—oh!” Stormymon spun over to Stry.

“All done!” Stry said. He gave them a thumbs up. Nekozukimon grinned and gave a thumbs-up in turn. Stormymon nodded and turned away. Toximon wagged her tail in eagerness. Castmon blushed so hard that he seemed to shrink in size. “And now that you’re all gathered here, I’ll show off the castle, ending with the special secret in the basement.”

“Special secret, eh?” Stormymon raised an eyebrow. “What is it?”

“It needs to be seen before shown.” Stry winked. “All I can say right now is that it’s the reason why Aleph and I chose this castle as our home and base.”

5
Writer's Guild / An Anubian Training - A Tofubread Commission
« on: January 29, 2023, 11:19:31 PM »
Commissioned by Tofubread

After turning into a jackal with one-seventh of Anubis's powers, Daniel got some magic training with Glorfindel the five-tailed kitsune mage. And while training, they discovered Daniel could summon a golden scale at will, an item that allows him to use more magical abilities. But with six more Ankhs, each with a piece of Anubis, Daniel wondered if he should retrieve them.

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Here is another fun story that my dear friend asked me to write. It's one that I enjoy writing a lot.
 
I hope you all enjoy this story!
 
The art in the thumbnail is by MintChip! https://www.furaffinity.net/view/38298561/

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Within a dark forest, Daniel the anthro Anubis jackal walked down a dirt path, his steps muffled by his sandals. He held up his golden Ankh, its shining light showing a way ahead as he turned from side to side. His fur, as black as the Nile river’s soil, ruffled along with the bits of gold fur on him. The gold fur part was set in familiar Egyptian patterns, with the Eye of Horus symbols around his eyes and the Ankh symbol on his chest, and they both glittered. He glanced around, his left ear folded back as he frowned, still showing the gold inners. Meanwhile, the forest darkened all around him.

He closed his red eyes as he held his Ankh a foot away from his pointy muzzle and channeled his magic through it. The golden light glowed brighter, and the surrounding area became viewable as some trees dissolved. For the moment, the illusion broke. He opened his eyes before rushing into a clearing, and the trees reformed behind. He sighed before he searched all around, with only one other figure before him.

He stood before Daniel, his back to him with his green fur fluttering with the breeze, holding onto his staff with his left hand-paw. He kept his head low, with some of his golden hair-fur covering his eyes, and his five tails remained still. Daniel approached, his tail still as well before he paused. He felt suspicion growing within, with one of his golden eyebrows rising. He tapped his Ankh with his golden claws, and a golden sphere formed in front of him. He grunted as he tossed it at the other to test his misgiving.

The golden sphere phased through the green anthro kitsune.

Daniel grunted, and a flash of green came to the side. He lifted his Ankh, and a magical golden shield formed around him. The green bolt impacted it, cracking the safeguard before it exploded, knocking him onto his back. He grunted, rubbing his leather kilt and Egyptian wide collar with golden linings, and got up.

“Very good,” Glorfindel the five-tail kitsune said, approaching from the forest’s shadows as the fake disappeared. “But not good enough.”

Daniel brushed back his hair-fur, black with thin golden highlights, and pointed his Ankh at him. Golden bolts formed in a circle around it, and he blasted them at Glorfindel. But he twitched his staff, wooden with a brown and black yin-yang symbol on its head, and a magical green shield formed in front of him. The bolts slid off, zooming off behind him before exploding.

“Come on,” Glorfindel said, lifting his right hand-paw, the fur black down to his elbow and the other. “Remember, don’t just throw a lot of magic at me. Instead, control it effectively.”

“Easy for you to say,” Daniel said, flicking one of his ears. “I don’t feel like I’m progressing by holding back.”

“When your magic limit is as low as mine, you learn how to control and make the most of what you got,” Glorfindel said, his mysterious blue eyes shining as his dark red shirt waved loosely on him. “It’s easy to use too much magic, and it takes time to recharge.” He snapped his right hand-paw, with a fireball forming above it. “But through effectively channeling magic, you’ll produce just as good or even better results with less magic powering it up.”

He tossed the fireball at Daniel, who raised his Ankh. A golden shield formed around him, and he grunted. Fireball slammed against the safeguard, piercing through before exploding and knocking him back. He crashed against a tree before falling to his knees, heaving in and out. Soon, he stumbled back up, his feet-paws, digitigrade much like Glorfindel’s own, unsteady.

“Try to focus,” Glorfindel said as Daniel grunted, rubbing his neck. “Then you’ll understand.”

Daniel nodded and, holding his Ankh with both hands-paws tight, he closed his eyes. He inhaled slowly, his toned chest and abs expanding and retracting with each breath, and a golden aura formed around his arms and head. He opened his eyes and gasped. His vision changed with lines, dots, and squares hovering around him. It’s almost as though he was viewing a video game’s interface or maybe an art program option.

“I-I see something,” Daniel said, and the objects turned transparent. “It’s fading, but it was some kind of lines and cubes.”

“What you saw,” Glorfindel said as he grinned with pride, “is the blueprint of reality.”

“Huh?” Daniel tilted his head.

“Magic, by its nature, warps reality to the user’s desires. There are always preferences depending on the user and what kind of magic they used.” Glorfindel glanced at his staff. “But the end result is the same. Seeing the blueprint of reality, which is different for each person, allows them to see how they can best edit reality. Unfortunately, many magic users are ignorant of this second view, instead throwing magic around no matter how wasteful it is.”

“And you didn’t tell me this until now?” Daniel folded his ears back.

Glorfindel shrugged. “Sometimes, it’s best to find out yourself, especially with what preferences you like. Besides,” he rubbed the back of his hair-fur, “it’s hard to describe since it’s been instinct since I have magic, with few reaching this level of control.

“Regardless, now that you know,” he slammed his staff against the ground, a magical green shield forming in front of him, “try breaking through my shield now.”

Daniel inhaled and focused his magic, the golden aura becoming thicker as the blueprints became visible. Then, as he pointed his Ankh at Glorfindel, he interacted with the lines and dots, and a golden pike formed. A meter appeared, and after filling it up, he fired the pike toward Glorfindel. It impacted the shield, with it bending before exploding, knocking Glorfindel back a couple of feet.

“Much better.” Glorfindel steadied himself and grinned.

Daniel panted, sweat forming on his brow and dripping onto his collar, and a cube formed in his mind to the right. It held a weight scale icon on its sides, with waves emitting from it as though it was calling for him. The text formed above it, saying ‘Storage,’ and he reached for it. It glowed as soon as he touched it, and he gasped with Glorfindel flattening one of his ears to the side.

The golden light took form, becoming a golden scale that Daniel gripped, with various markings on the base, ending with sapphires. At the top held the Ankh symbol, with wings stretching out. On each bowl, with silver chains holding them up, had mists with one white and the other black.

Daniel flattened his ears back, lifting it up so it’s leveled with his eyes. “What is this?”

Glorfindel rubbed his chin. “If I were to wager a guess, that is the scale Anubis wields to weigh souls brought to him. Though it’s strange since the myths said that he weighed them against a feather.”

“These are for weighing souls?” Daniel gulped, rubbing against Ankh’s tear-shaped loop.

“Maybe. After all, you are Anubis or at least one-seventh of him.” Glorfindel gazed at it with curiosity. “Try it.”

Daniel hesitated before he nodded, pointing it at a tree. The lines and dots were more visible with it, but text appeared saying, ‘No soul detected,’ and he tilted his head. He channeled his magic through it, and a white sphere soared out. It impacted the tree, dissipating it without it reforming.

Daniel blinked, sucking up his lips, as Glorfindel tilted his head. “Intriguing.” They waited a few seconds, but the tree remained dissipated. “From the look of it, the scale has some illusion capabilities, even canceling out my own. Though I doubt that’s the limit.” He winked at Daniel. “Try using it on me.”

“You?” Daniel took a step back. “A-are you sure? I might seriously hurt you.”

“It won’t be much of a concern. Trust me.” Glorfindel spread his arms out. “Besides, it’s best to test out what it’s capable of in a controlled environment rather than a battle.”

Daniel hesitated again before pointing it at Glorfindel. The scales remained even before they tilted a bit to the dark side. Options appeared before him as though it was an RPG interface. He skimmed over them before picking ‘Mild Illusion,’ and a dark wave emitted from it, impacting Glorfindel. He glanced at his staff, raising one of his eyebrows.

“Huh. It’s turning into flesh-eating scrabs.”

“What?!” Daniel widened his eyes, flinching. “I’m sorry! I’ll—”

But Glorfindel raised a hand-paw at him. “No need. Let it play out.” Daniel gulped as Glorfindel chuckled. “Fascinating. I can see them chewing me down to my bones, with a couple crawling down my throat.” His staff glowed green, and he grinned at Daniel. “We kitsune always know when we’re under an illusion, so it wasn’t as effective. And it didn’t take much to dispel it.”

“Are-are you sure you’ll be alright.”

“Of course!” Glorfindel winked at him. “Besides, it was a light-level illusion, though impressive nonetheless. Though, given your expression, that wasn’t all you could do.”

“Um.” Daniel glanced at the scale, still pointing at him. “It gives options like, ‘Remove luck,’ ‘Blindness,’ and ‘Fire,’ none of them good options for some reason.”

“It might be because it finds me just bad enough.” Glorfindel approached while rubbing one of his ears. “I wonder what it sensed that caused me to be judged that way.” He shrugged. “I’m sure you can, with training, open up more options. But, because we had practiced for five hours already, we should take a break. Besides, you must be hungry.” Daniel nodded, and Glorfindel bowed to him. “Good.”

Glorfindel lifted his staff up, with glowing green light emitted from it, and the forest dissolved all around them. Reality reformed into an empty warehouse with a few large crates littered around, and a yellow light shone down. Daniel rubbed his kilt as Glorfindel turned around, kicking over an inch of dust.

“Maybe, as a practice, you can try to use magic to clean this place.” Glorfindel stuffed his free hand-paw into the pocket of his black pants. “It’ll make the owners happy and be good practice. Now, excuse me.”

Daniel nodded to him, and Glorfindel walked out of view, chuckling. He turned to his Ankh and golden scale, remembering how his life flipped over last week. Before, he was an everyday human working in a museum, gazing wonderfully at the Ankh while resisting its pull. But now, he turned into an anthro black jackal thanks to it, one-seventh of Anubis to boot with all the powers that imply and more, and training with the one he thought was stealing the Ankh.

“I wonder how my old coworkers are doing?” Daniel asked himself, remembering that he had placed a sudden leave of absence for at least two weeks without any explanation with Glorfindel’s help. He also helped create a duplicate Ankh for the museum, which Daniel felt somewhat guilty over even if it belonged to him. “I hope they aren’t asking too many questions.”

Daniel hummed for a few seconds before pressing both Ankh and scale against his chest, and the two dissolved, entering the Ankh symbol. He felt both artifacts within, almost like a warm glow, as an interface appeared for a few seconds showing both under storage. He smiled before approaching one of the crates and picking up his smartphone. Curiosity formed within, and he turned it on and unlocked it, searching Glorfindel’s name online.

He raised his eyebrows at the results when he heard footsteps and turned to the source. Glorfindel walked toward him, looking human with red and white shoes, though Daniel still saw his proper form for a couple of seconds. He held a grin, holding his staff and a necklace with a black jackal in one hand.

“I’m back. And I’m here with a gift.” Glorfindel handed Daniel the necklace, who flipped it over. “What do you think?”

“This looks cool,” Daniel said as he wore it around his neck over the collar. “Any reason for this?”

“Simple, really.” Glorfindel waved his staff, and a circular mirror formed between them, with Daniel gasping at the reflection. On it was himself with the necklace, but a human with the clothes he had during that night. He glanced at his arms and legs, but they still held black fur with gold rings above his ankles and gold and leather bracelets that dominated much of his forearms. “That necklace generates an illusion, making you look human instead of your true form. It took me a while since turning you back into a human is beyond my abilities. I’m afraid that you’ll have to do it yourself if you want to turn human.”

“And I can’t do that yet.” Daniel glanced away.

“But you don’t have to go hiding for now!” Glorfindel slapped Daniel’s shoulder while laughing. “You could go back to work and even eat with me now!”

Daniel nodded with a smile, wagging his tail, and the two walked out of the warehouse.

#   #   #

The two walked into a fast-food burger place, crowded with only a couple of tables free. So the two made their order and rushed to a free table before anyone else could claim it. Daniel held his smartphone out, reading a LOTR wiki page, and he felt nervous. He kept his tail still, glancing around as though the necklace might fail and expose him as a demigod to everyone. But no one has given him a second look so far.

Glorfindel laughed, leaning back against the plastic seat. “It’s holding so far. In fact, I bet that by the time its magic wears out, you’ll be well-versed in magic casting enough that you won’t need it anymore. In fact, you have the magic capacity more than I do.” A hint of bitterness came to his voice, and he shook his head. “Never mind that.”

“Um, sure.” Daniel stared at the smartphone, raising one of his eyebrows. “Er, Glorfindel?”

“Yes?” Glorfindel tilted his head to the side.

“I was looking up your name, and I found something.” He handed the smartphone to Glorfindel, whose shining eyes contradicted his resigned expression. “Glorfindel is a name of an Elf from Tolkien’s Middle-earth work.” Daniel held his hands-paws together as Glorfindel scrolled up and down the page. “I haven’t read his books nor seen any of the movies, so I didn’t realize until now. Is there a reason for it? For example, did your parents name you that?”

Glorfindel remained silent for several seconds before he sighed and handed the smartphone back. “Not exactly. The truth is that ‘Glorfindel’ isn’t my real name.” Daniel raised both eyebrows up, and he continued. “You remember what I told you? That I was also a human until I encountered a relic like you? Though in my case, it was a kitsune statue.” Daniel nodded. “When it blessed me, turning me into a kitsune mage, I cast away my old name and changed it to Glorfindel. It’s somewhat fitting since, in the books, it means ‘golden-haired.’”

“Huh.” Daniel glanced at the smartphone, where a fan artwork of the Elf Glorfindel showed, his long golden hair flowing. “So, is there a reason why you’re calling yourself that? I mean, I know that some old tales regarding magic said that knowing someone’s true name grants power over them. In fact, in Egyptian mythology, it’s said that if our name isn’t inscribed in your tomb, your ka and ba, which is basically your life force and mind, will get lost trying to return to your body.”

“No, nothing light that. I just decided my old name wasn’t cool enough for a kitsune mage.” He turned from side to side and, suddenly, got up and leaned over to Daniel. He whispered to his ear, and he sat back down. “That was my name when I was human.”

Daniel blinked, his ears folding to the sides. “That’s a plain one.”

“I know, right? It’s unfitting for a kitsune mage.” He shrugged. “Of course, I wasn’t the only one that did that practice back in my world. Four others did the same, though Glaurung,” there was unusual venom in his voice, “gave two of them their names from Tolkien’s work. Three, if you count the one who lived for eons, though I’m still baffled by his choice for him. I mean, it’s not like he’s a crafter!”

“Who?”

But Glorfindel shook his head. “Never mind that. It’s just a silly quirk that caught on to my embarrassment.”

At that moment, the serving desk called out their number, and Glorfindel got up while huffing. Daniel stared at him for a few seconds before turning back to his smartphone and closing that tab. It then displayed the browser tabs, each one a museum having an Ankh on display. His stomach tightened as though he sensed their radiant power through the internet, and he clenched the phone. Glorfindel stepped back, carrying two trays, and Daniel turned to screen off before setting it aside.

The two then silently eat their hamburgers, chewing through the juicy meat with fresh toppings. Daniel resisted the urge to wag, happy to have them fresh, before finishing it up and reaching for the fries. Each one was fresh with just the right amount of salt, which he smiled at. By the time he got to the soda, drinking it through a straw, Glorfindel had tapped on the table while holding an onion fry.

“I know this may not be the best time, but have you thought about retrieving the other six Ankhs?” Glorfindel asked, and Daniel paused, setting down his drink. “It’s been a week since you became Anubis, even if it’s just a seventh of him. I wondered if you desire the other six or to remain as you are.”

“I-I don’t know.” Daniel looked over his hands-paws, his golden claws shining. “I have thought about it enough to make some sort of plan to look for him, but I’m not sure if I should.”

Glorfindel raised his left eyebrow. “Oh?”

“Here’s the thing.” Daniel glanced at the window, seeing a ghost reflection of his old human self. “Suppose I took all seven essences of Anubis. What will happen to me? What will I become? I mean, I know that I’ll become Anubis in full, but what will that mean for me?”

“Interesting and surprising,” Glorfindel said, leaning forward while setting his elbows on the table. “Go on.”

“If I fully become Anubis, will I lose myself? I mean, I’m still adjusting to having thick fur instead of skin, and I still find it awkward how much I need to wash. But I’m still me. But if I become a god, then what? Will it warp me until I lose, for lack of a better term, my humanity? And even if I’m still the same, will I become a judge holding people for their success and failure? Will I become a tyrant, saying that my words are law because I’m a god? If that’s what power does to me, I don’t want anything to do with that.”

“Those are profound philosophical questions that you have.” Glorfindel gazed at him as though seeing him for the first time.

“What do you think?” Daniel asked as he rubbed the back of his head, feeling the silky hair-fur.

Glorfindel hummed for a few seconds and opened his mouth—

The glass doors swung open with a crash, and everyone turned with two yelping in surprise. Two men strolled in, wearing thick clothes and ski masks covering much of their bodies. Their fingers lay upon their handguns’ triggers, gripping them tight. A bunch of customers and a couple of workers screamed out, one rushing to the second door. But one of the thieves fired upon the floor three times, and everyone froze.

“Nobody moves!” One of the thieves pointed his pistol at the customer who lunged toward the other door. The customer walked back, his hands up. “Now, we don’t want any trouble here. We want a nice, clean robbery here. Any suckers who attempt to escape or attack, we’ll shoot you.”

“To anyone who has their phones,” the other said, pointing at Daniel and Glorfindel’s table. “Drop them and don’t touch them. If you do, we’ll blast your brains out!”

“If any of the fuzz came, we’ll kill any of you losers at random,” the first added as he pointed his handgun at the two teenage girls. They paled, frozen with their phones out until life returned to them, and they dropped them. “And here’s the fun part. Depending on how many come, we’ll shoot you all equally. One cop, one hostage. Two cops, two hostages. And so on.”

“So don’t be a dummy who has to be a hero, and you’ll get to live,” the second one said before he fired at the floor. “Deal?”

Several whimpered, but none said or did anything. The two waited, pointing their guns at the paling customers and workers as they marched through the lobby. One of the thieves smacked the fleeing customer against the face before returning to the cashier’s desk.

“Good!”

“OK, missy,” one of the robbers said, pointing at the employee with a manager tag. “First thing first. Take me to where you store your money. My partner,” he tapped against the cashier register, “will relieve you of the money here. And no funny games. Got it?”

The manager nodded while holding up her hands, and she led him to the back. He kept his pistol pointing at her back, snarling, as his partner went to the registers. He pulled out a burlap sack and waved at the employees until one approached. He popped open one of the registers with a ring and handed the money over, sweating with the gun pointed at him. The customer who attempted to flee and got slapped for his trouble inched toward the exit. But the second thief pointed his gun at him, and he crept back.

“Next time you attempt that, your head will get pumped with bullets!”

Glorfindel glanced at the thief, having an interested look while tapping on the table. Daniel meanwhile stared at the same thief with disgust, his ears folded to the sides. He cracked his knuckles before placing one of his hands-paws underneath the table. He focused his magic until the storage appeared and picked the scale icon. A golden scale materialized between his fingers a second later, and he furrowed his muzzle. When he pointed the scale at the thief, it weighed heavy on the dark side with more options.

“No sudden movements!” The robber screamed when the employee stumbled while opening the second register. “Or else you’ll meet your maker!”

Daniel deepened his glare as he picked ‘Nightmare Illusion’ and cast it on the thief’s hand. Its magical waves were invisible to the naked eye, though Glorfindel glanced at him while hiding a smirk. The thief waved his gun at the employee, his finger on the trigger, but he paused. He turned to the pistol, whitening in fear, and took several steps back.

“What?! No! Get off me!” He dropped both pistol and sack as the hostages stared at him, the lobby heating in fiery wrath. “No! No!” His shrieking became high and panicky as he flailed his arms, reaching for something intangible. “Someone! Help! It’s rolling up my arm!”

“What’s going on here?!” The other thief rushed in, what little of his face shown red. His partner smacked against his arm, even slamming it against a counter. “Are you seriously tripping!? I warned you not to take any drugs before doing this!”

“H-help!” The first one pulled off his ski mask, his red hair flaming bright as his eyes rolled up. “My-my gun turned into a snake a-and it’s choking me!”

“You are a useless idiot!” The second one picked up his dropped sack and gun before turning around and pointing with both guns. “You guys can keep him! I’m getting out of here!”

He rushed to the door, but Daniel pointed his scale at him, which weighed just as heavy on the dark side. The options appeared, and he cast ‘Nightmare Illusion’ on him, targeting his hands. The thief paused, and he stared at both guns with horror. He screamed high, dropping both handguns with a clammer. Within seconds, he scratched and smacked all over his arms.

“No! Get off me, you freaks!” He ripped his clothes off in a panicked frenzy, shrieking higher. Little was on him as he gashed on his skin, with bruises and cuts all over and his black hair wild. “They’re eating my skin!”

Both squealed until their eyes rolled back, and they collapsed on the floor. Silence hovered through the fast-food place, enough that one could hear sizzling hamburgers from the other side. Daniel sighed, the golden scale disappearing into his storage as he collapsed on his seat, sweat on his brow. Glorfindel smiled with pride before winking at him, and every customer and worker pulled out their phones.

#   #   #

Two minutes later, the police came with sirens blaring out. The two thieves were lifted onto stretchers, with hand-cuffs around their wrists, as drug tests were being taken. Meanwhile, others took statements from the witnesses and looked at the camera recording. They soon concluded that, given the trace amount of drugs in their system, they fell into a drug frenzy. Finally, with their investigation completed, they rolled the thieves out.

Daniel and Glorfindel were questioned little, confusing Daniel since they were in a prime spot for witnessing it all. But when he looked at Glorfindel, who winked with a light sparkle on his fingertip, he realized and winked back. And as soon as the police left, they slinked away, though Daniel regretted not finishing his drink.

“You did well,” Glorfindel said, patting him on the back. “So, did you deliberately affect their weapons? Or was it a coincidence?”

“I-I honestly don’t know.” Daniel rubbed the back of his head as he blushed. “I want to say that I did, at least instinctively. I wanted it to curse their hands at least since I figured they wouldn’t want to handle their guns like that.”

“Hmm.” Glorfindel rubbed his chin. “That may be something that we can practice with. After all, we can’t rely on luck all the time, can we? And besides, I bet there are unique ways to curse them with more training.”

“What do you mean?” Daniel asked, flattening one of his ears.

“Think of it like this.” Glorfindel waved his hand before them. “You could ‘curse’ them with a euphoric sense, distracting them just enough to land a blow. That will be clever.” He winked at Daniel. “Besides, you haven’t tested what you can do on the other end.”

“Oh. Right.” Daniel nodded.

The two walked past a supermarket, with its window radiating coolness. But after they passed the doors, Glorfindel paused with a thoughtful expression. He turned to the window as Daniel also stopped, folding his ears to the side. He remained silent as he stared at their ghost-like reflections, both humans.

“I’ve been thinking about what you said earlier. About godhood and power, and whether that can change you or not.” Glorfindel brushed aside of strand of his hair. “And it’s complex to answer because it’s not as clean-cut as we usually think it to be.

“One saying goes that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Some will even claim that it’s a given that those who should wield power are those who don’t want it. But is that always the case? Some of the best leaders are those with high ambitions, and some of the worst have little to none. That isn’t to say that power doesn’t erode a person’s morality because it can and does, but it’s more than that.

“Perhaps power itself reveals a person’s character, and what they do with it is what they always wanted to do in the first place. That is nearer to the truth, but I don’t think it’s completely true. Time does change a person, after all. Besides, it doesn’t account for the fact that they might be doing it out of pragmaticism rather than a true desire. Even so, it may work as a test of character since it shows what you wanted to if you have the power to do it.”

Daniel flopped his ears forward. “I don’t think I can pass such a test.”

“Nonsense!” Glorfindel patted Daniel on the shoulder. “Have you forgotten what you did during that attempted robbery? You could’ve done nothing. Heck, you could’ve helped them.”

Daniel flinched. “But you were there with me. If I did help them, you could’ve stopped me.”

“Was that what you were thinking of when you interfered?” Glorfindel waited, with Daniel hesitating until he shook his head. “You see? You have power and didn’t think about using it yourself.” He gazed more, plunging into the ghost reflection. “But if you still doubt yourself, know this. There are plenty of deep questions we all ask ourselves. Questions like: Who are we; What do we want; Why are we here; and, What are we living for. Finding those questions will help us look deeper into ourselves.” He turned to Daniel. “And if you know who you are first, you’ll find out what you truly want without destroying yourself.”

“I kind of get what you mean, given that I’m still adjusting to this.” Daniel reached for the ghost reflection and touched the glass. “Still, thank you.”

At once, the reflection morphed, with him flinching for a second. The human on the glass disappeared, replaced with an anthro black jackal much like him but not quite. This one towered over at least doubled his size, with more defined muscles all over his body. The thing that most struck him was how tall the other was. And when the reflection smiled, it was wide, full of pride and joy.

Daniel blinked, the jackal reflection disappearing and replaced with his human one.

Glorfindel leaned against him. “Is there anything wrong?”

“Nothing. Nothing is wrong.” Daniel shook his head, and his expression became resolute as he pulled out his smartphone. “Perhaps I’ll find the other six Ankhs once I’m finished training. Not to take their power,” he added when Glorfindel flinched. “Not yet. Only to make sure they don’t fall into the wrong hands. After all, I doubt all potentials will be good, yes?”

Glorfindel gazed at him, his eyebrows up while rubbing his chin before he laughed. “That sounds like a plan to me! But come.” He slapped Daniel on his back. “We should get back and train.”

“Sure. One thing.” Daniel shifted his red eyes from side to side, walking along with Glorfindel. “Perhaps ‘Daniel’ isn’t the right name for me. Not to say it’s as bad or plain as yours.” He winked at Glorfindel, who blushed. “But it can be better, especially if I take all of Anubis’s power.

“However, I don’t want to be called ‘Anubis’ either. After all, the original one might be completely different than me, and I want to be distinct from him.” He turned on his smartphone and unlocked it, opening the page to Anubis’ wiki article. “So, could you call me Inpu from now on?”

“Inpu?” Glorfindel chuckled for a few seconds before patting him on the shoulder. “If that’s what you want to be known, sure.”

And, with that and his tail wagging behind him, Inpu and Glorfindel walked toward the warehouse for more training. Part of him felt nervous about his new identity, quest, and what to do afterward. But he felt one thing for sure, the one lucky thing he knew he had.

He’s lucky to have such a good friend and mentor as Glorfindel.

6
Art Gallery / Re: Halloween-Sketch-a-thon 12 -- Open!
« on: October 14, 2022, 08:03:48 PM »
#20

I'm with Tails230 (13).

7
Writer's Guild / A Kitsune Gift - A Corbyn Gift
« on: August 26, 2022, 11:00:31 PM »
A-Fox was tasked with a mission: to give one of his potions to Corbyn as a gift. But when none of the standard ones proved interesting to the indecisive blue kitsune, he decided to go ahead and offer up one of the deity potions. How will Corbyn react to being a deity, even for a short time?

Silliness, that's what.

While I had the basic blueprints for this story for a while, it changed a fair deal between outline and story. As such, I saved it until it was his birthday, even if it came to him a bit late. But better late than never, right?

In any case, enjoy!

-----

The sun shined down upon A-Fox’s back as he walked through a field, his three large tails swaying behind him. The wind blew past, brushing through his bright red fur with a white A on his back, his sea blue eyes shining bright. Yet, despite the heat pressing against his paw pads,  his red legs turning black halfway down, the heat doesn’t bother him.

Soon, he stopped and sat down, his pink torso fluttering in the breeze. He lifted his front-right leg and turned to it as though he wore a watch before turning ahead and around. His tails, tipped in white, twitched along with his black ears, yet he waited.

Ahead, a figure came into view, and A-Fox smiled. Like himself, this figure was also a kitsune, with blue fur instead of red and anthro instead of feral. His three tails, tipped white as well, wiggled as he stepped toward A-Fox, adjusting his rectangular glasses, which hung on his muzzle, his blue eyes gleaming. His blue hair-fur veered with the wind, his bright blue coat with black linings swaying as he walked, open to expose his flat chest and stomach. Soon, he stopped before A-Fox, who got up and rubbed his side against his light blue jeans.

“Hey there, Corbyn,” A-Fox said, his tails wagging.

“Um, hi,” Corbyn said, leaning down. “Is there a reason you wanted me to come over here?”

“There is, to be honest,” A-Fox answered, his lips curling into a grin. “You see, our mutual friend wanted to get you a gift, but he wasn’t sure what you wanted.” A-Fox reached into his tails, his front-left leg sunk in deep, and he pulled out a potion vial, its contents having a slight green glow. “So, he decided to pay me to offer you a potion of your choosing.”

“I see.” Yet, Corbyn returned with a blank stare even as A-Fox pulled out potion after potion until he showed thirty different types in various shapes and colors.

“Now, this was a personal favorite of mine,” A-Fox said, holding a gemstone-shaped flask, its contents red and having an image of a four-legged animal next to an upward-pointing arrow. “By drinking this, you’ll grow in size in proportion to how much you eat during its effects. But it’ll also turn you into a feral form as well.”

“Huh.” Corbyn grinned and giggled, yet he said, “I don’t know.”

A-Fox nodded and placed it down, replacing it with a green one with the shape of a sideway coin with a dragon drawing. “This one will transform you into a dragon. Depending on your character, you can turn into a beefy dragon, a noodle dragon, or a friend-shaped dragon.”

“Huh.” Corbyn rubbed his muzzle before he shrugged. “I don’t know.”

A-Fox tilted his head, but he placed the potion down. “This looks like it’ll be tricky.”

“Sorry,” Corbyn replied, placing his hand-paw against his face and shaking his head.

“No, no,” A-Fox said, holding a paw up. “We just need to find the perfect potion for you. That’s all. Nothing to stress about.” Corbyn relaxed even as A-Fox reached down to a potion, this one blue with a candlestick-like shape. “This one will increase your muscle mass exponentially.”

“Hmm.” Corbyn giggled before he shrugged.

#   #   #

An hour passed by, with A-Fox offering potion after potion. And yet, despite a few interests, such as Corbyn considering turning into a reindeer, none of them seemed to click with him. By the end, all thirty potions were placed into A-Fox’s tails, with him shrugging to Corbyn.

“I’m sorry that none of my potions seem to be clicking with you,” A-Fox said, rubbing his paw from his forehead to the back of his head.

“I’m really indecisive, OK?” Corbyn gave an embarrassed grin at him, rubbing the back of his head. “All of them are interesting for one reason or another. But it’s hard for me to choose.”

“Hmm.” A-Fox rubbed his muzzle before reaching into his tails once more. “Looks like it’s desperate measures time.”

Corbyn blinked even as A-Fox pulled out a vial from his tails; its contents glowed white. The glass was shaped like a tall four-sided pyramid, with A-Fox handling it with reverence. Corbyn tilted his head upon it, the potion not having any kind of label on it.

“What’s that?” Corbyn asked, and A-Fox lifted his head at him.

“I’m sure you remember the two times when Chris became a deity, right? I mean, I was FED the moon the second time!” A-Fox blushed even as Corbyn nodded at him. “This is how he does so, for this is the deity potion.”

“Deity potion?” Corbyn’s blue ears twitched even as A-Fox nodded. “What’s that?”

“For up to twenty-four hours, though it can be stretched out for much longer (something that I do NOT recommend), you will become a god-like being with the ability to shape the universe to your desire.” A-Fox placed the potion on the ground even as Corbyn nodded. “Of course, much of your changes will get undone once it wears off, so you don’t have to worry about any destructive stuff.”

“I see,” Corbyn nodded, though his tails wagged behind him. “So, I’ll become a god?” A-Fox nodded, with Corbyn’s tails wagging faster. “Neat. Though, how DID you make them?”

A-Fox blushed, with him rubbing his belly. “Sometimes, when I get a really huge hunger bout, I stuffed myself with so much food that, when digested, I was given a ton of energy. During such events, I found out that I sometimes leak out some of that energy, which I managed to collect and contain in vials like this.” He poked the potion. “And after mixing some ingredients such as Diet Pepsi, I found that it generates so much energy that it cannot be named other than the deity potion.” He rubbed the back of his head. “Though I managed to create stronger versions of this potion, which was the one Chris drank before feeding me the moon. Maybe I’ll get back at him one day.”

“Huh.” Corbyn giggled as he crouched and patted A-Fox’s head. “For someone with only three tails, you somehow create power that many envies.” He turned to the deity potion and blushed. “So, you think it’ll be OK?”

“Sure.” A-Fox picked it up and handed it over to Corbyn. “I trust you.”

Corbyn hummed for a few seconds, with him tapping on the cork for a few seconds. Finally, he blushed even deeper, tugging on the cork until it popped out, the glowing white contents swaying without a drop flying off. He hesitated for a few seconds before he tipped it over his muzzle, its contents tasting like fizzing soda as it went down his throat.

Corbyn rubbed his muzzle before handing the empty bottle back to A-Fox, wagging his tails. But before he could say anything, his stomach rumbled as he felt a power growing within him, spreading throughout his body from his toes to his ears. A-Fox snickered before he hopped onto Corbyn’s shoulders, with Corbyn blinking at how light A-Fox felt.

Behind him, his tails split from the tips, spreading out until one tail became three, and nine tails wiggled behind him. Yet, they kept growing, doubling in size even as the ground got pushed away from Corbyn’s feet-paws, with him growing in size. Corbyn grinned wide, the power flowing through him only growing more robust instead of weaker.

His coat stretched out, fighting against the expanding muscles within his arms. Yet, when his jacket almost lost, with a rip forming from a bulging bicep, Corbyn poked it, and the seams shut. Soon, each tear was repaired, and his coat grew and stretched with his muscles. Once flat and thin, his chest widened with his pecs pushed forward, pumping out bigger by the second. Soon, they jet out farther than his chin, with his abs forming a tight six-pack that bulges out.

Even as Corbyn giggled, flexing his arms with the biceps pushing against his shoulders, his legs thickened with muscles. The thighs swelled out, pushing against each other with the calves stretching against his jeans. He laughed and blinked as his voice deepened and had a reverb effect, his neck thickening. A-Fox grinned wide, rubbing against his swelling neck even as Corbyn blushed, his nine tails wagging.

Yet, even as he grew in size, Corbyn poked his coat again, and the bottom stretched down from below his waist, reaching his ankles. It soon held a starry effect even as Corbyn held up his hand-paws high, a circlet with a sapphire forming upon it, and he set it upon his head. Afterward, a necklace was created around his neck, a glass sphere containing billions of galaxies. He grabbed it and rubbed the miniature universe, with him having a kind grin towards it.

Still, he kept growing in size, with clouds pushed away against his bulky body. The ground rumbled as tons of soil were shoved away from his feet-paws, with them sinking deeper into the ground. Corbyn laughed, spreading his arms out as blue flames formed upon them.

Soon, he stopped growing, becoming a mountainous size in both height and muscle. His blue fur shined upon the light with a slight glossy gleam and was as smooth as silk. His blue eyes held a subtle glow even as he heard the stars singing throughout the universe. Finally, he turned to A-Fox, who grinned back at him.

“So, what do you think?” A-Fox asked, his tails wagging fast. “I hope it wasn’t disappointing.”

“Disappointing?” Corbyn winked at him. “Why, I feel FANTASTIC!” He pressed his hand-paws against his hips as he laughed. “I guess it’s good I didn’t choose the other potions because this feels great!”

“Good.” A-Fox rubbed his side against Corbyn’s neck. “So, my blue deity kitsune. What will you do with your awesome powers?”

“Hmm.” Corbyn rubbed his chin even as he sat down, his tails folding behind him, so they served as a makeshift chair for him. “I don’t know.” A-Fox’s ears folded back, but Corbyn laughed. “No, I’m just kidding. I have a perfect idea. But it involves Chris.”

“Oh?” A-Fox perked up, grinning.

“It’s a secret for now.” Corbyn got up before walking down the field, the world shaking beneath his feet-paws. “Though I got to ask, is he the mutual friend you were talking about?”

“Chris? No. It’s another one.” A-Fox chuckled, with Corbyn returning with an eyebrow raised at him. “He asked me NOT to give you a deity potion. We argued until we agreed that I offered you at least thirty potions before I offered you a deity potion.”

“Oh.” Corbyn rubbed his right ear before he giggled as well. “Still, I’m glad that you gave it to me.”

“Same here, buddy,” A-Fox said, nuzzling against Corbyn’s neck.

#   #   #

Chris tapped against the keyboard, his three tails rubbing against a chair. His deep blue eyes remained steady upon the screen, his headphones pressed against his white ears. His pale-orange fur, with a red hollow diamond shape on his back, fluffed up even as he tapped faster onto the computer, his legs white halfway down and having a red fuzzy circle between the white tails tip and pale orange fur.

“Come on,” Chris said, gritting his teeth. “I got to win a Team Fortress 2 match against bots someday!” The room shook as he tapped his keyboard, leaning closer to the screen. “OK. Maybe I can taunt-kill this bot.” The room shook again even as he laughed, but he gasped in horror. “Oh, you got to be kidding me. Who programmed bots to launch a DDoS attack upon getting a taunt kill!? I’ll burn them to—”

The roof ripped off upon Chris’s house, with him blinking at the sudden sunlight upon him. He turned up and gasped, his eyes widening upon a massive Corbyn, with thick bulging muscles all over him. He leaned back, his ears folded back even as Corbyn snapped his fingers, and a blue glow surrounded Chris.

Chris blinked before he got pulled into the air, with him screaming at the top of his voice. The ground became a blur as he moved faster, passing through a couple of clouds along the way. Soon, he became level with Corbyn’s muzzle, and Corbyn reached over, grabbing onto Chris’s tail. Chris curled up, becoming small even as A-Fox waved at him.

“Hey there, little buddy,” Corbyn said, grinning at Chris. “Guess what? I drank one of A-Fox’s deity potions, and it feels GREAT! So, to celebrate, how about you become my pillow? OK?”

Chris let out a whine even as Corbyn breathed in.

8
Writer's Guild / Nimono's Massive Birthday - Gift For Nimono
« on: July 12, 2022, 08:33:11 AM »
. . . Whoops. Forgot to post this here. XD;;

Better late than never?

Enjoy!

-----

The sun had already risen from the horizon when Nimono woke up with a plan. Though it was his special day today, he wished to spread out the fun, and he had the perfect friend to try it out on. So, he turned to the window and spotted that very friend, his muzzle curling into a grin.

Outside, lying in a park, was an anthro red fox with a book on hand. Before turning the page, he tugged a bit on his red aloha shirt with white florals, unbuttoned and over his plain green shir. The golden A on his belt shined a bit, with light reflecting from the morning sun. The belt itself wrapped tight around his waist, with him wearing blue jeans. He turned upwards and, spotting Nimono, his sea-blue eyes flashed as he waved at him, who waved back.

Nimono grinned wide as he turned away from the window, grabbing a plain white shirt and pulling it on. He then put his glasses onto his muzzle, tan with a turf of fur on the sides of his neck. He then slipped on his pair of black pants before putting his coat, blue with red sleeves and collar and white lines down the sides, bottom, and center, and zipped it up. His three tails, shaped like hooks and turned from tan to blue halfway, wagged even as he pulled on a pair of yellow and white sneakers, tying them on tight and wiggling his feet-paws within.

He grabbed his spell book, green with a white crystal cover and blue crystals for pages before he hopped up and away to the door. His red eyes sparkled even as he swung it open and ran across the street. Soon, he stood before the red fox, his long ears, tan with blue and brown zigzagging patten, wiggling as he held his arms behind him.

“Hey there, Daren~!” Nimono said, and the red fox glanced up. “How are you doing this morning?”

“Not bad,” Daren replied, putting his book down before reaching up and patting Nimono on the head. It was easy since, despite laying against a tree, he was a bit over six feet while Nimono was under three. “How about you?”

“Oh, I’m doing fantastic!” Nimono answered, winking at Daren. “Do you know what day it is?”

Daren rubbed his muzzle, white along with the rest of his torso and black triangular muzzle marks, for a few seconds. “If I recall, it is June 6th,”

“Correct~!” Nimono booped Daren’s nose, who wiggled it for a moment. “Do you know why that day is so special?”

Daren gave out a loud hum, though he grinned at Nimono. “It’s your birthday, right?”

“Correct again~!” Nimono pulled forward his spell book, and he spoke out, “Behimosu Henshin~!”

Daren blinked as his hand-paws thickened out, becoming more paws than hands even as the black fur turned to red with white palms and fingers. His claws grew and thickened, with his black forearms thickening and becoming scruffy. The ears turned red while stretching out into thins and moving downwards, his hair-fur blackening and thickening with the forward sides of his hair growing down to his chest, with dark red tips. The nose broadened along with his muzzle, with the nose becoming little more than dots even as a pair of black horns grew on his head.

“What are you turning me into?” Daren asked, flipping his hand-paw over as his tail grew longer and thicker, with the tip blackening and his jeans ripping.

“Couldn’t you tell?” Nimono winked at Daren even as thick, dark plates formed near the base of his tail. “A behemoth!”

A pair of curved spikes grew near his tail tip, with the fur receding even as the tip fluffed out. His feet-paws thickened out, with the fur turning red with a white underside and his feet-paws thickening out, with a black claw growing underneath his heels. His digitigrade feet-paws stretched even as the forelegs’ black fur became longer and scruffier. Spikes ripped through his shirts on his back as he bulked up. His ripped body was visible underneath his tight green shirt.

Daren couldn’t help but snickered, rolling himself up. “Interesting chose of creature you chose to transform me into.” He winked at Nimono. “I can guess why you chose this form.”

“Of course~!” Nimono hopped over to Daren’s feet-paws and rubbed them, squeezing them as much as possible. “Such thick paws you have~!”

“Indeed. Although,” Daren went through his red aloha shirt and pulled out his TF Scriúire, pointing it as Nimono as the light on his glowed yellow and it buzzed. “I think you should join in on the fun.”

Nimono blinked as his ears shrank, with the fur on them turning yellow with the insides blackening. His muzzle and neck also blackened as his cheeks and head yellowed, with the cheek fluff stretching out and ending with electric blue. A pair of blue lightning-shaped whiskers grew on his muzzle even as his tails shrunk down to nothingness.

“You’re turning me into a Zeraora?” Nimono asked, and Daren winked back. “Cheeky fox~!”

“I know,” Daren replied even as a ‘tail,’ yellow and ending with a lightning bolt shape, grew from between Nimono’s shoulders, ripping through his shirt and cost and extending down to his knees. “One good turn deserves another.”

Nimono’s body grew in size, growing taller until he became four foot seven, his clothes stretching and growing with him. His limbs turned yellow even as a pair of black parallel zigzagging patterns formed on his forearm, his paw-pads turning lightning blue. He wiggled his toes, an electric blue crisscrossing shape forming around his forelegs, and he grinned wide at Daren, who put the TF Scriúire away. Soon, he jumped up and snugged Daren closed.

“That’s one heck of a gift, Daren. Though my clothes no longer match me.” Nimono opened up his book once more. “Irui Henshin~!” At once, his sleeves shortened along with his pants, his coat unzipped itself, and his white shirt turned green. The coat’s sleeves shortened into nothing, becoming a vest, even as the shirt’s sleeves underneath it turned red. The jeans shortened into shorts as they turned brown, with his sneakers becoming green and white with blue cuffs. “Much better~!”

Daren chuckled a bit even as he reached over to booped Nimono’s nose. “Must say, those clothes suit that form.”

Sparks emitted from Nimono’s whiskers, his eyes glowing brightly. Daren blinked a bit, tilting his head before gasping, Nimono growing in size. Then, he grinned as he stood up, the ground shaking even as his ‘tail’ swayed behind and slammed against his house’s roof, caving it in. Yet, he grew faster until he towered over Daren at two hundred feet tall, all within fifteen seconds.

“You really shouldn’t have done that, Daren~!” Nimono said, sticking his tongue out even as Daren stood up, his ears lowered to his shoulders. He bent down to Daren, booping his nose, which caused Daren to fall back, his eyes wide. “And I thought that behemoths are supposed to be big~!”

“O-OK. I didn’t realize that booping your nose causes you to grow,” Daren said, sliding up the tree even as Nimono snickered. “Lesson learned.”

Nimono winked at Daren. “Yup~!” He reached over to Daren and pulled him up by the shirt, who remained still. Finally, he stood up, grinning wide even as Daren gulped. But Nimono turned to his book, which grew with him, again. “Kinoko Kakudai~!”

Daren’s body glowed white as he began to grow in size. He blinked some more, the ground becoming much closer in both ways as Nimono placed him down. He turned all around himself, with the street shattering beneath him, his tail crashing through several houses at once without slowing down. He gulped a bit, growing until he reached Nimono’s size at two hundred feet.

“Now we can see eye to eye~!” Nimono spread his arms out before hugging Daren tight, who blinked in response. “Isn’t this wonderful?”

“Um, yeah,” Daren replied before turning back to the wrecked houses, sweat drops forming on his head. “Um, you have a spell that can undo destruction, right?”

“Yup~!” Nimono booped Daren’s nose before wrapping his right arm around Daren’s shoulders and dragging him around the town, stepping through the empty streets. “After all, it’s no fun if it’s permanent!”

Daren nodded, grinning a bit while minding his tail. “I must say, you must love growing a lot if booping your nose is enough to cause you to grow.”

Nimono snickered. “You’re Mr. Obvious here~! Of course, I do!”

“Even better than shrinking?”

“Y-yeah!” Nimono blushed, with sparks emitting from his whiskers even as he turned away. “M-much better!”

Daren chuckled while rolling his eyes, the two soon leaving town with a street full of deep prints. The earth shook beneath them, with trees collapsing from their walk despite being thirty feet away from the steps. Daren couldn’t help but blush himself, and an idea formed within his head.

Soon, he pressed against Nimono’s nose hard, grinning wide. “Let’s see how much you’ll grow now!”

His eyes glowed even as he grew in size, his shoes pushing aside the trees and earth beneath him. Daren snickered, grabbing Nimono’s muzzle as he pressed some more, his tail wagging. Yet already, Daren seemed to be nothing more than a mouse to Nimono despite being two hundred feet.

He soon stopped pressing, climbing onto Nimono’s expanding muzzle even as he grew faster with every second. The earth shook, with clouds parting away from his head and shoulders. Yet, he kept growing more and more, with sparks flying from his whiskers and hand-paws.

Daren patted Nimono’s muzzle, with the sky becoming blacker with every second. Soon enough, stars poked out from the sky, with the sun becoming white. Yet, Daren tilted his head a bit. While he knew that giants at this size could violate specific rules, such as a lack of air in space, he didn’t think that would apply to him at this size. Perhaps it was because he was so near to Nimono.

Nimono clutched his book tight, grinning wide even as his ‘tail’ kept on wagging. Entire landscapes were ripped into pieces from his shoes, with a thick amount of dirt, stones, and such shoved away from them. Entire countries lay under them, with waves flowing from the worldwide shaking. But just as quickly did he grow, he stopped growing. He turned down, giving out a giggle.

Calling him humongous would be an understatement, for even if every living being on the planet doubled in size and battled against him, they wouldn’t get up to his waist. He placed his hand-paws on his hips, himself about a fourth the size of the planet itself, before turning to the moon. Part of him wanted to play with it, but he knew there was something he must do.

Nimono’s eyes skimmed through his muzzle until he spotted a red dot that was Daren. He grinned some more, with him flipping the pages once more as he extended his claw towards him. It touched against him, and he spoke two words.

Kinoko Kakudai~!”

At once, the red dot grew larger, slow at first, but soon the speed became quicker. Daren became about the size of a mouse to him within several seconds before he plucked him off from his muzzle. By the time he sat Daren on the planet, he had become rabbit size to him, and he winked.

Daren blinked more, with massive waves crashing against his legs, though they felt nothing against his expanding body. He turned upwards, reaching up to Nimono’s knees even as the larger of the two bent down and booped his nose. Daren blushed, rubbing the back of his head as he grew loads more, soon getting up to his waist. And within a minute, Daren became leveled with Nimono once more, with him spreading his arms out and hugging Daren tight.

“Hehe~!” Nimono said, his ‘tail’ wagging behind him. “We’re the biggest in the world!”

Daren blinked a bit before he smiled and hugged back, his tail wagging. “I think we already were when we’re two hundred feet tall.”

Nimono snickered a bit, rubbing Daren’s hair a bit and having them stand up a bit from electrical charges. “Fair point~!”

Daren nodded, patting Nimono’s head again. His eyes sparked once more as he opened his book and spoke out an enchantment. He tilted his head a bit, but the only thing that happened was a blue baseball cap with a green logo materialized on Nimono’s head, with him pulling it back a bit. Daren chuckled a bit, and soon, Daren sat down on the planet.

“Never did like doing destructive stuff,” Daren admitted even as Nimono sat next to him, patting his shoulder. “But if you can undo it all—”

“Absolutely~!”

Daren smiled, rubbing Nimono’s neck a bit. “I’m glad to have you as a friend.”

“Same with you!”

The two turned upwards to the moon, with Nimono pawing out towards it. Yet, the moon remained out of reach from his claws. Daren snickered a bit, patting Nimono’s head a bit. But Nimono rubbed his cheek against Daren’s cheek, who squeezed his shoulder in response.

“Happy Birthday, Nimono.”

9
Writer's Guild / An Anubian Destiny - A Tofubread Commission
« on: July 12, 2022, 08:01:05 AM »
Commissioned by Tofubread

The work day ended, and Daniel, the tour guide for the museum, was doing his final checks to make sure no one snuck in. Everything seemed normal until he tried to leave, but the doors were lock and the other coworkers were in a trance-like state. Before he knew it, he met with the one who caused it, and his life was transform.

Whew. Finally, a story that I can post. I mean, I did two other stories, but I'm still waiting for a response from the commissioners for their final thoughts and such. Well, more like one with the other one did responded in a timely manner, but his friend has yet to respond regarding his character's use in the story. XD;

Sigh. Oh well.

In any case, I have a ton of fun writing this. Especially since I am fond of that form that my friend has. I wonder why.

Enjoy!

-----

The watch around Daniel’s wrist beeped at 5 PM, the time when the museum closed. He nodded, satisfied with how the day went, guiding groups of people throughout, doing his best to answer questions they asked. Of course, the trickle of new guests slowed as it went closer to closing time, but he would still help if he could.

As with all closing periods, he walked throughout the museum, hunting for hiding guests, which was simple since it wasn’t as large as other museums he went to. But he didn’t mind if it was on the small end, especially since it still held plenty of historical relics throughout the ages and lands. Such as medieval swords, with signs and looping videos that showed how the blades were forged back in those days. Besides, there was the benefit of fewer people would hide within the museum so they could interact or steal one of those relics.

Before he knew it, Daniel paused, standing within the Egyptian wing of the museum, the yellow light shining down, making his blue uniform look green. It was small, only containing a jackal statue, a couple of flails, some rubbings from a wall, and a gold Ankh that lay within a case. Yet, it was still his favorite, if only for the Ankh, which his brown eyes paused at when taking one look over them for the day.

At once, he felt a strange pull coming from within, his hand inching up to the Ankh. For months since the Ankh was donated to the museum, Daniel felt a strong urge to steal that relic, even if it meant being arrested, yet he contented with working for the place instead. He hoped this strange desire would fade over time, yet it had become more substantial. His arm rose as though pulled by invisible strings, but he shook his head and pulled back.

“What is wrong with me?” Daniel said to himself, shaking his head. “Perhaps I’ve spent too much time here.” Yet, he remained standing there for a couple of seconds before he continued his walk, his body almost robotic before the pull was out of reach, and he moved more naturally. Finally, he sighed and rubbed the back of his head. “Yup. Too much time.”

He continued his sweep through the floor, peeking behind every wall and under the table. Yet, no kid, adult, or anyone hid in those spots. Soon, with a great inhale, Daniel stepped through restroom after restroom, knocking on the stalls, checking underneath, and even swinging open each door. But no one was there each time, and he sighed relief. He didn’t want a repeat of that one time; it took weeks to scrub off that memory.

Soon, Daniel smiled before stepping into the back room and unlocking his locker. He slipped on his favorite blue jacket, his short brown waving as he pulled back its hood. Daniel then removed his work ID, attached to a lanyard, and placed it in the locker before closing and locking it. His pale blue sneakers squeaked as he pulled out a card with a QR code from his black jeans, setting it under a scanner. It beeped and confirmed that Daniel clocked out at 6:00 PM after a couple of seconds.

“Another long day over,” Daniel said, stuffing his hands into his jacket’s pockets. “But enough time to make some dinner. I may even play SMT5 some more.”

Daniel stepped out from the back room, having a slight grin on his face. He strode through the various exhibit, pausing for a few seconds as he glanced at the Egyptian wing before shaking his head and continuing his walk. A tapping noise came from the side, and he stopped, turning to the side. The security door was open before it swung shut, and the tapping noise became faint. Daniel strode towards the door, pressed his ear against it, the tapping becoming more apparent, and nodded, sighing out of relief. He continued his walk, soon standing in the entranceway.

He glanced around with a couple of service desk ladies, his coworkers, standing behind the desk as though frozen. Daniel scratched his head before shrugging and approaching the glass door, pressing against its handle. Yet, it refused to budge no matter how hard he pushed. So, finally, he grunted, turning to the ladies with their eyes toward where he stood, each with a slight smirk.

“OK, it was funny the first couple of times,” Daniel said, shaking his head. “But the joke is getting old.” The ladies kept staring, not responding or even moving. “Hey! Do you hear me?” He stepped behind the desk, yet they didn’t move an inch. He grabbed one of their shoulders. “This isn’t—”

She fell onto the floor, her knees buckling from the sudden touch while slipping from Daniel’s grip. He blinked, bending over to her, and turned her head. Yet, her expression remained the same slight smirk, her eyes unfocused. He waved and snapped his fingers in front of her, yet she didn’t react. Finally, he gulped, setting her down before standing up behind the other and setting his arms under her own. She fell as soon as they touched, but he caught her and set her beside the first one.

“O. K. This is weird.” Daniel stood up, reaching to one of the service desk’s phones and grabbing it. Yet, not even a buzzing sound emitted from it. He pressed a few buttons, even on the switch hook a few times, but it still returned silence, with the only sound being the button presses. The same happened with the other phones, and he took a step back, rubbing the top of his head. “Why are the phones dead?”

At once, the tapping sounds returned, and he stepped out from behind the service desk, sweating. He peeked out from the corner, still hearing that tapping sound, and he spotted a strange man with blond hair carrying a staff of some kind. He inched back, but the man traveled away from Daniel.

His heart slammed against his chest as he went into his jacket’s pocket, pulling out his smartphone. He pressed it, yet it refused to wake up, the screen reflecting a black mirror of himself. Daniel gulped, breathing in and out, before striding towards the security door, swinging it open. All three of the security team sat around a table, grinning at each other, with one having a walking stick right next to him. He grabbed one of their shoulders, but he fell without a sound, the other two not moving or reacting at all.

“What is happening?” Daniel said, his eyes wide as he stepped back a bit. But he forced himself forward, pulling out their phones to wake them up, yet they refused to. Finally, he grunted in frustration before grabbing a chair and dragging it out, heading towards the glass door before stopping and shaking his head. “No good.” That glass was practically bulletproof. If anything, the chair would shatter before the door would, and that strange guy would notice.

At once, fear flowed through him like a frozen wave, and he sat down, breathing in and out in an attempt to calm himself. He gripped his hair, feeling the strands between his fingers, even as his heart slammed against his chest. But he kept breathing, and soon a soothing wave flowed through, and he stood up.

“OK. Try to keep calm,” Daniel said to himself, walking back and forth even as his sneakers squeaked. Yet, he sweated enough that his shirt became damp, his heart slamming against his chest. Soon, he rubbed his hands together before heading to the back room. “There must be a phone that still works.”

He strode toward that direction before he stopped; a shadow stretched out from the Egyptian wing. He tilted his head before stepping behind one of the walls, keeping still and silent, the undusted wall smooth. Soon, he scooted over with the shadow growing closer until he peeked out from behind the corner, his knuckles turning white.

The strange man stood in front of the Egyptian exhibit, wearing a two-toned red shirt, the sleeves darker than the rest of his shirt. He leaned against his staff, wooden and ending with a yin-yang symbol, the black opposing brown. He tilted his head at the exhibit, pulling his hand out from his black jeans before reaching towards the gold Ankh, his hand phasing through the glass.

“Hmm. I sense great power from this,” the strange man said, removing the Ankh from the display even as Daniel blinked and rubbed his eyes. “But, how to unlock its secrets?” He hovered his staff over it and nodded. “Ah. Looking for someone. But who?”

Daniel pulled back, his back pressed against the wall, even as he felt utter confusion from what he had witnessed. He pressed his hand against his chest, the various fabrics rubbing against it while wondering about this strange man. Part of him wondered if that was magic, though the rational part of his mind knew it didn’t exist. And yet, it would explain a lot about what he witnessed.

He remained still, trying to calm himself even as the mental image of that man holding the Ankh flashed in his mind. And, instead of calmness, a wave of fiery anger flowed through his limbs, and he clenched his fists tight. Yet, he forced himself to remain standing still, waiting until calm came in, fusing with anger and becoming a colder kind of burning. Finally, his face turned white, and he stepped around the corner.

“Hey!” Daniel said, and the strange man spun around, his strange blue eyes blinking. “What are you doing here?”

“Did I miss someone? How?” The strange man said, leaning back. But he shook his head and said, “I’m just here to examine this fascinating artifact.” He held up and flipped over the Ankh, the staff pressing against the floor. “I’m always intrigued by such objects, and just witnessing it wouldn’t give all the information I desire, hence why I came in.”

“How did you get in anyways?” Daniel demanded, their noses inches away from each other. “I checked through every spot a visitor like you could hide!”

“Quite simple, really. I stepped through the front door,” the strange man answered, pressing his staff against Daniel, who didn’t budge away. “It’s simple when you’re a mage like me. Don’t worry about the service guests and the guards. They’ll wake up within an hour, feeling as though they chatted until they lost all track of time.”

“You expect me to believe such stuff?” Daniel snatched the Ankh away. “That you can use ‘magic?’” The strange man nodded, and Daniel rolled his eyes. “Regardless, I will not tolerate thieves like you breaking into the museum!”

“I have not come to steal anything,” the strange man said, taking a step back. “Merely to research this Ankh. But I knew that if I bothered to explain why I wished to, it would be an endless circle with leader after leader. Hence why I chose a more disgraceful path.”

“Even so,” Daniel said, grabbing the strange man’s shirt and pulling him close, “that doesn’t change the fact that you’re—”

At once, the golden Ankh sparked out in Daniel’s grasp, and he blinked, letting go of the shirt and stepping back. Yet, this electrical kind of spark didn’t hurt at all; instead, it felt soothing as though it was trying to calm him down. The strange man tilted his head and waved his staff before he grinned wide, becoming fox-like for a couple of seconds.

“I knew it,” the strange man said even as Daniel took a couple more steps back, blinking as his brown eyes reddened. “And it seemed that fate has a funny way of showing itself.”

“What are you talking about?” Daniel asked as a golden flow emitted from the Ankh, surrounding him. “What’s happening?”

Even as he asked that question, his fingernails became long and thick, turning gold. His palms became thick and padded as black fur sprouted from his fingers down to the back of his hands. He gasped, trying to drop the Ankh, yet his grip refused to slacken, with more golden waves coming out from it.

Daniel’s ears stretched long while moving up his head, with black fur growing on the back and golden fur sprouting from within. His nose and mouth pushed forward, his teeth becoming longer and sharper while his nose blackened, changing shape. More black fur grown on his face, yet golden fur around his eyes stretched out in a particular pattern. Gold surrounded them, with the inner part of his eyes having a line stretched down and another line crossing it. Right next to those lines was a curve stretching to the outer parts of his eyes, ending with a spiral shape, a line growing from the outer parts of his eyes from the center. He rubbed his face, his nose and mouth stretching out further with more black fur growing as his eyebrow turned golden.

Soon, the golden waves rubbed against his clothes, dissolving where they touched. Daniel gasped, yet new clothes formed underneath as though he always wore them, hiding underneath and waiting to be exposed. His blue sneakers dissolved, with black sandals replacing them even as he stood on his toes, his feet stretching out into digitigrade. Fur covered his feet-paws, with golden claws forming on his toes as golden rings formed around his ankles, hanging there. What remained of his coat’s sleeves morphed into a pair of massive leather bracelets that stretched from his wrists to his elbows, with gold on its outer part.

Black fur continued to sprout all over his body, his pants dissolved and replaced with a leather kilt that went down to his knees, with golden trimmings and a belt wrapped around tight. A budge formed from behind until a tail popped out, growing from the kilt’s hole and down as far as his knees, covered in fluffy fur much like the rest of his body. He turned back, blinking with his tail wagging even as his hair grew long, turning blacker than the rest of his fur and with thin golden highlights that shined through. They rubbed against his shoulders, his coat and shirt dissolving and exposing a massive collar that went down to his chest, leather with golden edgings and lines that connected to the neck part of the collar, also lined with a golden ring. Near the neck was a golden pattern with an alternating circle and square pattern underneath the golden ring.

Daniel’s body became toned, with small abs on his stomach even as black fur grew, though a golden pattern formed on his chest. An upside-down tear shape loop formed on the upper part of his chest, which stretched down in a line and stopped just above his navel. A horizontal golden line grew underneath the loop, stretching out until they were longer than the loop itself. Daniel rubbed it, the symbol being the shape of the Ankh itself.

Soon, the Ankh stopped sparking, with the golden waves dissipating, and he dropped it with a clank. He flipped over his hand-paws, his eyes wide, before he rubbed his hair, long and silk-like. His heart slammed against his chest, his back against a wall, before the strange man approached and grabbed his shoulder.

“Try to stay calm,” the strange man said, with Daniel responding with a nod and a whimper. Soon, the strange man pressed his staff against him, and he nodded. “I see. So, it has chosen you.”

“W-what are you talking about?” Daniel asked, his claws piercing the stone wall. “What have I b-become?”

Daniel leaned to the side, a blue orb hovering over one of the displayed flails. He blinked, felt calm, and stepped forward as though instincts had taken over. The strange man nodded, letting go and tapping where Daniel’s claws pierced through, the damages undone. Soon, Daniel stood in front of the blue orb, reaching up to it.

At once, the blue orbs emitted some waves, and memories that weren’t his appeared before him. A farmer worked in a desert, using that flail to separate the grain from the husks. But a shadow appeared behind the farmer, and before he could turn around, he was stabbed through the chest and died; Daniel felt emotions of horror and shock from the orb as though they were his own. He poked the sphere and soon felt a peaceful wave, with the orb fading.

“Fascinating,” the strange man said, and Daniel spun around, confused while keeping his hand-paw up. “I felt what you did. You guided a lost spirit into the afterlife.”

“I-I did?” Daniel asked, his fingers splayed out. “How?”

“My friend,” the strange man said while chuckling, stepping forward and patting Daniel’s shoulder. “You have the powers of the Egyptian god, Anubis, even appearing like him. So in a way, you have become Anubis himself.”

“Huh?!” Daniel turned back to his fluffy tail, which wagged behind him. “B-but I don’t feel like a god at all!”

“Perhaps it is because you haven’t got all of it,” the strange man said, picking up the undamaged Ankh. He waved his staff over it once more, and he nodded. “Hmm. I see.”

Daniel tilted his head, his left ear flattened to the side. “Sir, who or what are you?”

“Oh! Sorry. I guess I haven’t introduced myself properly.” The strange man grinned before bowing. “I am a mage, as I said. Specifically, a kitsune mage, though I’m wearing a human suit. Much fewer questions that way in lands populated by humans. I explore all kinds of lands, searching and learning all kinds of magic, for my desire to learn all that can be is unquenchable. Call me Glorfindel.”

“Glorfindel,” Daniel said, blinking and, for a moment, an image of a green anthro kitsune with five tails formed before him, hiding behind the human skin. “Huh? I-I thought I saw a green fox of some kind!”

“That’s impressive since this skin was to make my aura undetectable even by magic. For what you saw was my true form.” Glorfindel said, stepping around Daniel while nodding to himself. “So, that change also granted magic. Powerful one too, even if it was fractured.”

“What do you mean?” Daniel asked, tilting his head.

“From what I detected from the Ankh,” Glorfindel explained, lifting it, “the divine essences of Anubis were split into seven parts, each contained in an Ankh like this. So, you’re only 1/7th Anubis, though where the other six are, I cannot tell. Just that they’re in Ankh like this one.” He handed it over to Daniel before rubbing his chin. “Still, the fact that it reached out to you and not me tells me that the Ankh chose you.”

“Me?” Daniel said, blinking even as he turned to the Ankh. “But I’m nothing special! I’m just a guy working as a tour guy in a museum!”

“Then let me ask you something,” Glorfindel said, grinning while tapping his staff. “Have you felt any strange pulls from the Ankh? As though you must wield it instead of letting it sit within a case?”

Daniel was about to deny it, but he stopped himself. At once, memories flowed, recalling all the strange times he felt the pull to take the Ankh only to force himself to stop. Daniel lifted the Ankh, handing it back to Glorfindel, and found that the strange tug was no longer there, as though the desire was spent. He then nodded, and Glorfindel grinned wider.

“You see,” Glorfindel said as he placed the Ankh back in the glass case, “we’re no different.” He patted Daniel’s shoulder before walking around him. “Though I’m a kitsune mage, I too was once a human until I found a relic. It too, for whatever reason, decided to bless me with its powers much like you.”

“But, am I worthy?” Daniel asked, rubbing the back of his head. “I mean, isn’t Anubis the god of death? Like a grim reaper?”

“Being a god of death doesn’t mean that you actually kill someone,” Glorfindel answered, shaking his head. “You’re more like a shepherd, helping guide souls into the afterlife, especially souls with sudden and violent death. And there, a new beginning will happen.” He rubbed Daniel’s fur, which Daniel blushed at. “After all, the Nile’s soil is as black as your fur. Besides, the symbols you bore on your chest and around your eyes are not of death, but life and protection.”

Daniel blinked, rubbing the symbols as Glorfindel continued. “Of course, I’m not here to tell you what to do. I prefer advising rather than ordering. But I believe the Ankh has chosen you. You could try to claim the remaining Ankh, your powers becoming whole, or you could remain as is. And while I specialize in transformation magic, I fear that I cannot revert you as you once were, so that path is blocked off. Still, the path is yours to take.”

Daniel turned to the Ankh, spotting a ghostly reflection of himself as an Anubian jackal on the glass, though the image was more confident, the face more massive than his own, and what he could see of the rest of the body was a mountain of bulk. He blinked, and the reflection turned to his current form. He rubbed it before turning up and spotting a red orb, another lost soul.

He turned to Glorfindel and, with a grin, he nodded.

10
Writer's Guild / Re: Faith's Travel
« on: June 05, 2022, 07:01:22 PM »
P.S.
Here is a bonus ending crafted by Midday-Mew!

The sun got absorbed. The planet careened into space in a straight line, as it had nothing to hold it in orbit, and the people on it died as well from the extreme cold, no longer having the sun's protection. Plants withered and died from the icy temperatures and lack of sun, wrecking entire ecosystems from their foundations. Soon, the former planet became unsustainable for life entirely. What a cold and bitter end.

11
Writer's Guild / Faith's Travel
« on: June 05, 2022, 07:00:10 PM »
With a volcano due to erupt in a few weeks, A-Ninetales was called in to deal with the situation. However, his apprentice, Faith the Vulpix, partly out of duty but mostly to see how big she would get, decided to jump in for the mission. And when she does absorb its lava, how big would she grow?

Just a story that I wrote on a fly for Vulpix Day. Then again, considering how big she got, I think the day should be called Faith Day instead.

In any case, enjoy!

-----

It was burning hot when Faith the Vulpix climbed up a volcano. But, of course, being a Fire-type Pokémon, it doesn't bother her as much, especially when compared to other Pokémon types. In fact, she enjoyed how hot it got up high. And it was only going to get hotter.

Her red-orange fur puffed up even as she hopped from one boulder to the next, her paws snow-white rather than light brown. Her six tails, orange and curled up at the tips, wagged even as she grinned, her baby blue eyes shining in the sunlight. Yet, smog grew thicker as she climbed, with her cream underbelly darkened from it and her dark brown nose creased from the smell. Yet, she pressed on, her lime green bow wrapped around her neck swaying in the breeze along with her fur on hair, curled into three orange locks and ending with bangs.

Soon enough, Faith got up to the top, and she gasped. Below, glowing red and orange lava bubbled and turned, with the heat becoming overwhelming even for her. The ground rumbled a bit, and she almost slipped before steadying herself, stopping herself from falling down the volcano. It would be such a shame that she would climb up here only to fall over.

Faith gave out a wide grin, her tails wagging even faster. She stepped around the edge of the volcano, her eyes skimming through the rocky and sometimes molten landscape, which she stepped around. It was too soon to touch them anyways. But after fifteen minutes, she shook her head and sighed.

"Darn. I was hoping for a landscape to hop out from," Faith said to herself. "But it seems that this volcano doesn't have anything like that. Such a shame. It would've been dramatic if it did."

Still, Faith turned to the bubbly lava, her heart beating from the excitement. Few Fire-types Pokémon would get close to lava like this; fewer would swim in it. But then, Faith had one unique attribute she got from her mentor, A-Tales.

She gave a massive grin as she made a mighty leap off, falling towards the lava. Her instincts screamed out that this was a bad idea, but she couldn't turn back at this point. It became hotter as she fell, her fur sticking up at their ends. Soon, she landed in the lava, with only a few waves flowing from it.

She just floated in the lava for a moment, her back and head exposed and her bow unharmed. But then, her body glowed gold, and she grew. Within seconds, the one foot eleven Faith became ten feet, and she swung her tails up high. Yet, she still remained a mere dot within the crater, which expanded as she kept growing.

Faith had already reached fifty feet as she giggled, not feeling any pain or burn from the lava. Instead, the lava flowed into her, fueling her growth. Her Flash Fire ability, copied from A-Tales's modified Flash Fire ability, allowed her to grow from fire. Yet, lava worked just even better than fire, with the lava flowing up from her expanding body.

By the time she reached one end within the volcano, she had gone up to a hundred and fifty feet, with plenty of room around her. It rumbled all around her, but she sighed, blushing in joy and excitement. So much so that it took a bit before she realized how cramp it got when she grew to four hundred feet.

Faith's head poked out from the volcano, her golden glow glowing brighter than before. She laughed, her voice heard for miles as she turned herself upright, her paws holding onto the edge. But it crumbled as she grew, and the volcano's sides became too small even for her position. Part of her wanted to stay within the crater, still feeling exhilaration from expanding from the lava. But she wouldn't want to be stuck—

She grunted, cramped within the volcano crater. She closed one of her eyes as she tried to pull herself out, yet even at this size, the rocks held up. Instead, the entire volcano groaned and rumbled. Faith blinked, turning down, and she gulped.

The volcano cracked, with loads of steam flowing out, followed by lava. It then shook, with multiple Pokémon feeling earthquakes for hundreds of miles. Faith swallowed, her body continuing to grow within.

Soon, the volcano erupted.

Or, to put it more accurately, Faith erupted from the volcano.

Vast amounts of rocks shattered out from the volcano, with massive lava flowing out. Faith breathed in, touching the lava as they came out, with the lava sucked into her like a sponge. Indeed, as she kept growing bigger, she absorbed the lava quicker, with her giving out a nervous grin. But soon, any overflowing lava was absorbed into her, and she stepped out from what remained of the volcano, her paw larger than the crater before she burst out from it.

Yet, her body continued to glow bright, almost like a star that had landed on this world. And she kept on growing, despite no longer absorbing any more lava, with only a bit of it left. Faith grinned wide, her heart slamming against her chest as she stepped through the land.

Various Pokémon turned to the sky, dominated by a growing Vulpix with a lime green bow that grew with her. Many of them gasped and ran even as she stepped towards them, yet her expanding paw was challenging to avoid. Soon, she landed on several Pokémon and an entire Pokémon village. She then continued onward, with the Pokémon she stepped on blinked at her, unharmed with not a single property destroyed; it felt more like a cushion that landed on them.

Just another trick that A-Tales taught her.

Faith kept expanding in size, her body still glowing brightly as she wagged her tails. Clouds rubbed against her face and neck as she traveled, becoming more like a horizon to those below her. She turned to the sun, with it becoming whiter as she grew more prominent to the world. Lakes became nothing more than dots to her, forests that stretched on for hundreds of miles became a few seconds' walk, and oceans became visible.

But as she grew, her glowing body faded bit by bit, with other colors of her body becoming visible to all, including herself. Yet, she smiled, her tails wagging even as she grew some more, with the sky becoming darker with countless stars appearing all around. In time, she stopped glowing, and after a few minutes, she stopped growing.

By that point, even calling Faith massive would be an understatement.

Indeed, she has grown so huge that she could see the continent she was on and many others all around her. Her tails splayed out behind her before curling up on the planet, engulfing entire lands with them. She stood tall, about a third of the world's size. And to think that was all because of one volcano.

Gears turned within her head, and she turned to the sun, still shining before the world, with darkness underneath her body.

Her lips curled into a wide grin.

#   #   #

David the Zoroark groaned, his yellow eyes straining as he opened them. Various screams and cries came to his room, and he leaned himself forward, yawning and stretching. His bones cracked, his nose stuffed, and he leaned back a bit, trying to wake up from his nap.

He turned to the window, and he blinked at the darkness outside. "Huh? I couldn't have slept more than an hour, and it was midday then."

Soon, David stepped toward the window, the red rimmings around his lips and eyes somewhat wrinkled. He extended his red claws before pulling the window up, and he poked his head out. His massive red mane, with black tips and ending like a ponytail with a teal that acts as a 'tie,' pressed against the window frame even as various Pokémon pointed at the sky, with a few of them screaming out. He squinted his eyes a bit before turning up, and his eyes widened.

Right above was a humongous Vulpix with snow-white 'socks' for paws and a lime green bow.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?!" David yelled out, his earrings swaying as he stretched his neck out, his right ear having a blue earring and the left one red. "DID YOU ACTUALLY ABSORB THAT VOLCANO'S ENTIRE WORTH OF LAVA!? YES, IT WAS GOING TO ERUPT, BUT THEY SAID IT WON'T BE UNTIL—" He blinked, with the Vulpix turning to the sun, having a massive grin on her face. "What are you— DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT ABSORBING THE SUN!"

12
Writer's Guild / A Fatty Recruit - An Eisen Commission
« on: April 27, 2022, 03:32:18 PM »
Commissioned by EisenManfred
Editing help by Devon

Welp, this story got delayed, primarily because of the move. In fact, it's a somewhat hilarious running gag for me since this is the third story I wrote involving KITSUNES IN SPACE, and yet this is the only one I have published at the moment. XD;

Sometimes, I am just too nice.

Here is a story involving a programmer who, upon encountering a robot Kitsune, decided to open it up. After all, that's the smart thing to do, open up a machine that you have never seen before because you think that your hated rival set the day up as a way to get you fired and replaced.

Hilarity, transforming, and fattening ensure.

In any case, enjoy.

-----

When Eisen walked home from work, he held his nose high at those walking with them. Once black and polished to a mirror’s shine, his shoes got bits of disgusting dust on them. Though the sun blared hot sunshine onto his dark dress coat, he refused to compromise and remove it. Those ahead of him turned back at the sound of his approach, only to pick up the pace when they spotted him, their coworker. This, of course, was fine with Eisen, for they clashed with him down to their plain clothing.

Eisen shook his head, thinking they would’ve enjoyed each other more if they only had a shred of his genius. For example, they would’ve dressed more professionally for an esteemed programming company. Yet, like the mechanics who dared tell him to use antifreeze for his car in the middle of summer, they wore casual attire. Likewise, they wouldn’t need Eisen to double-check their work if they only bothered to look into the code deep enough, finding obvious errors like missing parentheses and extra semicolons. His work, though, never needed double-checking.

As the congregation reached the bus stop, Eisen walked onward without a word, and the group sighed in relief.

Even as his inferior peers relaxed, Eisen pulled out the latest and most expensive iPhone and pressed it on. Soon, he opened the map app, and, after tapping in the address of his home, it suggested that he turn back to the bus stop. He gritted his teeth and shook his head, thinking about how stupid the app was and wondering if he could replace it. Then, it beeped and vibrated, displaying a couple of text messages. The first one was from the mechanic, saying that they had just towed his car to the shop to be fixed. The second one was his boss mentioning something about Chevis, his hated rival, and he dismissed the message.

Soon, he pocketed the iPhone, narrowing his eyes as his face turned white, and he walked down the sidewalk.

Eisen paused, turning his brown eyes to a path through a forest. His slim stomach tightened, and he desired to walk around the forest, less his suit and shoes required dry cleaning. Yet, if he did walk through it, his travel time would be cut by thirty minutes. He stood for several moments, a duel playing in his mind even as he brushed his long hair and sighed in defeat. He then stepped forward to the forest path, a perilous yet lucrative shortcut.

It felt much cooler being in the shade, yet his face only became whiter. Already, some mud got onto his shoes, and he thought about how much he will be spending by the time the day ended. At least a thousand, and it’s so early in the week. Yet, he shook his head even as a branch rubbed against his hair, knowing that his expenses could afford to fix his broken car, which was only six months old, and clean his dirty clothes.

Branches snapped, and he turned his head at the source. An animal, maybe? His fists clenched, and his stance firmed as the bushed wiggled and snapped closer to him. Finally, his gaze steeled, and his teeth exposed.

A long acute muzzle, made from blackened metal, poked out from the bush, with eyes of a pair of small screens that glowed yellow. It spotted Eisen, who blinked as it stepped out from the undergrowth, exposing more of its blackened metal though its torso was painted white. Soon, it stood before him, its trio of tails, tipped white, wiggling behind.

Eisen’s right eye squinted, yet he remained firm even as the strange thing shifted its triangular ears and its head shifted up and down. An image of a fox appeared in his head, though this was larger, at least double a fox’s size, and it sat down, its tails pointed at the sky. It made a shrilled whistle, and he resisted the urge to cover his ears, instead tightening his grip. It stopped whistling, and it spoke French at him.

Eisen sneered and let out a laugh that made the fox-like machine pause. “Oh, I see, Clevis. You’re distracting me with this toy of yours so you can add flaws to my code, just to claim that you ‘found’ them to our boss. In fact, this farce is proof that you broke into my car and broke it!” His hands shook in rage even as he pulled out his iPhone once more. “When I call the boss about this, your career is ov-”

“Oh, I apologize,” the robotic device said, cutting in. “I thought you spoke French.”

Eisen rolled his eyes, setting the iPhone up and snapping a picture. “Nice try, Clevis.”

“This machine has no recollection of his Clevis,” the fox robot replied. “I am Manasu-8, created from another sector in the galaxy. I have come seeking aid for the Kitsune Federation.”

“Charming, Chevis,” Eisen said, picking up a stick and walking around this Manasu-8. “This ends now. I’ll disassemble your toy, and once the boss sees this, you’ll be fired.”

“I am not stating a falsehood.” Manasu-8 turned its mechanical neck so it could look at Eisen. “As I said, I came here to this planet you called Earth, seeking help. An invasion force is attacking—”

“Enough!” Eisen stabbed his stick into the seams of Manasu-8’s back.

“Stop. This is beyond you.” Manasu-8’s eyes turned red.

Eisen’s expression darkened. “There is nothing beyond me.”

He pried the panel open—

A mass of smoke poured out, hovering in the air before it flew to Eisen’s hand. He blinked, shaking his hand, yet the smoke clung on somehow. It gave out a blue glow for a second even as the smoke moved up his arm.

“Oh, dear,” Manasu-8 said, its head moving up and down even as Eisen stepped back, shaking his arm. “That was all the nanomachines I was supplied with.”

“What are you— GAH!” Eisen coughed, bits of the cloud entering his mouth and nose. He dropped the stick and iPhone, the smoke thinning out as it encompassed his entire body. His body itched, both outside and inside, and he heard something buzzing within his ears.

“Nanomachines, specifically the kind that can edit the genetic code of a species.” Manasu-8’s eyes turned green even as Eisen slapped his ear a few times. “I can see that they are rewriting your body as we speak.” The eyes turned red. “I was supplied with enough to transform five volunteers to join my makers. But since you absorbed all of the nanomachines, my mission is now almost a failure.”

“You’re not making sense!” Eisen’s back popped a bit, and he winced, falling to his knees. His back snapped, yet he felt no pain before it relaxed. The hair on his hand thickened and blackened even as more sprouted, pushing the cuffs away. He wiggled his feet, which felt too large for his shoes before they ripped at the front. They stretched longer, with his toenails thickening and turning whiter even as the same black hair formed on the top and his socks ripped into shreds. His ears moved and stretched upwards, becoming triangular even as black fur grew on the exterior and white fur within. “What is going on?!”

“I told you.” Manasu-8 snapped its jaws onto Eisen’s coat even as his nose blackened. “You are transforming into another species, one in the image like my creators. Due to this, and because this mission almost failed due to you, you are conscripted.”

“No!” Eisen tugged against Manasu-8 like a trapped fox, but its hold only strengthened. Then, with ease, it twisted around and dragged Eisen against the ground, with him grunting. His stomach turned and groaned from the changes before pressing against his clothes. Then, the buttons on his shirt, coat, and pants popped off even as the sleeves and leggings became loose. Finally, it tugged on Eisen; his eyes widened with horror. “Let me go!”

“I must complete my assigned task, regardless of your desire.”

Eisen groaned and swallowed before sliding out from the loose clothing. Manasu-8 paused even as he tried to stand on two, only for his back to scream out in protest, and he fell on all four. His mouth and nose pushed forward, with bones snapping, and fur grew on his face. Whiskers sprout out just behind the nose even as his limbs changed shape and length, with his little toes moving up on his back paws, yet his hand-paws remained hand-like with opposing thumbs, though with thick white claws. Fur grew on his back, as brown as his hair which remained long, even as his torso sprouted white fur. Yet, his belly swelled like a balloon, its fat pressing against his limbs.

“This must be a dream!” Eisen flipped his hand-paws over, with thick pads forming on them. “It can’t be real!”

“Psychological issues and discrepancies are irrelevant.” Manasu-8 snapped its jaws onto Eisen’s neck scruff, fast enough that he couldn’t react and slow enough that it didn’t cause pain. His limbs went limp, and, though Eisen was larger than it, it dragged him with no issue. “Come now, conscript.”

“Stop!” Eisen tried to move his now four legs, yet they only pulled closer to himself. His belly fattened up before it spread up his neck and limbs. His cheeks puffed up, paws thickened, and belly jiggled with every sway. “Why am I SO FAT now?!”

“Analyzing data,” Manasu-8 said, its eyes turning green, even as they came into a clearing, which contained nothing. But then it beeped, and countless hexagonal shapes flickered, its distortions clear, before disappearing. Within was a steel ship, painted blue and shined cold in the light. Its wings, feather-like, spread out at a hundred twenty-five feet, even as the vessel lay midair. Its tails, five in number, pointed back in a square with one at the center, its tips glowing red. A fox-like head stuck out on the front, its eyes closed, and a door opened when Manasu-8 approached with his conscript. “Hypothesis: Three factors, perhaps only one but likely all three, contribute to this development. One: the nanomachines use all the energy that it has been supplied with, and any unneeded energy will turn into adipose tissue on the recipient. Two: the data was flawed, with the nanomachine being programmed with and given excessive energy for the task. Three: By absorbing all the nanomachines meant for five humans, you are given more energy for the task at hand, and thus the excess energy the nanomachines were left with turned into fat.”

“Stop it! Turn me back!”

“I’m afraid that I cannot do that.” Yellow solid lights formed before them, much like stairs, and Manasu-8 stepped on them with Eisen in tow. The door closed behind them, and it dragged Eisen down a hallway with white walls and white light. Eisen continued changes, with a black triangular mark forming on his white muzzle with the whiskers. His hair, once smooth, became shaggy, and Eisen groaned a bit. “The nanomachines are programmed to transform you and maintain your form, even helping you in sickness and injury. Unfortunately, it is impossible to restore you without disabling them, which we cannot afford to do at this time.”

The two went into the room where the ship’s ‘head’ would be, and Manasu-8 released Eisen. But, even as Eisen stood up and lumbered to the door, which shut when he approached, it went to the controls. He rubbed and scratched against the steel door, his mouth wide, even as he groaned, with lumps forming on his rear. They extended out, three in number, and became covered in thick brown fur. He stopped and stood before it, and when he turned back, three tails extended as long as his body, tipped in white. He blinked at the new tails, and he thought about moving them when they did on their own.

“What am I?!” Eisen rubbed against his muzzle even as the ship shook a bit. Manasu-8 stepped away from the controls, its eyes turning white as it sat in front of him, only six inches shorter from the shoulders. Eisen grabbed Manasu-8 against the shoulders and tried to shake it, only to shake himself. “Answer me!”

“You are in the form much like my creators,” Manasu-8 answered, tilting its head. “They called themselves Kitsune.”

“Kitsune?” Eisen blinked, turning to his tails. “But that’s just a Japanese myth!”

“This is not the first time I come to Earth,” Manasu-8 replied, ignoring Eisen’s gasp. “I, other robots, and even Kitsune have come here. Sometimes to observe, others to spread knowledge. Our records of Earth went back millennials when we discovered a species much like Kitsune in looks.”

Eisen shook his head, stumbling as he walked since his belly rubbed against his stomach. “This must be a dream. Yes, just a dream.” Manasu-8 twitched its tails even as Eisen sucked in his lips. “There’s no way this is real. After all, what kind of universe is this if there are magical foxes in space? Especially since they look so much like foxes!”

“I thought I confirmed it to you,” Manasu-8 said, and Eisen’s ears flattened back. “This is no dream. We came here first because Earth has foxes. We even took a few in for study. But they do not have the same brainpower as Kitsune. They even say that the universe was playing a practical joke for that. So we settled with you humans because you were nothing more than a consolation prize.”

“No, no, no.” Eisen’s eyes widened at Manasu-8. “This is all a lie. Magic isn’t real!” Eisen flopped onto his belly, balance even as he pressed his paw pads against his face. “This is just a hallucination. That’s it!” Eisen pointed at Manasu-8, glaring. “Those ‘nanomachines’ are nothing more than some kind of gas! All planned by Chevis all along! He damaged the engine, forcing me to swallow my pride and walk home, even through the forest, where I met you, his creation!” He waddled over to Manasu-8, who stared back with glowing yellow eyes. “And you tricked me into thinking you were glitching out, getting me to open the trap door and exposing me with some hallucinate gas!”

Manasu-8’s eyes dimmed. “I cannot compute your logic.”

“But it makes perfect sense!” Eisen lunged at Manasu-8 and gripped its neck. “When I wake up, I’ll be in a forest. People, likely doctors, will find me, only to strap me into a jacket and stuff me into a room. Then, Chevis’s plan to replace me at work will be complete!”

Eisen’s face turned red even as his eyes widened, and he exposed his teeth, with wrinkles around them. He tried to bulge or even squeeze Manasu-8, but it remained still. Finally, Manasu-8’s eyes turned green, turning its head up and down before grabbing Eisen’s front legs. Then, without any effort, it pulled Eisen off of him, tossing him onto his back.

“I detect that your stress levels are high,” Manasu-8 said, and Eisen struggled to roll himself back onto his paws. “I suggest that you calm down. And it is time.” Its eyes turned yellow as it turned back to the controls, pressing some buttons and pulling some levers. “Engines are warmed up. Sensors cloaking particles activated. Visual cloak activated.”

Eisen gulped, finally rolling back onto his belly, yet his back legs hung high. “What are you doing?”

“Completing preparations.” Manasu-8 pressed a button. “Artificial gravity at full power.” It typed on the control panels. “Course is set for the Kitsune Federation, within the Kitsune Sector.”

Eisen blinked, with his fur standing straight even as he pushed his front legs up, back on all fours with his belly rubbing against the floor. He opened his mouth, only for a jolt from the ship knocking him onto his side. He wiggled his legs; a whirling sound reverberated on the bridge. He sucked his lips once more, his tails tucked under his legs.

“Oh, no.” Eisen’s voice was small. “This is real.”

“Correct,” Manasu-8 said even as holographic screens turned on, showing either the outside or radar. “I am satisfied that you have not lost all reason.”

“I am being taken by some kind of robot.” Eisen’s ears folded down to his shoulders even as he pushed himself back up. “And I have turned into a Kitsune.” His face then turned blue. “Take me back! I’ll do anything!”

“I cannot do that,” Manasu-8 said, stepping back from the controls. “Your change, as I told you, is irreversible. Your nanomachines are programmed to keep you in that form.”

“Then tell your creators or leaders that it was all an accident!” Eisen lumbered over to Manasu-8. “That I haven’t volunteered to do any experiments you were set out to do!”

“Even so,” Manasu-8 turned away, its eyes turned blue, “the Kitsune need help. The Sobaka from the Inu Sector has been invading for some time. From your comprehension of time, for about a century. Few new Kitsunes are born, with most fighting a fruitless war, and though robots, such as I, are fighting on the front lines, resources are growing thinner. Not helped by the Sobaka consuming any resources they take their paws on.”

Eisen shook his head. “I don’t have a clue on what you’re talking about. But if you want a fighter or a soldier, I’m not your guy! I’m a programmer! So put me in a computer or robotic or whatever department, and I’ll assist far better that way!”

Manasu-8 tilted its head, its eyes turning yellow even as they dimmed. “I cannot make any promises. However, I can give you the background of this conflict if that is what you’re confused about.”

Eisen slapped both hand-paws against his face, his belly splaying underneath him. “Not what I meant, but sure.”

Manasu-8’s eyes brightened, turning blue. “To explain, the Sobaka is much like what you call canines or dogs. However, they are easily at least three times larger than your largest one.” Eisen gulped, sweat forming on his face. “Their empire consumed many resources to fuel their machines, and they invade planet after planet since their own supply was running thin. Though the Kitsune have technology that seemed like magic to you, such as our cloaking and holographic devices, we never faced a force that could overwhelm us with pure power until a century ago. Their ships have automatic targeted and firing systems for miles, which can even detect an attack and even block and counterattack in turn. For every one ship we managed to take down, we lost five at the best of times. So, the Kitsune sent me to your planet to see if the experimental nanomachines can transform your kind into Kitsune.”

“And it worked.” Eisen set his hand-paws on his belly. “With some massive glitches. Can’t you at least get those nanomachines to burn away this fat faster?”

“I am afraid I was not programmed to do that,” Manasu-8 replied, and Eisen screamed in horror.

#   #   #

A couple of days passed, with Eisen lying on a bed, his face pale and refusing to eat. Manasu-8 didn’t comment on it when checking him up, instead returning to the controls to make some adjustments each time. It explained to Eisen before that their ability to bypass the limits of light’s speed is done by hopping through what they called hyperspace. The engines could only jump into hyperspace, a dimension without time, space, or matter, for a few moments before returning to regular space. Yet, this simple technique allowed traveling across the galaxy, hopping from system to system.

Yet, all Eisen could think about was back home. He betted that his hated rival Chevis had already taken his place at work, which caused him to clench his fist. Unfortunately, that prank or sabotage of his car worked, resulting in him being lost in space. His eyes narrowed even as he plotted a way to get revenge on him.

Soon, the monitor within the room turned on, displaying a greenish planet, though with a sizable brown spot on it. When the door slid open, Eisen lifted his head at it, and Manasu-8 stepped in. He sighed, getting up from the bed even as Manasu-8 approached.

“We will reach the designated planet within an hour,” Manasu-8 said, its yellow eyes bright. Then, they turned green, turning its head up and down at Eisen before they turned yellow once more. “It is best that you get ready.”

“What do you mean?” Eisen asked, and before he received an answer, Manasu-8 reached up to him. It bit into his scruff, and his limbs went limp. He blinked even as Manasu-8 dragged him out of his room. “What are you doing?”

“Making sure that you get ready,” Manasu-8 replied, dragging him down the hallway before tossing him into a room.

Eisen rolled a bit, dazed before the door slid shut before he got up. He waddled over to it, scratching against the door before he heard a click. He blinked, turning around at the room and feeling grate underneath him before water sprayed on top of him.

“What?”

A thick foam poured out from the top, soaking his entire body. He wiggled before a series of scrubbers extended out from the walls and scratched against his body. He yipped, covered his mouth, and blushed as the scrubs rubbed his body from head to toe to tails. Then water sprayed once more, from all angles this time, washing off the foam and causing his shaggy hair to cover his eyes. Finally, air blew through the room, his fur fluffing up as he and the room dried up.

Eisen pulled his hair back as the door slid open, Manasu-8 stepping in and grabbing his scruff once more, pulling him out. “This isn’t necessary, you know!”

“I have concluded that it is,” Manasu-8 replied, pulling Eisen into another room with some kind of clothing. “You have been neglecting your health.”

Eisen growled, flattening his ears back.

#   #   #

An hour passed, with the ship orbiting around the planet. Its antigravity systems, which ‘repelled’ itself through space, readjusted as it entered the planet’s gravity well. Soon, its wings extended out as it hovered above lush forests and fiends, even passing over farmlands. An occasional Kitsune looked up at the ship, sometimes shaking their heads while others beamed with pride.

Soon, the ship stopped a few feet above a flat field, where a group of three Kitsunes waited. The ones with white furs with black underbellies, like twins if it weren’t for one having one more tail than the other, tapped against their hovering tablets. The centermost one, with green fur and a white torso and five tails, typed into his own, with a holographic keyboard projected underneath it. One of his tails twitched as he read the brief message, and he sighed, readjusting his pale green uniform and cap before putting the tablet to sleep. He shook his head, and the other two Kitsunes turned to him.

“Got a report from Manasu-8,” the green-coated Kitsune said. “It said that the first human it approached misunderstood its intention, thinking it was a hoax, and opened the nanomachines compartment. So now, instead of five humans turned Kitsunes, we only have one.”

“That isn’t good, General Hiroto,” the rightmost Kitsune said, shaking her head while her three tails puffed up.

“Even so, this is proof that the nanomachines we programmed work, right?” the leftmost Kitsune to General Hiroto said, rubbing his chin while swaying his two tails. “We can send it to another mission with more nanomachines and even keep a stock of them if it wants to recruit more.”

General Hiroto turned to the leftmost one, one of his ears flattened back when the ship’s door slid open. Manasu-8 came out, dragging a whimpering Eisen while the two Kitsune gasped. Eisen’s pale green shirt strained against his belly, with the buttons at the breaking point and the vest left open. Soon, it dropped him in front of General Hiroto, whose ears flattened back, and before Eisen could say anything, both white Kitsunes stepped forward and poked his belly.

“This is most unusual,” the left one said, with Eisen blushing. “What do you think caused this, Nari?”

“Likely extra mass from the change, Ji,” Nari replied, typing into her tablet. “After all, the matter needs to go somewhere.”

“Oh, I haven’t thought of that,” Ji said, typing into his tablet. “With that in mind, the next batch will be most improved.”

Eisen’s ears flattened back. “I didn’t ask for this.”

“OK, son,” General Hiroto said, standing before Eisen. “What is your name?”

“Eisen,” he replied, his ears flattened back to his shoulders.

“Eisen. Strange name.” General Hiroto shrugged, and both white Kitsunes stepped back, stuffing their tablets into their coats. Manasu-8 stepped forward, removing a card from the back of its head and handing it over to him. “Glad that you freshened up and dressed. We have Sobaka invading this planet. It’s the last inner planet before they reach the capital planet. We need you on the front lines. Manasu-8, take him there.”

“No! Wait!” Eisen said even as Manasu-8 bit into his scruff once more. “I’m a programmer, not a soldier!” Manasu-8 dragged him back to the ship; Eisen’s eyes widened more. “Take me anywhere but the battlefield!”

The ship’s door shut, and, in a few minutes, the vessel vibrated a bit, with a blueish glow from each of its tails. Soon, it repelled itself forward, back into the sky even as its wings gave bluish waves. General Hiroto sighed, taking his hat off for a moment to wipe his brow before turning back to the other two, who had already pulled out their own tablets and typed into them, staring at each other.

“What are you two doing?”

“We’re making a bet,” Ji answered, not looking back. “About how long this Eisen will last.”

#   #   #

Eisen lay on the brown ground within the next hour, his hand-paws pressing against his helmet even as the unbuttoned sleeves clung against his front legs. His eyes were wide and shaking, with a laser rifle floating next to him even as Manasu-8 sat next to him. One of the several Kitsunes within the trench poked his massive belly, causing him to grunt.

Ahead and above were a few massive ships, spherical in shape. Six dog-shaped heads were on the edge of each vessel, designed like a Belgian Tervuren, which glowed red. Eisen sighed and, swallowing, poked his head up from the trenches. Manasu-8 pulled him back down, and a second later, a red laser fired out from one of the heads, piercing through the dirt behind Eisen for several feet.

“I have told you during the travel,” Manasu-8 said, its eyes red. “The Sobaka designed their ships so that their turrets fire upon anything they see for miles.”

“Our new recruit isn’t very bright,” the one poking Eisen said, shaking his own head. “Maybe it was a mistake to recruit humans, even if they can turn into Kitsunes.”

Eisen’s face turned red even as he took off his helmet. “I didn’t want to be here.”

“You’ve been saying that for the past hour,” the other Kitsune said, smacking Eisen’s head. “Quit whining and help us!”

Eisen sighed, putting his helmet back on while rubbing his chin. “OK. OK.” Eisen closed his eyes. “Anything that you know for certain about those ships?”

“That they’re near impossible to stop,” the poking Kitsune said. “Their automatic turrets react quick and fire hard. Thick steels give away to them as though they were cloth, and even energy shields only last minutes before their powers get drained or overheated.”

“What about speed?”

“They move slow. As in, if that group there break up and meet up at the other end of the planet, it’ll take years kind of slow,” the smacking Kitsune said, who shook his head. “But those turrets react faster than our fastest ships, and they have several layers of armor. So, what is the need for speed when nothing last against them?”

“And they can hit anything more miles, even detecting any incoming attack,” Eisen said, sweat forming on his brow.

“Exactly,” the poking Kitsune said. “What is the point of asking these questions?”

“I’m trying to think of a possible weak point,” Eisen admitted before he sighed and flopped his back against the trench’s wall, with one of the buttons popping off. “But, so far, I have nothing. If it was some glitch in a program, I would fix it, but I have no clue on the battlefield.”

“Great.” The slapping Kitsune slammed his face against Eisen’s belly, causing it to jiggle and Eisen to blush more. “Just what we needed.” He pulled his head off and pressed a button on his collar. Soon, a tablet zoomed over to him and Eisen, floating before them while coming to life. “A programmer who has no clue on our technology and less of a clue on warfare.”

Eisen’s face turned white. “I’m one of the best, if not the best, programmer in my world.” Then, without warning, he grabbed the tablet and typed into it. “Even if others contest it, especially Chevis, I know exactly what I’m doing with computers.”

“Hey! Our technology is beyond you!” The slapping Kitsune shouted at Eisen, who ignored him even as he typed and opened stuff more. “And besides, that is—” He paused, blinking as the display showed the battlefield from above, with red dots all around, sometimes moving. “What did you just do?”

“Given that those ships have an automatic targeting system, I figured that they have a kind of computer within each of them.” Eisen grabbed his floating rifle and poked it up from the trenches. At once, one of the red dots turned green, and a red laser pierced through it, slicing it in half and digging into the ground. “See?”

“But-but how?!” The poking Kitsune said, his eyes wide even as Manasu-8 leaned over, its eyes green. “We’ve been trying to hack into their computers for decades! How can someone like you do something that is beyond you!?”

Eisen’s expression darkened. “There is nothing beyond me.” He typed into the tablet some more. “Besides, even though you and those Sobaka use a different system from my world, they rely on logical patterns. All that is needed is finding the right pattern and exploiting it.”’

“Huh,” the slapping Kitsune said even as Manasu-8’s eyes turned yellow. “That is impressive.”

“Finally. Someone who appreciates my genius.” Eisen tapped into the tablet some more, his brown eyes shining. “And now, since those turrets rely on communications with the ship’s computers to run, if I do this—” He tapped on each ship before poking his head out once more. “And now the test.”

Manasu-8 pulled Eisen back down, yet no response from the Sobaka’s ship came. Instead, Manasu-8’s eyes turned green even as the other Kitsunes blinked, with one poking her head out.

“What did you do?” she asked.

“I disconnect the turrets from each ship’s computers,” Eisen answered, showing the tablet to her and the others. “And then I set them on a loop. Those Sobaka will have to reset each system to get it back running once they find out.”

“Giving us a chance to fight back,” the female Kitsune said, her muzzle forming a grin. “Brilliant!” She pressed her collar and said, “Everyone, the enemy’s ships’ weapon systems are disabled. Take them down!”

She grabbed her hovering rifle and fired upon the Sobaka’s ships. One by one, with heavier firepower, more Kitsunes came out from their own trenches and fired up them. Finally, a few Kitsunes ships came in, firing plasma volleys at the Sobaka’s ships, with the turrets exploding off. Soon, more explosions came from each of those ships, bursting into flames as they crashed down, the ground shaking.

#   #   #

Eisen walked down a hallway, wearing a more fitting uniform, and had a proud grin while Manasu-8 led him. Though only a day passed from the battle, multiple Kitsunes cheered his name. The surviving Sobaka from the fallen ships surrendered and took in as prisoners, each demanding how their turrets were disabled, but they were asked questions instead.

Soon, they entered a room where General Hiroto, Ji, and Nari stood behind a desk. General Hiroto nodded at Eisen, who grinned back, even as Ji and Nari glanced at each other and shifted a bit. General Hiroto gestured with one of his tails, and Nari pulled up a box, carved and printed as though it was running water. She opened it, revealing a metal, and General Hiroto pulled it out and wrapped it around Eisen’s thick neck.

“For your ingenuity on the battlefield, we offer you one of our highest rewards,” General Hiroto said, and Eisen nodded. “It seems that we underestimated you human programmers.”

“It’s no worries,” Eisen said, his teeth shining. “Most of my fellow coworkers underestimate my genius too.”

“Indeed,” General Hiroto rubbed his chin, one of his hand-paws pressed against a card. “We’ll be sure to recruit more humans as soon as we figure out what caused your tubby form. In the meantime, we have another planet under attack by the Sobaka. We want you to deal with them just like you dealt with this invasion.”

Eisen’s blinked, no longer grinning. “But-but sir, I told you! I’m a programmer who never wants to be in a war!” Manasu-8 bit into his scruff again and dragged him out. “I have a better use than being on the front lines!”

The door slid shut behind Eisen and Manasu-8, and General Hiroto sighed, shaking his head. “What do you think of him?”

Ji blinked before answering. “Not as stupid as I thought, but not as smart as he thinks.”

General Hiroto nodded a bit, picking up the card once more. “Eisen mentioned someone called Chevis, who he seems to think created Manasu-8 before realizing otherwise. If Eisen thinks he could do something like that, we should recruit him for our science labs.”

“Consider it done, general,” Nari said with a grin.

13
Writer's Guild / Aleph's Surprise Trials - An Aleph Patreon Commission
« on: March 14, 2022, 08:00:36 PM »
Patreon Commissioned by Aleph

Continuing from the last part, Aleph and his friends have an encounter A-Ninetales, who is doubtful of Aleph's efforts of being a toony superhero. But he decided to test Aleph with a series of trials. Will Aleph pass them? And what about the gray, crimson-tipped tower in the distance?

Whew. This was a bit of an effort to write, especially since I was on a road trip with my dad to Arkansas and back. There were times when I had to write on a wooden board in a truck, trying not to drop stuff at every bump on the road. Heck, I did the final part of the story in a truck while developing a cold. =.|.=

I hope you guys enjoy it. =)

Aleph, Nero, and Stry belongs to Aleph

Virmir belongs to Virmir

-----

As Aleph, the anthro toony wolf, and two others walked through a forest, the bright sun shined down upon them. The wind breezed through his red with white floral shirt, with it fluttering as he held a wide smile. His blue jeans carried a Pokéball and a Digivice even as his pale blue fur fluffed up, the breeze being warmth. His tail, gray with a pale blue tip, wagged behind him even as he turned his yellow eyes all around, the trees tall all around and, in the distance, a gray tower with a crimson top stood.

From each side walked Nero the Lucario and Stry the Veemon, with Nero standing taller than Aleph and Stry shorter. Nero fanned himself with his flattened back hand-paw, sweat forming on his head. Meanwhile, Stry held both hand-paws behind his head, having a wide grin while wagging his crooked blue tail.

“Wonderful weather we’re having, isn’t it?” Stry said before he laughed for a bit. “I can live like this.”

“I can’t,” Nero said, unflattening his hand-paw with the white spike on the back popping out. “I’m more interested in colder environments. Although,” he turned to the sun, “this heat is a lot harsher even for a summertime.”

“Maf,” Aleph said while shrugging. “It is odd, isn’t it?” He pulled up his Digivice and, with a button press, it displayed a three-dimensional map. “Huh. This is Virmir’s territory.”

“Virmir?” Stry leaned his head closer to Aleph. “Who is he?”

“He is a fox mage, a powerful one, in fact.” Aleph turned to Nero, who raised one of his eyes. “He is also the one who blasted us two days ago.”

“He is THAT fox?!” Nero’s red eyes widened, shivering from the memory of that gray fox with a black cape blasting them to the sky for the ‘crime’ of maybe throwing a snowball at him. “We should get through as fast as possible.”

Aleph stuck his tongue out, having a goofy smile while Nero lowered his eyes. “You worry too much. Still,” Aleph turned a bit serious as he nodded, “you’re right. He hates crowds, and three is a crowd, more than ever when they came uncalled near his home.”

Stry nodded, his own red eyes on the crimson topped tower. “Then let’s get going.”

#   #   #

The three walked onwards for the next hour, coming across a swampy area within the forest. Stry blinked at the swamp, with droplets coming down from some trees, and Nero shrugged, his face blank. Aleph lifted his foot-paw forward, only to get grabbed by Nero and Stry, stopping him. So instead, they lead him around the swamp, even though it brought them closer to Virmir’s tower. Nero kept an eye on it as though some giant winged being would come out from it, but no one came. Soon, they went to the other side, and they sped up their pace.

“That was close,” Nero said, sighing. “Any closer and even I would’ve gone through that swamp.”

“Yeah,” Stry said, shuddering. “I didn’t like the smell of that place.”

“Maf, if you say so.” Aleph shrugged with a laugh, his ears wiggling and his eyes closed. “Still, the worse is over.”

Stry, upon hearing those words, slapped his own face while closing his eyes. A second later, the ground rumbled beneath them, and Nero groaned. Both Nero and Stry tugged their red bandannas even as Aleph’s ears straightened up. The three spun around, and, towering above the trees, a giant golden-white Pokémon was walking towards them.

“MAF!” Aleph hovered in the air for a moment, his body straight, before spinning and sprinting away from the massive Pokémon. Nero and Stry leaped out of the way, opposite of each other, and pressed their hand-paws over their heads. Yet, this giant Pokémon walked forward, following Aleph.

“He just HAD to tempt fate,” Stry said as he got up, and he ran over to Nero even as the giant flattened the trees along the way. “Are you OK?”

“Yeah,” Nero said even as the giant Pokémon’s tails swayed. He got up, watching as he tilted his head a bit. “I know him. I know who this giant is.”

Meanwhile, Aleph sprinted forward, lowering his back even as touching the ground became nonexistent. He darted around trees, which got knocked down or flattened by the giant’s paw. Finally, his feet-paws rubbed against some cobblestones, a river ahead of him, and he leaped from stone to stone. Yet, the giant only stepped over the river with ease, and before Aleph could get far, he slammed his paw on top of Aleph.

“HA!” The giant Pokémon said, laughing. “Caught you again, Aleph!”

The giant Pokémon lifted his paw with a flattened Aleph within the paw crater. His belly pressed flat against the ground, with one leg before the other, and his arms hung back. The giant Pokémon extended one of his claws before flipping Aleph over, with him flopped on the claw.

“Maaaaaaf,” Aleph said, his eyes spiraling and his muzzle pointed down. He shook his head a bit before he observed the giant Pokémon’s head, with a massive fluffy crest on top and a green bandanna around his neck. A badge with yellow stylized wings and a lime green A on the center was attached to the scarf. “A-Ninetales?!”

“The one and only.” A-Ninetales’s sea-blue eyes shined in the light as he placed Aleph down. His badge and bandanna glowed, and he shrunk down in size, becoming his regular three foot seven. He extended his front right paw at Aleph, and a green sphere formed. He fired it at Aleph, and, a second later, he popped back to normal. “Sorry. I enjoy teasing you too much.”

“Maf, it’s no worries.” Aleph grinned from ear to ear as he ran to A-Ninetales and hugged him close. “It’s great to see you again.”

“It is you!” Both Aleph and A-Ninetales turned to the side, where Nero and Stry walked between knocked down and flattened trees. Stry chuckled a bit before he patted A-Ninetales’s head. “It’s good to see you again.”

“Same with you, Stry,” A-Ninetales responded, raising his front right leg over Stry’s shoulder, pulling him into a hug. “I hope that you gave the card to Aleph, yes?” Stry nodded, and A-Ninetales grinned. “Good.” But Nero sighed, his head elsewhere. “Anything wrong, Nero?”

“Other than making lots of noises that can attract this Virmir?” Nero shook his head, the crimson-tipped tower in view between the woods. “I’m expecting him to come any minute now.”

But A-Ninetales let go of Stry before raising his front left paw up, a green sphere forming from it. He fired it out towards his destruction, its light pulsing out at the fallen and flattened trees. A second later, the trees unflattened themselves, and the knocked down trees raised themselves back up. Nero and Stry stood there, dumbfounded even as A-Ninetales snickered.

“A new trick I learned thanks to Glorfindel and his upgrade.” A-Ninetales rubbed his bandanna and badge. “In any case, I wouldn’t be too concerned over Virmir since he is most likely drawing right now. He loves to draw. In fact, I could take that entire tower with him off and take him to another location until he finishes for the day.”

Nero’s eyes lowered, his arms crossed. “You did something like that, didn’t you?”

“Me? Goodness, no.” A-Ninetales shook his head. “Saria did it as a prank. Took it, and him, to the tallest mountain within a hundred miles. Loudest frazz I ever heard.” Nero groaned, rubbing his face with both hand-paws as Aleph giggled and hugged A-Ninetales close, his hand-paws closed to the lime green A on A-Ninetales’s back. “We should catch up with what happened since we last met.”

“Maf, I agree.” Aleph patted A-Ninetales’s head before letting go of him. “You first. After all, you still haven’t explained to me about Faith and her macro training despite saying something about her twice.”

“Yeah. I was in a hurry both times.” A-Ninetales rubbed the back of his head, a sweat drop on his forehead. “To make the long story short, Faith the Vulpix, when making a wish from Jirachi, accidentally copied my edited Flash Fire and overridden her own. So, after smoothing out her destruction when she got huge, I tracked her down and took her in for training, even bringing a couple of her friends along.”

“Interesting. Did she also get the, er,” Nero said, struggling to find the right words. “You know, the—”

“No. Glorfindel checked her and didn’t find it,” A-Ninetales answered, and Nero sighed even as Stry’s right eye rose higher than the other. “But I decided to train her anyways in using her powers effectively. In fact, it’s been seventy-six days since we started training, with today and tomorrow a break day.”

“So, you decided to use the break as a way to meet up with Aleph, correct?” Nero asked, and A-Ninetales nodded. “How is she doing?”

“Very well. I imagine that, within four weeks, her training will be complete,” A-Ninetales replied, grinning with pride. “And then she and her friends will return home in peace, stronger and, hopefully, wiser than before.”

“We can always hope,” Stry said, rubbing A-Ninetales under his chin, with him murring in response. “As for us, we’re heading for a meeting spot so that we’ll start up a toony superhero team!”

“Yup! And all thanks to you.” Nero placed his right hand-paw against his chest, over the spike chest, and nodded. “After all, it was the stuff that you asked me to give to our friends that gave me the idea in the first place.”

A-Ninetales blinked, his ears twisting so that they faced opposite ends. “Huh. They were more for amusement. Still,” A-Ninetales chuckled for a moment, “that is an admirable goal. I approve. Although.” He turned to Aleph, who blinked at him. “Are you going to be a part of it?”

“Maf? Of course!” Aleph said, pressing against his hips. “Why shouldn’t I be?”

“I’m just worried,” A-Ninetales admitted, his ears folded down. “After all, a hero’s work is often unforgiving and unrewarding. Plus, while you have some good abilities, I have concern that your head won’t be fully focused.”

“What do you mean?” Stry asked, his crooked ear folded to the side.

“In a battle or rescue mission, you need to keep awareness of your opponent and your surroundings. One look away from a distraction can cost a life or lives, including your own.” A-Ninetales pressed against Aleph’s nose. “And I can’t count how many times you got flattened because you weren’t paying attention.”

“Maf, it isn’t easy.” Aleph’s ears lowered for a moment before they raised back up. “But I have my friends by my side! So even if I can’t be focused all the time, they can watch my back.”

“Yeah!” Stry went beside Aleph and hugged against his waist. “I’ll be your eyes!”

But Nero shook his head. “A-Ninetales isn’t wrong. Besides, we can’t both keep an eye on Aleph while saving a life, fighting an enemy, or both.” A-Ninetales nodded at Nero. “What do you suggest, former teacher of mine?”

A-Ninetales rubbed the back of his right ear. “I need to get back to training Faith before tomorrow ends. So I can’t train Aleph like how I train you, Nero. Still,” he lowered his paw before he grinned, “I can give Aleph a series of trials.”

“Woah!” Aleph’s eyes turned into stars for a second before hugging A-Ninetales. “That sounds like a great idea!” He stopped hugging before he tilted his head. “What kind of trials were you thinking about?”

A-Ninetales winked, getting up before waking out, with three of his tails gesturing for the others to follow. The three turned to each other, confused, but they nodded before following him. They walked for a few minutes before A-Ninetales stopped and turned around, with one of his tails pointing at a tree.

“The first trial is this,” A-Ninetales explained, with Nero and Stry standing behind Aleph, who rubbed his chin. “You are to hit that tree as hard as you can.”

“Maf?” Aleph’s ears folded down to his shoulders, his eyes wide. He clenched his hand-paws, breathing in as his ears pointed upwards. He ran towards the tree, swinging his fist. It emitted a thwack but left no damage, with Aleph pulling his swollen and red fist back. “Maaaaaaaaaf.”

Stry leaned back, laughing even as Nero lowered his arms down, eyes wide. Aleph shook his swollen fist around, the swelling going away with each shake. He soon sighed once the swelling went down, and he raised his hand-paws and shrugged, sticking his tongue out.

A-Ninetales rubbed his face for a moment, and he said between teeth. “You do remember you have Aura, right?”

Aleph blinked and gulped, his ears folded back. “Y-yeah. I just misunderstood.” His hand-paws then emitted blue flame-like energy before he clenched them once more. He swung his fist at the tree, with splinters flying out from the fist-sized hole. He pulled his fist back, unharmed. “How was that?”

“Better.” A-Ninetales pointed one of his tails at Aleph’s Digivice. “Next, try the same with your Digimon form.”

“Right!”

Aleph pulled out a card, grinning wide as he slid the card through the Digivice. It emitted a bright light, with white cubes coming out and flying around and over him. They soon fused into him, his form changing with him shrinking even as his ears grew longer. His aloha shirt folded upwards into a red bandanna even as brown fingerless gloves formed around his swelling hand-paws, with long claws growing from them and his feet-paws. Soon, his blue jeans shrank into brown shorts, with two straps hanging on the side, while a sword and scabbard formed behind him, attached against his back with a brown belt.

“Maf!” Aleph crouched low, black around his angled eyes as he stared at the damaged tree, his fist pulled back. He punched the tree below the last punch, with splinters flying out, larger yet just as deep. He giggled, an idea forming in his head, and unsheathed his sword. He thrust its diamond point at it, with it going as far as the hilt into the tree before he pulled it back. He then slashed across the tree, with little resistance from the tree before it fell down on top of him, squishing him flat. “MAF!”

Stry lowered his arms against his feet-paws, his eyes wide even as Nero leaned back in laugher and A-Ninetales sighed. He generated a green orb and pressed it against the tree, with it flying onto the trunk, repaired with even the holes healed. Aleph lay there, his eyes spiraling before A-Ninetales formed another green sphere and pushed it against his body, with him popping back into shape.

Aleph shook his head, getting back up as he groaned. “Maf, I didn’t think that one through at all.”

“You’re telling us?’ Stry shook his head even as Nero patted it, not bothering to hide his amused grin.

“Interesting,” A-Ninetales said as Aleph pressed his Digivice’s button, turning back to his usual wolf self. “You seemed to flatten even faster than before. Though it might be my imagination.” Aleph shrugged, rubbing the back of his head while sticking his tongue out. “Now then, there’s one last form I like to see you test out.”

“Maf? Right!” Aleph pressed his hand-paws together, having a wide grin. Then, he grew in size at once, his muscles bulging out. Buttons popped out from his aloha shirt, with his chest widening even as his abs expanded. His neck thickened along with his arms and legs, becoming as thick as tree trunks, and he held a cocking grin. He flexed, standing at six feet. “AH-HA!”

Aleph stomped towards the tree, the ground shaking as he grinned even more expansive. He twisted his torso around, tightening his fist before he swung forward. He punched the tree, ripping it off the ground, leaving a large hole as leaves ripped off the branches. It soon burst into flames, flying into the horizon.

Aleph gave a hearty laugh, slapping his hand-paws against his hips. “NOTHING CAN STOP ME!” His body vibrated before he shrunk in size, his muscles shrinking to nonexistence and buttons reforming on his aloha shirt, even buttoning themselves back together. He blushed, rubbing the back of his head. “Whew. That was awesome, wouldn’t you say?”

“I can’t disagree,” A-Ninetales said, chuckling before turning back. “Now, what do you— Um? Stry?” He tilted his head. “Anything wrong?”

Stry froze in place, his eyes even wider with wrinkles around them even as his hand-paws pressed against the ground. Nero blinked, waving his own hand-paw in front of him, but Stry returned no reaction. He then shrugged, his expression black even as Aleph gave Stry a sheepish grin.

“Right. I never showed him my toon star form.” Aleph rubbed the back of his head, sweat drops forming. “So, how did I do?”

“Not bad,” A-Ninetales answered, tossing an acorn into the hole before following it up with a green orb. “Still, this is only half the trial.”

“Maf?” Aleph tilted his head even as the hold folded into itself until it was filled with dirt. “I thought that it’s to show how strong I am, right?”

“Sort of. Strength isn’t everything,” A-Ninetales explained, a sprout growing out from the ground, extending taller. “A person can lift a building with only a finger can still lose a battle if they cannot use that strength effectively.” He winked at Aleph as the tree bark formed on the growing tree. “The second half of the trial is a mock battle, just to show you what I mean.”

“Maf?” Aleph blinked while the growing tree behind A-Ninetales extended countless branches, with even more leaves on each one. “Sure?”

“Very good.” A-Ninetales stood up, his back arched and his limbs spread out. The tree stopped growing by then, even taller than the last. “Let’s begin.”

Aleph gulped, but his hand-paws glowed blue in a flame-like effect before he ran towards A-Ninetales. He swung his fists, but A-Ninetales leaned side to side, even ducking, away from the attack. Aleph jumped back, holding his hand-paws back as a blue sphere formed between them. He tossed it towards A-Ninetales, but he jumped over, with the Aura Sphere zooming out until it exploded.

Aleph grunted, humming before he pressed his hand-paws together. His muscles and body grew and expanded, turning into his toon star form, and he grinned wide. He leaped over to A-Ninetales, the air breaking from the force and with his fist swung back. A-Ninetales’s body glowed gold and, just as Aleph contacted his nose, he disappeared. Aleph felt a tug on his tail, with A-Ninetales’s jaws clenched tight around it, and he blinked. Soon, A-Ninetales swung Aleph around, smashing him into trees until he shrank down to his standard form. By that point, A-Ninetales let go, with Aleph flung against the newly grown tree, his face and torso dug in deep.

“Maaaaaaf,” Aleph said through the bark, his limbs forward. Nero leaned against Stry, still frozen in place while he laughed and swayed his tail. A-Ninetales rubbed the back of his head, half-blushing, before biting onto Aleph’s tail and pulling him out. Aleph flopped onto the ground, his eyes spiraling. “Sorry for eating all the ice cream again.”

Stry gasped, his movements throwing Nero off from him. “What did Aleph do?!”

“Calm down,” Nero said, A-Ninetales sitting beside Aleph. “That was Aleph’s toon star form. It came as a surprise when I saw it too.”

“Oh.” Stry sighed, shaking his head before glancing at Nero. “Did you lean on me?”

“Maybe?” Nero said in a playful tone, and Stry lowered his eyelids at him.

Aleph shook his head, shaking the bark and spirals away. “Maf?” A-Ninetales chuckled a bit, patting Aleph’s headfur. “How did you do that?”

“A trick I learned while traveling,” A-Ninetales answered, pulling him back up. “Not as powerful as your toon star form, though. Yet, you see how limited your power can be if used without skill or knowledge.”

“Yes,” Aleph admitted, shaking his limbs which cracked. “Are we done?”

“Not yet.” A-Ninetales winked. “You still need to demonstrate your Alephmon form.”

“Right!” Aleph pulled out a card and, with a scan and a flash, turned into his Alephmon form. He pulled out his sword, grinning. “Ready?”

“Always.”

Aleph swung his sword at A-Ninetales, who ducked under the blade. Aleph grunted and turned downward, but A-Ninetales stepped out of the way. It pierced through the ground, and Aleph lifted himself up and swung his feet-paws at A-Ninetales. But he leaped back, and Aleph landed, pulling the sword off the ground. He turned it over his head and thrust it down, yet A-Ninetales stepped out of the way, with the blade slicing through a tree trunk like warm butter. Aleph grinned, swinging his fist at A-Ninetales, stopping it just an inch away from his nose.

“Very good. That’s enough,” A-Ninetales said, and Aleph sighed while sheaving the sword back and, with a button press, turned to his normal self. “Now then, let me give you my thoughts.”

“Maf.” Aleph rubbed the back of his head, blushing. “That was pretty bad on my part.”

“You just need practice.” A-Ninetales reached to Aleph’s nose and booped it. “And I had to be good, considering what I sometimes fight against.” Aleph nodded and petted A-Ninetales. “Thanks. Here are my thoughts.

“For your standard form, it’s the weakest even with Aura boosting your strength.” A-Ninetales nosed Aleph’s arm, who giggled. “That isn’t to say that it doesn’t have it uses. Rather, you should use it differently.”

“How so?” Aleph tilted his head while rubbing his chin.

“You need to be sneaky where, instead of fighting head-on, you should be stealthy and attack in their blind spot.” A-Ninetales stepped behind Aleph and poked the back of his knee. “It should be simple to do with Aura ‘seeing’ your surroundings far more than regular eyes. Even knowing which way the other is going is a plus.”

Aleph nodded, though he tapped the tip of his chin. “Wouldn’t that be unfair? I thought part of being a hero is having honor or something like that.”

“Honor isn’t unique to heroes,” A-Ninetales explained, tossing a green orb at the ground, with all the fallen and damaged trees healed. “And it’s rare when everyone is fair in a fight. You will likely face foes who will use any underhanded moves they can make to win. So, it’s best to have a similar mindset, even if there are lines you will never cross.”

Aleph tilted his head, sticking his tongue out a bit, but he nodded.

“For your toon star form,” A-Ninetales continued, winking, “it’s a powerful form. But unfocused and with little time to use it. So, for now, I suggest that you use it only when you need a powerful attack, which will take your opponent down.

“As for your Alephmon form, it’s in the middle between your other forms, not super powerful, but still powerful in its own right. Yet, its advantage over your toon star form is that there isn’t a set time limit, so you should use it for a prolonged battle. Makes sense?”

“Maf, I guess,” Aleph said with a doubtful nod.

“In any case, here is the second trial.” A-Ninetales smirked as his badge and bandanna glowed. Then, he grew in size at once, Aleph blinking and stepping back from him. Trees got pushed back from his growing form, though he twisted himself to not tear them off. Within thirty seconds, he grew so large that even the tallest tree could only reach up to his chest. Aleph leaned back, his eyes wide, even as A-Ninetales grinned. “Try to avoid getting stomped again. Ready?”

Yet, without waiting for a response, A-Ninetales lifted up his paw and lowered it on top of Aleph. Aleph yipped before spinning around and sprinting away. The ground shattered upon impact, with Aleph stumbling from the earth shaking before running even faster. A-Ninetales chuckled before following Aleph, avoiding the trees.

Aleph’s fur puffed up as he ran, his feet-paws not even touching the ground. He went around several trees, panting, but A-Ninetales walked over them, his tails brushing against the leaves. Several branches scratched Aleph’s cheek, his ears flattened back, and he kept on running.

But then he came across another river, with its current running fast. Yet, rather than stopping, he instead kept on running. His paw pads got wet from the water, yet he managed to leap out before he got half of his feet-paw deep in. He ‘ran’ on the water from one end to another. Yet, by the time he got to the other end, he rammed against A-Ninetales’s paw, with him standing on both ends.

Aleph yipped and sprinted down the stream, and A-Ninetales smirked as he jumped fully to the other side and followed. By the time A-Ninetales continued his walk, Nero and Stry reached the river, with Stry blinking in horror even as Nero laughed. They followed from the other side of the river, with Stry stumbling from the cobblestone.

Aleph panted, sprinting onwards until he slammed against A-Ninetales’s paw once more, with A-Ninetales looking down on him. He yipped and ran away from the river, his tail puffed up, only to crash against a tree. He stumbled back towards the river, shaking his head before A-Ninetales’s paw slammed on top of him.

“MAF!”

Water seeped around A-Ninetales’s paw before he lifted it up, holding a flattened Aleph like a coin. He soon placed him down and emitted a green orb from his paw, hitting him with it. Aleph then popped back to normal, and he shook the water off his clothes and fur. “Maaaaaaf.”

“Got you again, Aleph,” A-Ninetales said as his badge and bandanna glowed, and he shrank back to normal. “And you did OK, though there is a lot of room for improvement.”

Aleph sighed and flopped on his back. “It seems you always win whenever we play this game.”

“I have plenty of practice.” A-Ninetales lifted Aleph’s head off the ground. “Your issue here is that you aren’t using your Aura. If you were, you would’ve known where you were heading, even sense where I’ll be.”

“Yeah.” Aleph rolled himself up. “It’s just that whenever you appear all big and stompy, the only thing I can think of is running as fast as possible.”

“Which is a big weakness.” A-Ninetales pointed one of his tails at Aleph. “You need to be aware of your surroundings and use the tools that you have. If you aren’t, you’ll find yourself making huge mistakes. Always be aware.”

Aleph nodded. “I’ll do my best to keep that in mind.” He then rubbed his left ear, his eyes shifting away. “You must think that I wouldn’t be a good toony hero, right?”

“I admit that I do worry about you,” A-Ninetales admitted, nosing Aleph’s side. “Though I also admit that I’m more worried about your doubts. Did anything happen?”

“Maf.” Aleph turned away, with Nero and Stry getting across the river. “I thought that I would do well as a toony superhero, especially since I have a toon star form. But then, yesterday, I fought a massive Luxray. Even with that form, I lost. In fact, they did far more in stopping it.”

A-Ninetales nodded. “Ah.” He paused, with Nero and Stry shaking the water off of them and squeezing their bandannas. “Being a hero isn’t just being the strongest, fastest, or even the smartest. It’s the will to go on fighting even when the odds are against you.” He rubbed his Explorer’s badge. “What abilities you have, whether it’s Aura, Digital Monster form, or even a god-like form, are tools to help you. They don’t make you a hero any more than my macro abilities make me one. It’s to fight on, even when there is no end in sight. Besides,” A-Ninetales set his paw on Aleph’s shoulder, “one of the best abilities, if not the best, is to have friends fighting alongside you, no matter what.”

Aleph remained silent for a few seconds, with Nero and Stry walking to his side, with one patting his shoulder and the other holding his hand-paw. Finally, a small smile came to Aleph’s face, and he laughed, getting up and hugging both Nero and Stry. The two grinned and hugged back, wagging their tails.

“Maf, thanks,” Aleph said, nuzzling against Nero’s chest while patting Stry’s head. Both laughed and hugged Aleph tighter in response. Then, he turned to A-Ninetales, who smiled at him. “And you’re right about me not being aware as I like. So, how do I get better at that? Is it another trial?”

A-Ninetales opened his mouth to speak, only for a thooming sound coming from behind. The ground shook, with water splashing up the river, and all blinked in response. A-Ninetales turned around, with trees crashing down and a giant clawed paw, very light gray, smashed through.

“TREES!” A deep yet thunderous voice said, and Nero’s eyes widened. “It’s bad enough that I have unwelcome guests in my territory! But you make SO MUCH NOISES! You’re ruining my productivity!”

More trees crashed down, with a couple going into the river, even as a dragon, feral in shape and towering at thirteen feet from the shoulder, stepped in. The river splashed against his gray fur covering much of his body, with a bit of a belly covered in light gray scales. His neck, covered in gray fur, stretched out from his body, and he looked down upon the group, with light gray fur around the muzzle and above the scales. His tail, as long as his body and with black fur on top, slammed against trees with the dark green spiky tip. His wings, green and scaly, spread out even as dark green spikes go from the base of his head, down his spine, to near his tail tip. His ears, black with a pair of concrete gray horns between them, folded back as his silver eyes glared at them.

“You never told us that he could turn into a dragon!” Nero took a step back, his eyes wide.

“Yeah,” Stry said, shaking his head. “He looks like he can EAT us.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it. Too much, that is,” A-Ninetales said, and Nero and Stry lowered their eyes at him. “Virmir prefers to eat veggies, even as a dragon.”

“Even so,” Nero said, his fur standing up even as Virmir stepped towards them, his antennae-hair fluttering in the wind, “there’s no way we can fight him!”

“Hmm.” A-Ninetales rubbed his chin for a few seconds, and a foxy grin formed on his face. “Say, Aleph?” Aleph turned to him, his knees shaking. “Consider this your third trial. I’m sure you can defeat him if you remember what I suggested.”

“I can?” Aleph blinked at A-Ninetales, his ears folded as far down as his shoulder. “But—”

“This is no time to doubt yourself,” A-Ninetales said, ignoring both Nero’s and Stry’s outraged expression. “I believe in you.”

“Maf.” Aleph sweated a bit even as Virmir inhaled, with smoke coming from his nose. But he nodded, his knees still shaking but having a confident grin. “I will. Nero. Stry.” The two turned to him. “Let me face this on my own.”

They opened their mouths, only for Virmir’s cheeks to fill up, with bits of flames coming from his nose. They then nodded, turned around, and ran with grave doubts in their expressions. But A-Ninetales patted Aleph’s shoulder before running off.

“Good luck,” A-Ninetales said, disappearing into the forest.

Aleph gulped, his throat bulging out, but he clenched his fist tight and steadied himself. Virmir opened his mouth, firing a massive beam of flames towards Aleph. He leaped out of the way, with the beam impacting the ground and exploding, shockwaves emitting from it and black smoke billowing up like a mushroom. Aleph crashed against a tree, with it knocked down from the force, but he shook his shoulder a bit before getting up.

“Blast!” Virmir growled a bit before turning to Aleph, his right eye raised. “You think you can defeat me?”

“Yeah!” Aleph replied, extending his arm up, though he added to himself, “I hope so, maf.”

Virmir snorted, with bits of flames coming out of his nose. “Sounds like I shouldn’t have used a potion to turn into a dragon after all if it’s just you. But, it’ll just take me one minute. And once I’m done with you, I’ll deal with your friends if they’re nearby, and I’ll teach you all NOT to come in my territory!”

Virmir inhaled, and Aleph’s fur stuck up. But he controlled his breathing and closed his eyes, with them glowing a bit as they shut. He leaped to the side and, a second later, Virmir fired out flames, burning through the trees. Aleph kept running, sensing the Aura of Virmir’s placement along with every tree, and an idea formed in his head.

Virmir growled before stomping towards Aleph. “Tree-blasted! Get back here! You’re wasting my minute!”

A white glow came from behind a tree, and Virmir smirked. He inhaled once more, only for the tree to be sliced in half, hovering in the air. It then got tossed into Virmir’s open mouth, with bits of flames coming from the side along with a stream of fire from his nose. He hacked and coughed, spitting the half-burnt tree out.

“Gah!” Virmir shook his head, and a blur of light blue appeared, leaping towards his muzzle. In his Alephmon form, Aleph punched his nose, and Virmir’s head shivered from the force. Aleph grabbed onto his snout with his other hand to climb on top, and, with a leap, he landed on Virmir’s back. “Stop that!”

“Maf!” Aleph responded, his eyes shining. He ran to Virmir’s shoulders by the time he folded his wings back and rolled. But Aleph leaped off halfway into the roll, with Virmir laying on his back with only his spikes in the ground. Aleph flipped a bit before falling down, punching Virmir’s neck. “Take that!”

Virmir gagged and coughed, smoke coming from his mouth. He shook his head, Aleph stumbling back from the shaking, and he glared at him. He rolled himself up onto his hind legs, with Aleph sliding off, and he fell forward. Aleph ran between his legs, and Virmir flopped with a crash, with trees falling around him.

“Can’t you STOP moving?!” Virmir demanded, turning his neck around. But Aleph grinned before running deeper into the forest. Virmir growled, getting back up and stomping towards there. “You’ve wasted two minutes of my time! I have projects to do!”

Virmir stomped onwards, knocking down trees as he gritted his teeth. But then trees zoomed to the sky, each with a clean cut on the bottom. They then fell on top of Virmir, grunting with each impact. He turned up for a second, and a tree fell into his mouth, rubbing against his neck. He gagged, chomping an end out before spitting out some wood. He shook his head as he entered a clearing, where Aleph stood at one end, and several tree trunks stood between them. Aleph waved, sheaving his sword.

“You are becoming a pest!” Virmir clenched against a trunk until it burst. Aleph pressed his Digivice, and he glowed for a second. He returned to normal when he stopped glowing, and pressed his palms together. Virmir blinked before he snorted. “Giving up?”

“Nope,” Aleph answered, his grin widening. Then, at once, his body grew with muscles. Each one bulged out, thickening with his aloha shirt’s buttons popping off against his chest and abs. Soon, he stood, flexing at six feet tall, and Virmir blinked. “I’M JUST GETTING STARTED!”

Aleph, the toony star, leaped high, his arms over his head. Virmir inhaled, his open mouth glowing, before firing a jet of flames at him. It impacted Aleph, but not even the stretched-out pants or buttonless aloha shirt got singed. Aleph threw his fists down, hitting Virmir’s head. The force knocked Virmir’s head to the ground, the earth shattering all around him and trees falling within fifty feet.

Aleph landed behind Virmir, a broad grin on his face even as Virmir’s eyes turned into spirals. He then shrunk in size, with light gray fur replacing the scales. He groaned, wings, spikes, and horns receding to nothing as his claws shrunk. His stance became anthro even as his tail became shorter, with the green point replaced with black fur, encompassing the tip and the top half of his tail. Finally, Virmir lifted his head, back to his standard gray fox form.

Aleph gave out a hearty laugh before he shrank down to normal, with the aloha shirt’s buttons restored. “Maf? I did it!”

“No.” Virmir shook the dirt off his fur. “You just wasted my time by being a pest.” He stood up, glaring at Aleph before extending his hand-paw forward, and an orange and yellow fireball formed. “But now,” Virmir’s eyes narrowed as the ground shook beneath him, “it’s time that you—”

A golden-white paw landed on top of Virmir, cracking the ground underneath as the fireball dissipated. Aleph grinned wide, waving to the hundred feet tall A-Ninetales, with Nero and Stry sitting on his shoulders. He lifted his paw up, with Virmir flattened in a pawprint shape.

“Frazz,” Virmir moaned, spirals returning to his eyes.

“I’m glad that you win,” A-Ninetales said, grinning along with Nero and Stry.

“I didn’t think it was possible, but you did it,” Nero said, rubbing his head appendages.

“Yeah! You kicked his tail hard!” Stry lifted his fist high.

“Maf, thanks,” Aleph said, sticking his tongue out and rubbing his ears. “Shall we leave? I don’t want to fight Virmir again.”

“I doubt Virmir will be a concern for a while,” A-Ninetales said with a wink. “Still, if that is your fear, I will take you elsewhere.”

He extended his paw to Aleph, who grinned wide before hopping on. He lifted him up to his head, and Aleph landed on it just in front of the fur-crest. Nero and Stry climbed up A-Ninetales’s head, getting to Aleph before hugging him close. Aleph blushed before hugging back, and A-Ninetales walked.

Virmir grumbled, glaring at the sky. “To think that I was beaten by him. What a waste of my time. Still, it can’t get worse, especially once Lucile finds me.”

A sizeable green orb came from above, landing beside Virmir, and a green wave emitted. Holes got filled up at once, and new trees replaced destroyed ones. Virmir’s stomach groaned, and his eyes widened, his head sprouting upwards. His fingers wiggled, and they extended into branched as his feet-paws dug into the ground, stretching into roots.

“Ohhhhhhhh frazz,” Virmir said, his mouth full of tree branches.

#   #   #

A-Ninetales walked onwards, careful not to hit any trees along the way, with even his tails avoiding them. Aleph leaned himself forward, a grin on his face even as Nero and Stry held him back. Finally, the trees thinned out, exiting the forest and into a plain with the crimson-tipped tower out of sight. Nero’s ears wiggled, and he turned back for a moment as though he heard something.

Soon, they came to a clearing, and A-Ninetales lowered down. The others nodded and hopped off, with Aleph’s arms up high. He closed his eyes for a moment, laughing, even as Nero patted his headfur and Stry rubbed his back. Then, they turned around, with A-Ninetales still huge and having an odd grin on his face.

“Thank you, A-Ninetales!” Aleph said, hugging A-Ninetales’s nose. “Now, we can both rest easy that I’ll do well.”

“Indeed. However,” A-Ninetales pushed both Nero and Stry back, with Stry blinking even as Nero snickered, “There’s still one last trial you must do.”

“Maf?” Aleph blinked, tilting his head while rubbing his chin. “What is the last trial?’

“Your final trial is this.” A-Ninetales pushed Aleph off his nose before he sat up. Then, at once, A-Ninetales positioned his front paws to face each other, with Aleph at the middle. He then slammed his paws together, Aleph yipping in response. When he pulled his paws away, Aleph stood flattened, each eye at the opposite side, flattened sideways. “You must stay still for twenty-four hours without moving. If you move an inch, you will fail.” Aleph blinked. “You have shown power and speed. Now, show your control.”

Aleph nodded a bit, and A-Ninetales shrunk in size until he became his regular size again. Nero and Stry walked to Aleph’s side, with Stry having an eye on A-Ninetales, but Aleph smiled at them without turning. So they nodded and went over to A-Ninetales, standing by his side as they watched Aleph.

The hours counted down, with Aleph sweating flat droplets from the sun. Wrinkled formed under his eyes, and he grunted, his fingers becoming stiff. But he refused to even wiggle them, instead remaining still.

A-Ninetales poked his badge a few times, with Nero turning to him. But A-Ninetales winked at him, and Nero nodded with an anxious expression. Stry went over and patted Nero’s back, who smiled and rubbed his head in return.

The hours passed by, and the sun went down into the horizon. Finally, the moon came up, its reflective light shining down on the land. Aleph sighed, the area becoming colder with even a bit of mist forming. But he grinned, his confidence unwavering.

But then the clouds covered the sky.

He blinked, the dark clouds gathering out of nowhere, and a rumble came from above. A second later, the ground shook, and he gulped. A-Ninetales sat ahead, an odd grin on his face even as Stry looked at the sudden storm. Rain poured down, crashing against Aleph’s flat body. Aleph thought that it was OK for a moment until a big droplet hit against his muzzle. It bent, but Aleph fought back, pushing his flat muzzle back to its original position.

It was then a massive paw landed near Aleph. He blinked, steadying himself as the shadowy being’s step shook the earth for many miles. It stopped, lifting up its staff that’s just as tall, and lightning struck it. It then spread out its massive wings, with mighty wings coming from it. Aleph gritted his teeth, keeping himself still and planted on the ground. The being walked once more, swaying its tail that ended in a fur turf, and one last blast of wind hit Aleph. But he grunted, remaining where he stood while the shadowy being faded into the horizon.

The area calmed down with the sky clearing up with each passing hour. The rain stopped, and Aleph sighed, with the sun coming up, shining down. He grinned, the sun inching higher to the sky, and flat sweats appeared all over his body. He felt like a noodle, standing still while waiting for the final hour to end.

Soon, A-Ninetales got up and booped Aleph’s nose. “You did well. You almost fell against Glaurung’s storm, yet you still stand. You passed.”

Aleph grinned wide, jumping up high. “Maf! I did it!” He blinked, moving his flat arms in front of himself, turning as he wished with minor issues. “Huh?”

“That trial you did was something I had to do when training with A-Ninetales,” Nero explained, and his hand-paw flattened on its own. “That and other trials is why I have so much control over my body, flattening and folding myself however I wish.”

“THAT’S what you did that allowed you to fold into a paper airplane!” Stry asked in a loud voice, his arms way back, and Nero nodded. He lowered his arms so that his hand-paws touched the ground, eyes wide as Nero chuckled. “That’s nuts.”

A-Ninetales smirked before holding up his paw, and a green orb formed on it. He tossed it over to Aleph, who popped back into his unflattened state. Aleph grinned wide, pulling A-Ninetales into a hug.

“Thank you once again, buddy!” Aleph said, tail wagging fast. “Will you travel with us some more?”

“I cannot,” A-Ninetales admitted, hugging back while patting Aleph’s back. “I still need to train Faith, and the break time is almost over.”

Aleph’s ears lowered for a moment before he smiled, rubbing his muzzle against A-Ninetales. He chuckled before nuzzling Aleph back, and they let go of each other. He went over to Nero, who hugged him close while rubbing above the green A on his back for a few seconds. Finally, he approached Stry, who patted his own neck for a moment before shrugging and hugging him tightly, with A-Ninetales patting his head.

A-Ninetales smiled, letting go of Stry before stepping away. “Until we meet again, old friends.”

A-Ninetales pressed his badge, which glowed green. Soon, white light engulfed him, and, below him, four lines formed around him in a shape of a four-point diamond. A spiral then spread out from underneath him, four in number, spinning until they crossed with each of the four diamond’s corners. A second later, it faded, and A-Ninetales disappeared.

Aleph, Nero, and Stry waved at him as he disappeared, and Stry sighed. But Aleph grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him into a hug. Stry blinked before hugging back, both of their tails wagging. Nero laughed, spreading both arms around them, and picked them both up in a hug. Then, after a bit, he put them down while rubbing the back of his head.

“Shall we?” Aleph asked, his tail wagging.

“Sure,” Nero said with a smile. “In fact, I think A-Ninetales took a few days off from our travels.”

Aleph extended his hand-paw up in a fist, a grin on his face. “Let’s go and start our toony superhero group!”

Aleph ran forward with the wind fluttering against his aloha shirt, and Nero and Stry laughed. They followed Aleph, catching up to him, each one a grin on their face. Though the journey would still be long, Aleph felt that things would be alright.

14
Virmir Commissions / Re: [Closed] Commissions open until February 25th
« on: February 26, 2022, 05:31:59 PM »
Jeez. While I expect you to get a lot, I didn't think you'll get this much. Almost like that one year where you did like eighty request arts.

15
Writer's Guild / Aleph's Surprise Gift - An Aleph Patreon Commission
« on: February 10, 2022, 09:00:33 PM »
Patreon Commission by Aleph

Here is my first Patreon commission, which I admit that I enjoy writing. It continues off from the last part, which I do suggest that you read as well.

I hope you guys enjoy!

Aleph, Nero, and Stry belongs to Aleph

-----

The sun shined as high as it could in the sky as Aleph and Nero walked down the road, bruised but recovering. Near them on the dirt road was an anthro hyena chatting with an anthro Buizel, complementing the pair of shoes he wore. The Buizel blushed a bit, rubbing the back of his head until the hyena, with his feet-paws, tapped the shoes. At that moment, the Buizel turned red, and he ripped the closest tree off the ground. He then slammed it against the hyena’s head, flattening him into a paper-thin coin, before putting the tree back with a huff.

Nero blinked even as Aleph continued on, his yellow eyes shining bright even as his pale blue fur fluttered against the wind. His tail, grey with a pale blue tip, wagged behind him while Nero shrugged and swung his arm over Aleph’s shoulders. He rubbed against the red aloha shirt with white flowers, making sure the spike on the back of his hand-paw didn’t hurt Aleph.

“What a great day it is!” Aleph said, nuzzling up against Nero’s cream-furred chest, avoiding the white spike on his chest. “Right, buddy?”

“It is,” Nero answered, smiling while rubbing Aleph’s headfur. “How close are we to the nearest village?”

Aleph pulled out a Digivice and, with a press of a button, it projected a 3D map. “Maf, it’ll take an hour to get there.”

Nero sighed, and he shook his head. “And it’ll take three weeks to get to the meeting spot. A shame that fox added more time to our travel rather than take some away, separating us from your supplies as well.”

Aleph shrugged, turning the Digivice off and leaving it hanging against his blue jeans. He then went to his aloha shirt’s pocket and pulled out the laminated Pokémon and Digimon cards, going through them until he had the desired one displayed. Finally, he handed it over to Nero while winking.

“Reminds you of anyone?” Aleph asked.

Nero stared at the Digimon card, and he couldn’t help but smile. It was a blue dragonish Digimon, with red eyes like Nero’s own and a yellow V-like mark on the forehead. Beneath and to the sides of the eyes were a pair of obtuse triangles, upside down. The torso of this Digimon, from the spike-tipped nose to the belly, was white while having a confident grin. This Digimon’s five fingers and three toes held large white claws, and the long blue ears and tails were wavy.

“If you just add in a red scarf, he would be a dead ringer for Stry the Veemon,” Nero said, patting his own red scarf before giving the card back.

“Yup!” Aleph placed it along with the other cards back into his pocket. “Though I do wonder where he is at, maf.”

“Most likely causing some mischief.” But then Nero rubbed the back of his head. “Though, back when I encountered A-Ninetales a year ago, he was saying farewell to someone. I didn’t get a good look on them, just that they were someone blue.”

“Woah!” Aleph’s eyes turned into stars for a few seconds. “Could Stry train with A-Ninetales as well? That would be so cool!”

“Maybe. A-Ninetales wouldn’t tell me who he talked to. Just give me a small smile.” Nero shrugged before he rubbed Aleph’s headfur once more. “It’s great to be back with you once more.”

“Same with you, my best Lucario buddy.”

#   #   #

The duo walked for an hour until they reached their destination. The village was small, with only a few folks outside. One of them, a young anthro black cat, played with a yo-yo with a string that grew longer by a few feet every time she flung it out for tricks. It continued until it grew so long that she lost control, with the string surrounding her. Finally, it tightened until she fell down, grunting and squirming.

Aleph approached and unwound the yo-yo off from her, with her blinking as he returned it to her. “Maf, that was pretty neat. I’m sure you’ll be great in no time.”

The cat nodded before running off.

Nero smiled and nodded, and the two walked to the small shop. They stepped in, and the owner, a white and light blue squirrel-like Pokémon, waved at them, her yellow cheeks sparking. The duo went through the shelves, checking them out before going to the register counter with the desired items. They placed the products, foods, a tent, sleeping bags, a hammerspace backpack, and some rope, on the counter, and the Pachirisu hopped onto the golden register. She typed it down, the register clicking with every press, and the final price popped out.

She hopped off the register and spread her arms out. “That will be $150.”

Aleph gulped a bit before he pulled out his wallet and handed her a stack of money in $10s. “At least I have the money for it this time.”

The Pachirisu took the money, stumbling a bit while carrying the stack, before she opened the register and stuffed it in there. “You have a great rest of your day!”

“Thank you,” Nero said, pressing his hand-paw against and nodding to her. Next, the two organized their supplies before they stuffed them into the various pouches within the backpack, with the rope hanging on the side. Soon, Aleph slung it over his back before they walked out, with the Pachirisu waving at them. “That’s step one down.”

Aleph nodded before pulling out the Digivice once more, displaying the map. “Yup! Now, we travel through the wilderness until we get to the meeting spot! It will be an adventure!”

“Indeed,” Nero said with a shrug. “Still, we can’t go blindly towards there. We should plot out a pathway, checking every step of the way—”

At that moment, the ground rumbled a bit, and Nero paused. His fur stuck up at the ground rumbled more, almost rhythmic. Aleph blinked, his fur sticking up as well, and a metallic taste entered his mouth. The villagers stepped out from their houses, shops, and such, all confused, with the Pachirisu shopkeeper darting under Aleph’s legs. She stared out in confusion, her body emitting sparks before her expression twisted into pure horror. She dashed down the road as fast as her body could go, her body sparking more.

“Maf? What was that all about?” Aleph said, twisted around before Nero pressed onto his shoulder. “What is it?”

“I don’t know,” Nero answered, his tone terrified. “But it’s something big and powerful. It felt like—”

A bolt of lightning struck down from behind, ripping through the shop and bursting it into flames in an instant. Aleph’s fur stuck up, electricity building up all around, and the ground quaked more. Then, at once, a first appearing small before its true size revealed itself, a blue and black Pokémon stomped down the road at fifty feet. Its black mane on the back of its head stuck up like spikes, the yellow eyes with red sclerae glaring out. It wiggled its blue ears, yellow within, and another lightning struck down, busting another house into flames.

“That’s one massive Luxray!” Aleph said, his eyes widening even as its black tail, tipped yellow and shaped like a four-pointed star, wiggled behind.

“Yeah!” Nero said as the Luxray roared out, with glass bursting into shards, and the villagers ran towards the opposite direction. Its body glowed, and Nero’s eyes widened in a panic. He stepped in front of Aleph before spreading his arms forwards, and a shining light formed in front of him. At that moment, an electrical wave emitted from the Luxray’s body, coursing through the area. It shocked anyone impacted by the waves, though Nero’s Detect blocked it from affecting himself and Aleph. “I can feel its rage, along with a bit of pain. Why is it so big, and why is it attacking?”

“Maf, I don’t know,” Aleph said before slipping the backpack off of him. “But we need to stop it.”

“Huh?” Nero turned back with a dumbfounded expression. “You sure?”

“You wanted us to be a toony superhero team,” Aleph said with a grin, and his tail wagged fast. “I think it’s time to show the world what we can do.”

“OK,” Nero said with a nervous nod before the two sprinted towards the Luxray, with it roaring out once more. Aleph pressed his hand-paws against each other, humming as well. Nero blinked at him, tilting his head. “What are you doing?”

“Drawing out an awesome power I happened to learn as well,” Aleph said, his grin widening. “Didn’t have a chance to show it off yesterday, but now, I can show you what I can really do now.”

Nero flattened his left ear back before, at once, Aleph’s physique changes. His thin arms and legs swelled with muscles, thickening out. His chest pumped up, with the aloha shirt’s buttons straining before popping off, and his shoulders and neck thickened. He grew in size, towering over at the blinking Nero at six feet.

“Huh?” Nero said as Aleph gave out a hearty laugh.

“YEAH!” Aleph yelled, his fists tightening while his grin became cocky. “I’m a TOONY STAR now!”

Before Nero could say anything else, Aleph leaped to the air while swinging his fist back. The Luxray blinked at him, pausing its walk. Aleph grinned wider, slamming his fist against the Luxray’s forehead, and it got tossed back hundreds of yards. It roared out in pain, rolling around as it tried to stop itself.

“Impossible.” Nero’s jaw dropped even as Aleph landed before him, with the ground shattering from impact. “How did you do that?”

“Don’t you realize? I’m INVINCIBLE in this form!” Aleph pressed his hand-paws against his hip as he laughed. The Luxray got up, a gleam of light shining on its back for a moment before it roared out. But Aleph charged forward, with a sharp rushing sound even as a vapor cone formed around him. In a second, he had already grabbed the Luxray’s paw and tossed it over his head, with it flattening several trees in the process. “You CAN NOT stop ME!”

Nero stood dumbfounded for a moment before he sprinted forward, with his arms hung back. The Luxray rolled itself back up, glaring at the arrogant Aleph before slamming its paws onto his body. Nero gasped and sprinted faster, lowering his body even as he realized how impossible this fight would be by himself. A second later, it lifted its paw off the flat, coin-shaped Aleph, and it chuckled, but soon Aleph unflattened himself. Its eyes widened along with Nero even as Aleph laughed once more. He soon leaped at the Luxray’s chest, punching it once again, and it slid back, with its claws ripping through the ground.

“HAHAHA!” Aleph landed on his feet-paws, hand-paws on hips even as the Luxray rubbed its chest. “YOU can be as HUGE as this PLANET, and you STILL cannot defeat ME!”

The Luxray growled, with sparks emitting from its body, and a bolt of massive lightning struck Aleph, shattering the ground and turning what remained into glass. But he stepped out of it, unharmed, and he laughed once more. Soon, he leaped into the air once more—

Only for his body to shrink once more, with his limbs thinning out, his chest shrinking with the buttons back on and buttoned in, and his height became child-like. Finally, his fist impacted the Luxray’s forehead, with its eyelids lowered at him. Aleph swallowed, having a nervous grin even as he stood on its muzzle and gave a shy wave.

“Uh, maf?” Aleph sweated.

The Luxray flicked Aleph off of him, with him yelping out until he landed on the ground, flat on his back. It raised its paw up before slamming it on top of Aleph, with the earth shattering around it. It soon raised its paw up, with Aleph flattened within the huge pawprint.

Nero stopped sprinting forward, only halfway to the battle itself, and he groaned while shaking his head. “Oh, Aleph. Always biting more than you can chew.” His fur stood up on its own, and he looked up, with the Luxray glaring at him. “Uh oh.”

The Luxray roared out, getting back up and charging forward even as Nero sprinted the opposite way, back to the village. But, even with the head start, the Luxray caught up before he even reached there, with it slamming its paw down. He avoided the paw slam, but the impact tossed him into the air itself, with him spinning around until he became level with the Luxray’s eyes.

Nero leaned his arms back, and a blue ball formed between his hand-paws. He gritted his teeth before he threw the Aura Sphere at the Luxray’s eye, which dissipated upon contact without any physical harm. It swung its other paw, slamming against Nero and tossing him back to the burning village.

He groaned as he spun around, his body flattening itself to paper-thin. His speed slowed down, fluttering onto the ground until he landed. He then unflattened with a pop, and he got up, turning to the Luxray. But it charged forward, the ground shaking with every step, and he sighed to himself.

“This is impossible,” Nero said to himself, but he stood firm, his arms spread out. “But I won’t let that Luxray win without a fight.”

He glared at the massive Luxray, with electricity sparking from its body as it opened its mouth—

A blue blur appeared, slamming against the Luxray’s throat. “Vee Headbutt!”

Nero blinked, with the Luxray choaking a bit even as the blue blur landed next to him. His form cleared up, with the Veemon giving Nero a thumbs up. But he responded with a dropped jaw, noticing the red bandanna around his neck.

“Stry?!” Nero said, his eyes widening.

“The one and only!” Stry replied even as the Luxray shook its head. “Must say, I never expected to see you here, Nero. It is Nero, right?” He rubbed the back of his head, and Nero nodded. “Glad that you finally Evolved. Though we should hold back on the storytelling.” The Luxray glared at Stry and Nero before roaring out. “We should take Luxray down.”

“You think?” Nero replied with half-closed eyes. “Even so, how can we? That beast tanked attacks that even a Tyranitar could feel.”

“By shrinking it back to its normal size!” Stry said, and Nero tilted his head. “OK. Long story short, this Luxray attacked me while I was in a temple about to claim a crystal; apparently, it thought I was intruding on its territory. But the crystal implanted itself on its back, causing it to grow to this size.”

“So, what you just said is that this is your fault,” Nero said, and Stry nodded in embarrassment. “Of course.”

The Luxray’s fur stood up, with lightning striking down all around them, bursting buildings into flames. The ground shook, with Nero and Stry stumbling a bit before they leaped. A second later, lighting impacted where they once stood, digging into the ground.

“I did try to rip the crystal off its back,” Stry said as he and Nero landed out of the way. “But the crystal itself gave me a massive shock in response.”

“Great,” Nero said while shaking his head. “How do we remove it then? It’s not like I’m resistant to electric because I’m not.”

“Perhaps with a bit of rope?” Stry suggested as he leaped back once more, with a large paw slamming down before them. “Though I don’t have one on me.”

Nero blinked, and gears spun within his head. He sprinted away, running down the ruined village’s road, hoping that it wasn’t destroyed. But soon, he spotted Aleph’s newly purchased backpack, with the rope still on it. He sprinted over and, with one quick motion, he removed it from the pack. He then ran back towards the massive Luxray, more determined than ever.

Stry, for his part, blinked for a moment as he avoided lightning bolts. Then, for a moment, he wondered what was on Nero’s mind and where he went off to until he came back, carrying some rope. His eyes shined as he grinned, giving out a thumbs up.

“Nice!” Stry said. “Now, the next thing: getting you up there.”

“That should be simple enough,” Nero said as he grinned, jumping to Stry’s side. “Just throw me up there.”

“Huh?” Stry blinked. “But, how?”

“Like this.” Nero flattened himself along with the rope before Stry’s eyes. His jaw dropped, his arms went limp, and his eyes widened even as Nero folded himself. Soon, Nero became a paper airplane, lying on the ground. “Now, get me up there.”

“How did you— Never mind.” Stry shook his head before picking Nero up. Then, he jumped out of the way from a paw, with it crashing before it. He landed and inhaled, bending his knees low before he leaped into the air. Soon, he reached the Luxray’s height, and he threw the paper airplane Nero towards the glaring Luxray’s back. “Good luck!”

Stry landed and sprinted back, avoiding bolts and claws as they came. He gritted his teeth, running through until he ran to a house’s wall, or what remained of it. He spun around, but the Luxray’s paws landed beside him, pinning him in, and he pressed his back against the wall. The Luxray lowered its head at Stry, teeth barred, and he stood firm with fists tightening. The Luxray’s opened its mouth, with a blue glow emitting from it—

And a light emitted from its back. The Luxray blinked for a moment, straightening up with the mouth stopped glowing. It twisted around, with it shrinking in size, and it gasped. It raised its paw up to the back, only for it to drop and its eyes lowered as though they carried heavy weights. Soon, they shut, and it flopped onto the ground, back to its normal four foot seven.

Nero, back to his unfolded and unflattened self, hopped off the Luxray’s back, the rope having a yellow crystal tight around it. “Not so powerful or energetic without this?”

“Nero, you did it!” Stry leaped up to a hug, with Nero blinking before he caught and hugged back. “I got worried about you. First, though, how did you flatten yourself?”

“It’s a trick that A-Ninetales helped me with,” Nero replied, putting Stry down and patting his head. “In any case, we saved the village. Or rather,” he turned to the few houses that somehow didn’t get crushed, get struck by lightning, or burst into flames, “what left of it.”

“Yup! And it’s all thanks to our teamwork!” Stry tugged Nero close and nuzzled up against his chest. “If only Aleph was here to see us now.”

“Aleph?” Nero blinked, his eyes widened from realization. “Oh, no.”

“What are you—”

“Maaaaaaaaf.”

The two blinked, turning around as a flat Aleph stumbled towards them, careful not to fall down. Nero shook his head even as Stry lowered one of his eyelids, with Aleph flopping on top of them. They set him down, and Nero pulled out a handpump. Soon, he stuffed the hose into Aleph’s mouth and pumped in air until he popped back to normal.

“Didn’t think you were here as well, partner,” Stry said, poking Aleph’s aloha shirt. “Where did you get this, by the way?”

“It was a gift,” Aleph said while shaking his head. He lied back down, giving out a sigh. “Maf. Sorry.”

“Huh?” Nero blinked.

“What do you mean?” Stry asked, tilting his head.

“It’s just,” Aleph shook his head, “well, Nero wanted us to start up a toony superhero group. I thought that my toony star form would help support it, and yet,” he stared up to the blue sky, “I’ve proven to be nothing but annoying. Meanwhile, you two did the real work and defeated the threat.”

“Don’t say such things,” Nero said, grabbing Aleph’s arm and putting it over his shoulder, pulling him back up. “I have no idea you had such a form until now. And it was powerful, just gave out too soon.”

“Yeah! Though I haven’t seen it myself.” Stry rubbed the back of his head before grabbing Aleph’s hand-paw and clutched it close. “And your strength shouldn’t be because of how strong you are. Your true strength is that you have a huge heart who brought in a lot of different folks around you.”

“Exactly.” Nero rubbed Aleph’s headfur, who couldn’t help but smile in response. “Without you, I wouldn’t meet with folks like Stry or Schrödy.”

“Maf. OK. I get it.” Aleph laughed a bit before he hugged them both. “Thanks.” He then turned to Stry and patted his head. “And it’s good to see you again, and so soon.”

Stry snickered and extended two fingers into a V symbol. “No problem, partner!”

#   #   #

The villagers, who managed to escape without serious injuries, returned to what remained of their home. They began reconstruction at once, washing out all of the fire and removing any burnt lumber that wasn’t salvageable. Then they gathered the flattened logs from the battle and cut or pressed them into boards or lumber. By the end of the day, the village was half rebuilt.

The unconscious Luxray was placed in a cage and carried out of the village for several miles. They left the cage open as they left and, when the Luxray woke up, it turned around in confusion, wondering why it wasn’t in its home and instead in a cage. Then, it left and began searching for its territory.

Aleph, Nero, and Stry walked out from the village by then, with Stry carrying a wooden box. Aleph held a wide grin even as Nero set his arm over his shoulder, with Nero half-carrying the backpack over a shoulder. And yet, Stry shook his head in disappointment.

“It would’ve felt better if we got an award out of this,” Stry said after ten minutes of walking. “Instead, we got this crystal,” he held up the box, “that’s too dangerous to use.”

“A hero’s work shouldn’t be about money. It should be to make sure folks go to sleep in peace,” Aleph said before he laughed.

“And besides,” Nero added, a glint in his eye, “after what you accidentally caused, it wouldn’t be right to accept their gifts.”

“Fair point.” Stry sighed, soon carrying the box under his arm.

“Though I am curious about one thing,” Nero said, turning to Aleph. “You said that your toony star form would last for a half-hour, but that display only lasted for up to a minute. What happened?”

“Maf, I’m not sure.” Aleph rubbed his ears for a moment. “Though I haven’t practiced that form in a while, so that might be it.”

“Maybe, or that the walk along with getting blasted over here took out more energy than you thought,” Nero suggested before he shrugged. “Or that personality you have while in that form lost focus on it. After all, I don’t think you ever went into battle in that form before, right?”

“Nope, maf.” Aleph closed his eyes. “Whatever the case, it’s clear that I need more practice in that form.”

“That’s my Aleph!” Stry rubbed against Aleph’s arm before his eyes shined for a moment. “I just remember!” He went to behind his ears and pulled out a card. “I met with A-Ninetales myself a year ago, though I haven’t got any training from him like Nero has. Though perhaps I should have.” Nero snickered. “Still, he handed me this card, asking me to give it to you. He said that he thinks you should have this in case of a battle.”

“Maf?” Aleph said, and the three stopped walking. Stry handed it over to Aleph, which only had ‘Digivolution’ written on it. He blinked for a moment before he pulled out his Digivice, deep in thought. His tongue stuck out before he nodded. “Let’s see what it does.”

Aleph hovered the card over the Digivice, with it blinking and beeping in response. Then, at once, small white blocks came out from the Digivice’s screen, spinning above Aleph. Nero and Stry stepped back, confused even as Aleph craned his head upwards. The blocks then surrounded him, impacting and fusing into his body.

Aleph’s ears grew a few inches longer even as the aloha shirt receded until it was around his neck, pure red and a bandanna. His eyes changed shape, with a black outline around it and turning sideways. His hand-paws thickened, with particular focus on the fingers, even as brown fingerless gloves formed over them. His blue jeans were shortened into shorts, turning light brown with two straps hanging on the sides and a brown belt around the waist. His claws on both hand- and feet-paws grew longer and thicker, and a sword and scabbard, half his size, formed behind before him before strapping onto his back.

Aleph turned over his hand-paws, his expression filled with wonder, even as Nero’s and Stry’s eyes widened, with Stry’s tail laying against the ground. Aleph raised his left arm back, gripping against the sword’s brown with yellow wrapping handle. He pulled it out from the scabbard, its steel blade shining cold and ending with a triangular-shaped tip. He turned to his Digivice, which had two words displayed on it.

Alephmon Mode

“Woah!” Aleph’s eyes turned to stars for a few seconds. “I’m a Digimon now!”

“What?! HOW!?” Stry blinked some more. “Where did A-Ninetales get such a card anyways?!”

“You be surprised in what adventures he went to since he met Saria,” Nero replied with a shrug and a laugh. “Looks good on you, buddy. Still, I think being a Pokémon would be better.”

Stry rolled his eyes even as Aleph giggled, sheaving his sword back. He pressed a button on the Digivice and, in a flash of light, he turned back to normal. He grinned wide before he hugged both Nero and Stry tight, his tail wagging fast.”

“It’s like I’m a Henshin hero now!” Aleph said. “Now I can fight even if my toony star form wears off.”

“Fantastic!” Stry said, hugging Aleph back tight.

But Nero laughed and patted Aleph’s head. “Very good. In any case, the sun will go down soon, and we should get to our camping spot before it gets too dark.”

Aleph and Stry nodded, and they turned towards the road once more. Soon, they walked onwards, their heads held high. Though the journey may be long, Aleph felt confident that things would be alright.

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