Dimalanta Household
"Okay, let's cut to the chase." Rachel started as they all gathered in Matt and Yin's room, standing around Chris, who still held the tiny Panini and Cheren on his pinky finger. "How did you two get like that?"
Chris held the two close to his ear as their tiny voices cried out. "The magic door in the forest!!"
"They said it was a magic door in the forest."
"You think you could help us find where it is?" Aurora asked. The duo nodded.
"That still doesn't tell us where Mason and Sheila are." Leanne stated with worry. "I sure hope they're okay."
"Well, as long as they have each other," Rachel began, "I'm sure they'll be just fine."
Virginia Sewers
Stage 2: Sewer Adventure
Mission: Find a way out of the sewers and get back home!
Mason and Sheila continued progressing through the vast sewers, not having gotten too far considering their height, looking around at all the pipes that spewed waterfalls from high above them. "Man, this place is so big… it'll take forever to find the one we came out of." Mason said. "And even if we do, how are we even gonna climb back up?"
Mason was suddenly stopped by Sheila. "Oi, look, Mason!" the child excitedly pointed far ahead as a trio of giant red and black dung beetles grabbed some waste out of the river and flew up into a hole that was high up on the brick wall.
"Were those… dung beetles?" Mason asked, disgustedly.
"Oi bet they can help us! Le's go after them!"
"Ohhh…" Mason was already feeling sick to his stomach. (Play "Pooland" from Conker's Bad Fur Day!)
The two quickly headed to the wall the dung beetles flew up. The hole which they flew in was many stories above them. However, there was a long, gaping curved crack in the wall that seemed to lead up there. Mason and Sheila went into the crack and began jumping their way up the many giant bricks to get up there, and Sheila also helped them fly a couple ways up. When they had made it to the top, they proceeded to enter the tunnel, the powerful smell of sewer waste still reaching their noses. They moved slowly and crouched behind a doorway as they spied into some room, watching as those three dung beetles sat around a table and drank tea.
"Ahh, don'tcha just love it when some kid gets 'imself stuffed with meat?" one of the dung beetles asked.
"Crikey! Talking dung beetles!" Sheila exclaimed before running inside.
"Sheila, wait!" Mason tried to stop her, but couldn't.
"Blimey! You blokes are the biggest dung beetles I've ever seen!" she exclaimed with amazement.
"'ey, who the heck are these guys?" the first one asked.
"Duh, they're some weird-lookin' bugs, Razza." The second one said in a dimwitted tone.
"Hey, hang on, they ain't bugs. They're brats!" the third one pointed out.
"What? But aren't humans supposed to be… I dunno, taller?" the first one, Razza asked.
"We… had a little accident." Mason stated sheepishly, scratching his head.
"Ehn, just who are you brats?"
"Moi name's Sheila! And this 'ere is Mason, mates!" Sheila happily answered.
"Mason, ah?… Wait… you mean from that Dimalanta family?"
"Y-You know us?" Mason asked.
"Are you kiddin'? You poisonbenders are pretty well-known to us dung beetles."
"You guys make the most DELICIOUS poo!" the third one said.
"Huhuhu… I like me a good poo…" the second one stated goofily.
"Um…you're welcome?" Mason stated confusedly.
"'ey, Oi don't suppose you blokes 'ave any idea how to get us back to Mason's house?" Sheila asked.
"Oh, sure we do." Razza said. "We know the sewers like the backs of… well, whatever we have for hands."
"But, uh…it might not be best for you to go right now." The third one said.
"W…Why not?" Mason asked.
"There's somethin' real nasty in these sewers…" the second one answered.
"And this is?" he rose a brow at the balls of poo lined up on the wall.
"No, no, we mean somethin' REAL nasty. It eats bugs like us." The third one replied.
"Lately, some monster's been lurking down here." The first one continued. "Some monster that hides within the waste. It could be hiding anywhere down here. Unfortunately, no one who's seen it has lived to tell the tale."
"Except Tezza here saw it once." The third one said.
"Duh, it was scary. Them green eyes were big'uns." The dumb one said.
"And I saw it, too. Its hand, anyway." The third one, Bazza stated. "Saw him eat another dung beetle. There was no escapin' for that guy."
"As far as we know, this is the only safe place." Razza began. "It's never safe to go out to the river to grab dinner without that thing stalkin' up on us."
"Well, strewth! Maybe we can 'elp you blokes beat this drongo!" Sheila smiled, waving her fist.
"Nah, nah, there's no way." Bazza denied. "You're better off just gettin' outta here."
"Then, can you tell us the way?" Mason asked.
"Oh, sure. This area's just below where your house is. Just follow the path upward over there." Razza pointed to a door beside the table. "You'll be up there in no time."
"Alright! Thanks!"
"Yeah, good luck. You kids are gonna need it with a beast like that on the loose."
Mason and Sheila then proceeded into the hallway ahead. "WHOA!" They stopped and gasped when a massive brown, gooey hand shot through the wall and nearly grabbed them before retreating away. They exchanged a frightened glance before proceeding cautiously. At the end of the hallway, they came to a chamber that led upward a few stories, and had several pipes with the brown substance pouring out. The two balanced their way up a few narrow walkways and gripped onto thin strings of toilet paper, using them to climb higher. Before they could swing to another one, a waterfall of poo poured down in their path. They waited for it to stop before swinging to the next string. The two climbed a bit higher before reaching a dangling lever. They jumped and grabbed to pull the lever down. The sounds of toilet flushing were heard as the chamber began to fill with filthy liquid.
They disgustedly used this to their advantage and allowed the liquid to float them up higher. They were eventually lifted up to a pipe and progressed into it. They arrived at a room where a series of dungballs were being rolled down rows of stairs. The two quickly headed up the stairs and jumped over any dungball that would run them over. When they made it up, they entered the tunnel where the dungballs came from, sidling against the wall to let the balls roll by. At the end of the tunnel was a hole in the ceiling where the dungballs were dropping from, and to the side was a door to the next room. They now stood on a short ledge over a pool of the brown goo. Sticking out of the pool was several more hands of the same substance.
Mason and Sheila took a few steps back before leaping to the first hand. They quickly jumped to the next one before the first one snapped shut on them, and rapidly pounced around the hands to avoid being snatched. They thankfully made it to the other side, finding several ripped toilet paper pieces on the ground. The toilet paper emerged into Scummy Mummies, who waddled their way over to try and bash the duo with toilet plungers. The two easily avoided as Sheila began punching Light Spheres at them, while Mason whacked them with Poison Whip, taking them out easy. They then proceeded into the next room, standing on a ledge over another chasm of poo. They noticed a roll of toilet paper sitting along two parallel lines and hopped on. They carefully made the roll move forward to balance on and keep going. A couple geysers of poo rose up, but they slowed to a halt and waited for them to die down.
After reaching the other side, they hopped off onto the platform and found a small ball of poo. "You know, Mate, my adventurer instincts tell me we're going to need this." Sheila said.
"Ugh. Well, the adventurer instincts are never wrong." With that, the two decided to roll the ball along as they headed up a hill into another hall. The two were then continuing along a narrow pathway over a river of poo, the ball getting bigger as they rolled it. They looked around the ball and saw a hole in the road, watching a giant poo hand reach out. The hand felt around that part of the path to try and find them. They carefully rolled past the hand when it searched around the other side.
"Oi, check it out!" Sheila whispered. "You just roll it and roll it, and it gets bigger and biggerer! It's just like a snowball!"
"Hehe, yeah. A more disgusting snowball." The two arrived at a part of the path where it split in three, with two more holes in-between. As expected, two hands emerged from the holes and felt around the path. Like before, the duo patiently waited until both hands were further enough away before they carefully rolled the ball across, with the left hand almost touching them. They finally arrived at the end of the path, looking down as a bigger, fatter dung beetle sat and blocked the next entrance. The two pushed the ball down, and it landed on his head, waking him from his slumber.
"W-Whuh?…" the beetle startled awake and searched around, hovering a little with his wings. "Oh, this one will do…" He said before rolling the giant dungball away.
The two entered the door he was guarding and found a room with a wide hill leading upwards, wet with a puddle of toilet water flowing down. As they walked up, giant boulders of poo dropped from the ceiling and rolled toward them, the first one running them over. They shook the dizziness off and avoided the rest of the dungballs as they kept going. Once at the top, a couple of Poohemoths emerged from the ground. Sheila tried to punch one in the gut, but her fist ended up caught inside its form. She pushed her feet against it to try and pull her fist out, but the monster only grabbed her by the head and tossed her away. Mason rapidly whipped against the other one with his Poison Whip, wrapping the weapon around its arm and allowing the monster to swing him away.
The two recovered and stood to face the Poohemoths again. Mason found a small roll of toilet paper on the ground and tossed it into one's mouth. The Poohemoth monster coughed and choked on this absorbent before melting. Sheila then took notice of a lever dangling from the ceiling and decided to yank it. A compartment on the ceiling opened and dropped a giant wet-wipe onto the remaining Poohemoth, easily absorbing it. Once they were gone, the door opened beside them, and they continued into an area with a flowing river of trash, which was obviously quite wide to their size. The two headed down and started to hop their way over the river using the trash. The giant poo hands stuck out of the river and snuck over to try and grab them, but Sheila quickly got them across using her tail propeller, and they weren't looking forward to falling under and seeing the source of the hand.
Eventually, the two made it across and looked up as ripped toilet paper, designed like a ladder, led all the way up into another pipe. The two took hold and carefully started climbing the thin ladder, going several stories higher up. Mason glanced down to the river and noticed the monstrous pair of eyes watching them as it flowed past. Mason kept his worried expression as they climbed the rest of the way. (End song.)
Dimalanta Household
Aurora held a magnifying glass over the mini duo. Cheren and Panini's eyes widened with fright at how enormous Aurora's ocean-blue eye was now. The tiny duo pointed their way through the forest outside. Aurora walked carefully so as not to drop them, and the rest of the group followed her. When Cheren and Panini recognized the scenery, they both raised a hand, gesturing for Aurora to stop. "Right here?" They nodded and gestured to put them down. Aurora carefully got down on one knee and rested her pinky on the ground, laying it flat. The two slid down onto her fingernail and afterwards leapt off and dashed ahead.
The rest of the crew gathered and crouched down, squinting closely as the tiny figures scampered all the way over to an equally tiny door. Aurora crawled a bit closer to observe the door with her magnifying glass. "This door?" The two nodded once more.
"We opened this door and found some kind of swirling vortex." Cheren explained.
"When we went in, we came out the size of ants, and we couldn't open it back up." Panini followed. "Then Mrs. Uno came looking for us, so we hitched a ride on her shorts. But then we fell off when she entered the house, and we kept yelling out to people until Chris noticed us."
"Wait, you mean that was you two that landed on my foot?" Rachel asked.
"Well, yah…" Cheren scratched his head.
"Boy, do I feel guilty now…" Rachel frowned in shame.
"Don't worry about it, Mom. We know they're safe now." Aurora assured.
"So, what I'm getting is, Mason and Sheila also found this door, and were shrunk down, too, when they entered it." Matt summarized.
"Then THAT means the li'l buggers must be somewhere around here!" Marine exclaimed.
Hearing this, Haruka gave a quiet, horrified gasp, her eyes wide. The girl quickly checked the bottom of the shoe which she used to squish the two "bugs" before, trying to find a trace of Mason and Sheila on the muddy sole. "No, wait." Matt spoke. "Yin said she found them on her finger. So, they must be inside the house somewhere… right?"
"That only depends if we didn't accidentally squish them by now." Yin said. At this, everyone gave terrified faces and checked the bottoms of their shoes.
"Calm down, you guys." Matt told them. "They're probably fine… somewhere. Let's all just get back inside the house and start looking for them. Afterwards, we need to find a way to open this door back up." With looks of worry and dread, the lot of them headed back to the house. Haruka just kept a guilty expression as she looked down in shame.
Virginia Sewers
After climbing their way up the ladder, the two had arrived in a rather large chamber with a pool of poo in the center, with a pathway going around it. Inside the pool was three more dung beetles going for a swim. "Oi, that level didn't sit well with my stomach, eh?" Sheila slightly grunted.
"Well, at least we should be close to the top by now. Let's ask these guys if they know anything." Mason walked closer to the edge and called out to the dung beetles, "Um, EXCUSE ME? You guys have any idea how to get to the Dimalanta home?"
The beetles paused in their swimming to look up at them. "Oh yeah, of COURSE we know how ta get theres-is! Where'dya think we're swimmin' in?" one of them asked. "Those guys makes the best-"
"Yeah, yeah, we make the best poo, now directions?"
"Yeh-yeh, just keeps headin's up theres-is." He indicated the tunnel way at the end of the path.
"Okay. Thanks." Mason called out as the two continued along the path.
"Oi, let us come back for a swim, eh?" Sheila waved at them.
"Please let us not, Sheila." Mason mumbled in disgust. As the dung beetles were enjoying their swim however, one of them had been suddenly yanked beneath the surface. Mason and Sheila immediately stopped in their path and turned to see one of them gone.
"Ah, it's okays." The other one waved them off. "He's probably got sucked down the drain again. Barnie, help him out, would ya?" The other dung beetle, Barnie, took a breath and dove beneath the surface. A couple bubbles emerged from where he dove, and then vanished after a few seconds. Mason and Sheila exchanged terrified glances at this. The remaining dung beetle began to look worried and said, "Ahh, okays…" he calmly flew out of the poo, "I'm just gonna… take a…" His sentence was cut short when a hand suddenly emerged from the pool. "Wa-wa-WAAAH!" He tried to get away, but the hand shot over and pulled him down below.
Mason and Sheila stepped back in absolute fear as the center of the pool began to bubble tremendously. (Play "The Mighty Poo Sloprano" from Conker's Bad Fur Day!)
The dung beetle shook around and pleaded for mercy as it was held by the wings by a gargantuan blob of poo. The demon dripped with the brown goo as it rised from the depths, its mouth open wide as his rotten yellow teeth were exposed. The beetle shook around even more and tried desperately to get away. The monster held its mouth open wider and snacked the bug in one bite, licking his fingers clean.
Mason and Sheila were horrified at the sight. The monster of poo took notice of them and cleared his throat. He pulled out some pills and dropped them into his mouth, then washed them down with some water. He cleared his throat a little more and started to sing in a deep, powerful voice that echoed throughout the sewers.
"I… AM… the Great Mighty Poo, and I'M going to THROW my crud at YOU.I hail from, you see, people's chocolate and pee.I'll turn you into scat, you little brats!"
Mason and Sheila exchanged a disbelieved glance before slowly sticking their fingers down their throats. "BLEEHH!" They barfed over the ledge behind them.
Boss fight: Great Mighty Poo
The two jumped to the side to avoid being crushed by one of his dungballs. They tried to hurry over to the way they came in, but the Mighty Poo slammed his hand on the path and made it collapse. They tried to hurry down the way ahead next, but the monster slammed its hand on Mason and clutched the boy. The monster swung Mason around in the air, but Sheila saved him by charging a large Light Sphere and blasting at the monster's face. He was blinded by the light and dropped Mason onto the foothold, but regained vision in seconds. The Mighty Poo laughed before switching to further ahead in the path as Mason and Sheila tried to run that way.
The Mighty Poo opened his mouth wide and sang at the top of his lungs. His booming voice caused the cavern to shake, which made several waste and debris fall down onto the ground. They tried to get further down the path, but the Mighty Poo kept appearing in their way and singing to the heavens. However, one of the items that fell down was a giant roll of toilet paper. The two exchanged a smirk before lifting the paper and tossing it straight into his mouth. This caused the Mighty Poo to begin choking, and Mason proceeded to burp a Gas Bomb at his lower left hip and explode a chunk off of him. As they reached the end of the first path, into the next room, the Mighty Poo appeared in their way again, the gap in his hip healing instantly.
"Do you really THINK you'll SURVIIIVE in here? You don't seem to know which creek you're IIIN. I am made of ALL the things that go through peoples' rear. How d'you think I keep this lovely grin?" He grinned widely and exposed his rotten teeth. "HAVE some more caviar!"
The Mighty Poo pulled out a bowl of caviar and dipped a spoon in, using it to fling the fish eggs at the duo. The two hurried down the path and dodged the flying caviar. When they made it to a gap that was too far to jump, Sheila grabbed Mason and used her tail to fly them across, landing them on the next foothold. The two kept running and reached a dead end. Sheila noticed poo stalactites hanging from the ceiling and used her light chain to hook onto one, Mason keeping hold on her as she swung them across. They swung their way over to a chain on the other end, grabbing and pulling down. This caused some blue toilet-cleaner substance to spray out from the ceiling and sting the Mighty Poo's eyes.
The Mighty Poo burst into his booming singing again, making poo stalactites drop down as the friends hurried across the next path. They jumped more gaps in the floor and stopped before another giant toilet paper roll fell on them. Once again, they lifted the paper and tossed it into his open mouth, causing him to choke. They quickly hurried into the next room before he recovered and appeared in their path again.
"Now I'm really getting RATHER mad, you're like a wiggly tickly CRUDDY little tagnut. When I've knocked you OUT with AAALL my bab, I'm gonna take your heads and ram them up MY BUTT!"
"Your butt?" Mason asked.
"That's right, MY BUTT!"
"Yo' butt?" Sheila asked.
"My butt-"
"Ew." Mason cringed.
"My butt-"
"EWW!" Sheila exclaimed.
"MY BUUUUUUUUUTT!"
Even more arms emerged from the Mighty Poo's form, the kids rapidly dodging around to avoid being smashed. There seemed to be no other ways to go, except a tremendous tower leading upward. In the meantime, the two just moved quickly around the foothold to avoid the Mighty Poo's slamming fists. Mason quickly burped Gas Bombs at some of the fists to blow them away, while Sheila charged and punched Light Spheres at them. The Mighty Poo retreated his spare fists and started pulling out dungballs to throw at them, but Sheila punched more light balls at the dungballs and splattered them in one hit.
The Mighty Poo burst into song once again, causing debris to fall down even faster. The kids rapidly dodged the falling sewage items before grabbing the convenient roll of toilet paper and tossing it into his throat, the monster choking once again.
Overcome with anger, the Almighty Poo sang louder than ever. "Aaaaaa-Aaaaaa-AAAAAAAAAAA!" His singing so great, the sewers trembled even more, and Mason and Sheila covered their ears tight. Just then, an enormous geyser of water shot up from below, sending the two directly up the tower.
The Mighty Poo kept after them and rapidly climbed its way up the tower, the kids hurriedly dodging to avoid his snapping hands. They kept going higher and higher, hoping eventually they'd reach the top. "AAAH, SHEILA!" Mason screamed, alerting them to a down-facing pipe up above. The geyser slammed them into the pipe and washed them down it, the two screaming as they surfed who-knows-where.
Dimalanta Household
As Aurora was searching around the bathroom, she rose a brow at the sight of the toilet shaking around. "Um, FRANCIS?" she called the boy over. Francis curiously approached his friend as Aurora led him over beside the toilet. "Did you clog the toilet by any chance?"
"It wasn't me. I wonder what's happening…"
At that instant- "GRAH!"
"AHH!" The two winced in shock when the blob of poo emerged from the toilet. Aurora and Francis immediately grabbed a plunger and began pounding it down on the monster. Aurora then pushed the lever.
"DAAAH, you snot-nosed kids, look what you've done! I'm flushing, I'm flushing! Oh, what a world, what a world." Aurora and Francis watched in confusion as the monster swirled and sunk down the toilet. "To think that a couple of pint-sized kids like you, could destroy my BEAUTIFUL clagginess! Ah, I'm going! Aaaaaah!Nooooo! Aaaaaaahhhhhhhh…"
"Hmph." Aurora glared at Francis. "You have one crazy bowel movement." Afterwards, the two left the bathroom. (End song.)
By this time, night had fallen, and the crew had given up searching for their shrunken friends. Down in the kitchen, Rachel was leaned against the table as she spoke on a phone. "No, we're still looking for a solution, Patton, though we think we have a plan. But don't worry, your daughter is safe."
"Oh, good." Patton sighed in relief. "Just have my daughter fixed soon. Fanny's losing it over here."
"Heh, just make sure she doesn't go on a rampage. Good night, Patton." With that, Rachel hung up.
Panini shuddered, having just watched this with Cheren on the kitchen table. "I hope we get big soon. I'd be absolutely terrified seeing my mom so big."
"Well, your Uncle Paddy and Shaunie saw her like that once." Cheren reminded. "Just ask them for advice."
"Okay, guys, I have your rooms all set up!" Haruka said, holding her hand open for the tiny duo. She carried them up to her room and presented a dollhouse on her nightstand. "It's a dollhouse I used to play with. The bed inside should be a nice fit for you both~"
The inside of the dollhouse was perfectly fit for their height. The two went upstairs into the bedroom and lied on the bed, finding it rather comfy. The two looked out the window as a tremendous brown eye peeked in. "Awww. You two look so adorable." Dillon cooed. The two gave him annoyed looks before settling under the covers.
"Dillon, don't tease them." Haruka stated. "Since you're staying over, you can sleep in Mason's bed. But watch your step!"
"Yeah, I know…" Dillon left the room, keeping his eyes downward.
Haruka depressedly sat on her bed with her head rested on her hand. The twin sniffled and said, "I can't believe I…I almost killed my brother." She wiped a tear off. "They were right in front of me… and I squished them… right under my big, dumb feet!" she angrily kicked her legs. "Oh, Mason… please be okay." She somberly relaxed on her bed and drifted to sleep.
Unknown bathroom
The force of the monster's rampage sent Mason and Sheila far up the pipelines. "Whooooaaaa!" Eventually, they came launching right out of a toilet, crashing on a posh bathroom floor. "Huff…ugh…phew…glad that's over…" Mason gasped.
"Did we… make it back?" Sheila pushed her tired self up.
Mason stood and looked around. There was an elegant-looking bathtub with a fancy shower curtain and lots of pleasant soaps. "This doesn't look anything like my house."
The friends crossed the floor to the bathroom's open doorway. It led to an enormous bedroom with lots of gigantic stuffed toys, a luxurious dollhouse, and a mountainous bed with an overhang. There were echoing snores resounding from atop the bed. "I don't recognize this place at all. In fact, this looks like some rich kid's home. Probably a girl, judging by all this junk."
"It ain't the worst thing, eh? Why don't we climb on up there and ask her to help us?"
"Even if she would, she sounds fast asleep. In fact…" the boy yawned, "so am I…"
Sheila yawned as well, rubbing her tired eyes. "Oi, me too. We gotta find a safe place to rest. …I reckon that house should have a few rooms open!" Her eyes perked as she pointed to the huge dollhouse.
"Hey, yeah!" Mason beamed. The two immediately dashed across the jungle of carpet fibers and arrived at the large house. They entered the front door and decided to have a look around the house. It perfectly fit their size, though maybe a few inches bigger. "Wow! It's amazing in here! It's so detailed!"
"Mason, check this out up here!" Mason followed her voice and climbed up to an attic. A golden bell was hung up, a string attached to it. Sheila rang the bell.
"It jingles! Sheila, that's it! When this kid wakes up, we'll use this to get her attention!"
"Strewth! You think she can get us back home, mate?"
"I mean… it's really the only chance we've got. We could at least ask her to call our parents…" Still, Mason was hesitant to ask a complete stranger for help while they were so small and practically helpless. After all, this kid could easily be a spoiled brat.
"Well, let's see if this place has a bed first." Sheila suggested. They explored and found a bedroom, exchanging wide smiles at the sight of the huge bed. "Aw, RIPPER!" Sheila excited ran over and jumped out of her sandals, joyfully rolling around the soft, relaxing bed. "This bed is rippuh! And look! It's fit for two!"
"Al-halright!" Mason cheered. The boy kicked off his shoes before jumping onto the bed with Sheila. Sheila lay on the window side while Mason lay beside her, getting easily accustomed to the bed's softness. "Man, this thing is perfect! We'll be getting plenty of sleep like this!"
"Ah, nothin' relieves the excitement of adventure like a good ol', cozy bed." Sheila smiled, spreading her legs out and wiggling her toes.
"Got that right…" Mason smiled, resting his head on the pillow. He glanced beside at his friend. "Um, Sheila?"
"Yah, Mate?" Sheila rolled her eyes to him.
"Um…even though we almost died several times… I really enjoyed this adventure. It was really fun…"
"Hehe." Sheila widely grinned and showed her pearly whites. "Thanks, but… maybe I enjoyed it a little too much."
"Well, yeah… but I'm sorry I went off on you like that."
"Nah, it's okay. Tomorrow, I'll make sure to get us both back to normal. Even if I gotta force this stranger to help us!"
"Heh, I'm hoping she does. But, no matter what happens… let's promise to stick together from now on."
"Hee hee! It's a promise!"
And so, the two rested their heads on the pillow and peacefully drifted into sleep. For the first time, neither of them were worried about being small or dying. After a long day's humongous struggles, the two had never felt more at peace. Being with their best friend, the person they cherished more than anyone else, they knew they would be safe. A dim blue light shone into the tiny window of the dollhouse, lighting up the sleeping couple. The full moon shone brightly through Haruka's window, onto the dollhouse. The two peacefully slept under the calm light, letting the worries out of their mind.
Dimalanta Household
By the time noon arrived the next day, all the house guests began to crawl around the floor, searching intently for the two missing kids. They heard the doorbell ring, and Matthew went over to answer it. "Hey, Angie! What brings you here?"
The woman in question was Angelie McKenzie, a thin young woman with light-brown hair, a green top with white shorts, and thin, but sturdy bare legs. "I received Rachel's text about the situation last night. I decided to get one of my old friends and bring her over. She says she might know a way to fix them."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Could you bring Cheren and Panini here?"
Matt sent the news to Rachel, and the Uno mother proceeded to bring the tiny kids in her hand. The duo waved up at Cheren's aunt Angie, who seemed rather adored. "Hm hm! Everyone, I'd like you to meet my friend, Chiri."
Angie held an open hand to Rachel's. Standing on it appeared to be a light-yellow, chipmunk-like woman. Her eyes were big, black, and beady, ears long, she wore a purple beret, and had a light-purple dress made of grass blades. "Hello, you two!"
"Whoa! What are you?" Cheren asked.
"Tehe! I'm a Minish! After your mom relayed the story to Angie, she suspected it was a Minish Door that shrunk you."
"A Minish Door?"
"They're magic doors that are only supposed to appear every hundred years. I'm not sure why one has appeared now, but you'll need my help to get it back open. Could you lead me to where it is?"
"Yeah!"
Angie carried them all to where the kids directed. Once at the door, she set them all on the ground. Chiri approached the little door and placed her hands to it, uttering some kind of incantation. Before their eyes, the swirling green vortex opened. "There! Now you'll be able to grow back!"
"You sure it's not just gonna make us smaller?"
"Hehe, you'll be as small as Gupna if that happened! But I promise you don't have to worry."
The kids took her word and entered the vortex. Angie picked Chiri back up, watching as the portal expanded to human size. It opened back up, and Cheren and Panini came stumbling out. "It worked! We're big, Panini!" Cheren embraced her in a hug.
"And Ay'm still bigger than ya!"
"Only by a few inches!" The two broke away and viewed the tiny woman on Angie's palm. "Thank you, Chiri. We really owe you one."
"It's my pleasure!" she replied in a tiny voice. "Now, what about these friends of yours? Have you found them?"
"No, but we should help get on that. Mason and Sheila have to see us looking for them. We just need to be careful not to overlook them."
…
Yin entered her daughter's room and saw Haruka lain depressedly on her bed. She sat on the bed, touching a hand to her shoulder. "What's wrong, Haru? Don't you wanna help look for your brother?"
"I don't think he wants my help…"
"Why not? Did you get in a big fight before they shrunk?"
"Well… not exactly, but… when I went out to look for them… I saw them… flying by my face. I didn't know it was them… so I squished them. Squished them like bugs! I know they're OK now, but… Mason needed my help more than ever, and I tried to kill him. He'll probably hate me for the rest of his life…"
"Well, if you really think he's mad, then you need to make it up to him. You can do that by helping find them. We have a way to fix them now, but they need our help first."
"You're…you're right." Haruka pushed herself up. "Besides… I'm the doctor of Sector V. My mission is to heal physical ailments and save lives. And shrinking is a kind of ailment, right?"
"I would imagine so! So, let's get to work, Doctor Haruka!"
Unknown mansion
Mason and Sheila were woke by light tremors. As morning light peered through the giant window, the owner of the room woke from her slumber. She was a girl of about 10 years old. She took a bath in her washroom and fixed her long, light-blonde hair to be very wide and puffy. She wore a very frilly light-green dress with a white blouse underneath. On her head was a darker green ribbon with a blue pearl. Rings adorned her fingers, which had pointed, but trim nails. A pair of clean, white, elegant stockings covered her feet.
The girl hummed a merry tune as she dressed herself. She put a thin coating of pink lipstick over her mouth, and her smile reflected the radiance in her pretty blue eyes. Freckles also dotted her face. "She looks pretty nice, I'd wager!" Sheila said hopefully. "Let's ring the bell and give her a holler, Mason!"
"Yeah, let's try it…"
"Hm, hm hm, huh?" The rich girl heard a ringing sound. She looked to her large dollhouse. The jingle bell in its attic was being rung by something. "Hu-!" She let out a gasp. Only one thing could be ringing that bell!
The girl crouched down and carefully pulled off the roof of the house. Her gargantuan eyes peered over the rim. "Huuuuu!" She let out a gasp of awe: there were little people inside her dollhouse!
"Hey! Little girl!" Mason called up. "Don't freak out! We need your help!"
"Yeah, take us home!" Sheila yelled.
"No… way!" The girl beamed in a voice that almost sounded like Haruka's. (They both share a voice actor, Kerry Williams.) "Did I…did I finally find the Minish?!"
"Uh…Minish?" Mason cocked a brow.
"Oh, I've waited so long for Minish to come to my dollhouse! I didn't even put new treats in, yet! Ooooo, you're so cute! Let me pick you up!"
The giant lay an enormous index finger down. The nail was big enough to stand on. "Orright! See, Mason, this worked out just fine!" Sheila eagerly jumped on the nail.
"I don't know about this, Sheila…" With hesitation, Mason climbed on the nail. They were raised out of the house, up to the girl's looming irises.
"Tehe!" Seeing them up closer seemed to make her happier. "You're so teeny! But… you don't seem anything like the Minish I heard read about."
"We're not Minish!" Mason yelled. "We're humans! Er, well, I'M human. Sheila's a Faunus. The point is, we're not supposed to be like this! Could you please help us?"
"You're… not Minish?" The girl frowned.
"Yeh!" Sheila yelled. "We need you to take us back home!"
"Awww… I was so sure I could finally have Minish pets."
"P-Pets?" Mason stuttered.
"But… this is my first time finding little people. And you guys are just as little as Minish… so, maybe you'll be just as good." Her smile returned, feeling hopeful.
"Uh…" Mason's heart began to sink in anxiety. "L-Look, Miss, we really need to get home. Could you please just take us?"
"Oh, it's okay, little people! This is your new home!"
"Hey, we don't wanna live here!" Sheila shouted, marching further up the finger. "We wanna get back home to our mates!"
"Hehehe! You're so squeaky! Are you angry, little girl?"
"Yeah, and I'm gonna punch you in the eye unless you help us!"
"Hee hee hee! You can't punch me, silly! You're way too tiny!"
"I'll show you tiny!" Sheila began to spin her fist, light building up.
"Sheila, wait!"
A sunny sphere launched up at the giant's iris. "AH!" She shut her eye, for the tiny sphere burned her retina just enough to hurt slightly. "Hey, that was mean!" Her other eye furrowed. "I'm gonna have to punish you for that!"
"You're the only one getting punished if you don't—hey, hey, hey!"
"SHEILA!" The raccoon was suddenly grasped in the girl's other fingers. It wasn't enough force to crush Sheila, but she struggled for breath.
The girl discarded Mason on her drawers and used her free hand to grab a jar. She dropped Sheila inside the jar. "Now, stay in there until you learn how to behave." She placed the jar before her window, letting sunlight burn brightly in the glass prison. "I'll leave the lid off, but don't think about trying to escape."
"HEY! Let Sheila out of there!" Mason yelled.
"Besides, I like boys much better!" She lightly picked Mason back up. "So, I think I'll just play with you!"
"Come on, kid, please! We just wanna get bigger!"
"Oh, that's right! I never introduced myself! My name is Carol Masterson. I'm the richest girl in Virginia!"
"The richest girl? I've never heard of you."
"Well, today's your lucky day! From now on, I'm your new owner! And I'm gonna call you Pixiefairy!"
"What the…what the heck is wrong with you?!" This girl seemed to have no respect or concern for them at all. As Mason feared… she really was some kind of spoiled rich kid.
"I wish I could put you in my fairy dress… but it's too big. Wait! Maybe I can order an even smaller one!" Carol carried Mason over to her laptop, which was black and had a "$" on it. She opened it and began to look up "ant size fairy dresses." "Oh! There's a few companies who make them! Let's order one right away!"
"This can't be happening…" Mason cringed as the girl began to mash the keyboard. He could seize this chance to run… but where was he going to go? Even if Sheila could escape and they made it out of this mansion, how would they make it back home?
Sheila was unable to build enough momentum to fly herself out of the jar. Even when she tried to punch through it with lightbending, her light merely phased through the glass as easily as sunlight. "Huff…huff…" Still, with all this bright light peering into her prison, it felt as invigorating as it was sweltering. She began trying to absorb this light into herself.
Dimalanta House
The friends decided to call Mikaela Chariton over. The Filipino woman used her Aura Sense to try and search for any tiny presences in the house, but all she found were bugs. Angie's Seismic Sense couldn't find any human-like footsteps outside the house either. "I'm sorry, guys… I'm not having any luck." Mika said.
"What if…what if something really has happened to them?" Yin asked horrifically.
"Honestly, there's so many of us moving around." Lee Andrew replied. "I…I wouldn't be surprised if-"
"Don't say that, Bro!" Leanne shouted. "Maybe… what if they accidentally got washed down a sink or something?"
"That…that's not out of the question." Matt replied. "After Yin thought she saw the kids, I… washed her face in the sink."
"WHAT?!" Yin shouted. "You washed our son down the SINK?!"
"And my DAUGHTER?!" Marine bellowed.
"I-I-I didn't know, I'm sorry!"
"But if that's what happened, we'll have to check the whole sewer or something!" Aurora argued.
"Man, this is awful…" If that really was the answer, Cheren began to feel hopeless. Two of his operatives could very well be lost forever…
Masterson Estate
"Da, da, daaaaa!" Carol presented to Mason a ballet onesie and tutu with fairy wings. "Can you believe how fast it got here? Nothing's too expensive for my money!"
"Carol, I am not putting that on!"
"Yes you are." Carol glared. "I'm your owner now, so you gotta do what I say. Because if you don't, you're gonna be punished. Now, put it on." She slammed her finger to the desk for emphasis.
"Sheesh…" Mason nervously took the dress and begrudgingly swapped out his clothes for it.
"Hee hee! Now you look like a real pixie fairy, Pixiefairy!"
"Carol, what's wrong with you?! This isn't how you're supposed to treat people!"
"So, what? No one else wants to be friends with me. Even when I offer them money, nobody likes me. Even the Minish never wanted to visit my dollhouse. But you're gonna be friends with me even if I have to make you!"
"Carol, we CAN be friends with you! But you have to help us! If you help us get big, we promise we'll be friends!"
"Nuh-uh! If you get big, you'll never wanna speak to me again!"
"Well, we could, if you'd be nice to us!"
"I'm the sweetest, nicest girl in Virginia! Way nicer than that nasty one over there." Carol carried Mason back over to Sheila. She seemed to be spinning her fists as her body grew brighter. "Ha ha! What is she even doing in there?"
To Mason, it seemed like Sheila was actually building her strength. Was she actually planning something? "…Carol, I think Sheila's burning up! You have to take her out of that jar!"
"But she looks kind of pretty in there. Like a little firefly!"
"Carol, please!" Mason folded his hands and looked up with pleading eyes. "Please let my friend out of there?"
"Hmmmm…" Carol stared down at him. He looked positively adorable begging her. It made Carol feel rather powerful. "Well… okay! But you have to do something for me first~"
"W-what?"
Carol smiled wide and raised Mason to her mouth. "You, have, to, kiss, me."
Her lips shaped each word with emphasis. Mason's body flushed red, eyes locked on the enormous pair of soft, pinkish lips. "K-k-k…kiss you?"
"I've never kissed a boy before. And you're the cutest boy I ever met. Give me a great, big kiss, and I'll let your friend out."
"Er…" Mason almost considered blasting a Gas Bomb in her mouth, but he probably didn't have the strength to leave an effect. "F-fine. But you can't kiss me back, okay? You might accidentally suck me in."
"Oh, fine. Mmmmmwwww…"
She puckered her lips and brought them to her finger. Swallowing all the pride in his system, Mason put his own lips to Carol's. She could feel him with a tiny tickle. The idea that such a small boy was kissing her sent her heart aflutter. At the very least, Mason already had his first kiss with Sheila… but the act of doing this in front of Sheila felt so humiliating. Catering to this rich diva's whims… Mason felt sick to his stomach and began to hate her more and more.
"Mwah." Mason let go.
"Mmm hm hm hm! Oh, Pixiefairy! That was the sweetest thing anyone's ever done for me!"
"Can you please free Sheila now? In fact… I bet she's really jealous about that."
"Really?" Carol perked up. "No wonder why she looks so angry." She reached down and picked the jar up, raising it to her eyes. "What's wrong, Sheila? Are you angry that Pixiefairy kissed me and not y-"
"YAH!!!"
Sheila blasted a HUGE beam of light directly through the glass. "AAAAAAHH!!" Blinded by the light, Carol threw both Mason and Sheila into the air. Sheila flew out of the jar and flew to grab Mason in the air. As they watched Carol stumble back on her feet, rubbing her eyes, Sheila said, "Now's our chance, Mason! Let's get her!"
"How are we going to do—thaaaaaaaaaat!" The friends divebombed down as Sheila used her tail to steer them. They landed on the side of Carol's puffy hair.
"The same way we did it to Dillon, mate! Let's go in!" The two dropped atop Carol's ear and were able to get inside.
"Hey!" Carol twisted her finger inside, but the two bolted and made it too far in. The inside of her ears were so clean that there was little wax to impede them.
"How d'ya like THIS?!" Sheila threw a sphere at her eardrum.
"AAAAAAAHH!" Carol clasped her ear in pain.
"Mason, you stay here and talk with her! And I'll make her listen."
"AAAH!" Carol screamed, feeling a punch behind her retinas. "OW!" A punch struck her brain. She shook her head frantically, but the tinies remained steady. "Stop it, stop it! Please!"
"Sheila, she said the 'p' word! I think we got her! Hey, Carol, are you going to listen to us now?!"
"You two are so mean! All I wanted was to be friends!"
"Well, friends don't keep each other as pets! They don't threaten to punish them! If this is how you treat people, then you're never going to make any friends! We may be little people, but we don't deserve to be treated this way! Now, are you gonna help us, or will Sheila have to keep punching you?!"
"One more for the road!"
"OW!" Carol cried, feeling the back of her nasal bridge be punched. Mason's harsh words and the pain forced Carol into crying. She had never been scolded or disciplined before; she always thought it was for normal kids. "Stop it, please! I'll buy you whatever you want!"
"We want you to call our parents! Do you have a phone?!"
"Yes, of course!"
"Good! Now, pick it up, dial this number, and tell them to come get us!"
"Okay, okay! Just stop yelling at me…" Carol meekly went to collect her iPhone. She dialed the number as Mason instructed.
Dimalanta House
Matthew went to answer the kitchen phone as it rang. "Hello? …Yes, this is the Dimalanta House. …You have our little people? I'm sorry… who is this?"
"Matthew, who's on the phone?" Yin asked.
"I… You what?! You have Mason and Sheila?! WHO ARE YOU?!"
"What, were they kidnapped?!" Cheren gasped.
"I see… alright. Let me write it down." Matt quickly scribbled an address on a paper. "We'll be over there shortly. Thank you." He hung up. "Yin, that was some girl. She says she has our kids!"
"What?!"
"Let's go!" Matt, Yin, and Haruka rushed out to the car. "It's the Masterson Estate! She says she'll meet us outside!"
Masterson Estate
Carol compliantly walked out to her front gate, tears dripping as she sobbed. Mason couldn't help but feel pity for her. "Hey… we're sorry if we were too hard on you." Mason said.
"'ey, don't apologize to her, Mason! She made you dress like a fairy!"
"Just be quiet." Carol stated. "I'll give you back to your parents so you can leave me alone. I'll just play with my three parrots… and my 5 turtles and 10 camels and my mutant canary."
"Uh…okay?" Mason was baffled by the notion of all those pets. "Don't your parents ever play with you?"
"My mom's always too busy at work, and my dad left us two years ago. And the servants always do what I say, so they're no fun. I just wanted some friends who were my age."
Carol made it outside and stepped out the front gate. The mansion was set on a cliff overlooking Cleveland Beach. As she waited for Mason's parents, the boy in question decided to climb out of the ear. He climbed his way across Carol's hair and dropped onto her little nose. She rolled her eyes together to see him. "Carol, it's nice that you're doing this for us."
"I'm only doing it so she'll quit hurting me."
"Well, did you at least learn a lesson from this?"
"Yeah… I learned that I just can't have friends, even if I make them."
"Yes you can, Carol. You just have to be nicer to people."
"But I am nice to people. I always offer kids money, but nobody wants it."
"Well… some people just don't want money. Or, maybe they were afraid they'd have to pay you back, or something. But you can't just buy friendship with money."
"Then how did you make friends with that nasty girl?"
"You want me to punch you again?!" Sheila yelled from inside.
"Me and Sheila met when we were little. We played at the beach, I thought she was really fun, and… we sort of hit it off. And ever since, I loved playing with her. She gets a little annoying, sure… but she's my best friend. Every day with her is a blast."
Sheila felt warm hearing that. She felt bad for putting Mason through this experience… but was thankful to him for putting up with her. "But we can be friends, too, Carol. Once I'm big… I'll come to visit you later. We can do something fun."
"…" Her tears stopped flowing as she focused on him with hope. "Do you promise?"
"Yeah! And if you want more friends, maybe you could join the KND someday."
"The… KND?" Carol had considered that a few times. She wondered what the KND would be like… and if she would fit in well with them.
A car came driving up the road. It parked near the mansion as the Dimalantas stepped out. "You! Are you the girl who called?" Matt asked.
"Uh-huh! I have your Pixie—I mean, Mason here…" She picked him up on her finger.
"Mason!" Haruka excitedly (but gently) picked him up. "Thank goodness! But, where's…"
"Right here!" Sheila poked out of Carol's nose.
"Sheila, what are you doing in there?!" Yin exclaimed.
"No time to explain! Just pick me out!"
Haruka held her finger under for Sheila to drop. "How did you end up finding them?" Haruka asked.
"Uh, I…"
"We'll explain everything later." Mason assured. "But Carol let us stay at her house last night. She was really nice to us. Right, Sheila?"
She was baffled by Mason's turn of view towards the rich brat. "Uh…sure, mate, whatever."
"Mmmm…" Carol blushed.
"Well, thank you, Carol." Yin smiled. "We were worried sick about these two. Please let us know if there's anything we can do."
"Uh, well…it would be nice if Maseyfairy can come back to visit sometime! I never got to do nails with him~"
"I see…" Matthew smiled awkwardly.
"Oh, gee…" Mason cringed.
"We'd better get them home. Thanks again, Carol! We'll see you later."
"Okay!" Carol waved the family farewell as they began the drive home. "Hm hm hm!" With a little twirl, she returned to her mansion. She kept Mason's promise in her heart and would await his return. And over time… she began to consider his proposal."
Dimalanta House
The rest was over with no trouble at all. Mason and Sheila were brought to the Minish Door as Chiri helped size them back to normal. The friends were ecstatic to have two of their favorite people back!
"Man, I can't believe all that happened!" Dillon exclaimed after hearing a recount of the story. "So, THAT'S why my ear started acting funny!"
"I'm really sorry, Big Brother." Haruka said, walking over to hug her brother. "If I had only noticed you before, you coulda gotten outta this a lot quicker. I hope you can forgive me."
"Of course I forgive you, Haruka." Mason smiled and hugged his sister back. "I love you. And hey, if you had noticed us, we wouldn't have gotten to go on this awesome adventure! You're the best, Haru."
"Oh, Mason!" Haruka hugged her brother tighter. "I love you, Kuya!"
"Aw, but dude! The part where you fought the Mighty Poo was awesome!" Chris exclaimed.
"Ulp…" Francis gripped his aching stomach. "Easy for you to say… I'll never be able to use the bathroom the same way again…"
"Well, now that it's over, whaddya wanna do now?" Aurora asked. "Wanna go up to Moonbase and celebrate?"
"Not really." Mason said. "I need a bath after clashing with a mountain of poo."
"Me, too." Sheila stated disgustedly. "Let's go home, Ma. Oi'm filthier than an army guy workin' in a outhouse."
"Aye, that sounds right top cricket, eh?" Marine agreed before leading her daughter outside.
"I'll see you later, Sheila!" Mason yelled and waved.
"Take care, Masooon!" Sheila happily waved and walked away. With that done, Mason headed upstairs, a smile plastered on his face as he was getting ready for his bath. He couldn't WAIT for the next adventure.
Hoagie's Airflight
"Good afternoon, passengers, this is your captain speaking." Hoagie's voice came from the plane's speakers. "We'll be landing in Cleveland very shortly. If you take a look out the windows to your left, you can see the chilidog factory in all its glory."
"So after we land, don't forget to stop on by." The pilot finished before switching off the speaker.
"Ahh, the chilidog factory… sure brings back memories, eh Hoags?" Hoagie's copilot, Ace asked.
"E-yup. But now instead of fighting some crazy old man, we're carrying passengers."
The Spanish pilot then looked up in the sky and noticed a bright, expanding light. "Um, Hoagie? …What's that?"
Hoagie munched on an apple crumble before answering, "Oh, this? It's an apple crumble. Don't get too grossed, but it's actually made out of-"
"Not that! That!" Ace pointed up above.
"Hm?" Hoagie looked to where he pointed and noticed the strange light. "I dunno… but it's coming straight at us! Quick! Everybody fasten your seatbelts, we're changing our course!" With that, the two pilots stomped the gas and sped away even faster. The many passengers burst into screams and gripped the seats as tight as they could. They were able to get away just in time before the tremendous object crashed right on top of the chilidog factory, appearing to be some kind of atomic bomb-like force as the factory and all the land around it was swallowed in a powerful explosion.
The passengers and pilots watched with sheer amazement and fear as the blinding light from the explosion engulfed the entire area. "Whooooaaaaa…"
Moments later, Sector V and a bunch of other kids showed up, mouths completely dropped open speechless as where the chilidog factory once stood was replaced with some kind of tremendous ball of wood and branches. The Supreme Leader and his second-in-command took land just in time and hurried over to see what happened, the lot of them standing a good several fields away from the mass. "W-What-" Cheren tried to say.
"Eee heeheeheeheeheeheehee!" a girly giggle echoed across the land. Before their very eyes, the image of a colossal figure appeared. A teenage girl wearing a long, flowing dress that appeared dark pink around the bottom, red in the middle, and purple at the top, in which the different colors were divided by vines that went around the dress. On her chest was a large purple rose, and she bared long, whitish-blonde hair that reached all the way down to her ankles, and seemed very disheveled and went everywhere. At the point where the hair reached her head, it was tied up with rose thorns, and in her right hand, she held a staff that held the design of a scorpion type creature.
The many operatives stared with shock as the being began to speak. "Filthy Kids Next Door, TREMBLE before me! I am Viridi, Goddess of Nature! SUPREME ruler of the Earth and all living things! For many eons, I have sat and watched as you and the rest of your filthy kind mended trees to use as your 'base of operations', and desecrated the land to make room for your, PARKING lots and oh so precious chilidog factory. But now, I've had enough. You humans have strayed TOO far from your intended path. Your chilidog factory was only the first of many to meet the wrath of my Reset Bombs. Soon, many other such locations will follow, until Earth has been returned to its original state! BYE-BYE, KNDorks! Gah hah hah hah hah hah!"
By the time the apparition had vanished, the groups of operatives remained speechless.