It has been nearly two months since Thomas and the others were freed from Melissa's house.

In that time, Thomas had managed to get part of his life back together, but not everything could be salvaged. For one thing, in the time that he was missing, his employer had hired someone else to fill in the position that he had. Because of that, he had to find a new job. Also, while he did pass each one of his classes at his community college, he did so with a lower grade point average than he had wanted to. Of course, he did quite well in his Calculus and Computer Tech classes, but his grades in English and Psychology suffered. After the Summer semester ended, he decided to take off a semester and just focus on his new job.

He got a few emails from Shawn and Dawson over the course of the two months. Nothing too major, just a "Hello" and "What's going on?". He wondered how Carlos was doing as well, as he had not seen or heard from him since leaving Melissa's house. He wondered if he ever got over the death of Gloria. He also wondered how Claudia and Rebecca were doing, if they were even able to begin mending their relationship with Melissa.

Despite trying to put the whole ordeal behind him, he would still occasionally have nightmares about the experience. About a mad giantess who treads on the lives of the tiny people below her as if they were nothing more than bugs. "Bugmen," as she called them.

Sadly, no matter how old he would get, even if he started to suffered from age-related memory loss, that period of time when he was fighting to survive Melissa's onslaught, when he was with the Refugees and watching Melissa massacre dozens of people, when he was being cared for by Sayuko, and finally when he and Sayuko took down the mad woman, all of that would remain imprinted in his mind until the day he died. ...If not beyond.

"...Investigators still haven't been able to find the last remaining man responsible for the mass kidnappings and murders of young adults that took place this year in Southern California," a female newscaster said. "That man turned on his companions, and then freed the survivors. The man wore a mask the entire time, so police do not have a sketch, or rather, any idea of what he looks like."

Ray sat on his couch as he watched the television. He twirled his re-dyed green hair around his right index finger as he had a bit of an angsty look on his face.

"Some of the families of the deceased are relieved that they have been given closure, and that the kidnappings have come to an end, but they still wish that they could at least bury their loved ones. Indeed, police still have not been able to find the bodies of the victims, nor do they even know where the kidnappers took their victims. Sadly, at this point, it does not look as if that location will ever be found. With leads having run drier than they were before, Redwater County police may have no choice but to close this case."

"Bah!" Ray grabbed the remote, and used it to turn the TV off. "They actually got out, and they don't sell that bitch down the river?! What the hell is up with that?!"

Ray stood up. "Whatever. At least I'm out of there, and that's all that matters. ...I just better never see that bitch again."

He shook his head, and then grabbed his guitar from the side of the couch before heading out of his apartment's door. Since being freed by Melissa (the only thing that he was remotely grateful of her for), he had been working to break into the rock music industry. He had auditioned for several recording labels, though few of them were willing to sign him. Despite that, he was not willing to give up his lifelong dream.

He wanted the world to know about the "crazy giant woman and her little bug people."

~~~

It was a Saturday afternoon, just after 3pm. Thomas had taken the day off of work, partly to rest, but mainly because he had a certain engagement today. He stepped out of his bedroom, sporting a red t-shirt over a white long-sleeved shirt, black jeans, and his black sneakers, as well as Gloria's crucifix necklace around his neck, with the cross tucked into his t-shirt. According to the weather forecast, it would be a bit cooler today than usual, so he had to appropriately dress himself.

He walked into the living room, where both Robbie and Kim were sitting on his couch and playing Mario Kart Wii. Kim, noticing that Thomas had walked into the room, paused the game and looked behind her. She gave him a sly, silly look.

"...What?" Thomas asked.

"Oh, nothing," Kim responded. "But it's just my first time seeing you get ready to go on a date."

"I've known Thomas for most of my life," Robbie said, "and I don't remember ever seeing him date anyone!"

Kim laughed. "Didn't you go to your prom?"

"He did, but he didn't have anyone to go with," Robbie answered.

"Neither did you!" Thomas retorted. "Remember, it was you, me, Alan, Sam, and Kevin, all dateless and at the same table. We suffered together."

Kim looked at Robbie, with a bit of surprise on her face. "Robbie! You couldn't get a date?!"

"Well, I could have, but I didn't want to make the guys feel bad." Robbie chuckled.

"Whatever." Thomas shook his head. "Anyway, this is my first real date with Sayuko, so I hope things go well."

"It's about time you finally worked up the nerve to ask her out," Robbie said. "You should have did that a long time ago."

"Maybe, but I eventually got around to it, so that's all that matters, right?"

"I guess." Robbie shrugged.

"So where are you taking her?" Kim asked.

"We're going to meet up at the mall," Thomas answered. "Get some lunch, go shopping, see a movie... the usual for a first date, right? ...But I already feel a connection with her, so it might not be a usual first date."

"Who knows?" Kim said. "You might not even have to follow the 'no kissing on the first date rule' if that's the case."

"I wouldn't be sure about that," Thomas replied. "That's be kinda awkward."

"Hey, you know what'd really be awkward?" Robbie said. "If you both ran into Melissa at the mall."

"Oh no!" Kim said. "The she-devil returns and wants revenge!" She laughed.

"So she'd be getting revenge on us getting revenge on her?" Thomas said. "When does the cycle end?"

"Well, she didn't try to get any revenge when you saw her at school that day, right?" Robbie asked.

"Heh, I guess not," Thomas responded. "Plus, there's a lot more people at the mall, so she'd have to be stupid to try anything there. But still... Seeing her at school after everything that happened was weird."

~~~

It was the week after we got everyone out of Melissa's house, on a Monday. I was sitting in my English class and reading my textbook, still trying to catch up with the rest of the class, since, after all, I had been gone for a month and a half.

Except for the teacher, two other students, and myself, the class was empty. Of course, it was 10 minutes before the start of class, and people usually didn't really start showing up until 5 minutes before.

Anyway, as I was reading an excerpt from A Tale of Two Cities, I heard the teacher say, "Good morning, Melissa. I missed you last week."

As soon as I heard her name, I immediately looked up from my book and turned behind me. Sure enough, entering the room was none other than Melissa herself. I was a bit surprised, but I was not sure why. I knew that Mrs. Cruz would be making her big again; she said it herself, though Melissa was absent from school the week before. And yet... seeing her big again brought back a lot of memories of a crazy woman stomping on a bunch of tiny people, and I remembered that I was once among them. Of course, that wasn't the case anymore. I was back at my normal height, and back to being taller than her, like God intended.

She looked towards me, and a look of surprise appeared on her face. "Omigod, Thomas is that you?!"

She then rushed over towards me. After everything that had happened, I was suspicious as to what she was planning.

"...It IS you!" She said, still surprised. "Oh my god... You're back. You went missing after our date a while back, and I was so worried. I thought you were..." She shook her head. "But you're back! Thank God!"

She bent down slightly and gave me a hug. I fought it, but quickly gave in. I had since figured out that this was all just an act, and I don't really blame her for it. I mean... It would be weird if they saw us glaring at each other in class, especially after I had been gone for so long.

So, I decided to play along.

Melissa pulled away from me. "Wow... Even after all this time, you're still here in class. You didn't want to just take a break?"

"No," I said. "I can catch up. I don't want to spend another semester taking the same classes over again."

"That makes sense. I wouldn't want to, either. But you're so smart, I bet you'd catch up in no time and still pass with an A."

I faked a smile. "Thanks for being so confident in me. But yeah. That's my plan. Anyway, I actually came back last week. Where were you?"

"Oh, I was sick," she responded. "It was pretty nasty, too, but I'm over it."

"That's good. Though you don't look like you were ever sick."

She blushed a little. "Was that a compliment?"

"Yeah."

She smiled at me. "Thank you! Well, good luck with your cramming. I know you can do it."

Melissa then walked to her seat, but not before placing her hand on my shoulder as she left me. I thought that she was overdoing it with the physical contact. She was acting like we were close, when we clearly weren't. Maybe she wanted the people in the class to think that we were friends or something. ...Even acting, I didn't know how long I would be able to keep that up.

As she sat down in her seat, she looked back at me one last time, and smiled. I smiled back, and then went back to my reading.

During the class, I noticed that she did not once so much as glance at me. I didn't mind. It just meant that I didn't have to fake anything with her.

After the class, however...

"Hey, Thomas," Melissa said as she approched me at my seat.

"Yeah?" I responded as I was packing my book and paper into my backpack.

She looked around, and then moved closer to my ear. "I wish I could have had more fun with you," she whispered in my ear. "You were so tiny, and so cute."

My eyes widened. "What are you talking about?" I said quietly so that only she could hear. ...Even if nearly everyone else were already gone, and the teacher was all the way up there at his desk in the front of the room.

"I wouldn't have killed you," she said. "I would have put you in there with Taro."

"Melissa. Why are you telling me this all of a sudden?"

"I just wanted you to know that I'm not as evil as you think I am."

"That's hard to believe after what you did. ...Is the Shrink Ray gone?"

"Long gone. Don't worry about that."

"What about Mrs. Cruz and Rebecca?"

"...What about them? They're doing fine."

"What about Bruce?"

Melissa paused for a few seconds. Then, she moved away from me, and pointed to her foot. Making such a geisture would have made the teacher suspicious of what we were talking about. Regardless, I got the message; she had killed him. Though, to be honest, he probably deserved it.

"I see..." I said.

"Anyway," she said, talking normally again. "I'll see you Wednesday, alright?"

"Sure..."

"Oh, don't sound so disappointed! I'm sure you're looking forward to seeing me! After all, we only have a few weeks left, and then I'm gone!"

"...That's right. You're about to graduate."

She nodded. "Yep! So, you should cherish these last few moments!"

"Okay." I answered.

"Good. I'll see you later, then. Ciao!" Melissa then smiled at me one last time, and then walked out of the classroom.

I wanted to ask her why she did all of that, but I still didn't think she'd tell me. As I watched her leave, I had to wonder... We may have ended her sick games, but why did it feel as if justice was not served out to her? I mean... Sayuko did "punish" her a bit, but after everything she did, Melissa got off scott-free, and now even she's going to go on with her life.

I just hoped that she didn't get her hands on any more dangerous weapons.

~~~

"Speaking of which," Robbie said, "Didn't Melissa say that she was moving to New York? She told me that one time before the end of the semester."

"Did she say when she was moving?" Kim asked.

"No," Robbie answered. "Just that she was moving some time after she graduated. For all we know, she could still be here."

"Well, I'll keep an eye out for her," Thomas said. "Though I don't have anything to be worried about. Sayuko and I should be able to enjoy ourselves without any hassles."

"Except for the jealous people who hate interracial dating," said Robbie. "You KNOW that there's going to be a few of them around."

Thomas sighed. "I'll try not to let them bother me."

He patted his front pockets to make sure that his wallet and newly acquired cell phone were inside. They were indeed in each of his pockets, and then he grabbed his keys from the nearby stand.

"You both gonna be alright here alone?" Thomas asked. "Can I trust you to lock up when you leave?"

"Yep," Robbie answered. "C'mon, man... You can trust me, can't you?"

"Yeah, I guess I can. Anyway, I'm heading out now. I have to catch the bus."

"...Wanna kiss Kim's foot for good luck?"

Both Thomas and Kim looked at Robbie with a creeped-out look on each of their faces.

Robbie brought his hands up in an apologetic geisture. "I kid, I kid," he quickly said.

"You better be." Kim placed her sock-covered foot on Robbie's lap. "Not even Thomas can play with them."

"Not that I'd want to. I'm not into feet. I'll never get you or Dawson." Thomas shook his head, and headed for the door. "Oh, and no sex in my apartment," he said, half-jokingly.

"Of course not, your Highness," Kim teased.

Thomas gave the couple one last smile, before he opened the door and stepped out. He shut the door behind him, and used his key to lock the door, before shoving it into his left pocket with his cell phone and the heading down the hallway.

He was a bit nervous, much like the day when he was supposed to go on his date with Melissa. Of course, that turned out more horribly than he could have ever imagined. Thankfully, this day with Sayuko would not be anywhere near the level of horror he experienced with Melissa.

~~~

Sayuko sat on her bed as she pulled her pink boots onto her feet. Afterwards, she stood up and walked to her room's mirror. She had chosen to wear a pink shirt and blue denim pants, which had a matching demin jacket that she would also be wearing.

She looked towards her bed, where her red purse and her jacket were. Then, she looked towards her digital clock on her nightstand. It read 3:22pm.

"I guess I should be going now," she said.

She walked to her bed, and grabbed her jacket off of it, before putting it on and then grabbing her purse. Then, she headed out of her room, and then made her way for the stairs. Upon reaching the stairs, she prepared to climb down, but she was soon stopped by a call from her brother's room nearby.

"Sister," Taro called. "Are you about to leave?"

"Yeah," she replied. "If I move now, I'll be able to catch the bus in time."

"Don't worry about that," he said. "I'll drive you up there." Taro's old car had been destroyed by Melissa, so he had to go get a new one within days after he returned.

"Really?"

"Of course." Taro appeared in his room's doorway. "I can't have my sister out there waiting in this weather."

"It's only 62 degrees, they say," Sayuko said.

"You can still catch a cold."

"I'd be fine. ...But thank you. It would be better if you took me to the mall yourself."

Taro smiled. "I'll get my jacket." Just like that, he was gone from the doorway.

It went without saying that Sayuko really admired her brother, and on the day that he had finally come home after being held captive by Melissa for so long, she cried for quite a while on his chest. She did not mind that his shirt was dirty from being in that cage for so long. All that mattered to her was that she had her brother back.

Afterwards, the two had made a few strides to move on from those tragic weeks. Remarkably, the position that Taro held at his business firm had remained vacant all while he was away, so he was easily able to regain his job. Sayuko had successfully passed each of her classes. Even the Calculus class she struggled in before. While she had gotten better at figuring it out herself, it was thanks to Thomas that she was able to grasp it in the first place.

Unlike her, he had opted to not attend the community college this semester, so she did not see much of him since the summer semester ended. However, both of them talked quite often over the phone, and two weeks ago, he had invited her to join him and his two friends Robbie and Kim at the bowling alley.

Earlier that week, he surprised her when he finally asked her out. Considering how close they had gotten in the last few months, she quickly accepted his offer.

Taro walked out of his room, now wearing his black jacket. "Ready?"

Sayuko nodded. "Yes."

"Are you nervous?"

"...A little."

"Ah." He stepped closer to her. "Don't worry about it. You two have known each other for a while now, so I think things will go smoothly."

"I suppose you're right."

Taro smiled. "Aren't I always right?"

Sayuko laughed a little. "Yeah."

"So, you can trust me on this, right?"

"Of course!"

"Great." He patted her on her head. "Let's go, then. You can't keep your prince waiting, can you?"

As Sayuko stood there blushing for a few seconds, Taro walked past her and began to head down the stairs. Then, she quickly turned towards her brother, a bit flustered.

"You're getting a little ahead of yourself, don't you think?!" she said. "...Ohhh!!"

She shook her head, before following after him.

While she was indeed nervous about this day, she was also excited about her date with Thomas.

~~~

With a videocamera in his hand, Dawson recorded his latest talent, a blond-haired beauty named Stacie, as she stomped on several small toy houses below her, completely demolishing them.

"Good, good," Dawson commended. "Now, I'm going to get a close-up."

Dawson crawled onto the floor, and zoomed the camera's focus onto several of the small humanoid figurines that were strewn among this tiny city. He looked up towards her face, and gave her a slight nod. She gave him a look of realization, as she figured out what he had wanted her to do.

She approached the figurines that Dawson's camera was focusing on, until all he could see were the insignificant figures in front of the platform sandals that she was wearing.

"Oh, little person," Stacie called out in a wicked tone. "Are you scared? I did just stomp your whole city down. I'd be scared, too."

She lifted her foot over the figure. "Let's see you run away from my giant foot!"

Of course, the figure didn't. Or rather, it couldn't. It just stood there as Stacie brought her foot down onto it. She twisted her foot on the spot, before removing it. The small figure had been broken in several pieces.

Stacie turned her attention to the other figurines. "Oh? You want some, too? ...You stupid, insignificant bugs!"

She began to stomp furiously on each of the remaining figurines. Some broke underneath her, while others remained intact.

"You all can't hope to stop me," Stacie said in triumph. "I'm a giantess. A goddess. You can't stop me. You all are nothing to me. You're not even worth being on the soles of my feet!"

Soon after being released from Melissa's house, he had started to work on making GTS films. However, he had no experience with computer graphics and green screens (not yet, at least), so he decided to start small, with his talent rampaging through a small model town. It was simple and easy to do, and a nice way to get himself started.

He kept in contact with Shawn, Thomas, and especially Robbie since being freed. He had been trying to get Robbie to help him in making his films, and at one time even asked if Kim could act in one of his films. Robbie declined though. Sadly for him, it did not seem that Robbie would ever be interest in GTS. He was just a simple foot fetishist, and nothing more.

As for Stacie, he met her at a local bar one night, and as the two started to talk, she expressed interest in being a giantess. She said that it was a lifelong dream of hers, even if it was impossible to achieve. He then revealed his own fantasies, and the two shared exchanged their phone numbers, but not before renting a room in a nearby motel and sleeping together.

"That's all for today," Dawson said as he shut off the camera prepared to leave the set.

"Really?" Stacie sounded disappointed. "Man... I was just getting started."

"Well, you destroyed everything. We can't make a video with nothing, can we?"

"Yeah, you're right, but still..." She sighed.

"Don't worry. I'll call you when I want to make a new film."

"When will that be?"

"Probably next week. ...Or the week after."

She stomped her foot. "That's too long!"

"Well, good things come to those who wait, they say."

"Whatever!"

Dawson laughed. "Hey, are you into shrinking?"

"...Not really. It's boring. I'd rather tower over the entire city, and watch everyone pee their pants at the sight of me. Why do you ask?"

"...No reason. Just curious." Despite what she said, Dawson had to wonder how she would react if she knew that an actual shrinking device existed in the world. Would she go as crazy as Melissa did, or would she just disregard it? "Oh, and I have another question."

"What is it, this time?"

"Do you know someone named Milly?" Dawson asked. Despite not knowing anything about her other than her first name and the fact that she's a mother, he had every intention of finding Matt's girlfriend and relaying his final words to her.

"No, I don't believe I do."

"I see..." Dawson sighed.

Stacie placed her hands on her hips. "Why? Is she going to be another one of your actresses?"

"No. Nothing like that. It's something personal. It's for a friend."

"Oh... Do you know her last name?"

"No."

"Well, you're in for a hell of a time! Do you know how many 'Millys' there probably are in California alone!?"

"Heh, yeah. It is a bit of an uphill battle, but I want to keep my promise to him."

Stacie stared at him for a few seconds. "...That's kinda sweet. Well, anyway, I'm outta here. I have another engagement. See ya!"

"See ya. Remember, I'll call you to let you know when to come back."

Stacie made an A-OK geisture with her right hand and smiled at him before she grabbed her belongings and headed out of his studio.

Dawson looked towards the demolished city on the floor. At that moment, he began to fantasize about a certain other scenario. About if, instead of a shrink ray, Melissa had instead acquired a growth ray. Would she have been easily stopped in that case? Or would she rule the country, if not the world, with an iron fist, and stamp out as many lifes as she could while she was at it?

Despite his love for women who were much larger than he was, that was one thing that he would not ever want to happen. At least, not with Melissa as the evil giantess.

~~~

With a stack of brochures in hand, Shawn approached a young couple that was sitting on a bench at the bus stop. They were cuddling with each other, the male was looking down the street presumably for the bus to arrivem while the female was resting her head on his shoulder.

"Excuse me," Shawn addressed. "Hi."

Both of them turned to look at him.

"Are you both registered to vote?" Shawn asked.

"Yes, we are," the male answered.

"So, are you aware of Proposal 8, which is going to be on the ballot in November?"

"Isn't that for gay marriage?" the female asked.

"Yeah." Shawn handed both of them a brochure. "If it passes, then marriage will officially be defined as being only for a man and a woman. That's not right. Marriage should be between two people who love each other, regardless of their sex."

"So, you're gay yourself?" the guy asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah," Shawn replied.

"Well, you can vote 'No' on that yourself." The male grabbed his girlfriend's hand in his and held it tight. "We believe that marriage should only be between a man and a woman. That's how God intended."

"I see." The God reason. It wouldn't be the first time he was hit with that today. "Sorry for wasting your time, then."

"Bye," the female bid him, as he turned around and walked away from the couple.

He sighed in disappointment. Only a few people that he had talked to had said that they were in support of same-sex marriage, and would be voting "No" on the ballot. He could only hope that the rest of his group was having more success than he was.

Unfortunately for him, his parents were the same way as the people out here. Before being kidnapped my Melissa, they had actually disowned him. However, when they found out that he was missing, they became worried. They said that they prayed every day and night for his safe return, and two months ago, their prayers were finally answered. While they were not willing to accept his way of living, they came to some kind of understanding, so that they were still in his life and maintained a bit of a relationship with him. They were hoping that he would realize the "error of his ways" and come back to their way of thinking.

He made it quite clear that this was who he was, and that he could not betray himself like that. However, his parents were persistent, and held out hope. Hope for something that Shawn knew would never happen.

Suddenly a rock song started to play from his pocket, and he felt it vibrate. It was his cell phone. He dug it out with his hand, looked at the Caller ID which read Tim, and flipped it open, before bringing it to his ear.

"Yeah?" Shawn answered.

"How's it going?" Tim asked.

Shawn sighed. "Not good at all."

"Same here, and some of the other aren't having any luck, either. ...But we're going to keep trying. A shame that this county has to be so conservative, eh?"

"You got that right. It's pretty annoying."

"Anyway, you should head back. I've already told the others to meet back up at Starbucks."

"Alright. I'll see you there."

"Yup."

Shawn closed the phone, and shoved it back into his pocket. Then, he made his way for the Starbucks that Tim mention, which was now quite a few blocks away from where he currently was.

Today may have been a failure, and it may be an uphill battle, but neither he, or his companions, would give up this fight easily.

~~~

Having been dropped right in front of the mall by the bus, Thomas approached the entrance. As he did so, he looked around him to see if she was waiting outside for him.

Sure enough, to his right on a bench sat Sayuko. She was looking towards the many doors that led into the mall, and the many people who were both entering and exiting through them. As Thomas approached her, she happened to look towards him, and a smile appeared on her face.

"Hello, Sayu," Thomas greeted with a smile of his own. "You look nice today."

"Thank you, Thoma-kun," she responded. "As do you."

"Thanks." Thomas stretched out his hand towards her. "May I?"

Sayuko nodded. "Sure."

Sayuko grabbed his hand, and then let him help her off of the bench she sat on. The two then walked into the mall, walking past and with the dozens of people inside.

"It's crowded," Sayuko said.

"Well, it's Saturday," Thomas said. "So a lot of people just want to chill and have fun."

"That's true. I haven't been here in a while, so I'm going to have to get used to it." She looked towards him. "So, what are we doing today?"

"Well, first we're going to get something to eat. You pick the place, and I'll pay."

"Oh, you don't have to do that." Sayuko was being a bit modest.

"Well, I don't have to, but I want to. ...Anyway, afterwards, we'll go to a few stores. If you want something, I could buy it for you."

"...You would do that? What if I want to buy the entire store?" She jokingly said.

"Well, if I have enough money, I'd do it." Thomas chuckled.

Sayuko giggled. "I'm kidding."

"I know."

"Are we going to see a movie, too?" Sayuko asked.

"Yeah," Thomas replied. "Bangkok Dangerous came out yesterday, and I kinda want to see it. What do you think? Any thing you'd rather see instead?"

"No, I can't think of anything."

"Mm."

"...Thoma-kun?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you something?"

Thomas looked towards her. "What is it?"

She looked around, at the people that surrounded them. "It can wait. There's too many people around."

"Maybe you can ask me in the theatre," Thomas suggested.

Sayuko shook her head.

"Why not?"

"I don't want to dampen the mood. I just want to be a good date for you."

"Well, I don't think that'll be too hard," Thomas said with a grin.

Sayuko giggled again. "Stop it! You're making me blush!"

"Well, get used to it," Thomas said. "'Cause I just might do that a lot today."

"...If you do that, I'm going to go home looking like a tomato, Thoma-kun."

"A cute tomato," Thomas added.

Sayuko blushed again.

"See?! I did it again!" Thomas laughed.

"Thomas, you're so silly..."

A minute later, as the two approached the food court, Sayuko wrapped her arms around Thomas' right arm, and held onto him. This surprised Thomas a bit, as he believed that they hadn't even reached the point at which they would hold hands in public. Yet, here she was, holding onto his arm.

That was not to say that he did not enjoy Sayuko on his arm like that. Not at all.

Perhaps Kim was onto something, with what she said earlier.

~~~

Arriving home from the nearby gym, Carlos stepped into his living room and headed for his answering machine. The display showed that there were three messages waiting for him. He pressed the play button, and the first message started.

"Hey, Carlos," a female voice said. "It's me, Cindy. I just want to know if you're going to be meeting up with us tonight. Call me back, kay? Bye!" *beep*

The second message. "Yo, man! It's Desmond! Dawg... You need to just get a cell phone already, man. This shit's annoying. Anyway, Juan got the tickets for tomorrow's game! They're good seats, too! We're gonna pick you up tomorrow at 12, so make sure you're at home, aight? Peace." *beep*

The final message. It started with some heavy breathing. At that point, Carlos knew who it was, and, before the man started talking, he quickly pressed the delete button, erasing that message, as well as the others.

Despite being depressed over Gloria's death, Carlos rebounded soon after he arrived home. He had since been living what one would call a full life, moreso than he was before the ordeal with Melissa. He was very popular with the ladies at the clubs he frequented, and he practically had a date every week. It was difficult balancing his social life with his job, but he would not have wanted it any other way.

The only damper on his life was that man. The older man whom he had once trusted when he was younger, but violated that trust in the most horrible way. He had spent several years in prison for what he did to Carlos, but had since been released. The man would then constantly call him. How he even got his phone number in the first place mystified Carlos. He did call the police the first time it happened, though they did not do much good, as the man continued.

So, at least until he moved away, Carlos had no choice but to bare with it.

Though he was sure of one thing: if he ever saw that man on his personal property, he would shoot him dead with no hesitation whatsoever.

Carlos grabbed the phone off of the base, and dialed a certain number, and then brought it to his ear. The phone on the other end rang a few times, before a female voice answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Cindy. It's me, Carlos."

"Oh! Hi, Carlos! Did you get my message?"

"That's why I called. Anyway, yeah. I'll be there with you guys."

Cindy let out an excited cheer. "Yay! I can't wait!"

"Neither can I. Anyway, I have some business to take care of, so I'll let you go for now. But I'll see you tonight."

"Okay, Carlos! Bye!"

"See ya."

Carlos then hung the phone back onto it base. He then let out a sigh. He was tired, and he knew that he would not be getting much sleep that night or the next day, as he would be out late tonight and had to be up earlier then usual tomorrow. Perhaps he should have refused her invitation. However, he found it hard to say no to Cindy, whom he had known for a long time, and he had been looking forward to tomorrow's game for a while.

He chuckled. "The price you pay for being popular."

He then headed for his bedroom, where he would remove his sweaty gym clothes.

~~~

Jenna walked into the den, where her father sat at his desk reading a newspaper. He looked away from the paper and turned to face her.

"Do you need something from me, sweetums?" he asked.

"Mom wants to know if you want anything from the store," Jenna answered. "She's about to leave."

"Isn't a bit late to go to the store now?"

"...That what I said, but she insisted."

"I see. Tell her that I need some new dress socks. Oh, and some new slacks, too."

"Alright."

"Go with her and make sure that she gets the right kind this time. I don't want a repeat of last time, and I'm sure you don't either."

"Yeah..." She half-heartedly responded.

Jenna's father turned his attention back to his newspaper, but not before saying, "Trust me. I love your mother. I really do. She just makes me mad sometimes, and you know I have anger issues."

"I know."

"Good."

Jenna stared at her father for a few more seconds, before leaving him with his sports section and current events and exiting the den.

For Jenna, it was from one crisis to another, and then right back to the first one. Her parents were worried about her when she was missing, but the empty search for her must have been frustrating expecially for her father. She knew that if that was the case, he would have taken it out on her poor mother.

Jenna's mother, despite the years of abuse, had decided to stay with her father for the sake of giving Jenna an environment where both her parents are present. Her father had been taking anger management classes and therapy, and admittedly, he had been fairing a bit better with his wife, but the fact that he put his hand on her in the first place was not something that Jenna could easily forgive.

She remember waking up in the middle of the night during one of their arguments, which envitably ended with her mother's cries of pain. One argument got so bad that the neighbors and even the authorities got involved.

Despite the way he treated her mother, he treated her like a true princess. And while she loved her father, at the same time, she hated him. She loved being able to get anything she wanted out of him, and yet, the one thing she wanted most did not have any chance of happening anytime soon.

Jenna walked outside, and approached her mother, who was waiting inside of her car.

"What'd your father say?" she asked.

"He wants new socks and pants," Jenna responded. "And since I know the exact kind he likes, I'm supposed to go with you."

"Oh. Well, get in the car, and we'll be on our way."

"Okay."

Jenna walked over to the passenger side of the car, and then stepped inside. In a matter of seconds, her mother pulled the car out of the driveway and was soon heading down the road.

With Jenna by her side, there was no way that her mother was going to make a mistake this time.

~~~

The evening had just arrived not too long ago, as Melissa laid on her couch, looking up towards the ceiling while holding her cell phone against her ear.

"...But yeah. New York is much better than that shitty little town," she said. "I'm glad I moved here, except it gets really cold here in the winter."

"Well, that's how the north is," her father said on the other line. "You've been in California all of your life, so you're just going to have to get used to the climate changes."

"I know... But it sucks not being able to wear my flip-flops all the time like back in California, you know?" Melissa looked towards her bare feet resting on the couch's armrest.

Edgar laughed. "But that'd just make it more special when you CAN wear them! ...Speaking of California, have you spoken to your mother lately?"

Melissa did not answer.

"She told me that you don't call too often."

"If you knew the answer, then why'd you ask?" Melissa asked, slightly annoyed.

"Listen... She's already feeling abandoned, what with me in the labs, you in New York, and Rebecca being, what's the word? Emo, is it? I want you to call her at least once a week. At least say hello. Can you do that?"

Melissa sighed loudly. "I'll try."

"Princess, Princess... You have to do more than just try. I know you have your problems with her, but she's your mother."

"I know that, Dad."

"In fact, I want you to call her tonight."

"That's going to be hard, since I'm going out with Lauren tonight."

"What time are you going to be back?"

"...Probably around 2am."

"Ah. You ARE aware of the time zone difference, right? If you can stay up late enough to party, you cam stay up enough to show your mother a little love."

"Fine, Dad," Melissa said in a defeated tone. "...But you owe me."

"What do I owe you this time?"

"...I don't know. Give me a little time."

Edgar laughed. "I'll be looking forward to hearing what you decide on. In the meantime, I have to get back in the lab. I'll talk to you later, Princess."

"See ya, Dad," Melissa said, before she closed her phone and placed it onto the glass table beside her. Then, she folded her arms behind her head and stared upward toward the ceiling.

After graduating, true to her word, she and Lauren packed up and moved to New York City. This city provided her with more thrills than her hometown had ever did. Plus, she found herself with more career opportunities here. That said, the one career she was looking forward to was working by her father's side in his lab. She wondered what other devices he had built down there. For instance, she was curious about the advanced Shrink Ray that her father invented. Being able to control exactly how small she wanted her victims would have been great, though she was not so sure about its ability to make things "crush-proof." Not being able to splatter those small bodies took the fun out of her sadistic hobby.

If it were not for Sayuko and Thomas putting a stop to her fun, she would have brought the Shrink Ray to New York with her. Here, she would have had a lot more people to "play" with, though it would have also been a lot risker. Unlike back in California, Melissa and Lauren did not have a house. Instead, they roomed in an apartment, so if any of her tiny captives got away from her, they could easily alert anyone else in the apartment. Not to mention that she would have a hard time hiding her hobby from Lauren.

She heard the apartment door open, and then shut. She looked towards the door and saw Lauren walking into the room. She had since washed out her orange-blond hair dyed, and had redyed her hair red.

"Hey, gurl," Lauren greeted.

"I just got off the phone with Dad," Melissa said. "He wants me to call home."

"...Are you?"

"I might, but not now."

"Well, you do what you want." Lauren sat headed to where Melissa was, and sat down on the couch's armrest nearest to Melissa's head.

"That's what I intend to do," Melissa responded.

"...Oh, hey gurl. This might be random, but how would you feel if they invented a shrinking device?"

Melissa's eyes widened. Her attention was perked more than it already was before. "That was random. Why?"

"I overheard this guy talking downstairs. About how he wish he had a shrinking gun, or something like that, so he'd use it on himself. He said it loud, too. I don't think he cared who heard him."

"Oh. Well, I think that'd be interesting. If someone tried to rob you, you could pull it out and shrink him. Then, you could just let him fend for himself."

"Shiiit... If some man tried to attack me, and I shrunk him, I'd stomp on him so fast it'd be like he never existed!"

Melissa was somewhat surprised to hear this. "Really?"

"Well, yeah! In fact... That's a good idea! Your dad's an inventor, right? Tell him to make a shrinking gun!"

Melissa let out a laugh.

"What's so funny?" Lauren asked, a bit annoyed. "I'm being serious here. I'd rather have a shrinking gun than a handgun."

"Oh, nothing," Melissa responded. "I'll let him know. But it could take years for him to perfect it. You could be an old lady by the time it's done."

"Oh damn, really?" Lauren pouted. "Forget it, then. Now that I think about it... If it fell into the wrong hands, that person could hold the whole city hostage, don't you think?"

"Yeah, you're right. ...I guess some things are better off not existing."

"True. ...I don't want to be the one who end up tiny. That shit wouldn't be fun."

"I bet it wouldn't." Melissa chuckled.

Lauren had no idea. No idea that Melissa already knew that a "shrinking gun" did indeed exist in this world. That Melissa knew firsthand what it was like to be shrunken down.

That, if needed be, if she still had the Shrink Ray, Melissa would not hesitate to use it on her friend, and end her life underneath her foot as well. Best friends be damned.

~~~

Edgar walked down the hallway, heading towards Lab #B002, the lab where the Growth Ray projects were being conducted. His team still had not been able to keep the grown speciments stable enough to prevent them from collapsing on themselves. However, he was not willing to give up. If perfected, this Growth Ray, as well as the Shrink Ray, could change military warfare forever. The government then would not have to spend as much money to fund wars, especially ones that they had no business in.

He approached an intersection in the hall, where he bumped into another researcher as he had come from his right.

"Excuse me," the man said.

"It's alright," Edgar responded.

The blond-haired man, who looked to be in his mid-20s then stared at Edgar, as if he was trying to recognize his face. Then, a look of realization appeared on his face.

"Wait... Aren't you Professor Edgar Cruz?"

"Yes, that's me."

"Oh man... It's an honor." The man held out his hand. "I've heard so much about you, but to finally see you in person."

Edgar grabbed the man's hand, and gave him a quick handshake. "Haven't you been to any of the assemblies?"

"No. I'm new here, so..."

"Ah. Say no more."

"Anyway, they said that you were working on a portal."

"I was, but I discontinued it."

"Really?" The man looked disappointed. "Why?"

"I don't really want to get into the details. I'll just say that something unexpected happened, and the big wigs told me to stop it."

"Oh. But I'm sure that, if they gave you more time, you could fix whatever happened. You don't know how convinent it'd be to have a portal at our disposal."

"Actually, I do. That's why I started work on it in the first place."

"...So, are you working on anything else now?"

"Yes, but it's a bit of a secret."

"Because I heard rumors that you also made a... Shrink Ray, was it?"

Edgar sighed. "Can they ever keep their mouths shut?"

The man's face lit up. "Oh! So it's true!"

"Yeah. Unlike the portal, the Shrink Ray turned out to be very successful. Especially thanks to some external testing."

"External testing?"

"Yes. Anyway, I'm in a bit of a rush, so-"

"Oh yeah! Sorry I kept you! I have somewhere to be, too! But it's been a pleasure, Prof. Cruz!"

"Same here... I'm sorry, but what's your name?"

"Tobias Couper."

"Tobias... I hope to see you again." Edgar smiled.

"Same here!" With that, Tobias continued down his way, though gave Edgar one final wave as he walked down the hall.

Edgar then started back down the hallway. Along the way, he thought about Tobias. That man... There was something about his face that held a lot of promise. He knew that he would go a long way in these labs. Perhaps he could make him his prodigy. Hell, maybe he could even marry him to Melissa.

Speaking of Melissa, his "external testing" bit with Tobias was refering to what Melissa did while she had the Shrink Ray. He did expect Melissa to use the Shrink Ray for herself, as Melissa had always been somewhat curious, moreso than Claudia and Rebecca, but he did not expect her to turn against her own mother and sister, nor go after nearly half the town.

That said, if their spots had been switched, if he was instead in Melissa's spot, and he received the Shrink Ray from her, he probably would have done the same thing she did.

He and Melissa were a lot more alike than anyone could have imagined.

~~~

Thomas and Sayuko sat on a bench in the park. It was now dusk, as the two of them looked towards the setting sun and the orange sky.

Set down next to Thomas were three bags, two from a clothing store, and one from a book store. True to his word, he had bought all of that for her. Afterwards, the two went to see Bangkok Dangerous, the movie Thomas had been looking forward to. Unfortunately, he was sorely disappointed in the film. It was a waste of nearly $18. Bad movie aside, this day had been wonderful.

"Hey," Thomas said. "What did you want to ask me earlier?"

"Uh?" Sayuko responded. "Oh yes! ...Do you hate Melissa?"

Bringing up Melissa during the date? Thomas did not want to think much about her. "...Well, I definately don't like her, I'll say that. Why?"

"...Well, yes. What she did was awful, but in a way, she did a good thing for us."

"What do you mean?"

"If I hadn't found you in Melissa's house that day, then we probably wouldn't have gotten as close as we are now, and we probably wouldn't be out here right now."

"Yeah, that's true. While I was with you took care of me, and I kept you company and helped you with your homework. And together, we brought her down. We did make a hell of a team, didn't we?"

Sayuko nodded, and smiled. "Yep. One fine-ass team!"

Thomas' eyes widened in surprise, as the two of them stared at each other, before the both of them burst out laughing.

"That's new," Thomas said as he finished laughing.

"Sorry," Sayuko responded. "I've been watching too much American TV."

"Well, you better watch out. It can poison your mind."

Sayuko giggled. "Okay, Thoma-kun." She then looked towards the sunset again. "...I really enjoyed today. The movie was bad, and some people were staring at us, but otherwise, it's all been good."

"I agree," Thomas responded. "I had fun, too. Who wouldn't want to spend a day with a cute girl like you?"

Sayuko blushed yet again. Even Thomas was surprised at how many time he had make her blush today.

"I got you again!" Thomas teased. "You ARE going to go home red!"

"Ohh!" Sayuko playfully nudged him.

Thomas chuckled. "Well, anyway, we'll make sure to do this again very soon. What do you say?"

"Of course!"

"Good."

Thomas wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and brought her closer to his body. She then rested her head on his shoulders, as the two of them watched the sun slowly set over the horizon.

Just as the sun was nearly completely gone, Sayuko moved her head off of Thomas' shoulder, and then turned to face him.

"Thomas," she called.

"Yeah?" he answered.

"...I... I don't know how to ask this." Sayuko was blushing again. "...But could you... Could we... kiss?"

This was perhaps the biggest surprise of the day for Thomas. He thought that, if it ever came to this point, that he would have been the one to initiate it. Yet, it was Sayuko who had wanted to bring this date to its climax. Needless to say, he was not going to pass this up.

"Of course," Thomas replied.

With that, Sayuko's face drew closer to his, until their lips were locked with one another. He wrapped his arms around her, and drew her a bit closer to him. Perhaps this was a bit much for what should have been a simple kiss, but Thomas didn't care.

It was the perfect end to a great date. There was now no way that this day could get any better.