Gina had been relocated to the glass surface of her old nightstand along with her growing crew of drastically smaller women.  Even though it limited her movement, she understood why it had to be done: Shelby was small enough that anyone normal sized would need a microscope to see her, and Julie was not much better off.  Prior to their ascent, the three tiny women had to form a chain, picking up the next smallest one like a nesting doll, to ensure none of them were left on the floor.

With a sense of satisfaction, Gina looked at the speck on the tip of her finger.  Just two days ago Shelby was threatening to eat her, and now she was little more than a mote of dust to an inch-tall woman.  Snuffing her out would be a matter of nothing more than rubbing two fingers together, pulverizing the vaguely humanoid dot between relatively massive digits.  It would be a fitting end, Gina thought, but better than she deserved.  After the unrelenting torment she had inflicted upon her, the ungrateful bitch should suffer the indignity of being puny.

From Shelby’s perspective, this was a nightmare.  Ever since she had wound up this size she had been screaming, trying to get Gina to notice her.  Her begging and pleading fell on uncaring ears, if they reached at all, and it was not long until she screamed herself hoarse.  She continued her wordless entreaties, moving her lips to say how sorry she was and ask Gina to make her a little bigger, just enough to be the same size as Julie, though she knew she might as well have been doing nothing.

When Gina’s gaze finally did fall on her, Shelby regretted that she asked for it.  Under the gaze of two tremendous blue eyes she felt the size disparity in full, with individual flecks in Gina’s irises larger than her.  With every movement of Gina’s full lips, mountain ridges to the woman stuck on her finger, Shelby was terrified for a terrifying syllable that never came.  Instead the silent colossus simply considered her, reinforcing her abject superiority without having to do anything but look down at her.

At the same time, Gina had been intentionally neglecting Julie, building the impression that she was now beneath the notice of anyone.  That was how Gina felt, after all, and Julie was just as attention-driven as she was.  Now that she was left at her feet, unattended, her tiny, high-pitched wails filtered up from the floor almost constantly.  Going from a ten-foot behemoth to nothing more than a nuisance must have been eating her up inside.

A small, gentle tug pulled at one of her ruined stockings, and Gina grinned.  The last time she had felt that her boy-toy was desperately climbing up her leg, starving for a tiny nugget of attention from her.  While she had been doing that to make him jealous – he loved her, of course, no matter how much she toyed with his heart – it made Julie crave any human contact, no matter how harmful.  The tiny itch slowly progressed up her calf, and Gina considered how far she should let her go before scraping her off with her other foot.

Before she could remove the pest from her leg, a series of thundering footsteps came racing up the stairs.  Gina looked around the room, hoping it was Akane coming back for more humanitarian nonsense, but the gigantic woman was leaning over a table in the back of the room and holding a whispered conversation with Roni.  The pounding rapidly grew more intense before dying off, the lull before the storm.  With a final rumble the door shook in its frame, and the brass doorknob spun in a powerful grip.

The door swung inward, revealing a powerful, feminine frame in its place, only visible from the chest down.  Black, skin-tight leggings clung to her toned thighs and calves, and a pair of white Adidas sneakers were pulled over her gigantic feet.  The tail of a red shirt hung down past her waist, loose and hugging her sides simultaneously.  For a moment she stood there, filling the doorway with her titanic body, and Gina could not tear her eyes away.

Ashley stooped forward and turned to the side, nearly doubling over to squeeze through the door frame into Gina’s room, making her platinum blond hair fall from her shoulders.  When she was sure she would not bang her head she stood back to her full height, then took a moment to flip her hair back onto her statuesque shoulders.  She looked around, scanning the room for the tiny blond but finding only the titanic Asian at the far side of the room.  Her eyes swept back, slower and more carefully this time, and spotted a particularly small doll on the table by the bed.

With two long, purposeful strides Ashley closed the gap, then looked down at Gina with a smirk.  Slowly she bent forward, placing her hands on her knees and leaning toward the shrunken woman on the tabletop.  When her nose was nearly touching her she stopped, then flashed her a full, pearly white smile.  “Hello, Gina!” she boomed, practically shouting into her face.  “Funny running into you here, isn’t it?”

Shelby felt a presence looming over her more than anything.  Looking up at Ashley’s face, she could scarcely even comprehend her as a person.  She could only look in one lake-sized eye at a time, its iris shining like tropical waters, with lashes wider than highways.  When she spoke, no noise emitted from her gargantuan lips hiding a great wall of teeth.  Instead, a powerful gale swept over her, blowing her auburn hair back while making every corner of her body rattle violently from its force.  Tears involuntarily formed in her green eyes, and she found there was nowhere to look that was not dominated by Ashley.

Gina, however, was less impressed.  For months titanesses had been looming over her, using their vastly greater size to push her around like she was a toy instead of merely a temporarily embarrassed giantess.  Ashley’s size no longer bothered her after this time, but she could never get past how damn pretty she was.  With her radiant complexion, baby blue eyes, and immaculate bone structure, Ashley was the only girl her age Gina had ever been jealous of.  Even at a fraction of her size and practically standing on her nose, Gina could not see a hint of makeup or powder on the massive face above her.

“Not really,” Gina finally answered.  “It’s your day to ‘play’ with me, as you like to say.”

Ashley laughed, belting a series of hot breezes onto Gina while making her joints quiver.  “I meant it’s funny you’re on the table,” she clarified.  “Because you’re small, get it?  You’re really small!”  She made a loud pop with her lips before continuing.  “Now that you mention it, nobody’s seen our friends since they stopped by for their play dates with you.  You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”

Gina shook her head.  “Haven’t seen ‘em,” she lied.  The two puny women stuck to her screamed for recognition, but Gina knew from experience it was impossible for Ashley to hear them.  They were simply too small.

“You must’ve had a lonely couple of days, then,” Ashley replied.  “With no friends to hang out with you must have been dreadfully bored.”  Her velvety voice washed over Gina, its deep, gentle tones sliding her into relaxation.

“Akane’s been here,” Gina shot back, “so I’ve hardly been alone.”

Ashley cackled once, breaking her voice’s spell on Gina.  “She doesn’t count!” she boomed, her voice hitting Gina like a hurricane.  “I’m talking about your friends, not your weird caretaker!”

“She’s actually pretty interesting once you get to know her,” Gina countered.  “We really should’ve hung out with her more, I think she would’ve brought a unique perspective to our group.”  Although Gina could not stand defending Akane, it doubtlessly irritated Ashley.

“Sounds like you’ve got Stockholm Syndrome,” Ashley declared, standing back to her full height.  While Gina looked up at the woman towering over her she continued, “And without our other friends coming to visit you, I can’t in good conscience leave you here by yourself.  I need to take you home with me so I can keep you safe.”

Before Gina could react Ashley’s hand was already barreling toward her, fingers curled downward like a claw.  They hit the glass floor with a bang, and Gina found herself in a tiny cage with fingers for bars.  The fingers snapped shut, closing around the ex-giantess in an instant and holding her fast.  Ashley pulled her fingers in further, closing Gina in a fist.  With a sense of finality she pressed Gina against her palm, holding her so tightly she could not move.

As the light around her was squelched, Gina resigned herself to her fate, at least temporarily.  If she was stuck at Ashley’s house, her plan to get big again would be derailed, and she would have to find some other way to return to her natural grandeur.  On the plus side, she would be spared from who knows how many sanctimonious, moralizing speeches from Akane while she plotted her escape.  Besides, out of all of them Ashley had threatened to obliterate her the least, and being played with like a toy would only make her revenge burn hotter.

The gentle swaying of Ashley’s gait came to an abrupt stop, followed by a commanding voice from outside the fleshy walls of her fist.  “And where do you think you’re taking her?” Akane demanded.

“None of your business, freak,” Ashley replied, making gentle vibrations ripple over her captives.  “Now get out of my way.”

“I don’t think so.”  Gina’s insides shifted when Ashley lurched backward in retreat.  “Gina needs to stay here.  Trust me, it’s better for everyone if I keep an eye on her.”

“You’re not even her friend,” Ashley countered, “so what do you know?  Just move.”

“I will, once you give me Gina,” Akane countered.  “You can play with her here all you want, but she stays here.”

“You gonna make me?”  Even in the darkness Gina could see Ashley’s smug face.

Without answering Akane reached forward, grabbing the smaller giantess by the wrist.  In one sudden jerk she raised it to her chest, and before Ashley could do anything Akane reached in with her other hand.  Forcefully she wedged her fingers beneath Ashley’s prying open her fist to reveal Gina lying prone in her palm.  The blond tried to yank her hand back, but with a quick swipe she snagged the tiny woman, wrapping her long, slender fingers around her minute, shaking body.

Unfortunately, Shelby and Julie missed the ride.  With the sudden jolts to Gina’s body Julie lost her grip on the stocking, careening wildly past her feet to land on the enormous soft platform of Ashley’s palm.  The forces were also enough to break the bond Gina’s skin had made with Shelby, and when Akane reclaimed the enormous platform she had been hanging from she flew away from the unfathomably large fingers.  She plunged toward Ashley’s outstretched palm, an impossible target to miss, to disappear within the whorls of her skin.

“Hey!  Give her back!” Ashley protested, struggling to get her arm free from Akane’s fierce grip.  The taller woman fixed her with a contemptuous look and squeezed harder, making Ashley wince.  She flailed with her free hand, trying to crawl at Akane’s face, but succeeded only in getting her other hand grabbed.  While she struggled to get out of the grip Akane bowed her head and rushed forward, slamming her forehead into the bridge of Ashley’s nose.

Ashley’s head shot back, and for a moment all she could see was stars.  Akane released one of her arms but dragged the other one higher, opening her up wider.  She planned to strike once her vision had cleared, but when the stars receded all she could do was gasp.  Her eyes were at Akane’s waist and rapidly getting lower.  Trying to fight her would be futile, and she was powerless to do anything but watch as she became ever more towering.

First her heels lifted off the ground, then the rest of her feet while her body continued to get smaller.  Akane showed no emotion as she watched Ashley dwindle, attending to it like it was merely her duty.  The smaller Ashely became the more humongous every part of Akane seemed until she disappeared into her hand.  In the safety of darkness, with soft, warm walls around her, she began to mentally process what had just happened.

The reprieve did not last long.  The ceiling of fingers flew open, and Ashley found herself under the watchful gaze of an enormous dark eye set against eggshell-colored skin.  She let out an ear-piercing scream of shock, though it was more like a tricycle wheel squeaking to Akane.  Reflexively Ashely tried to scoot away from the massive iris, but there was nowhere for her to go.  Even were she not being held hundreds of feet in the air, there was simply nowhere to hide.

“Figured you’d be too stubborn to listen,” Akane chided, clicking her tongue while she looked at the newly-shrunken woman in her hand.  “All you had to do was leave Gina in her room and you’d be your normal size, but you couldn’t even do that.”

“Hey!  Put me down!” Ashley protested, not listening to the tremors erupting from Akane’s mouth.  “I deserve some dignity!”

Akane couldn’t help but chuckle.  “All right,” she began, “but I’m not sure how long your dignity will last down there.”  Slowly, careful not to jostle the women in her grip, Akane bent her knees until she was squatting as far down as she could.  Then she brought her hands to the carpet beside each other and turned her palms sideways, letting their occupants slide out.  Ashley tumbled the inch or so to the ground while Gina simply landed in a crouch.

Gina walked toward Ashley lying on the ground, striding confidently over the tall carpet fibers.  She stopped in front of her and placed her hands on her hips, staring victoriously down at her.  For a moment she basked in the misery of her defeated foe while she could only moan, afraid to even look up.  “Pathetic,” Gina said.  “Get up and face me.”

With shaking arms Ashley pushed herself up to a crouch, then jerkily stood as tall as she could.  When she looked up at Gina she nearly broke into tears.  She was shorter than her legs alone, and while Gina gazed down at her smugly she felt like she was at the base of a monolith.  Her mouth opened to ask for mercy, but all that game out was a stammering mess, all her words colliding with each other on the way out.

“Wipe your hand on my leg,” Gina demanded, staring coldly down at Ashley.  Her hand quivered while she brought it up and set it on Gina’s thigh, just above her knee.  “Wipe it well.”  She pressed hard, dragging her palm against the coarse nylon as it went.  Gina watched her with a satisfied grin, glad to have this power back.  Hopefully, that had been enough to free the pair of miniscule women.

Ashley finished wiping her hand and dropped it back to her side, shaking.  “Good,” Gina boomed confidently.  “Now, get used to looking up.”  Her glare intensified and Ashley began dwindling again, quickly dropping along Gina’s shin and past her ankle.  By the time she had stopped, the top of Gina’s big toe loomed over her.

With a grin Gina leaned over and extended a hand toward the diminutive woman.  She was paralyzed with fear, and Gina was easily able to pinch her fingers around her.  In a single, smooth movement she stood back up, knowing it would toss Ashley’s insides around like a tornado, and held her in front of her face.  “Welcome to the party, ‘friend,’” she declared mockingly, and winked an enormous blue eye at her.

Akane had seen enough, and without the trio coming to terrorize Gina and the others she could finally set some of their victims free.  She set her hands on her knees with a resonating clap and stood, casting Gina’s puny form in shadow.  Cautiously, she took a step forward, making sure her tremendous brown loafer sailed well over her head and landed clear.  Her other leg repeated the motion, and she stood in front of the vast terrarium.

With a heave she opened the lid and looked down at the tribe of small people gathered before her.  Briefly she looked them over, smiling, while she considered who to free first.  As she gazed at the huddled masses, the answer became clear.

“Kimberly!” she intoned.  “Step forward!”  The crowd parted to let a brown-haired girl pass, murmuring as she went.  Half of them were excited, while the others expected a trick.  It had been so long since any of them had been free, and for all they knew the power had gone to Akane’s head in that time.

The brunette looked up at Akane’s beaming face and smiled back.  She believed in Akane and did not flinch when the gargantuan hand descended toward her.  Two fingertips gently clamped around her chest, and she felt herself soar as the titaness lifted her into the air.  It took a minute for the slow ascent to reach the top, but Akane kept her hand steady the whole time.  Once she was out of the terrarium, Akane carefully rotated, handling Kimberly like a volatile material, and lowered her to the carpet the same way she had done with Gina and Ashley.  This time, however, she made sure the tiny woman had steady footing before releasing her and standing back up to her full height.

“Kimberly,” Akane began, “Go back out into the world and be as beautiful as you have in here.”  Smiling contentedly, she closed her eyes, feeling the tiny woman at her toes.  She imagined her growing larger, expanding until she was at Akane’s knees and steadily growing along her thighs.  As her crown crossed Akane’s waist she began to slow it down, not wanting to create another tremendous bully like Gina.  All she wanted to do was return her original size, and to her amazement she leveled out at a little over six feet.

When the growth stopped Kimberly looked around in disbelief.  She looked up at Akane, tears of joy streaming down her cheeks.  With a sob she reached forward and wrapped her arms around one of Akane’s thighs, clutching it tightly.  “Thank you,” she said between heaves.  “Just… thank you.”

“Aw, don’t cry!” Akane said, rustling her chestnut hair.  “You need to go back looking your best!  I know all the guys will be excited to see you again.”  She stroked Kimberly’s hair and concluded by patting her shoulder, ensuring her everything was going to be okay now.

Gina watched Akane place the tiny woman at her own feet, losing sight of her against the brown leather of her shoes.  Had she shrunk someone named Kimberly?  It was so long ago it was difficult to remember.  There were still several people in there from when she ruled over it as a goddess, but she had never bothered to remember their names.

To Gina’s surprise the woman began to grow, swiftly rising past Akane’s ankles and up her shins.  As she grew her feet expanded back, and Gina watched with shock as the heel came toward her.  In only a few seconds Kimberly had dwarfed her, and she was looking at the top of her light brown riding boots.  Her growth continued and Gina continued craning her neck back to keep track of it.  The small heel of her boot was pushed along the ground, and through it threatened to overwhelm Gina soon she could not tear her gaze away from the expanding colossus.

At last it stopped, a mere inch short of dragging Gina beneath it.  At the feet of a titaness, Gina was reminded of just how tenuous her situation was.  She may have dominance over her friends, but even someone who had previously been puny like Kimberly posed a threat to her.  If she was going to reclaim her status as a deity, she had better do it soon.

Kimberly relinquished her grip on Akane’s thigh, drying her eyes on her skirt.  The words were choked in her throat, so she simply gave a final wave and turned to leave.  She glanced down and saw a small, black speck, about half the height of her boot’s toe.  Gina, small and powerless, at her feet.  The reason for six months of torment and separation from her family.  They locked eyes, and Kimberly imagined the satisfaction she would feel hearing her bones crunch beneath her boot.  An accident, she would say, if Akane even tried to stop her.

Kimberly’s heel lifted from the ground, and she kept her eyes locked on Gina as she brought her foot forward.  Her sole passed over the tiny woman, and now it was only a matter of bringing it down.  Before she could slam her sole against the carpet, though, she thought better of it.  As much joy as it would bring her to smash her tormenter, she knew it would serve no purpose.  She continued her step, relishing the moment she stood astride Gina, and left the room.

Gina met Kimberly’s gaze, terrified of what was about to come.  She was vulnerable and they both knew it.  Her jaw dropped when the leather of her boot wrinkled, and she threw up her hands when the sturdy, lined sole passed over her.  It hovered for a moment, the ball of Kimberly’s foot directly above her, before continuing its arc, giving her a hurried view of the weathered design on her sole.  The ground shook when her boot set down beyond her, making Gina’s teeth chatter, and soon enough it was just her and Akane again.