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16
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.

17
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!"

18
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.

19
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.

20
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.

21
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.

22
Writer's Guild / An Immersive RP - A RomanProphet Commission
« on: January 17, 2022, 09:00:20 PM »
Commissioned by RomanProphet

Here is a fun story that I was asked to write. And I'm sure that a bunch of you guys will love it since dragon transformation and/or macro are always popular. XD

Kidding aside, I did have a ton of fun writing this. And I hope that you guys will enjoy this too.

Fun fact: I actually written the final draft within three hours back on Sunday (skipping out a few fun streams in the process). I just had an urge to write and I won't be able to go to the library to write because it's MLK Jr. Day. Plus, I want to get to the next commission ASAP.

-----

The dark clouds gathered above the sky, as though it could rain, though glimpses of the midday sun could still be seen. The valley darkened with mist, with a warm, silvery light piercing through above, fading and brightening as though a signal. Various standing stones, tipped in orange, gathered in a pair of lines from the bottom to the top, heading into the mist itself.

Four figures walked up the traitorous valley, careful not to touch the stones themselves. The one leading the four dressed in a priest-like outfit under a chest armor, which held a drawing of crossed oak and mistletoe branches. He had a long green staff, tipped in white. Walking beside him, yet a bit behind, was a lady dressed in metal-looking armor with joint pads, with a rapier by her side. Across her chest, she carried a bow and empty quiver.

A man wearing a tunic and a short sword on his belt was walking behind the two, filled-up guitar in hand. On top of his chest over his tunic he carried nylon armor. Finally, half crouching behind the group, was a mannish figure who hooves clopped against the ground and dressed in full black. Within, he carried multiple knives, though he could only pull out one.

“Are we getting near?” the rogue said, gripping against his knife tight. “I hunger for money, and so does my blade.”

“Be patient, our rogue,” the cleric said, half-turning back. “Though I doubt our evil wizard would be carrying gold for a ceremony like this.”

“If all goes well,” the bard said, his fingers rubbing against the solid strings, “it will be worthy of a song that will last for a hundred generations. Why it’s enough for me to sing it right now.”

“Please don’t,” the fighter said, and the group laughed in response.

For hours or maybe minutes, the group walked on until they went through the mists at the end of the standing stones. There, at the very edge of the cliff, a brown-haired figure dressed in black robes stood, carrying a staff with a glowing silver tip, the source of the light. Beside him stood a pair of unlit candlestands, with a dug-in pentagram underneath him and a circle of standing stones around him. His arms spread out to the sky, where a sun peaked through, away from the group.

“Evil wizard,” the cleric said, pointing his staff at the wizard, “your evil deeds end now.”

“Foolish travelers,” the wizard said, not facing them even as the staff glowed brighter. “You are too late. The ritual was completed a minute ago.”

“Even so,” the fighter said as she pulled out her rapier, its reflection dull, “you are no match for our teamwork.”

“Many songs have been made of our journeys, most of them by me,” the bard said, rubbing against one of his strings. “It would be wise to listen to at least half of them.”

“And besides,” the rogue said, pulling out his knife and flipping it between the blade and handle with ease, “I don’t see any dragon, which your minions said you were summoning. Perhaps you flubbed it at ‘nikto.’”

“You fool. That was what I wanted them to believe,” the wizard said, turning around with his brown eyes staring at them. “But I wasn’t planning to summon a dragon,” his eyes turned silver, “I was planning on turning into a dragon.”

At that moment, several pale blue horns grew from his face, two behind his jawline, which went back before curving forward, and four on top of his head. His hair receded into nothing, with silver scales replacing it even as his mouth and nose moved forward into a snout. His ears shrunk down to mere dots as he fell down onto his knees, gripping against the ground.

Soon, a long tail ripped out from behind, covered in silver scales and having pale blue horns on the spine. His feet lengthened, becoming digitigrades and ripping through his heavy boots as though they were nothing. His toenails thickened and grew longer even as they turned into a pale blue color. His torso lengthened as well, ripping through his robes even as his fingernails grew longer and thicker, turning pale blue as well. Finally, when he lifted his head, his teeth were longer and sharper than before, with him grinning wide.

A second later, a pair of lumps grew on his back, protruding under his robes. Soon, they ripped through, forming a couple of silvery wings that he flapped a bit. Then, the staff he held broke into two under his grip, his thighs thickening and him becoming more feral in stance.

But then, he grew in size, outgrowing what was left of his outfit. He let out a low laugh that became deeper and more like growls as it went on. Soon, he stood at a hundred meters tall and, with a smirk on his face, the dragon-wizard roared.

The party stood there, jaw dropped, but the cleric recovered first. “Come one, team,” he said as he turned to the others. “We fought with threats just as bad at this. We can defeat him and bring order to the realm. Are you with me?” The others nodded, and he turned back to the wizard-dragon—

#   #   #

“In the n-name of Dia-Dia-what was his name again?” Liam said, rubbing his chin in half-confusion. “Whatever. In the n-name of my god, we will s-slay you.”

“Great going,” Kassandra said.

It was midday in the Scottish Highlands, with nary a cloud in sight. Several orange cones stood around the group, with writings that said either ‘rock’ or ‘candlestand’ on them. Liam, the cleric, held a green broomstick in hand, with the brushes unscrewed and a plastic armor over the robes. Taped on it was a drawing of crossed oak and mistletoe branches. Kassandra, the fighter, held a thin, plastic rapier with foam on its tip, wearing arm- and kneepads brought from the Home Depot. Over her plastic chest armor, she carried a plastic bow and empty quiver.

Ibrahim, the bard, carried a toy guitar and toy sword on hand and belt, respectively. He tugged on the nylon over the tunic, representing his armor. And Finlay, the rogue, had only one plastic knife within his black robes. Not to mention when he walked, his hooves made much louder clopping noises than he would’ve liked, having left his boots in the rental car.

Of course, Marcel, the evil wizard turned dragon, was still a hundred-meter-tall dragon.

Marcel roared, though laugher clogged up his throat in the process. Then, with a slow swing of his front right paw, he lowered his claws toward the group. They walked away, and, fifteen seconds later, his claws pressed against the ground, not even digging into it.

“Aha! This dragon is a slow one!” Finlay said with a laugh even as he swung his knife at Marcel five meters away. “I’ve thrown three of my, oh geez,” he laughed a bit before he continued, “I threw three of my knives at the beast’s belly! Haha!”

“I don’t think you’ve d-done away damage to h-him,” Ibrahim said between laughs while shaking his head. “L-let me play an s-song to soothe this d-dragon, oh no.” He pressed one of the guitar’s buttons, which played Rock-a-bye Baby as though from a music box. “T-t-there we—” he broke into a laughing fit along with the others, with Marcel’s tail wagging high even as he swayed left to right. “N-now the beast should be sl-sleepy.”

Marcel kept on laughing between his growls even as Liam pointed his broomstick at him. “Now, f-feel the power of my g-god!” He went through his pockets and threw out a few folded pieces of paper at Marcel, who lowered his body even as he kept on snorting out. “The beast has been b-blinded.”

“Now is my chance to stab him!” Kassandra went a bit closer to Marcel and thrust her rapier forty-five degrees to the ground, away from his body even as he laughed even louder. “I-I’ve wounded his leg—”

At that moment, Marcel struggled to stay up on all fours, his laughing loud. His tail swayed low and, before he realized what happened, it collided against her leg. She fell and slammed her face against the grass and dirt, with all laughter gone.

“Time!” Liam said, dropping his broomstick and running over to Kassandra. “Are you alright?”

Marcel gasped and, in a silvery flash of light, morphed back into his human form, wearing the robes and carrying the staff with all damages to them undone. “Oh no! I’m so sorry!”

Liam helped Kassandra back on her feet even as Ibrahim went over to Marcel to check with him. “Don’t worry. I doubt it’s as bad as it looks.”

“That was a faceplant of a performance in more ways than one,” Finlay said, heading over to Kassandra as well. “And I don’t mean it just because of that trip.”

Kassandra wiped her face a bit, removing some of the mud, and shook her head. “I’m fine. And I know that you didn’t mean to, Marcel.”

“Even so, let me check you out,” Liam said and, after several seconds of checking her over, he sighed and nodded. “She is fine. Just some mud.”

Marcel sighed as well and relaxed a bit. “Thank goodness.” He shook his head. “I wouldn’t like it if I had hurt anyone with this ability.”

“That’s an understatement,” Finlay said, removing his hood and exposing his horns. “So, still don’t consider yourself a dragon?”

Marcel shook his head. “I prefer to be seen as just some guy rather than anything more.”

Ibrahim, who worked with Marcel before he was exposed to the whole world of what he actually is, nodded and patted his shoulder.

“I understand all too well hiding yourself from the world,” Finlay said, lifting up one of his hooves. “Just be glad that there is someone else who has,” he paused a bit before he winked, “an ‘ability’ within the same group.”

Marcel couldn’t help but laugh a bit. “Thanks for that.”

“Glad that everything is sorted out,” Liam said with his arms crossed. “Still, it’s something to be careful of. Better watch that tail of yours again when we restart.”

Marcel nodded even as he rubbed half of his face. “I’ll try my best to. It’s just that, well—”

“—this LARP session is ridiculous?” Liam completed, and Marcel nodded.

“No,” Finlay said, his tone filled with sarcasm. “You mean to tell me that pretending to throw knives, playing songs meant for babies, throwing pieces of paper, and stabbing away from the body is ridiculous? I can’t imagine where you get that idea!”

The others laughed for a bit, with Kassandra regaining herself first. “Fair point.”

“Even so,” Liam said with his hands held up, palms forward, “it’s all done in the name of safety. We don’t want anyone to get hurt needlessly. And besides,” he turned to Marcel, “weren’t you in a movie? I would’ve thought that you know how to act and keep your composure without hurting anyone.”

“Yeah, in that other form,” Marcel said, shifting away for a moment. “But the sets were much more convincing and immersive. Plus, we had a set plan and rehearsal. But this is working on the fly.”

“That is a problem,” Ibrahim said, raising his toy guitar up. “Marcel is perfect for this role, which was why I convinced him to come. But it’s hard to keep calm when everything else is silly.”

Liam rubbed the back of his hand. “And those are fair points. I mean, I have the fakest weapon of all.”

“Imagination is a huge part of a LARP,” Kassandra said with a shrug. “But it can be hard to keep it up when there’s only one thing that’s real.”

The others, outside of Marcel, nodded before they let out a sigh. Instead, he felt something click in his head, and he rubbed his chin for a few seconds. He lowered his hand, staring at it as he flipped it over, with gears spinning in his head. A part of him hesitated, but then he clutched his hand, and he nodded to himself.

“Is everything alright?” Marcel heard, and when he turned, Ibrahim stared at him in confusion, followed by the others. “You had an odd look on your face.”

“Do you trust me?” Marcel asked, a gleam in his eyes.

“Huh?” Ibrahim tilted his head a bit. “What are you talking about? I do trust you.”

“What about the others? Do they trust me?”

Liam, Kassandra, and Finlay turned to each other while Ibrahim asked in return. “Why are you asking this?”

“Because I have an idea,” Marcel explained, and a rare grin sprouted on his face, “and I want to make sure you all are comfortable with it.”

Ibrahim turned to the others with a blank expression. “I have no idea what he is plotting, but I still trust him. What about you guys?”

“I’m honestly quite curious to see what Marcel has in mind,” Finlay said with a shrug. “Besides, an old saying goes that what a dragon wants is the law.”

“You just made that up, didn’t you?” Kassandra asked, and Finlay chuckled as he nodded. “Even so, he hasn’t eaten any of us yet. I think that’s worthy of granting some trust. What about you, Liam?”

“Me?” Liam rubbed his chin for a bit. “He hasn’t been with us for that long, since after that court case. I’m not sure.” He turned to the broomstick, laying in the grass, and he exhaled. “But I will trust him.”

Ibrahim nodded and turned to Marcel. “You heard, right?”

Oui!” Marcel winked at the group and extended his arms out, sticking two fingers out each. They emitted a silver glow a second later, and he made gestures with them. Next, the cones around them glowed with the same silvery light, and soon, light engulfed them.

#   #   #

The dark clouds gathered above the sky as though it could rain, without a single glimpse of the sun. The valley darkened with mist, with a pair of silvery lights piercing through below, fading and brightening like a signal. Various standing stones, tipped in silver, gathered in a couple of lines from the top of the hill to the bottom, heading into the mist itself.

Liam stumbled a bit, as though he carried an extra ten kilograms on his chest. He touched it, feeling cold steel on him, and he blinked, with the taped-on drawing of crossed oak and mistletoe branches an engraving instead. And when he turned to his fallen broomstick, it was a white priest-like staff ending with a silver gem instead.

“What is this?” Liam said to himself before turning to the others, with him blinking some more.

Kassandra held up her rapier, steel and without foam tip, and she patted her steel armors, the pads ending with steel instead of plastic. The bow was made of wood instead of plastic and, when she grabbed her quiver, found that it was filled with arrows tipped with steel. Ibrahim’s nylon armor over his tunic was leather instead, the toy guitar grown and hollowed out into a real one, strapped around his chest. He pulled out his short sword, and he blinked at the cold reflection from it. Finlay checked out his robes, dark blue instead of black, and kept pulling out knives from whatever hidden pockets or pouches he could find. And when he walked three paces, his hooves didn’t utter a single sound.

“What just happened?” Kassandra asked, with her tugging her armor up a bit before she sheaved her rapier. “And where is Marcel?”

They spun around, looking for a few seconds, but no sign of Marcel anywhere.

“Do you know what is going on?” Liam asked Ibrahim, who shook his head in response. Then, he sighed and went over to the staff. He bent over and touched it, with the gem glowing in response. “Is this magic?”

“Yes, I sense it all around us,” Finlay said with wonder and a bit of horror. “And while I was jesting earlier, dragons are powerful beings, enough to make mortals believe that they’re gods.”

“But they’re not; otherwise, they wouldn’t have died,” Liam said, but Finlay remained doubtful. He hummed for a bit before he lifted the staff up. “Daylight!” At once, within sixty feet of the group, a light fell upon them. “Did Marcel give us magic?”

“I doubt it,” Ibrahim said, shaking his head even as he strummed the guitar for a few seconds. “If he could’ve given out magic, he would’ve given it to his twin sister.” He scratched his head a few seconds before he added, “I’m not fully sure what is going on, but what I am sure of is that we seem to become our LARP characters.”

“That much is clear,” Finlay said, balancing a couple of his knives before he sheaved them.

The light faded into darkness, with Liam turning towards the path the standing stones lead. His expression firmed before he walked down the track, with the staff tapping against the ground with every step. The rest stared at each other for a second before following.

Onward they went for several minutes, without uttering a single word, until they reached the bottom of the valley, where the standing stones end. At the very pit, Marcel, dressed in his black robes and chaotic-looking staff ending with a silver gem, stood. Beside him stood a pair of candlesticks, lit in silver and the source of the light, with a black pentagram beneath him and a circle of standing stones around him. His arms spread out to the sky, away from the group.

“Marcel?” Liam asked, taking a foot forward.

“Foolish travelers,” Marcel said in a deep voice, not facing them even as the candles’ light glowed brighter. “You are too late. The ritual was completed a minute ago.”

“Didn’t he say that during our session?” Kassandra asked, with Liam nodding in response.

“Marcel, what is going on?” Liam demanded, but no response came.

Ibrahim hummed to himself even as Finlay said with a slight grin, “What was it I said then? ‘I don’t see any dragon’ is what I remember most.”

“You fool! That was what I want them to believe,” Marcel said, turning around as his brown eyes glared at them.

He then winked, and Ibrahim understood as he grinned.

“Welp, we got our wish,” Ibrahim said, strumming the guitar some more.

“What are you talking about?” Liam asked, turning around along with Kassandra with confusion.

“We said that this LARP session wasn’t as immersive,” Ibrahim explained even as Marcel’s eyes turned silver. “But he is making it immersive with his magic. He is using illusion on us all!

Liam and Kassandra gasped, with Finlay’s grin widening even as Marcel continued, “But I wasn’t planning to summon a dragon. I was planning on turning into a dragon.”

Several pale blue horns sprouted on his head, two behind his jawline, and four on his head, with the centermost two growing longer than the outermost ones. He grinned wider, extending past his eyes even as the jawline horns curved forward. Several pale blue spikes sprouted on his back in a line, ripping through his robes even as he got down to his knees, his torso lengthening a bit. He clutched onto his staff tight until it broke in half, powerless.

His thumbs moved back on his hands even as his fingernails grew longer and thicker, turning pale blue. A pair of spikes rose on the elbows, ripping through even as his stance turned more feral. His neck then stretched out, with silvery scales forming upwards even as his mouth and nose moved forward into a snout. His ears shrink into mere dots even as his hair receded, replaced with silver scales.

His foot stretched out, ripping through the boots even as pale blue claws grew out, with the little toes moving back from the rest of the toes. Silver scales covered all visible body even as a ripping sound came from behind, and a long tail came through with pale blue spikes on the spine. A pair of lumps formed on his back and, when they ripped out, they grew into a pair of massive wings.

At that moment, his body grew in size, ripping through what was left of his robes. The ground shook, with his tail slamming against the standing stones, reducing them to dust, and he grew some more. Soon, he towered over the group at three hundred meters tall, and he roared out at them.

But they stood defiant, and Liam said, “Come on team! We fought with threats just as bad that this! Nevertheless, we can defeat him and restore order to the realm! Are you with me?” The others nodded with a grin, and Liam lifted up his staff. “In the name of my god, we will slay you!”

But Marcel grinned and, with a wink, slammed his front right paw onto the group; shockwaves felt for a while. He lifted his paw up, but the party remained standing, unharmed with only scuffed marks on their clothes and armors. The signal given, they gave out a cry as they charged at Marcel.

“This dragon may be a fast one,” Finlay said with a laugh. “But I’m faster!” He sprinted forward, avoiding Marcel’s tail swipe as he went underneath his body. Soon, he pulled out his knives and threw them, two each, at Marcel’s joints. They pierced through, and Marcel roared. “That should impede his movement a bit!”

But Marcel grunted, and, with a flex, the knives popped out. He stood on two and raised one of his feet up, but Ibrahim played a song. Marcel flinched, confused, and Finlay threw a few more daggers at his belly before sprinting away.

“Thanks,” Finlay said when he got to Ibrahim’s side.

“Anytime,” Ibrahim said before he changed the song, and he touched Liam’s shoulder.

Liam flinched a bit, but then he blinked, becoming invisible even to himself. He ran to the side even as Marcel’s front left paw slammed down next to him, with Ibrahim and Finlay sprinting to the other side. Seeing his chance, Liam grabbed onto the paw just as Marcel lifted it up. He splayed his claws out, but Liam lifted his staff at his face, with bright light emitting from it. He jumped off, becoming visible as Finlay jumped up and caught him, with Marcel falling to his side.

“He’s blinded!” Liam said. “Now is our chance!”

“Right!” Kassandra pulled out her bow and tugged it with an arrow. She pulled back, her keen eyes on Marcel’s neck, and released. The arrow zoomed out, piercing deep into the neck. He whimpered a bit even as his vision returned, and he got up, glaring at her. “This will be a tough battle.”

“One that will be sung for ages,” Ibrahim said, playing his guitar once more.

“So, let us finish it!” Liam said, pointing his staff at Marcel.

“Let’s!” Kassandra and the others ducked under a tail swing before pulling out her rapier and charging forward.

#   #   #

Several minutes passed, and Marcel lay on his back, defeated. He groaned even as the party stepped towards him, clutching their weapons tight. He lifted his head up several meters before dropping it, his tongue rolled out.

“The beast has been defeated!” Liam said, lifting his staff up high. “Load Diancecht will be proud of this victory!”

“It’s about time you remember,” Finlay said, and Liam rolled his eyes even as the others laughed.

At that moment, the sun broke through the clouds, with them fading away even as the remaining standing stones turned into orange cones and their weapons and armor turned back to their plastic and nylon. Marcel emitted a laugh, and he rolled back on all fours with nary a sound or a shake.

That was a lot more fun than I expected, Marcel said through telepathy.

“Indeed, that was the best session we ever have,” Ibrahim said, with him dropping his toy guitar. “And it’s all thanks to you, buddy.”

“Of course, it’s because you ‘cheated’ with those dragonish spells,” Finlay said with a laugh.

I can’t take all the credit, Marcel said with a shrug. Some weeks ago, in-between jobs, I read about how some magical foxes in the east can cast powerful illusions that seemed real. So I tested it out, discovering that my power could duplicate the same illusions. Though this is the first time I have used it in such a widespread way.

“Glad that you know something like that,” Kassandra said with a nod. “You brought life into this session.

“Yeah. I’m glad that I’m able to trust you,” Liam said with a grin. “Thank you for joining us.”

You should thank Ibrahim as well. He is the one who finally convinced me, Marcel said with a nod.

“Yeah, though I never thought that you’ll bring in this much fun,” Ibrahim said while rubbing the back of his head, laughing.

“I think we’re all in agreement, then,” Liam said with a smile, turning up to Marcel. “If you ever want to join in on another session, you can if you want to.” Marcel nodded before he rubbed his chin a bit. “In any case, it’s getting late. We should head back to the rental car.”

The other three nodded and, with Ibrahim picking up the toy guitar, they turned upwards. They took a few steps before Marcel’s front right paw landed in front of them. They blinked for a bit before they turned to him, who winked.

Rematch?

The four turned to each other with a grin on each of them. Then, they gave turned up to him and gave him a thumbs-up each. He nodded in response, and his front paws glowed silver once more.

Let’s begin!

23
Writer's Guild / Daren's GTP Arrangement - A TyVulpintaur Commission
« on: January 06, 2022, 07:31:06 AM »
Commissioned by TyVulpintaur

Let's start this year with a new story, one that involves foxtaurs and macro, some of my favorite things. =)

A few things to note, though.

One is that, when I created Zelda years ago, I didn't imagine her being so into macro and making herself and others grow. Then again, I never imagine that I would be writing macro content. Even so, I find it to be a hilarious yet ironic quirk of hers. XD

Another is that I commissioned a similar piece several years ago, and I want you all to check out James Darkglint's version of the story. https://www.furaffinity.net/view/10455956/

Finally, the book Daren was reading, Black and Blue Magic, is a real book. I strongly encourage you all to read it since it's one of the best books out there. https://www.amazon.com/Black-Magic-Zilpha-Keatley-Snyder/dp/1504035607/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=black+and+blue+magic&qid=1641423610&sr=8-2

Any case, enjoy!

-----

Daren relaxed on a couch, with a book, Black and Blue Magic by Zilpha Keatley Snyder, on one hand-paw even as he felt the ground grumble a bit. Just outside, a giant gray foxtaur with a red shirt walked by. He avoided cars, moving or otherwise, with his massive paws without leaving a single pawprint even as he carried steel bars with either his hand-paws or on his sides, enough to build the first two floors. Part of Daren wondered how a hundred-fifty feet tall being could move without causing more than a rumble; the rest of him kept his focus on the book, where Harry thought of the marriage plan.

This house, single floor with nothing more than a pair of bedrooms, a bathroom, and a kitchenette, Daren was in wasn’t his own, but a place he and Zelda rented for a couple of days. In fact, she was the one who chose the universe for them to stay in, and, given the regular occurrence of macros walking around this world, he wondered if it was wise. Still, the one within this city, the one who just passed by and went by the name of Ty, wasn’t malicious at all; in fact, his job was to repair after such destructions.

Perhaps it was like setting up stick figures for someone like him, Daren pondered.

He rubbed his hair-fur, just as bright red as the rest of his fur, before he pressed a finger and a thumb against his white chin, his torso white. Daren’s sea-blue eyes shined even as he went to his red aloha shirt’s pocket, pulling out his smartphone. He pressed a button on it, with its screen coming to life and the time showing itself. He smiled a bit before putting it back, his red aloha shirt, unbuttoned, wiggling against the green shirt it was over. The golden A on his belt shined a bit and, when he pressed on the pocket, the phone disappeared.

A few more minutes passed before a shadow passed by a window, with him turning away from the book even as the door swung open. Zelda stepped through the opening, her black bushy tail with a white tip swaying behind her. She brushed her blue with silver highlights hair with her right hand-paw, still wearing those thick brown gloves which went up to her elbows and over her sleeves, while she grinned. She then tugged on her shirt’s collar, a lighter blue than her jeans even as white strappings wrapped around her calves. She also wore a belt, which looked like Daren’s down to the golden A.

With her left hand-paw, she held up a bottle with its contents blue and with a slight glow to it. “Hey there, Daren. Guess what I got?”

Daren chuckled, tugging his red with white flowers aloha shirt even as he placed his book onto the low table before him. “Hello, Zelda. Now, let’s see.” He leaned back, rubbing his chin a bit. “If I know you well, and I do, I’m guessing that potion can induce some kind of transformation.”

“Correct!” Zelda’s grin broadened. “In fact, this is a taurfication potion.”

“A what?”

“What I said. It causes the drinker to turn into a taur.” Zelda shook the potion a bit. “For example, if either of us drinks it, we’ll gain an extra pair of legs like a centaur. Or foxtaur in this case.” She winked before placing the potion on the table. “Do you wish to try?”

“Huh? You want me to drink it?” Daren’s left ear folded back even as Zelda nodded at him. “Why me? I think you’ll look great as a foxtaur yourself.”

“I thought about it, and when I saw that one foxtaur walking up and down this road, I just knew that you’ll look just as good.” Zelda went around the low table and sat next to Daren, rubbing his shoulder. “And I know that you enjoy being transformed just as much as I do.”

Daren picked up the potion and turned it over, with the potion only displaying the number 175 underneath it. “No other marking. Are you sure this potion does as you claimed?”

“Of course!” Zelda grinned even as she squeezed harder into his shoulder. “I specifically ordered this from another gray fox, dressed in blue and green. Said that he’s an alchemist by trade who specialized in transformation, though he and his sister do branch out to other stuff.” Daren raised an eyebrow at that, and she added, “He made it clear that this can and will turn you into a taur.”

“If both he and you are sure,” Daren said even as he rubbed the cork sealing the potion in. A minute passed before he stood up, taking off his belt. Zelda stood alongside him and accepted the belt with a nod. “Would’ve preferred it if I can keep my pants in some want.”

Zelda laughed, folding downward even as Daren’s ears folded back. “Sorry.” She rubbed the back of her head. “Just the mental image of you as a foxtaur wearing pants is just ridiculous. I mean, the logistics of creating practical pants for a taur would be a nightmare, especially for putting them on and off. Besides, they could get damaged on the back legs end since some folks thought that feet like ours,” she raised her digitigrade foot-paw up and rubbed the toes, “are just like this. But it actually,” she rubbed up to the ankle, which looked like a backward knee of sorts, “extends to here. Sure, we can get away with such leggings when anthro, but it’ll be damaging when feral, especially when sitting down.”

“Thank you, Doctor Zelda Crevan, for reminding me of that,” Daren said with half an eye roll, but he couldn’t help but grin.

Daren stepped past the low table before tugging on the cork, with it popping off. He then shut his eyes, his tail swaying behind him even as he fixated his mind on where his biological failsafe was at. Of course, as an Athrú, he and Zelda could block any attempts at transforming them unless they allowed it. But, if it was a permanent change that couldn’t be undone, it could be lethal to them; indeed, Daren himself almost died long ago from his point of view thanks to it.

“Here goes,” Daren said, taking the potion in and drinking it down. At once, he felt a chill that expanded from his stomach and went outwards. Within seconds, he felt it from the very top of his head down to the tip of his toenail. He opened his eyes and placed the empty potion onto the table, with Zelda’s grin growing wider.

His torso stretched upwards, his green shirt escaping from his pants, and he stumbled a bit. His legs’ muscles shifted, with his thighs thickening up and ripping through his pants even as calves thinned a bit. He let out a gasp, his head already brushing up against the ceiling before he fell, catching the windowsill even as his torso stretched out.

At that moment, a pair of lumps formed beneath his stomach, one on either side. His back cracked a bit, with his body past the bumps moaning as it shifted shape, thickening up with new bones, muscles, and organs even as his pants fell in pieces. Yet the lumps kept growing out, stretching and forming, with red fur stopping and black fur starting midway. His legs shifted ninety degrees as his tail swelled up, tripling in size, and the lumps contacted the stone floor. Again, they changed shape, with the bottom forming paw pads even as it separated into four digits with thick white claws at the end. His back paws also swelled in size, doubling, and he wiggled them. His back cracked once more, and he heaved himself off the windowsill. He stumbled a bit, with him rubbing his waist as he stood on all four, transformed into a foxtaur.

Daren tilted his head as he rubbed his new front legs. “Pretty neat. Still need some time to get used to this, though.” He grinned as he extended his arm to Zelda. But she shook her head and pulled his belt closer to her, yet her grin didn’t fade. But his own did. “Zelda?”

“This is only the first part of the change,” Zelda admitted, picking up the book as well before stepping around the low table and booping Daren’s nose. “The next part should be coming soon.”

“First part?” Daren tilted his head, his ears folding to the sides. “There’s more to this potion that you haven’t told me, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” Zelda answered, her tone somewhat high.”

Daren crossed his arms. “What is this ne—”

At that moment, the floor beneath him cracked, and he blinked as he turned down. The cracks spread out, pushed away by his expanding paws. He lifted his head, only for his ears to brush against the ceiling, and his loose shirt became tight all of a sudden. His green shirt was almost choking until it ripped, and his aloha shirt became constraining on his upper back and shoulders. That too ripped in half, and his head slammed into the ceiling, breaking into it.

“The truth is,” Zelda said as she stepped back, picking up Daren’s book, “the potion’s full title is GTP or Giant Taur Potion.”

“A WHAT?!” Daren pulled his head down from a ceiling, gritting his teeth, only for another growth spurt slammed his head through once more, his shoulders rubbing against it. A ceiling fan fell next to him, shattering even as his rear hit against the wall, knocking a chunk back. His front paws felt the shredded shirts even as he lifted one up, but he lost his balance, and his head crashed onto the low table, with it turning into mere splinters. “You do realize that I have no idea how to walk as a taur, right?! What makes you think turning me big on top of that would be a great idea?!”

Zelda laughed, though she sweated a bit while patting Daren’s muzzle. “I’ve already checked with other houses nearby. There’s no one else but us.”

Daren surged in size once more, his head smashing into the couch, with stuffing flying out with springs and wood. “Was that supposed to be reassuring?!”

Zelda spun around with her arms behind her back, somewhat humming even as part of the front wall and door fell from a flailing front leg. She stepped through the opening, with sweat drops forming on the back of her head. At that moment, his rear and back legs smashed through the back of the house, ripping through rooms as though they were nothing. His head then broke through the garage and sidewall, with dust and gravel on his head and fur while the house groaned. It soon collapsed into dust and wood, with his growing body pushing out the remains.

He pressed onto the side, only for his head to smash into the neighboring house, seeing two rooms at once. His front legs flailed some more, ripping into the other house even as his rear crashed through the fence into the alley. Within seconds, his rear slammed into yet another house, his tail toppling it.

“Must say,” Zelda said more to herself even as Daren pressed his arms onto the ground, pushing up, “I imagined it being much smoother in my mind.”

Daren lifted his head out from a house, with it collapsing on that half as he laid on his bellies straight. “And I imagined that someone like you, who insisted on being safe and careful, oof,” he surged in size once more, the house through the alleyway crashing down, “wouldn’t lose all reason as soon as the word ‘growth’ entered your mind.”

But Zelda laughed and rubbed the back of her head. “Don’t lie. You enjoyed it just as much as I do.”

Daren sighed, rubbing his head as he straightened his upper back, towering at hundred-fifty feet tall. “True, but the last time this happened, it was in a forest with the physics more flexible. But, unfortunately, this world isn’t as toony, and we’re in the suburbs.” He rubbed his front legs, with him feeling his touch. “Now to figure out how to move these legs.”

“It shouldn’t be too hard,” Zelda said with a wink.

Daren rolled his eyes a bit before he squeezed his front legs down to the paws, sensing them better. He turned back, his back legs almost instinctively folded on the sides, and he pushed up with those legs. The front legs stretched forward, the paws splaying out even as his rear lifted up higher than his head. Then he pushed his hand-paws against the ground and, with a heave, pushed himself up. His front legs got underneath, and, yard by yard, they pushed up. The soil got pushed away, the wood and brick shattered, and the sidewalk and pavement cracked, but he stood on all four.

He sighed even as Zelda below him clapped. “See? You got this!”

“That was the easy part,” Daren said as he shifted a bit and his rear sat onto the backyard and alleyway. “The tricky part is learning how to walk like this.”

“Hmm. You may have a point.” Zelda rubbed her chin a bit before she pulled out her own smartphone, and she grinned. “If I timed it correctly, he should be here any minute.”

“Huh?” Daren’s ears flattened back. “Who?”

“Howdy, neighbor!”

Daren blinked, with him feeling vibrations all of a sudden. He turned to the left, and a gray foxtaur just as huge as he walked down the street, patting his red shirt. His tail swayed behind, yet that and his paws didn’t leave any destruction behind. Daren tilted his head a bit, remembering this foxtaur walking past from before, though without the steel bars.

“You must be Ty,” Daren said, rubbing the back of his head even as his front paws rubbed the destroyed house below him. “Hello. And sorry about the destruction.”

“It’s not the worse I’ve seen. That would either be Virmir, Medik, or even a fusion of them,” Ty responded with a shrug, stopping before Daren. “Still, I’m glad that you know me. What’s your name?”

“Me? I am Daren, and this is Zelda,” Daren answered while pointing at Zelda. “We came from another world, though I’m afraid that she decided to ‘spice’ up the trip.”

Ty chuckled even as Zelda blushed and shifted her eyes away. “I see. Of course, the city does tend to fine folks for such destruction, though they’re willing to wave it off if you assist in the repairs.”

“Oh? I would love to assist,” Daren said with his hand-paws clenched together. “However, I have no practice being a taur. The most I did was getting up, standing, and sitting,” He glanced at Zelda for half a second, who winked at him. “Would you be willing to train me?”

Ty rubbed his chin before he nodded. “Of course! Now then,” Ty grabbed one of Daren’s front legs, with the other hand on his shoulder so he doesn’t fall, and he looked it over. “I don’t see any issue with them. Just a pair of strong legs. You can move them, right?” Daren wiggled his front paw in response. “Excellent!” Ty lowered the leg. “Try to walk out from the destroyed home.”

Daren gulped, with his front legs flinching, but he nodded. He lifted up his rear half, with rocks and debris falling off, and he inhaled. He stepped one of his hind legs forward, his lower back arching forward. He lifted his other rear leg up, but he slipped. He closed his eyes, only for Ty to grab his arm and pull him back up, steadying him.

“Easy there, buddy,” Ty said, and Daren nodded. “There is a way you can walk, but it’s not that. After all, you’re not some kind of bug where you can move from back to front.”

“That does make sense,” Daren said, with a slight blush on his face. “What is the correct way of walking like a taur?”

“Let me do one thing before I show you.” Ty lowered his hand and picked Zelda up, with her letting out an eep. “Sorry. You should be out of the way while I give out a demonstration.” He placed her on Daren’s muzzle, with him going cross-eyed at her for a moment even as Zelda relaxed and hugged it. “Now, watch my legs.”

Daren and Zelda stared even as Ty walked to one end of the street, his back left leg moving forward, followed by his front left leg when the front one contacted the ground. Then his back right leg moved forward, then his front right leg. The pattern continued even as Ty reached the street’s end and spun around without crashing onto the houses or cars along the way.

“That’s a curious way you walk,” Daren said, rubbing his chin as Ty walked back with a grin. “I thought that walking pattern is unique to camels.”

“And to think that you wanted to know what it’s like being a feral,” Zelda said in a teasing tone, with Daren’s eyes narrowing at her. “The truth is, most quadruples walk in a left to right fashion rather than a diagonal with the left front, then right back, right front, left back that some artists and taxidermists portray them as. And for a good reason, since it’s a poor stance for balancing, especially since it almost guarantees that there will be two paws off the ground. So by doing it in a left to right way will ensure that there will be three paws on the ground when walking, forming a stable triangle of sorts.”

“She’s right,” Ty said with a nod. “Now, your turn.”

Daren gave a louder gulp, but he stepped his back left leg forward. Once that landed, he raised his front left, with him blinking at out stable he was, and he stepped that forward. He stepped with his back right leg, then his front left leg. In a couple more steps, he got out from the rubble.

“See? Now you’re getting the hang of it!” Ty patted Daren’s shoulder, with him flinching in response. But Daren nodded even as more sweats formed on his head. “Just relax. I know an empty parking lot where you can practice in peace. Just follow me, though not too close. Otherwise, we could both fall, and we don’t want two giant foxtaurs falling down.”

“I-I’ll do my best,” Daren said. “But first,” he raised a finger at Zelda, who offered his Fóntais belt back. He poked it, and it glowed in response as it floated away from her grip. It stretched and expanded in size, with the A on it growing as well as it tilted a bit. A few pouches formed on the sides even as it wrapped itself around Daren from his right shoulder to his left hip. “Not as good as wearing clothes, but this will do.”

Ty blinked before shrugging. “Neat trick. Also, be mindful of your tail since that alone can topple a house.”

“What do you—” Daren’s tail swayed, brushing against a house’s chimney. It ripped off from its foundation, crashing through the roof. “Eep!” He slammed his palm against his face, his face brighter than his fur. “Sorry.”

“It’s just something else to repair,” Ty said with a laugh.

#   #   #

Daren and Ty stepped into an empty parking lot within five minutes, with Zelda hanging within his pouch. Unlike Ty’s graceful walk over, Daren left a few pawprints in the pavement and concrete, not to mention almost stepping on a car that’s driving past. He winced every time, but Ty remained understanding for it.

Soon, Daren walked through the parking lot with little fear of stepping onto some poor car or person, with Ty walking by his side. He slipped several times, his taur walk not set in muscle memory even after the journey, but Ty caught him every time even if he couldn’t save the pavement. But as the hour went by, the near falls became fewer, and the pawprints became less so until he could walk within ten minutes without a single print or trip.

“Excellent,” Ty said with a nod. “Keep your paws splayed out when you land. You’re getting the hang of it!”

“Thanks,” Daren said, with the two facing each other and a smile on their face. “And I have to admit: being a foxtaur is rather cool.”

“I’m glad that you love it.” Ty extended his hand-paw to Daren, who took it and shook. “Perhaps you can keep it as an alternative form with the size as a bonus.”

“Thanks, but no thanks,” Daren said while rubbing the back of his head. “Not because this isn’t neat, but because it can get hectic carrying a ton of potions. Plus, I’m not completely comfortable being this huge.”

“Come on, Daren,” Zelda said before she leaped out from his pouch before he or Ty could react. Yet, she climbed down with surprising speed and grace, soon standing beside his front right paw. “Just loosen up a little. And I’m sure that the others will enjoy it as well.”

“To think that it’s you who is telling me to loosen up,” Daren said, with Zelda laughing a bit. “Still, if this is what you want.”

Zelda’s tail wagged fast, walking backward while sporting a wide grin. “Fantastic! I’m not sure how Ash would react to being a jackaltaur, especially as a giant one, and I’m less sure of Blondie. But I know for sure that Alex will love it with all of his heart! And while the commander will be annoyed by it, I’m sure that—”

At that moment, Ty’s paw slammed on top of Zelda, with some debris flying away. “Oops,” he said in a fake tone even as Daren blinked in horror. “She’s OK. It’s not as bad as it looks. Still, is she always like that?”

“Not normally,” Daren said while rubbing the back of his head. “She is the one reeling me out of adventures. Yet all of that goes away when the option to grow appears.” He shrugged. “It’s why, when I found out she smuggled two macro-inducing necklaces from another universe, I took them and hid them in the TF. She hasn’t found them yet.”

Soon, both Daren and Ty laughed until their stomachs hurt.

“Want to help me repair your ‘rampage’?” Ty asked. “You don’t have to do the actual building up part. Just get me supplies.”

“I think that is a wise decision,” Daren said, and the two walked out from the parking lot, side by side.

Zelda lifted her head out from the paw-shaped crater, with a fair number of bruises on her. “I guess I kind of deserve that.”

24
Writer's Guild / Story Commission Open
« on: December 26, 2021, 08:01:32 PM »
Hey there, guys. I opened up for story commissions. Here are a few links.

FA: https://www.furaffinity.net/journal/10084546/
DA: https://www.deviantart.com/foxgamer01/journal/Story-Commission-Open-901917574
WS: https://www.weasyl.com/journal/168329/story-commission-open

Thank you to everyone interested in getting a commission from me.

25
Writer's Guild / Re: Aleph's Surprise Meeting - An Aleph Commission
« on: December 26, 2021, 07:21:53 PM »
Glad to serve the crucial role of blowing up the affectionate heroes at the end. Bravo!

Indeed. XD

Thanks. =)

26
Writer's Guild / Aleph's Surprise Meeting - An Aleph Commission
« on: December 25, 2021, 08:00:45 AM »
Commissioned by Aleph

Here is a fun story that Aleph wanted me to write and, funnily enough, it was originally supposed to be one where A-Fox is heavily involved in. What changed? When I shared Aleph this image. It got him to think of a story involving an already flat Lucario saving Aleph from being laminated. Afterwards, the Lucario offered to take Aleph to A-Ninetales to train the ways of being flat.

Of course, the final version is rather different.

In any case, enjoy! =D

Aleph and Nero belongs to Aleph
Virmir belongs to Virmir

-----

It was a wonderful day in a toony town, with Aleph the toony wolf walking down the road with a grin on his face. An anthro duck played on a piano nearby, with the notes coming out crooked to the point that Aleph pressed one of his ears shut. Then, a big anthro hyena passed by, stomping her feet even as she pressed both hand-paws against her ears. When the duck sang, the hyena’s face turned red before throwing down her arms and going over to the duck. Then, with two quick motions, she picked up and slammed the piano on top of the duck, his head popping out from the wooden top and with a mouth full of keys.

Aleph sighed even as one of the black keys zoomed over Aleph’s head, lowering his arm. Soon, he swung his arms forward as though he jogged instead of walked, holding an envelope with the other hand-paw. His red aloha shirt with white flowers fluttered in the wind even as he tugged up his blue jeans. His yellow eyes gleamed in the sunlight, with signs around him saying ‘Christmas in July’ even as his tail, grey with a light blue tip, wagged. A breeze came through, with his pale blue fur fluffing up from the sudden coolness, even if it came from a few snow machines on top of a few roofs.

“Maf,” Aleph said, his white teeth shining. “I hope the snow doesn’t fall on my—”

“TREES!” a voice came from behind along with a door slam. “Too many people making small talk in there, wasting 1 minute and 22 seconds of my time! There got to be a better vegetable shop in this BLASTED town!”

Aleph spun around and waved at the gray fox, but he already walked away, his black cape fluttering from behind while burning a few flakes of snow around him. But Aleph shrugged and spun back around, not even stopping his tail from wagging. Thus, he continued on his quest to find a printing shop, turning from left to right.

#   #   #

Ten minutes passed before Aleph stood in front of a printing shop, his white paint pristine as though painted on yesterday. He set his hand-paws on his hop, with the words ‘ACME’s Printing Shop!’ on the building in bright red lettering. He gave out a wide grin, his tail wagging even faster before he stepped forward.

A fluttering noise came from behind, and he flinched, his ears twitching. He turned around, yet no one was behind him as far as he could tell. He shrugged while tilting his head for a bit, only for a thin line of blue, black, and cream, taller than himself, appeared for a bit. He blinked, and the line disappeared.

“Maf?” Aleph half-squinted his right eye while leaning over. “What was that?” He waited a few seconds before he said, “Must be seeing things.”

He shook his head before turning to the building, a grin returning to his face. And yet, right behind him, a figure twisted himself. This paper-thin figure bent his black leg back even as a breeze came through again. He wiggled against it, but he held on without a sound, and his orange eyes relaxed, his face blue while wearing a black ‘mask.’ He poked at his red bandanna, just as thin, around his blue neck and just over the white flat spike on his chest, and he smiled, his four black appendages on his head wiggling. Then, the Lucario straightened up after a second, invisible from Aleph’s view.

Aleph stepped inside the printing shop, pressing the envelope close against his chest. Though it seemed small on the outside, inside, it was expansive, with many printers, copiers, and laminators within. A sign hung before the door, its black letters saying, ‘No coping yourself,’ and what looked like a small line underneath it. Even so, Aleph couldn’t help but laugh while imagining fifty of himself running amok through the town.

“Welcome!”

Aleph’s ears twitched as he spun around, his black nose almost touching an anthro otter’s belly. The otter towered over him, his shirt and pants straining to contain his wide width. He rolled his thick finger against his tie while a tooth hung out outside of his mouth. The otter soon grinned before he gave a laugh that was more like a roar.

“How are you doing, my boy?” the otter asked.

“Maf?” Aleph blinked even as the otter slammed his webbed hand-paw against his shoulder, his knees turning into jelly for a second. “I’m doing good. Are you the owner of this store?”

“Indeed, I am!” The otter’s red eyes gleamed. “I am Ben! What’s your name?”

“A-Aleph,” Aleph answered, his knees recovering, and he stood up straight.

“I’m so glad to see you here!” Ben rubbed Aleph’s head-fur, with him blushing from embarrassment in response. “Now, what can I do for you?”

“I-I need—”

“You needed something printed? Why, of course!” Ben extended his large arms around the store, spinning around. “I had this place built up brick by brick yesterday, after the unfortunate accident when a printer exploded! Unfortunately, the previous owner, last I checked, is still missing! Still, he may be one of the victims undergoing reformation in one of the hospital tubes!”

“That wasn’t what I wanted.” Aleph opened up the envelope and pulled out four Pokémon and Digimon cards. “I wanted these laminated.”

“Ah! That we also do!”

Ben snatched the cards from Aleph’s hand-paws in a quick motion, with him leaning back with a yip. But Ben grabbed four plastic sheets and stuffed the cards in there one by one, making sure that they evened out from the edges. Finally, with his red eyes shining bright, he loaded them into a laminating machine one by one, with the cards coming out in protective plastic.

“That’s wond—”

“Haha! I’m glad that you approve!” But Ben held the cards back when Aleph reached for them, a smirk forming on his face. “Of course, there’s the simple matter of payment.” Aleph’s ears folded back sheepishly. “For this simple project, it’ll cost you $300,000 per card.”

“MAF?!” Aleph’s eyes for a second expanded larger than his face. “I don’t have that kind of money!” Ben shook his head in a tut-tut manner even as Aleph’s tail fluffed up. “Besides, you never told me about how much it’ll cost until after you did the job!”

“Sorry, my boy, but it’s written in line 245 on this roll!” Ben pulled out a paper roll and let it unroll. It landed on the floor and kept rolling until it hit the entrance; it could have gone even longer. “And the sign you encountered by the entrance clearly has printed on it all the prices for the job! You should’ve looked into it closer.” Ben dropped his end of the roll before he stuffed the laminated cards into his shirt pocket. Aleph’s ears drooped even as Ben chuckled to himself. “Still, there is an alternative way of payment that I can offer you!”

Aleph blinked, his ears pointing upwards before he nodded. “Anything would be better.”

“Anything? Wonderful!” Ben slammed his hand-paw on Aleph’s head once more, his knees turning into jelly as he stumbled a bit. “Now then, let us head back to the back of the store!”

Aleph’s eyes spun in spirals before he shook it off. Before he could say anything, Ben had already turned around and walked past printers and copiers to the other end. Aleph extended his arm forward, about to speak, but Ben had already entered a room.

Aleph stood there, alone with the various printing machines even as his ears flattened back. He rubbed against one of the printers with one hand-paw and his chin with the other, one eye half-closed. His belly felt tight, with that side of him begging for him to get out while he still could. And yet, he couldn’t stand losing those cards so soon. After all, when Daren and Zelda left twelve days ago, they snuck in those cards in Aleph’s pocket, which he only found out a day later.

He shook his head and followed Ben’s path.

Yet, the flattened Lucario slid underneath the door, his flat face frowning. He crouched at the roll and, with every sentence he read on it, his face turned red. Soon, he rolled the paper back into a tube position before slicing it with the edge of his flattened hand-paw. Then, upon spotting Aleph’s tail as he entered the room, the Lucario rolled from printer to printer.

In contrast to the main room, the office felt cramped to Aleph. And yet, he couldn’t help but wonder if it was too small even for an office. Also, the paneling on the left didn’t seem like it was set in well, skipping a pattern of gray and white. And there are unusual shadows at the very corner of the wall and floor opposing the desk side.

“Maf?” Aleph tilted his head a bit. “Is this all to your office?”

“Why, of course, it is!” Ben gave a roar of a laugh even as he extended his thick arms at the walls around him. “In any case,” Ben continued, and Aleph felt the back of his neck’s fur stood up, “about the discussion about alternative payment.”

Aleph nodded. “I can guess. Ten or even twenty flattening in a row.”

Ben laughed, becoming more roar-like as it went on, and Aleph’s tail pulled up once more. “You are only somewhat correct!”

Aleph flinched as Ben pressed a button on his desk, chuckling. The wall to Aleph’s left opened up, folding upwards, and a steel roller half Aleph’s size came out. He spun, and before he could react or even turn into his Toon Star form, the roller rolled onto his feet-paws. He yelped, falling down as the roller came closer. It went up to his stomach, chest, shoulder, and finally, his head. He let out a maf, flat as paper if not thinner.

Ben chuckled as he placed the laminated cards on the desk before pulling out a spatula. “Good. You’re at the right level of flatness.”

“Maaaaaaf.” Aleph’s eyes became spirals, with one of his arms rolling up. He lifted his flat head, only for a thin steel sheet to come underneath him. It pushed him up until he popped off the floor. He twisted himself away, extending his arm, only to feel a yank on his flat leg, and he got dragged back. “Maf! What are you doing?”

“Haven’t you guessed?” Ben gave out a wide grin even as his eyes darkened. “The payment is that you get to be a part of my collection.”

Ben went to the other end of the room and pushed away a painting, exposing a bright red button on it. He pressed it, and the wall retracted upwards from the floor. He laughed some more, patting a giant laminating machine hiding within. Beside it was a pair of plastic sheets large enough to fit a flat being, with one of the pair having laminated flat toons within, only able to move their eyes.

Aleph gasped, his eyes widening even as he swung his flat hand-paws at Ben. But he laughed and, pulling out one of the empty sheets, he opened it and stuffed Aleph into it, feet-paws first. He yelped, unable to push the plastic away before extending his flat arms upward. Yet, Ben clutched the end tight, blocking his escape.

“I’ve been waiting years for a wolf like you,” Ben said, placing the terrified Aleph into the machine head first. “I’ve collected all kinds of species, from Pokémon to Digimon, from WoW to Final Fantasy, from A to Z.” He pressed on some buttons on the laminator machine, turning it on. “And you, a blue wolf who is said to have unlocked a Toon Star form, will be the prime jewel of my collection.” He gripped on the lever, his thick tail wagging. “And, with you, I will now—”

At that moment, his eyes widened even as he tripped back, yelling. His back met the floor, the building shaking in response, and Ben groaned. Half a second later, Aleph felt a tug, and the plastic sheet he was in unloosened from the machine. He grinned, sliding out from the top, and rolled a bit before standing up.

He felt a pat on his shoulder and, when he turned, a flat Lucario stood there.

“Maf?”

The Lucario grinned before stuffing Aleph’s maw with a hose. He flinched a bit before a rush of air came through his body. Then, he felt filled up with air until he popped back into shape. Soon, the hose got yanked from his maw and, without taking the air from the hose, the Lucario unflattened himself.

“What?” Ben rolled back onto his own two feet-paws, a snarl on his face. “I won’t let my collection get away!”

“And I won’t let you get my Aleph,” the Lucario said, setting himself between them.

Ben growled and swung a fist at the Lucario, but his upper body flattened by itself, bending away from the attack. He then swayed his flattened hand-paw at Ben, with it slicing a button off from Ben’s shirt. Ben’s face turned bright red and, with claws extended, sprung forward.

The Lucario folded down, flattened in a disk shape, and Ben fell forward, his stomach slamming against the floor. Every object not nailed onto the ground jumped up a foot after the impact, and the Lucario unflattened himself, popping back into shape. He gripped on Ben’s tail, yanking him back before slamming him into the wall, with a Ben-shaped impact remaining.

Aleph tilted his head a bit before a lightbulb formed above his head, clicking on. He grinned wide and, even as the lightbulb faded away, he sprinted over to the giant roller. First, he stretched his arms out, grabbing both ends of the roller. Then, with a grunt, he pushed forward.

Ben got up and swung his fists several times, but the Lucario kept on flattening and unflattening out of the way as though he was dancing. He then paused, sweat forming on his head, neck, and chest as he panted. Finally, he turned to the side and blinked as Aleph pushed the roller over to him.

He gulped, pulling out a white flag from his pocket, but the Lucario yanked it off even as the roller slammed against his paws. He screamed, falling down for the last time even as it went up to his legs. Soon, the roller reached his oversized belly, chest, arms, and finally, his head, as flat as paper. Aleph turned back with a grin, with Ben flattened sideways.

“Thanks, Aleph,” the Lucario said even as he stuck the end of a flag under Ben, removing him from the floor. “Shall we give him a taste of his own medicine?”

“Let’s!” Aleph let go of the roller and unstretched his arms. He picked up the plastic sheet and opened an end to it. The Lucario slid Ben into it head first, clutching the open end shut before stuffing it into the machine. Aleph grinned as he gripped the lever. “I’ll start the machine!”

“Huh?” Ben could only blink, unable to move against the plastic. His eyes widened in horror, realizing what was about to happen, and Aleph pulled the lever. He screamed as the machine activated, with him pulled into the machine. The plastic hardened once he went through, freezing him in his wide-eyed, fearful scream position, though he didn’t utter another sound.

“That was amazing!” Aleph picked the Ben card up and leaned him against the wall, with only his eye moving. Aleph then turned to the Lucario and bowed a bit. “And thank you for helping me, sir!”

“Sir?” The Lucario chuckled. “Aleph, don’t you recognize me?”

“Maf?” Aleph tilted his head a bit, sticking his tongue out to the side as one of his ears flattened to the side. “Hmm. You do feel familiar. But I can’t—” But he blinked, the Lucario’s red bandanna and orange eyes clicking in his mind. “Wait a minute. MAF?! Is that you, Nero?!”

“The one and only.” Nero smiled and bowed a bit at Aleph.

Aleph grinned wide before he leaped to Nero, snuggling him close. Nero laughed, carrying his Pokémon trainer Aleph, and they nuzzled each other. Soon, he put Aleph down and patted him on the head.

Aleph’s tailed wagged fast, almost like a propeller. “I haven’t seen you for a year! And you’ve evolved too!”

Nero’s eyes shined as he grinned just as wide. “Yup! Now, I know that you have a ton of questions.” But he pointed at the toon laminated cards. “However, I think we need to help this Ben’s victims.”

Aleph nodded as he grabbed the air tank, with both of them heading to the laminated cards.

#   #   #

The sun fell from the horizon, with the sky became red even as Aleph and Nero stood outside the blocked-off printing shop. Several police cars sat in front of the store, with a couple of officers loading up the still laminated Ben into one of the cards. Several others talked with the restored victims, one of them the missing owner of the previous store. Their testimonies were taken, and calls were made before they left one by one.

“That’s another good deed done,” Nero said with a nod.

“Yup!” Aleph leaned against Nero, holding onto his returned laminated cards before pocketing them. He blushed a bit, turning up to Nero. “I’m still trying to get used to you being the tall one here.”

Nero laughed and patted Aleph’s head. “Took me some time to get used to it as well. The world is mighty different when you’re a foot and a half taller at once.”

Aleph nodded, and they walked away from the printing shop, with Nero’s arm over Aleph’s shoulders. Aleph laughed, and he rubbed Nero’s back, who wagged his tail in response. They stepped on some snow formed from the snow-making machine as they walked down the sidewalk, with both of them laughing.

“I’m still wondering,” Aleph asked while he vibrated a bit, “where did you go to since we parted ways a year ago?”

Nero grinned as he extended one of his arms and flexed it slightly. “What happened was that I met with our fellow friend, A-Ninetales. I love that he got a bandanna like me, by the way. I knew that it’ll look good on him.”

“You did! Woah!” Aleph’s pupils turned into stars for a few seconds, with them stepping onto a cold puddle, with scorch marks on the wall nearby. “I met with him myself some weeks ago, and I call him when I can. Last I checked, he was training someone called Faith on being a macro. Have you seen her while you’re doing your own training?”

“No. I guess she came after me.” Nero rubbed the back of his head. “Still, when I saw just how much stronger he became since we last met, I asked if he could train me. He agreed, and, for three months straight, I’ve trained under his paws. It was rough, though partly because I precisely wanted to learn how to fight while flat, but it paid off. By the end, he couldn’t hit me until he became fifty feet tall.

“He did offer to extend the training, but I declined. So, he left with Saria to some new universe they discovered, and I went into a waterfall. It was somewhat calming to meditate under it, yet surprisingly rough to keep my legs crossed. I wasn’t sure how long time passed, but when I opened my eyes, I discovered that I’ve evolved into a Lucario.”

“Woah!” Aleph tugged against Nero close while he wagged and vibrated more. “That must’ve been awesome!”

“It was at first until I kept tripping on my feet.” Nero blushed in embarrassment. “Took me a week to adjust to my new form. And since then, I’ve been looking for you. Truth be told, I was about to approach you earlier today, but some gray fox slammed a door against me, flattening me in the progress.”

“Maf! Kind of like what happened weeks ago, though I also turned into a fox,” Aleph said, and Nero blinked at him. “It’s a long story, buddy. Still, I’m glad that you’re back!”

Aleph hugged Nero close, his nose under Nero’s chest spike. Nero flinched at how close it was, but he smiled and patted his head. A snow-making machine still ran nearby, causing snow to fall near them and some kids to play in it.

“Of course, I didn’t spend these last several months just looking for you.” Nero’s eyes gleamed a bit. “Before A-Ninetales and Saria left, they offered me some treasure they found in some of the old dungeons. I gave them to a few of our friends, which causes some odd effects, like how one could shrink to the size of an ant. That gave me an idea.”

“Maf?” Aleph’s eyes widened even as he grinned, as though he already knew what was on his buddy’s mind. “What is it?”

“To put it simply, if we gather our friends once more,” Nero said with a grin even as a snowball flew over their heads, “we could form our own group. A toony superhero group where we could travel the world and help out others in need, like those who were laminated in those cards. We could make the world a better place, stopping those like Ben. What do you say, old friend?”

Aleph’s ears straightened upwards before he nodded three times per second for ten seconds. “Yes! That sounds like an amazing idea! Let’s do it now!”

Nero laughed even as the few kids in the snow laughed as well, the snow piling up higher. “That’s what I want to hear. I told them of a meeting spot to head to when I meet with you again. Of course, it’ll take a week to get there, but it won’t be too painless—”

Aleph’s ears flinched, the other kids no longer laughing, and instead, they ran off as quiet as they could. “Maf?”

“Huh?” Nero turned around, seeing no one else outside them and one other. “It’s that gray fox agai—”

“TREES! Are you TRYING to kill me again!”

Aleph gulped even as Nero’s ears flattened back, his eyes widening. The gray fox held up one of his hand-paws, and a massive fireball as bright as a sun formed above it. It soon fired out like a laser, impacting bother Aleph and Nero. An explosion happened, with a tall mushroom cloud the size of a house billowing up even as the two were tossed into the sunset. A star shined where they went before it faded with the rest of the red sky.

The gray fox huffed and stormed away. “And those two were getting too affectionate with each other.”

#   #   #

An hour passed before Aleph and Nero landed, with a ton of dirt blasting out where they impacted. There they laid in the crater, eyes in the shape of spirals and with their bodies covered in bruises and scruff marks. Nero groans a bit, lifting up his head an inch, Aleph laying on his belly.

“A-actually, it’ll take th-three weeks now,” Nero said with a groan. “N-not as good as before, b-but it still could be worse.”

“M-maf,” Aleph said, his face in the dirt.

27
Art Gallery / Re: Halloween Sketch-a-thon 11 (Open!)
« on: October 23, 2021, 04:26:21 PM »
#87

Astrid, who found herself taking the kitsune contract ( https://art.by.virmir.com/art/reincarnation_assistance_contract_sketch ) herself, heavily pregnant (perhaps at this size https://art.by.virmir.com/art/belly_comparison ) with her blushing like crazy even as her pants button popped off.

Astrid ref: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/29083254/

28
Writer's Guild / A Kitsune Thief 2 - A Tails230 Birthday Gift
« on: September 08, 2021, 06:00:24 PM »
By my own admittance, I didn't originally plan on writing this story. Well, I wasn't originally planning on writing the last one either, but you get the idea.

To explain, back on September 3rd, it was Tails230's birthday, and he has been a dear friend of mine. I was originally planning to celebrate it with a sort-of RP session with him, but Corbyn_Prower (who had no idea about the RP thing since it was between Chris and myself) asked me if I had anything planned to celebrate his birthday.

And while I had a picture getting set up for him, it wasn't ready yet, and both that and Corbyn gave me an idea to write this story.

In any case, it's a sequel to A Kitsune Thief, where Chris stole one of A-Fox's deity potions to, well, become a deitysune. Will Chris succeed this time, or will A-Fox stop him?

If you know me (or if you see the thumbnail), you already know the answer.

Enjoy!

Also, Chris Blondie belongs to Tails230

-----

When Chris, the feral three-tailed kitsune, woke up one morning, it was with one goal. To sneak into his friend’s place once more and snag one of his special potions. But, of course, after the last time he did so, he was certain that A-Fox bothered to set up defenses rather than just locking the door. After all, he did destroy his friend’s mountain home from becoming a deitysune.

He also fixed it before the 24 hours of deityhood was up, but that’s beside the point.

As such, when he left town, heading over to the mountainside, he carried a bag full of trickery such as temporary spells within a book and enchanted lockpicks. His three pale orange tails, tipped white with a red zig-zag pattern separating the orange, wagged behind him as his white paws stepped on cobblestone. The forest soon encompassed him, blocking his orange and white body from the sun. His deep blue eyes narrowed, spotting an illusion field ahead of him.

Still, he thought, it was pretty basic even for him to set up. After all, A-Fox should’ve known that there would be countless people wanting a bottle of that deity potion. But it wouldn’t be able to deter kitsunes like himself, who could see through illusions like transparent glass. So, what was he getting at?

An idea struck him, and he spun around, hopping onto a tree with an opening just five feet high, and looked inside it. He smirked, spotting a crossbow within it, with its tip enchanted. Perhaps by Glaurung, he thought as he reached in and cut a string, disabling the crossbow. After all, those two gluttons would want to have fat victims to lay on. He turned around to the illusion field and smirked once more; the loose string lay useless on the ground.

“Clever, but not clever enough,” Chris said, patting his white chest. “You got to do better than pull off one of the oldest tricks in the book.”

So, with a confident grin, he stepped through the field, and the mountainside with a wooden door came into view. He hopped onto a tree and waited within its branches, waiting for movements to happen. Instead, the sun went down bit by bit, his body going sore, and yet he stayed.

Then A-Fox appeared, walking up the path while pulling a small wagon, strappings around his shoulders and neck.

Chris blinked even as A-Fox, bright red with a pink underbelly and black ‘socks,’ grinned while wagging his three tails, each tail tipped white. He unstrapped himself and pulled out some items from the wagon, letting the other end thud to the ground. Soon, he reached the door and turned the knob, exposing the white A on his back, not unlike the red four-pointed diamond outline on Chris’s back, and walked inside.

Chris grunted, shaking his head. While he was prepared for an empty house while A-Fox went to town, he wasn’t expecting his fellow feral friend to have already left; and now he came back. He clutched his paw tight before rubbing his chin some more. How would he do this?

He turned back around, and a thought came to him. He hopped back down, careful not to make a sound, and sprinted outside of the illusion field. He climbed up to the hollow tree and reached within, making sure to avoid the arrowhead. Soon, his paw grabbed what remains of the string, and he pulled out his spellbook, turning to the pages of a temporary lengthener. He read out the words, and he took a deep breath.

Motto desidero!” Chris said, and the page turned blank.

He pulled on the string, feeling it stretching out, and he chuckled. He stuffed the book back into his bag, half-wondering if he could recharge that spell in the book when he becomes a deity; he would save on the money. He pulled it, spinning it around the tree before he walked forward, through the illusion field. He arched his back and leaped upwards, hiding in the branches once more. He tied the other end to the tree branch before hopping down, sprinting over to the rightmost tree.

“Five,” Chris said, his heart beating against his chest. “Four. Three. Two. One.”

He heard a sudden snap with the branch breaking from the tree, sliding against the ground. Then, with the spell worn off, the string compressed back to its original length while taking the branch along with it. And, Chris thought, it should trigger the crossbow.

Hopefully.

A few seconds passed, and a sudden twang along with a thud came, and he breathed easier. Several more seconds went by and A-Fox, having a massive mischievous grin on his face, sprinted out the door. A second later and Chris sprinted off the tree as well, running towards the open door. A-Fox disappeared into the forest by the time Chris snuck in, shutting the door behind.

“OK, OK,” Chris said, pulling out the book once more and going to the of longer-lasting lock spells. “Tozasu sero!” The door clicked, and he turned the pages for water traps. “Suiei natatorius!”

The symbol, 水, appeared on the floor, and he sighed. Even if A-Fox somehow broke through the locked door before the spell wore off, the water trap should distract him as well, knocking him back. Not to mention act as an alarm.

He spun around, his paws rubbing against the carpet as he walked over to one of the hallways, leading deeper into the mountain. It’s an odd home for a fire kitsune, especially for someone who eats himself into just as large as a mountain. Still, perhaps he has his reason, Chris thought while walking through the stone hallway. He heard heavy knocking against the door from behind, and his pace quickened, with sweat forming on his head. Even if some things were going as planned, the fact that A-Fox remained near could cause some trouble.

Soon, after reaching the end of the hallway, he spotted a triangular-shaped potion sitting on top of a table. He grinned wider, hopping onto one of two chairs before climbing onto the table, and seeing its white contents brushed against the cork. He picked it up and tugged on the cap, grunting a bit. He sighed, and he opened his jaws, sinking his teeth against it. Again, he pulled a bit before stopping.

“Wait,” Chris said while putting it down. “That can’t be it. A-Fox is smarter than—” He tossed the potion to the wall, with it gave a loud crack as it broke apart. At that moment, a strawberry-like smell came from it. “That cheeky little—”

He shook his head before skimming around the room and spotting a safe-like object against the wall, on the left side as high up as the ceiling. Chris walked towards it, noting its ten-digit numbering along with a pound and star keys and a display large enough for six numbers. Of course, he would put something like that as high up, Chris noted in his mind, particularly since he could change his size—

A crashing sound came from the other end of the hall, and his heart skipped a beat. He heard a rush of water, but that sudden thought made him realized how fast A-Fox would get passed that water spell. After all, much harder to get knocked back when big. He hopped off the chair, pulling out the spellbook, and skimmed for any restraining spells on it. Then, he ripped off one of the pages, crumbled it into a ball, and tossed it into the hallway.

Osaeru retineo!” Chris yelled out, with the paper ball glowing yellow.

“Chris, I know you’re in there!” A-Fox yelled out from within. “Whatever it is you’re after, stop before I—”

A-Fox stopped, his body restrained as golden chains formed around him, from his paws, mouth, and even his tails. He grunted, his body expanding a bit in size, only to whine and stop. Instead, he shrunk, but the restrains shrunk as well. He wiggled some more, his sea blue eyes glaring out.

“Sorry, A-Fox,” Chris said as he waved with a tail. “I can’t leave until I check out this safe.”

A-Fox’s eyes widened, and he wiggled some more. Chris thought that confirmed it as he shoved the table to the left end of the wall before hopping off and carrying one of the chairs with his tails. He tossed it up before leaping onto the table, setting the chair upright and flat against the wall. He reached into his bag once more, pulling out his lockpick set before dropping the bag and climbing onto the chair.

He stretched up high, the chair wiggling a bit against his hind legs as he rubbed one of the hooks against the in-betweens of the safe. Then he pressed it against the keypad, and it glowed a bit, with the numbers 0, 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 glowing along. He hummed a bit, putting the hook away and replacing it with a bobby pin, with it glowing white. Next, the 3 glowed red, the 9 glowed orange, the 0 glowed yellow, the 5 glowed green, the 1 glowed blue, and the 7 glowed purple, with him grinning even broader. He pressed the keypad at that order, and the safe door opened.

“CHRIS!!” A-Fox said, sprinting in with his tails fluffed up. “STOP!!”

Chris’s heart stopped for a moment, with his back fur riled up, but he pulled himself up into the safe. Behind, he heard some cracking, and he looked with a corner of his eye. A-Fox grew in size, his paw slamming against the table, crushing it to splinters. Chris spotted a pair of potions within, one pure white like the fake one and the other pure black, and he reached out for the white one.

He felt a massive tug on his tails, and he grunted, grabbing onto a potion. His hold against the safe broke, and he flew backward, holding the potion close against his chest. He rolled onto the ground until he crashed against the wall, with his back aching and with him developing a headache. He groaned before he looked at the mixture. His white ears, having a red mark on them, flattened back when he saw what he got was the black one.

“OK, Chris,” A-Fox said as he shrunk back to standard fox size, turning around. “It’s time for you to—”

He stopped, his jaw opened wide, and Chris blinked for a moment. Then, he turned to the labeling, and his eyes widened a bit before he sported a grin. On the label itself said: Super Deity Potion.

“Super jackpot!” Chris said, removing the cork.

“NO!!” A-Fox said, leaping forward.

But Chris drank through the black liquid in no time flat, dropping the potion to the side. Soon, he felt a massive charge flowing through his body as he purred, his tails wagging. Then, his three tails split apart into nine, with them swaying as he got up, the pain he suffered going away.

His eyes glowed black, with a pale orange leather cloth forming around his neck, ending with golden bells. A white flame burned on his back, on the center of his red diamond, and a necklace with golden beads formed around his neck. Soon, a purple rope, which carried a silver bell, appeared and wrapped around his middle tail, tied in an Obi style.

He purred with overwhelming pride, feeling more and more powerful by the second. Soon, the ground broke against him, and A-Fox sprinted out from the door. No need to worry about him, Chris thought as golden bracelets formed around his paws. After all, he could only grow to 240,000 feet tall.

At that thought, his body expanded in size, purring even more. His head slammed against the stone ceiling, but that was nothing for a deity like himself. He leaned upwards, and massive cracks formed all around his head, his tails swaying behind him. His snout pointed upwards, this mountain becoming too small for him. The snout pierced through the thick stone as though it was nothing more than wet tissue, the mountain giving away to his swelling form.

Seconds later, his head broke through the top of the mountain, giving out a loud laugh in the progress that become deeper with every laughter. Finally, his eyes stopped glowing black, becoming their usual deep blue even as he spotted A-Fox sprinting away. He could use his powers to pull him back, but that seemed underwhelming, especially as his body grew more, surpassing 150,000 feet and still growing. Instead, he should prove that it’s fruitless to hide.

So, he grew, gaining hundreds of thousands of feet by the second, the ground breaking away from his paws. His head pierced through layer after layer of the atmosphere, his tails swaying behind. Soon, the entire continent of Canada could be seen, but that couldn’t be enough of a show. His whole body could encompass all of North America a second later, but that doesn’t feel enough. Two seconds later, at twenty-one million feet, he stopped his growth, the planet just big enough for a deity like him to lay on.

Chris chuckled some more, his eyes turned to the stunned A-Fox, and he gave out a laugh heard across the universe.

“Thank you for this wonderful gift, A-Fox!” Chris said, lifting his claw and poking it against A-Fox’s white A. “Now, what to do with you this time? I think I have an idea.”

Chris extended out his paw, and the moon, far away from him and earth, came forward with it slamming against his paw. He then pressed his other paw against it, encompassing it, and he lowered it. He grinned even wider even as A-Fox gulped.

It’s time to give A-Fox a feast he won’t ever forget, Chris the deitysune thought.

29
Writer's Guild / The Legend of Machamp - A Midday-Mew Art Trade
« on: August 18, 2021, 10:23:55 PM »
Might as well share this here. XD;

Here's my half of the art trade with Midday-Mew and this time it didn't take years to write it. XD;

I hope you enjoy this story. =)

-----

Kyle Barrett walked down the road with his head high, walking past Pokémon and their trainers. His blue eyes gleamed in the light, with his golden hair almost glowing bright from the sun. Under his arm he carried a Pokédoll, shaped like a Machamp, that he was given from his department job. In fact, his managers were giving them away at a massive discount since they were left rotting on the shelves even as Pikachu and Scorbunny Pokédoll fly off. He felt terrible for them, Machamp being his favorite Pokémon and how they were disrespected for looking too human-like.

He shrugged, tugging on his Pokédoll tight.

He looked around the streets of Wicketdale, a town in a valley east within the Galar region. It was an isolated place, difficult to reach outside from the most determined trainers. And even fewer managed to fight back the occasional Dynamax Pokémon rising from the many Pokémon Dens along the way. The only reason why trainers would risk the journey was to battle at the town’s gym. Even then, it was a minor league gym, and the current gym leader used Normal-type Pokémon.

If a trainer did manage to reach this town, they would be given a hero’s welcome and asked to stick around if a Dynamax Pokémon attacked.

Kyle twisted his head around, looking at the sky as far as he could see. Though an occasional three stories building disturbed that sight. He grinned, rubbing the Machamp Pokédoll’s three brown ridges. His feet felt sore from all of the standing and walking he did, but he ignored the pain. After all, it was only a half-mile away from home, where his couch awaits.

He felt vibrations coming from the ground and he frowned, stopping. It was minor at first, but it came harder with each new shake. A thundering sound echoed through the area, which also grew louder every time he heard it. He looked down the road and his blood turned cold, seeing an Absol running through and past him and the other citizens and Pokémon. Even without a fearful expression and panicked barks from the Absol, there was only one reason for why they appeared before people.

Kyle gulped and a massive shadow appeared ahead, with him yelling out and falling back. It approached closer and the red glow around this huge Pokémon helped visualized it. Its brownish-red scales shined in the light though its occasional orange scale shined brighter. Its head, massive with a white beard-like lower mouth, and its black and white eyes glared down at everything ahead. On its head were orange spikes, looking as though it wore a crown, with a feathery turf around its neck like a collar. Its tail, vast and thick, swayed behind. Three deep-red clouds hovered and spun around its head, which confirmed all fears.

Another Dynamax Pokémon came out from its den and, this time, it was a Tyrantrum.

The Tyrantrum roared out, it being heard for miles even as glass shattered around Kyle. When it subsided, another sound blared around him, but high piercing this time. Citizens ran out from homes and buildings at the sound of that alarm, heading to a designated safe zone when a Dynamax Pokémon, maddened by overwhelming Galar particles, came. Several trainers, some having a Dynamax Band, charged forward with their Pokémon.

A Glaceon fired an Ice Beam at the Tyrantrum’s chest, with it wincing in pain for a second. A Togekiss, with a trainer clutching onto its back, flew over towards Tyrantrum and emitted Dazzling Gleam. Tyrantrum grunted before roaring out and spinning around, swatting away both Togekiss and trainer with its tail.

An Aggron lumbered forward, glaring up at the massive Tyrantrum before jumping high and slamming its Iron Tail against its nose. Tyrantrum glared back before shaking Aggron off and inhaling. It soon fired out a massive Max Flare at the Aggron and any surrounding targets. The trainers and Pokémon fled the attack before it impacted, with it exploding upwards in a giant fiery mushroom and the sun growing intense.

Kyle stared at the battle wide-eyed, but upon Max Flare’s impact, he spun around and fled as fast as his feet could allow. Behind, he heard more of the battle ongoing, but he chose not to look back. He wasn’t a trainer, so there was little he could do anyways. He hoped that the trainers succeed without Dynamaxing since the only Power Spot that could trigger it was in the gym miles away.

The ground shook and massive cracks formed all around him. He tripped, dropping the Machamp Pokédoll by his feet. The ground shook again and he got up, his heart beating faster even as he picked up the Pokédoll. With gritted teeth, he ran forward once more.

A cry came out.

Kyle stopped, looking around the ruined neighborhood, and he saw an Absol pinned by a collapsed tree. It wiggled against the bark even as it cried out several times, each one more panicked, and it dug against the ground. They heard the battle raging from behind and a few thundering footsteps coming closer into the town.

A couple of seconds passed before Kyle ran towards the Absol, dropping the Pokédoll near the tree. He grabbed the tree trunk and pulled upwards, heaving and grunting while sweat formed on his head and his arms turned red. The Absol wiggled out from under it and he sighed, with the two looking at each other. It then looked behind him and, with a panicked expression, it ran once more with a slight limp.

He turned back and his eyes widened, the Dynamax Tyrantrum digging into the ground within a split second. He ran once more, his toes barely touching the ground even as his heart pounded against his chest. His shirt, covered in sweat, clung against his chest and the ground shook.

The Tyrantrum dug out from under the ground, far closer than before, and huge boulders flew over the sky, some crashing into buildings. Kyle tripped once more from the violent shake, falling face-first against the dirt. He shook his head, only to notice darkness all over him. He gulped before closing his eyes, regretting how powerless he was in stopping the rampage, not being able to help. A boulder crashed on top of him a half-second later.

#   #   #

When Kyle’s eyes opened, he was stunned to find himself still alive. He looked over himself, from his head and sweaty blue polo shirt down to the brown jeans and red shoes. Every piece of his clothes and body part was still there; the only thing missing was his Machamp Pokédoll. He shook his head, rubbing his nose before shrugging. It was only a Pokédoll and he could always get a new one.

He turned to his right and saw pillars, sandy in color and carved as though they just finished this morning. He then turned to his left and saw more pillars, but they were cracked if not fallen apart, laying down as though they endured countless millenniums without maintenance. He tried to look beyond those pillars, but some dark mass prevented him from looking beyond.

He twisted himself around, only to find himself looking down the edge of a mountaintop. He gasped, stumbling back from the edge before inching himself closer, looking down. Darkness befell below though many tiny lights pierced through. He looked upwards and, seeing similar lights above, he realized that they were stars. He turned back around, looking between the orderly and chaotic pillars and he saw a Machamp Pokédoll lying there. He walked over there and picked it up, looking it over, finding it to be just like the one he lost.

It is the one you lost.

Kyle stumbled back, blinking as he looked all around him. A voice spoke out, but it was unlike any he ever heard. For starters, it sounded as though it had no origin. It just came into existence through some kind of reality warp. Even worse, he couldn’t see anything or anyone who could’ve spoken those words.

Come closer, my child, and you will know.

That voice came again and, as though possessed by a will far stronger than himself, he stepped forward. Onward he went, walking down the stone paths and climbing the stone steps even as he looked around, the scenery not changing much. Minutes or even hours passed, yet his body wouldn’t pause for anything.

But Kyle’s body finally stopped and he looked upwards. The limits of how far he saw were lifted and he gulped, a shadow of a large Pokémon towering over him. The shadows then filled up with colors, turning whitish-grey as its green and red eyes looked down at him. A ring of crosses wrapped around its waist, golden like its hooves-like feet and forehead. Its two ears, curved upwards from where its jaw-line should be, pointed upwards while its fin-like structure hung behind its head.

I am Arceus, the father of everything living within this world, the Pokémon said.

Kyle’s heartbeat stopped for a second before he kneeled down before Arceus, the Alpha Pokémon and The Original One. The creator of the universe and every living thing and universal law within. His eyes averted from Arceus before closing them.

My child, Arceus asked, why did you risk your life to save that Absol?

Kyle looked up a bit at the towering Arceus, though this Pokémon seemed to appear as ten and a half feet tall. He opened his mouth, but no words came out. Instead, he clutched the Machamp Pokédoll tight, wishing for the words to come to him.

The Absol was in danger, Arceus noted, but he would’ve survived that attack. Humans such as yourself aren’t as tough as even the weakest Pokémon walking upon this world. I am curious to know why you recklessly sacrificed your life knowing that.

“I,” Kyle said even as his head lowered in shame, “just saw a helpless Pokémon, one that tried to warn us about the attack. I couldn’t just let it suffer for it.”

Even at the cost of your life, Arceus said. You have proven your courage and compassion. That, despite how weak you are, you still went out of your way to save another. Humans can be most fascinating. On your feet, my child.

Kyle stood back up, looking at Arceus’ eyes before nodding. The golden cross-like wheel then glowed before it spun and seventeen rectangular Plates, each of a different color, appeared above Arceus in a rainbow halo. One of the Plates, an orange one, disengaged from the halo and hovered between Kyle and Arceus.

Though I may have created this universe, I wish that those within it would handle their problems independently, Arceus said as the Machamp Pokédoll glowed orange. If I intervene with every issue, the world will stagnate. Your highs will be diminished without the lows to overcome and apathy would rule instead.

Kyle blinked, feeling the Pokédoll slipping away. It then fused with the orange Plate, which glowed brightly. It then hovered above him, with him looking at it with wide eyes.

However, I still do intervene when I can, Arceus said as its wheels glowed just as bright. Your human life has ended, but your journey has only begun.

Kyle opened his mouth to speak, which was when the orange Plate phased through his body. He blinked, stumbling back as he twisted around, staring at the Plate. He turned back to Arceus, about to speak out again when his body felt a tingle deep within his bones; it felt as though electricity flowed through his body.

His skin changed color into bluish-gray, with him looking at his hands with wide eyes. He reached up to his head, feeling large chunks of his hair falling out. His height diminished, with his clothes feeling loose by the time he became five feet tall. At that point, his muscles expanded, with his chest bulking up and broadening out while his arms and legs thickened. His loose clothes suddenly felt tight for a second before they ripped into shreds, his muscles massive.

Kyle looked down, blushing, but he could see black markings that reminded him of briefs where his pants used to be. A second passed before a belt formed around his waist, golden in color as though he won a world league fighting tournament. Given how much swollen his muscles became, with his massive abs pressing against the belt buckle itself, he might as well have. He looked down, his feet standing on the ruined shoes, and stumbled a bit when his toes fused from five to two and them going back to a third of his foot. He splayed his toes out and he regained his balance.

His lips thickened up, looking as though he had a beak, as it turned into pale yellow and moved forward into a short muzzle. He patted his head, feeling three thick brown ridges on top of it. His ears shrunk down to near nothing, with only a couple of dots where his ears used to be. His eyes changed into a bright red, which glowed a bit, and he kneeled down to Arceus.

Kyle’s back thickened up with more mass, though it wasn’t just muscles, just above and behind his shoulders. It stretched itself up, splitting into a pair as they grew longer. Soon, they took shape, with muscle detail on them along with their own shoulders and elbows. The tips of them grew five digits, four fingers, and a thumb for each of them, and they slammed down, his new arms just as powerful. He then stood back up, the extra mass gained making him five foot three.

Let go of your former human life and live on as a Pokémon instead, Arceus said, the orange Plate returning to its rainbow halo above. For you are now a Machamp, my child. Be the world’s champion who will protect the weak from those who use their power to cause harm.

Kyle nodded, with him pressing his two pairs of hands against each other and bowing to Arceus.

And here is one final gift from me. Use it with wisdom.

A red glow appeared between the two, though not as bright as the spinning wheel or the orange Plate. Kyle tilted his head slightly as the red glow came to his left front arm and attached itself to it. It stopped glowing as it solidified, with him looking at the watch-like device on his wrist. Though where the numbers were normally displayed were instead a sold red-purple color.

With this, you can transform into a giant Gigantamax form even outside of a Power Spot, Arceus said as a white light engulfed the area. Your time in that form will be limited to fifteen minutes a day, so use it wisely.

Kyle nodded as the area became brighter until even Arceus was engulfed in the light. He turned his head around, but he saw nothing through the light. Instead, he heard Arceus’ final words to him.

You shall return to the living realm, where your home is still under attack. There is no trial you cannot overcome with my blessing as long as you remain the one who chose to save the Absol. May your wisdom and courage never waver.

#   #   #

When Kyle opened his eyes, he saw nothing but darkness. A rocky object lay on top of him, though it felt more like a pebble. He pressed one arm pair against the boulder and the other pair against the ground. He pushed and lifted, getting back onto his feet while carrying the boulder. Ahead, he saw the Dynamax Tyrantrum roaring out, having broken through the ground.

He huffed before he threw the boulder at the Tyrantrum’s snout. It shattered upon impact, with Tyrantrum stumbling back before it steadied, its white eyes narrowing in rage. It turned down, looking for the perpetrator before spotting Kyle leaping into the air, with two of his front arms back and hands glowing orange. Kyle chopped his hands against Tyrantrum’s snout in half a second, forming an X glow from the Cross Chop, and Tyrantrum flew back, roaring all the while.

Kyle landed, the ground shattering upon impact against his feet and one of his hands before he charged forward at the Tyrantrum. His opponent flew overhead for several seconds, over buildings, before landing in the valley outside of Wicketdale. It got back on its feet before spotting Kyle jumping once more. It swung its tail at him and it collided with his fist, with both Pokémon flung back. The trainers who remained stood there, stunned by how powerful this newcomer Machamp was, and they stepped forward. Kyle raised both of his left hands back at them and they stopped, all staring at the Dynamaxed Tyrantrum.

Tyrantrum emitted a massive roar, slamming its feet against the ground and causing earthquakes felt for miles. Kyle grimaced before looking at one of his left hand’s wrists, spotting the watch-like device. He nodded to himself before he pressed the deep red button, charging forward.

A light engulfed him even as he leaped into the air once more, and a couple of trainers looked at their Dynamax Bands. They reacted as though they received Galar particles from the Power Spot as the light around Kyle expanded, a mere white outline even as it shifted shapes. Soon, with a massive pop of power, his feet landed with a quake, colors returning to him. Trainers and Pokémon gawked at the sight, emitting several cries with wide eyes at the sudden Dynamax transformation.

Three Dynamax clouds hovered around his waist, his belt wider than before. His skin color darkened even as his forearms and fingers glowed yellow and orange and his eyes glowed yellow-orange. His middle ridge on his head grew taller even as his black ‘briefs’ became black ‘pants.’ His neck also thickened and contained black markings.

Now in Gigantamax form, Kyle stood at eighty-four feet tall, even as Tyrantrum still towered over him. They roared at each other before charging forward. The Tyrantrum lowered its head and a pinkish-orange energy glowed from its tip. He grunted before stepping side, avoiding the Zen Headbutt even as he dug his feet into the ground, flexing his four arms. Then his fists, as one, struck Tyrantrum’s side in a G-Max Chi Strike.

The Tyrantrum screamed out, flying hundreds of feet away even as Kyle pumped up from his attack. It crashed into the ground, rolling a few times before getting back on its feet. Its mouth widened as far as its jaws allowed, with its throat glowing reddish-orange. Kyle cracked his knuckles just as a massive Max Flame came out from the Tyrantrum, with him grinning. The flames engulfed him even as his immediate surroundings exploded around him. The fire, hotter by the intense sun, hovered around the smoke in a mushroom shape.

The Tyrantrum craned its neck upwards, roaring its victory cry even as the citizens and trainers despaired. This mysterious Machamp, who appeared out of nowhere and somehow Gigantamax without a Power Spot, was seemingly defeated and their heads lowered. They then noticed their Pokémon instead observed the smoke even as their bodies froze. An Absol stood on top of a house and barked.

The smoke faded and the Gigantamax Machamp’s outline, shadowed by smoke and dust, appeared. The despair turned into a cheer and the Pokémon roared out, the Absol smirking. The Tyrantrum flinched, its eyes widening at its still standing opponent and it stepped back.

Kyle grinned before he charged forward, his fists clutched tight. Soon, all four fists contacted the Tyrantrum’s chest, who stood paralyzed in fear. It gave out another scream, flying back from the critical hit G-Max Chi Strike before crashing on the ground, landing on its side. An explosion appeared all around it before a white light engulfed Tyrantrum, its outline shrinking. It lay within its crater, formed by its formerly massive body, even as its eyes spiraled out.

Kyle flexed his limbs upwards, victorious, even as his body glowed white as well. His body’s outline shrunk while his body changed once more. He soon stopped glowed, standing as a five-foot-four regular Machamp once more. He looked at the wrist device, its power used up, and he nodded.

He turned over to Wicketdale and he spotted its citizens, trainers, and Pokémon charging towards him. His cheek blushed even as his top right hand rubbed the back of his head. Even as a Pokémon, he was not used to the attention.

The first that arrived was the Absol, who said nothing though Kyle believed they could understand each other. Instead, the Absol gave him a knowing nod before running off again. He stared at his white fur until he disappeared out of sight. Then hundreds of trainers, citizens, and Pokémon came around him, each speaking so much that he couldn’t hear one over the other. Instead, he just nodded. He found that to be useful when he worked in customer service.

#   #   #

That day, known as the Day of Counterattack, became a well-known town holiday for the people and Pokémon of Wicketdale. That day where they reenact the attack of a seemingly invincible Dynamaxed Tyrantrum before a Machamp came and saved them all. Travelers from all over the world came to see the town on the day, each market now selling Machamp merchandise that couldn’t stay on the shelves even as Scorbunny Pokédolls rotted on them.

Within the death tally, there was only one known death in the entire attack: Kyle Barrett. And yet, though eyewitnesses sworn up and down that they saw him crushed underneath a boulder, his body was undiscovered, and the only evidence found at the supposed death location was a pair of footprints. Most unusual about those footprints was that they weren’t human but Machamp’s footprints. Some believed that, rather than dying, he was rescued by the Machamp and disappeared in the chaos. One man claimed that Kyle is the Machamp, but he was ignored.

As for the Machamp, that Pokémon savior stayed to help repair the town before leaving. Though news about a mysterious Machamp that somehow Gigantamax outside of a Power Spot appeared throughout Galar. And, whenever a Dynamaxed Pokémon attacked Wicketdale and couldn’t fight it off, the Machamp reappeared and Gigantamaxed to fight them off. As such, the people of Wicketdale believed that they are the same Machamp and, at the town square, they post newspaper coverage whenever their savior appeared to save a life or even a city.

#   #   #

Kyle stood on a hill, four of his arms crossed against his broad chest. The Wild Area spread out wide before him, with snowstorms freezing trees on one end and heatwaves cooking trees on the other end. He stood between the two areas and he crouched low. He pressed one of his hands against the ground and it felt a rumble.

Soon, he spotted a shadowy outline of a Dynamaxed Pokémon, with three clouds hovering over its head. A blizzard surrounded its body as it flew over the area, the ground rumbling more. Soon, the Pokémon became clear enough to be seen, with white wings flapping against the earth. Its deep blue eyes looked over at its destination, a city by the name of Hammerlocke. It gave out a song-like cry, throwing blizzards around like kicking sands.

Kyle grunted, raising one of his arms over his face. This may not be an easy fight, he noted. But, as long as those with massive power abused it against those weaker than them, he will continue fighting. He sprinted down the hill, all four of his arms glowing before he leaped into the sky. All four of his hands slammed against the Dynamaxed Frosmoth in the face in an X-like shape. The Frosmoth hovered back, reeling from the Cross Chop attack and shaking its head before it looked down upon Machamp. He grinned before he pressed the deep red button on his watch-like device and a white light engulfed him.

Let’s begin.

30
Writer's Guild / Aleph's Foxy Adventures - An Aleph Commission 3
« on: April 26, 2021, 10:41:54 AM »
Hey there everyone. I've written a new story commission for Aleph. Now, I know what you might be wondering: You haven't made any notifications about having commissions open, so what gives? And weren't you focus on The Pokémon Prometheus 2?

To make a long story short, I've been taking a writing class that has eaten up much of my time working on that story and instead worked on another story. Which story? You guys will find out in a few weeks or so. It's done, outside of some edits that my teacher requests, if you're wondering.

I also have a couple of friends who's been trying to get me to accept commissions from them, and, eventually, I gave in. I also have an art trade to get out of the way, plus it allows me to show activities here that aren't just showing pictures.

Finally, I also will be needing the money since my computer has been having issues. Back in March (a DAY after my birthday), my computer has been turning itself off, which has gotten worse. My dad and I eventually figured out that it was the old motherboard that was going. We found and installed a new motherboard (along with a new cooling system for it), and it worked for a couple of weeks. Now, my computer has been randomly turning itself on, off, and even restarting for seemingly no reason. The new motherboard likely needs a BIOS update, which will be tricky. I also removed the old hard drive and, while it lasted a long while before it shuts off by itself, it still does, so that may indicate another issue. But, in the meantime, I've been staying off from the main computer and been on my laptop, which is too weak even to play Minecraft.

In any case, I hope you guys enjoy this story!

------

The sun shined down upon Aleph the anthro wolf, with the red aloha shirt bright on his chest. He walked down the road with a grin on his face, his left hand-paw within his blue pants’ pocket. His other hand-paw rubbed his light blue ear even as his tail, gray with a light blue tip, swayed behind him. The concrete ground felt hot against his paw pads, but he doesn’t mind the heat.

Two days passed since Aleph met with Daren Crevan, with the aloha shirt a gift from him after their journey within the Temple of Pancakes. A silly name he gave it, Aleph thought, since it would be rare to find a temple that wouldn’t end with someone getting flattened. Perhaps he was a traveler from another world, much like A-Ninetales, who wasn’t used to being paper-thin. He was amazed by tales that his former Pokémon companion told him, talking about lands where getting stepped on by a giant paw wouldn’t end with one getting flat since such things were foreign.

Aleph’s yellow eyes looked around the tall buildings, passing by various people such a gray wolf taller than him, a green cat, and even a pooltoy fox. Multiple events were happening on the street, with a Pokémon and Digimon rap battle happening with the crowds roaring out. He ignored them, instead heading over to an electronics store.

When Aleph approached the door, the door handle was already twisted. Half a second later, the door swung open, slamming against him and pushing him back. He gave out a maf as his body clung to the door, crashing against the store’s wall. His body compressed itself, going thinner and thinner from the force until he became paper-thin. The door jammed itself against the wall, with him unable to move.

“To trees with this!” Aleph heard, his eyes spinning. “Should’ve ordered it online! Much fewer people and more orderly that way!”

The stomping sounds soon went away, leaving Aleph alone between a wall and a door. He tried to wiggle the door away, but even without his diminished strength from being so thin, the doorknob was jammed against the wall. The wall crater he lay within felt more spacious all of a sudden, despite the door not moving an inch, and he raised his shoulder a bit. A minute passed before more walking sounds came and, with a yank, the door swung away. The sunlight warmed his body and he wiggled his eyes, shaking the spirals away before he looked upon his two saviors.

“Jeez, what’s his deal? There were only three people in the store,” the left, an anthro alligator, said. “And look what he did. He squashed this poor fox on his way out.”

“I’ll go get the air pump. Again,” the right, a feral snow leopard, said. “And perhaps I can find something that could fix the wall.”

“Maf,” Aleph said while gravity’s power pulled him down, landing on the snow leopard’s back. And yet, his flat ears twitched at their words. A flat fox?

LED lights soon coated the three when they entered the store, with Aleph feeling powerless to move. He wondered how Daren could move by himself when he was just as flat and for his first time too. He twitched, feeling a sort of swelling power from his chest, and he lifted his right arm a bit. At that moment, he was placed down and a hose stuffed into his mouth, with air flowing in. His body creek like plastic, with pops from his fingers and a snap from his tail. His body was restored with a massive pop, and the hose removed from his mouth while the swelling power faded away. Was it just an imagination?

“There we go. Are you OK, little fox?” the anthro alligator asked, rubbing his long chin.

“M-maf?” Aleph said, shaking his head. “Yes. I’m used to this. Still, what do you mean by ‘fox’?”

“Because you are one?” The feral snow leopard tilted one of his head even as he squinted one of his eyes. “Did being flat also scrambled your brains?”

“Maf?” Aleph looked over his arms and legs. They seemed much slender than before. He turned and looked at his tail, far bushier than usual, and he gasped. He rubbed his muzzle, and his eyes widened, the rectangular muzzle more triangular. And, while his clothes still fit to a T, he realized that he lost a foot in height, even more child-like. “W-what happened? How did I turn into a fox?”

“You’re saying that you weren’t a fox before?” The anthro alligator rubbed his scaly head. “I never heard of a flattening where you transformed into a different species in the process.”

“Let’s take him to a doctor then,” the feral snow leopard said, his thick tail rubbing against the table’s leg. “I’m sure they’ll find out what’s wrong either way.”

#   #   #

They took Aleph over to the hospital, with Aleph riding on the snow leopard’s back for the journey across the street. Aleph was brought to a room after a chat with the front desk and was told to wait. He sat on a bed, feeling a thin paper between the mattress and himself. The sterile light shined down from above, with the room scrubbed down to the micros.

Soon, the door swung open, and an anthro otter stepped in, far taller than the child-sized Aleph, with a physician coat over his shoulders. He wore a stethoscope as though it was a necklace even as he looked over the white gloves over his thick hands. He went over to Aleph, pulling out a large clipboard from his far smaller pocket and looking it over.

“Hmm. My name is Dr. Otto holt Anvil. You are Aleph, correct?” Dr. Anvil said in a thick voice. Aleph nodded. “And you claimed that you were once a wolf, but some flattening incident you turned into a fox instead?” Aleph nodded again. “That is curious. Hmm. Have you interacted with any foxes before the incident?”

Aleph’s eyes shined at that question. “Two days ago. In fact, this red aloha shirt I’m wearing once belonged to him!”

“Hmm! I wonder.” Dr. Anvil placed the clipboard on the countertop and his fingers curled against each other. “I have a possible answer, but I’ll need to put you through some tests before I can verify it.”

“What kind of tests?” Aleph asked, hopping off from the bed.

“Nothing you can’t handle.” Dr. Anvil gave a small smile as he led Aleph to a scale that has a trap door just above it. “Just need you to stand here for just a minute.” Aleph did so and Dr. Anvil looked over the numbers displayed. “Looking good. Just one last thing.”

“What’s tha—” Aleph asked at the exact second Dr. Anvil pressed a button and the trap door open, a giant 16-ton weight coming down upon him. He looked up just as it pressed against his nose and he found himself flat underneath it.

Dr. Anvil chuckled to himself as he pressed the button again and the weight was lifted up by the string, with a coin-like Aleph underneath it. He grabbed a spatula and peeled Aleph off from it, with him falling down and rolling around in the room. Dr. Anvil grabbed the Aleph disc and, grabbing his flat ears and feet-paws, he stretched him out so that, while still flat, his front and back could be shown.

When Dr. Anvil placed Aleph on the bed, he fluttered a bit mid-air before landing. Aleph’s head tilted to the side, with tongue sticking out, while Dr. Anvil pressed his stethoscope onto the chest and arm. He hummed to himself, pulling out a magnifying glass and looking over Aleph’s face and shirt. A few minutes passed before he gave a satisfied nod and stuffed a hose into Aleph’s mouth, pumping him with air until he popped to normal.

“Hmm! I now know what caused your transformation,” Dr. Anvil said, picking up the clipboard and writing notes onto it.

“M-maf? You do?” Aleph asked, sitting up straight.

“Yes, but the cure can be tricky I’m afraid.” Dr. Anvil placed the clipboard back onto the countertop. “I’m afraid that you caught the F-0X disease.”

“You mean that I’m sick and can spread it around?” Aleph asked, leaning back in fear.

Dr. Anvil chuckled a bit. “It’s not really a disease as such and a good thing too. Otherwise, we’ll be oversaturated with foxes.” He then pulled a book off from a shelf and looked through it. “The F-0X disease is basically when someone wore clothing that was once belonging to a fox and got flattened. The clothes, and the retaining foxiness within them, thought their wearer was changed from a fox and sought to ‘undo’ the change.”

“Oh dear. Maf.” Aleph sweated from that answer. “What can be done to fix me?”

“There is a way to cure you, but it is tricky.” Dr. Anvil placed the book back on the shelf. “Since the foxiness in that shirt thought that you were the original owner of it, the cure is to locate the owner and have him or her flatten you. That way, the foxiness would realize their mistake and revert the transformation.”

“Woah! That sounds amazing!” Aleph’s pupils turned into stars for a couple of seconds. “And that sounds simple enough. I just need to find Daren who’s—” Aleph paused, blinking while rubbing his chin. “—who I have no idea where he went to or where he’s from.”

“And I assume that you also have no idea if he’s from this world or not, yes?” Dr. Anvil asked. Aleph shook his head. “Hm. That is a tricky thing. Unless he returns sometime in the future, I’m afraid that you’ll be stuck as a fox.”

“Eeeeeeeep!” Aleph rubbed his face. He then shook his head and shrugged. “There are worse things to turn into, I guess. I’ll just have to adapt and hope that I’ll meet him again.”

“That’s a good attitude to have. Hmm!” Dr. Anvil nodded before pressing his hands against his hips. “Of course, there’s the issue of payment.”

“Oh yeah. How much would I need to pay?” Aleph asked, tail twitching.

“Three million dollars. Or ten flattening.”

Aleph gulped. “I guess I’ll take the ten flattenings.”

#   #   #

As such, after Aleph was flattened in various ways, whether through rollers, crushers, and even stretchers, for ten times, he left the town. A tongue stuck out from him, making him look comical. And yet, even as he took one step over the other, he had one goal in mind: locating Daren.

It won’t be easy since it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. And he doesn’t have any magnets to attract the said needle. Still, Aleph has complete confidence in his quest no matter how long it would take him.

Five minutes after he left the town boundaries, a massive foot-paw landed on top of him.

“Oops! Sorry!” Aleph heard from above, his eyes turning into spirals once more and his body flat as paper. The foot-paw lifted off from him and he shook his eyes, looking up at the reason for his squashing this time.

The anthro above him was a dragon, a very huge one even as he shrank in size. His black scales gleamed in the sunlight along with the pale yellow plates, claws, and horns. When he shrank down to six feet tall, he approached the paw crater, his pale gray staff tapping with every step and the green gem gleaming on its tip. His vast wings folded back to himself, brushing against either a black cape or scarf around his long neck. He gave out a toothy grin, each tooth sharp, while pocketing his free hand into his dark blue jeans, which were damaged near the bottom along with his bright blue shirt.

“Hello there, Aleph,” the anthro dragon said, kneeling down at the flattened Aleph. “Almost didn’t recognize you because of your fox-like features and aloha shirt.”

“Hi there, Glaurung!” Aleph said. “Fancy meeting you here. And I see that you lost a ton of weight from the last time I met you.”

Glaurung blushed, with him rubbing his pale yellow hair. “Hard to travel at that state after a while. In any case, what’s with the change? Met Glorfindel and got transformed by him?”

“Maf? Oh no. I haven’t met him in months!” Aleph’s head peeled itself off from the ground. “What happened was that I caught some disease because I wore this aloha shirt, which once belongs to a fox and the only cure is to be squash by that fox himself.”

Glaurung blinked, tilting his head a bit. “That’s curious. Then again, I only occasionally come to this world. Glorfindel and Plaúrien would know more about this place than I do.”

“Plaúrien? Who’s she?” Aleph asked, his arms rolling off from the ground.

“S-she’s a snow leopard who I’ve been visiting,” Glaurung answered, blushing even harder. His yellow eyes, with a yellower sclera, twitched a bit as he rubbed the back of his neck. “I-I’m not into her like that. Still, she is an enjoyable lady to be with. Can pack in just as much foods as I can, though I expect that she wasn’t even close to her limit. Especially since she is a goddess.” He breathed in and out. “Of course, Glorfindel doesn’t believe me when I told him that.”

“Woah! She must be someone special if you consider her to be like a goddess!” Aleph’s eyes changed into stars even as his legs and tail peeled themselves off.

“I don’t mean that she is like a goddess. I meant that she—” Glaurung stopped when a gust of wind blew by, freeing Aleph from the remaining restrains from the crater. His body fluttered in the air, twice landing and rolling around before flying into the air again. Glaurung flinched as he unfolded his wings. “Aleph!”

Aleph’s eyes spun once more, seeing a blur of color. His chest tightened, feeling some kind of power from within just like before. His flat foot-paw rubbed against the ground and he shook the spirals away from his eyes. His foot-paw clung onto the ground even as his body unrolled itself, his arms flailing behind helplessly. His other flat foot-paw stepped onto the ground just behind, his flat hips feeling sore from the effort. He pressed his chest forward, gritting his teeth as his arms folded forward against the blowing wind.

“Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmaf!” Aleph said, closing his eyes.

“Huh?” Glaurung approached the flat yet standing Aleph, his eyes as wide as baseballs. He went over behind Aleph, his wings folding back, and saw no strings attached to his body. Yet, he stood in place. Glaurung waved his staff around and its head glowed green. Air filled up within Aleph, expanding him until he popped back to normal.

“Maf,” Aleph said, flopping back as he breathed back and forth. “That was difficult.”

“Difficult? More like you achieved what I thought was impossible,” Glaurung said, squatting down to Aleph’s side. “How did you do that?”

“That fox,” Aleph answered, wiping away sweat from his forehead. “The one who gave me this shirt. He also managed to move in such a state, even though he had no idea he could. I just know that, if he could do, then I could do it as well.”

Glaurung laughed, rubbing Aleph’s head. “I must say, for a first time, you did a fine job.” He then rubbed his chin. “I do wonder what else you could do.”

“I don’t know and, if it happens again, I’ll find out!” Aleph leaped back up and walked forward. “Thanks again for your help! And if you met a fox named Daren, be sure to let him know to come back to squish me so I can turn back to normal!”

With a grin on his face, Aleph walked forward with his eyes closed. His arms swung forward with every step he took, his tail wagging behind him. Hope swelled within his chest, confident that he would be able to find Daren once more.

Glaurung tilted his head a bit, rubbing his fin-like ear as he watched Aleph walking away. “Daren. Does he mean A-Fox or A-Ninetales?”

#   #   #

Four days passed by since Aleph started on his journey. Though he has yet to meet Daren, his hope hadn’t worn out yet. In fact, he was expecting that it would take even longer, like 28 days. Still, he had traveled a fourth of the world, meet many people along the way such as a scaly dragon and a tiny Buizel with brown hair that acted so edgy and dominant until someone much larger sat on him.

Aleph relaxed within his camp, sitting within a brown tent with his legs crossed. The birds’ chirping and a bear’s roar came from a distance. Despite that, his focus was more towards his chest, trying to reach for that power he sensed several times within this journey. It was as though he was looking forward in a single path, where he saw a shadowy figure ahead of him. Yet this figure was wrapped in chains that could not break despite its immense size and bulk.

The tent shook a bit, the vision fading away before he felt fabric landing on his head. He opened his eyes, seeing the brown tent on top of him and he crawled towards the exit, his head poking out. He blinked, a bear running away with one of the tent’s support wrapped around its leg even as it roared out. He stumbled out, brushing away the dirt as he heard the bear’s fading roar that sounded as though it was afraid.

A rumble came through the forest, at first distant but became harsher by the second. Aleph looked up, noting that this ‘earthquake’ felt more rhythmic in its pacing rather than a sudden jolt. A thooming sound went through and he gulped, the birds flying away. He spun behind him and he gasped.

A giant Ninetales walked above him and heading this way.

“MAF!”

Aleph ran as fast as his legs could take him, which was faster than he would typically be as a wolf. Several seconds later, a golden-white paw landed on the tent, flattening it and any trees along the way. He sprinted even faster, soon catching up to the bear from before and leaped over it. A confused roar came from the bear, with it blinking at the disappearing Aleph, before a paw landed on it and the surrounding trees, flattening everything under it.

A river appeared before Aleph, with a flat rock at the middle of it, and he bent his knees down low. With a yelp, he leaped forward and landed on the rock. Half a second later, he jumped again, landing on the other side. With a pant, he sprinted once more, even as a giant paw landed on the exact spot he leaped from.

The ground then rolled downwards and Aleph ran faster, with him leaning his body back. The dirt kicked away from his feet-paws even as he gave out a series of mafs with every step. The ground evened out half a mile later, with him crashing down and rolling around for a couple of seconds, dead leaves clinging onto his furs and clothes. He got up and continued running and not too soon since a paw landed on where he landed, the ground shaking upon impact. One of the Ninetales’ nine tails slammed against a tree from the top of the hill, sending it flying into the air.

The open plains were before Aleph, with grasses as tall as his waist as far as he could see. The grass clung to his legs and he stumbled a bit, with him panting. He looked up and he gulped, a giant golden-white paw right above him. He went to his pocket and pulled out a white flag, waving it before the paw slammed down.

Aleph yipped, feeling his body flattening paper-thin along with the surrounding grass. His eyes spun, seeing nothing but spirals and darkness. He shivered, his body expanding against the crater he lay within. A second passed before the sunlight came to his flat body, showing little more than light blue, blue, and red with a couple of gray and white patches.

“Ha! Caught you again!”

That voice sounded familiar, with him shaking away the spirals and he looked up. The giant Ninetales gave out a cheeky grin and Aleph noted the green bandana around the neck. Sea blue was the Ninetales’ eyes color and a badge was on the bandana, which had a lime green A on the center.

“A-Ninetales?!” Aleph said, rolling his flat body up and balancing himself so his flat eyes could look at him, even if the vision was upside down.

“Long time no see, Aleph,” A-Ninetales said, his badge and bandana glowing as he shrunk in size. “Glaurung contacted me four days ago, though I only had time to look for you yesterday. Said that you’ve changed into a fox and you needed a fox named Daren to squish you. Not sure what he was talking about since you looked like your regular wolf self.”

“Maf?” Aleph wiggled as he stood up, trying to keep his vision. “I did.”

“Does it have to be a Daren or the Daren?” A-Ninetales asked, walking towards Aleph as his regular three foot seven size. He raised his paw and green light emitted from it. “After all, you know that my name is Daren.”

“What do you—” Aleph stopped as the light came to him and his body twitched a bit. His body then made a massive popping sound, not flat anymore but facing away from A-Ninetales. He turned around, looking at his limbs and seeing that they weren’t as slim and bushy as before. He rubbed his face, feeling his rectangular muzzle one more, and he noticed the grass wasn’t as tall as before. “Maf?! I am back to normal!”

“As normal as you can be,” A-Ninetales said with a snicker, pressing one of his front paws against his mouth.

“But-but how can this be, A-Ninetales?’ Aleph leaned over to A-Ninetales, his eyes as wide as dinner plates. “You’re not the one I got this aloha shirt from.”

“I do wonder,” A-Ninetales said, tilting his head a bit. “Does this Daren also has—”

A rumbling sound came through the field, as if rolling down. A-Ninetales twisted his body around and he blinked, seeing a massive log coming down the hill. The log, what remains of the flung tree, came down as if in wraith over the destruction. A second later, it contacted A-Ninetales’ foot, with him yipping. Yet it kept on rolling until he was flattened.

Aleph gulped, taking a step back, yet the log came towards him too. He then felt the power again, the feeling from his chest. Except that power felt far stronger, as if its shadowy figure ripped apart the chains that shackled it. He closed his eyes, slamming his fists together, and gave out a long howl. His limbs, thin for a wolf, bulk up. Muscles expanded, quadrupling in size at least, with his arms thick and looking as though they were corded with steel. His legs thickened up, with his pants stretching out with even the seams stretched to their breaking point. His chest expanded, bulking up with muscles even as buttons fly off from his shirt. Within half a second, the small wolf became a hulking one at seven feet tall and four feet wide.

“GRAAAAA!!” Aleph swung a fist at the log. It shattered the wood into countless splinters at the middle and the sides flying into the atmosphere. He gave out a hearty laugh, with his tail slamming down and causing a macro-scaled quake. “HAHAHA! I AM INVINCIBLE!”

“Aleph?” A-Ninetales wiggled against the ground. “What just happened?”

“I JUST PUNCHED THAT PUNY LOG AWAY! HAHAHA!” Aleph gave out a wolfish grin, walking over to A-Ninetales’ head and kneeling nearby. “AND NONE CAN STOP ME!”

“Are you alright?” A-Ninetales’ eyes widened. “You’re not acting yourself—”

Aleph picked up the flat A-Ninetales by the ears, giving out a massive grin even as his other arm flexed. “NO NEED TO WORRY! THIS IS—”

At that second, his muscles shrunk in size. His limbs became thin, his torso became, flat, and his neck was no longer as thick. His muscles became nonexistent, with the seams fixing themselves and the buttons back on. Aleph, back to his regular self again, blinked nervously.

“Um, how do I unflatten you? Maf?”

“No need.” A-Ninetales’ badge glowed, and he popped back into shape, with him flopping on top of Aleph. The two fell onto the grass, with Aleph giving out a meep, only for A-Ninetales reaching up and rubbing his ears and hair. “Now that’s over with. How about I fix the damages I have done? It’ll be a good test run with the upgrade Glorfindel gave this badge.”

#   #   #

“Remarkable,” Dr. Anvil said.

A-Ninetales sat in the room, having carried Aleph to the hospital that examined him four day ago. While it would be a week-long journey for a normal-sized person, for a size-shifting Ninetales it was only a few hours. He leaned against the door even as Aleph, with his flat tongue sticking out, lay flat on the bed.

“In all of my years, I never seen the F-0X disease defeated by another fox, even if that fox is, in fact, a Pokémon,” Dr. Anvil said, leaning back. “And what you described after Aleph changed back, his brief time as a werewolf-like entity, I didn’t believe that it was possible.”

“I wondered about that myself and I have an idea.” A-Ninetales rubbed his chin. “Supposed if the foxes were related, even if that was though parallel universes. Would that also undo the F-0X disease?”

“Hmm! Parallel universes. It would be an unlikely event, even though this world could be considered a hub world. But, if there was a common trait,” Dr. Anvil pressed the stethoscope onto Aleph’s chest, “I believe that it could also work. Would have to add that note in.”

“I see.” A-Ninetales turned his head upwards towards Dr. Anvil. “As for what happened with Aleph becoming some kind of beast?”

“Hmm. Perhaps.” Dr. Anvil pulled out a magnifying glass and looked into Aleph’s eyes. “I believe I figured it out. Somehow, Aleph unlocked his Toon Star form.”

“A what?” A-Ninetales asked in a dry tone, his ears flattening back.

“A Toon Star form. It’s one of the highest levels of forms a toon can hold.” Dr. Anvil stuffed a hose into Aleph’s mouth and filled him up with air. “Details are scarce about it, including how it got triggered in the first place. Some say that it’s through bonds while others say that it’s though getting touched by a deity-like being.” A-Ninetales’ eyes shifted away. “But once it’s unlocked, the toon is enhanced with strength that few could equal. Even at the lowest levels, their strength can throw a moon as though it was a baseball. Even flattening them for long is impossible since they can unflatten themselves.”

“Woah!” Aleph removed the hose from his mouth even as his pupils turned into stars. “I doubt anyone could beat me now!”

“Yes, well, there are some limitations. First off, you’ll need to train yourself to maintain that form for long periods.” Dr. Anvil pulled out a clipboard and wrote in some notes. “You’ll also need to be mindful that, while in that form, your personality would shift. To put it simply, a mirror personality.”

“Huh.” A-Ninetales whispered to himself, “I guess Jung wasn’t that much of a quack after all.”

“Who’s young?” Aleph asked, approaching A-Ninetales and rubbing his ears.

A-Ninetales murred for a few seconds, wagging his tails. “Sorry. It’s nothing.”

“Hmm. In any case,” Dr. Anvil ripped out a piece of paper and gave it to Aleph, “there’s still the question of payment. It’ll cost three million dollars or ten flattenings.”

Aleph gulped, even as his tail wagged behind him. “I guess I’ll take the ten flattenings again.”

#   #   #

“Maf, guess all’s well that ends well,” Aleph said, stepping out from the hospital with A-Ninetales by his side. He reached over and rubbed A-Ninetales’ ears, who murred in response. “What a crazy week.”

“I guess it has been for you,” A-Ninetales replied as one of his tails flicked. “In any case, it’s time for me to head off again.”

“Awwww. So soon?” Aleph clutched his hands together as his tail wagged behind him, his body vibrating.

“Afraid so,” A-Ninetales replied. He lifted up with his hind legs and reached over to Aleph, hugging him. “I spent yesterday and today looking for you. As such, the break time from training with Faith has ended and I have to go back.”

“Oh! How’s she taking her macro training?” Aleph hugged back, a tongue sticking out from him.

“She’s still a bit shaky with trying not to cause destruction while huge, but she’s getting better.” A-Ninetales licked Aleph’s cheek before letting go. “If anything, her toughness level will be unbeatable by the time she masters it.”

“Sounds like you’re having fun, just like those times with Saria.” Aleph booped A-Ninetales’ nose, who flinched before laughing. “Just teasing you.”

“I know. See you next time.”

A-Ninetales walked down the road, with all nine tails swaying behind him. It’s been a series of random events, but it was a fun one. Aleph waved at A-Ninetales before walking down the opposite way, his mind still flashing over the Toon Star form he discovered. If he met Daren again, he would show it off to him.

Five steps later, a giant mallet landed on top of Aleph. He gave out a massive maf as his head met his feet, becoming as flat as paper and as round as a coin. The mallet was lifted off from him, with him looking upon his assailant.

“Trees! Don’t you know how dirty a Pokémon can be!? And you let him lick you!!”

A gray hand-paw grabbed the coin-like Aleph and carried him away, grumbling all the while. Soon, he was brought into a laundromat and shoved into a washing machine, with powder dumped on top of him. Soon, the lid closed on top, and water flowed on top of Aleph. He got spun around, his body unflattening even as his eyes contained spirals once more.

“Maaaaaaaaf.”

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