Ch. 15 Everyday Life

Day Nine

David and Al walked side by side, with David wearing a guest lanyard around his neck. Around them, massive trucks drove up and down, sometimes carrying their cargo behind them and sometimes carrying them up ahead. There were labels on the shipments, though David yet to know what the words mean, though he guessed that the ones with some kind of skull symbol should be the one he shouldn’t mess with.

He craned his neck up, the tall buildings all around them, though not as tall as the ones from the other parts of The Second Capitol. They were also made of thick concrete with steel framing and had some kind of smokestack on top of them. He felt a tug against his shoulder, and he followed, avoiding one of the trucks coming by.

“Sorry,” David said while rubbing the back of his head. “Even after being here for some days, I’m still impressed by how huge your buildings are.”

“It’s how I got outed as an outsider of this city myself,” Al answered, waving at the truck. “After all, to these anthros, these are mundane, and any awing at these buildings would be out of place.”

“You’re not from around here?” David tilted his head a bit.

“Nope. A few years ago, I moved in from Eckzahn,” Al answered, though he rubbed the back of his left ear while his eyes shifted down to the right. “My dad passed away from cancer, and he was the breadwinner of the house. As such, after a couple of,” he stopped for a couple of seconds, one of his teeth rubbing against his lips, “a couple of stuff I was a part of, I immigrated to here. Then, after all the paperwork had been sorted out, I got a job within the industrial complex. Been here ever since.”

David squinted at him for a few seconds. “A couple of stuff, you say?”

“Yeah. Sorry.” Al placed a hand-paw in his pocket, shifting. “I don’t wish to explain more than that.”

“If you say so,” David said with a laugh, placing his hand-paws behind his head. “So, is it always this grimy and smoky?”

“Sad to say, but yes.” Al rubbed his chin while his ears twitched. “After all, processing raw material into something far more useful, like turning raw ore into steel, is a messy and fiery business. There’s even a system where we take old material and reprocess them, such as turning waste into fuel, set up here.”

“Hopefully, you won’t run out of them,” David said, and they both laughed, though Al less so. “Still, I’m glad that you managed to invite me here on your off day.”

“Same here,” Al said, and he stopped, pressing onto David’s shoulder and pointed ahead.

David flinched before he turned ahead, and he gasped. A giant, anthro-like machine, almost five times the size of an anthro, walked on forward. It carried several logs at once with its arms, with every movement making either a hissing sound or a whirling noise. Upon contact with the concrete, its foot splayed a bit, and it retracted when it walked forward with it. Its head held a couple of ear-like constructs and a thick cord on his back, tugging it above and behind it.

“Glorfindel called them mechs,” David said while his eyes widened. “Though I still don’t know what he meant by that.”

“I’ll do my best to explain,” Al said as the mech inserted the logs onto a truck one by one. “Mechs such as this one has an anthro within it piloting, usually for jobs that required more precision and power than a forklift. Since using macro techs are pretty much illegal outside of a biannual event, we use mechs in their place.”

“There’s an anthro within it?” David blinked as the mech turned to them and waved before walking away, every step making a thumping sound. “O. K. But what’s with the cable? Doesn’t it have its own internal power?”

Al shook his head before leading David away, walking to the right. “There is, but the battery is more or less a backup power. The mechs sucked up so much energy that it’ll drain even the best batteries within ten minutes. In fact, the cable is a relatively recent development which allowed us to dust off much of them out of their storage units.”

“I don’t follow.” David rubbed behind one of his ears.

“To begin with, the mechs were developed around the time The Philosopher was finishing its construction. In fact, it was done by the same architect.” Al cast a glance at the space elevator for a second. “Back then, the mechs gained a continuous source of power wirelessly from the generator up there with receiver generators. Unfortunately, the information on how that was possible got lost, corrupted over time, and any remaining data about it is up there, inaccessible from us. And, one by one, the receiver generator failed until only a few with intact ones remained. Even so, those few are heavily regulated in a hope to find out its secrets.”

“Oh?” David tilted his head a bit as they passed by another mech, with it carrying a massive canister with a label design displaying an anthro’s hand getting dissolved on it. He turned to its back and spotted a pair of glowing red lights, similar to the Flygon mech they flew on, and he squinted at them. “Do these things fly?”

“Technically, yes,” Al answered as they reached a corner of the pathway and turned left. “That’s one of the few things we understood about them. However, due to the limits of cable reach and trying to avoid them tangling with each other, the most they can do is hover. In fact, they were more designed for The Philosopher, maintaining it and defending it. There are even rumors that there are seven massive ones, run by artificial intelligence, within it as guardians defending it from outsiders and us until the exile ends.”

“Huh.” David turned to one of the other mechs, taking one long bar of steel from another and carrying it away. “Though where are we heading to?”

“Here.” Al pulled out a card and inserted it into a card reader. The colossal door rolled up, and the sunlight flowed inside, exposing the mech within it. Its body was painted black, though there were white edging and red neon glow on the linings. David gasped as he took a step back even as Al grinned wide. “This is one that I drive.”

“You can drive it?” David blinked even as Al patted it leg.

“Yup. Busted my tail to get a license,” Al answered, his eyes filled with pride. “I’m well known here for being an above-average pilot.”

“That’s pretty sweet,” David said even as Al stepped back and pressed the button, the door closing down in front of them. “You’re not taking it out on a drive?”

“I can only drive it during work hours,” Al admitted as he rubbed the back of his head. “Again, regulations. A shame, really. Because I love driving it. The best part of my job.”

“That’s nice. Still,” David tilted his head a bit as his left ear flattened to the side, “how can you see within it? I don’t see any eye holes.”

“That’s pretty simple,” Al explained as he led David away. “To explain, there are sensors within the mechs that allowed for near 360 views, with only the back unviewable. Even then, it’s because there’s a chair right behind you that blocked your view. In addition, there are a pair of screens that allowed for communications between mechs, not to mention a speaker system that allows for communications outside of it.”

“Huh.” David rubbed his chin before he grinned. “Though, there is one event that you mentioned that I’m curious about.”

“What’s that?” Al tilted his head a bit though he grinned a little.

“You mentioned that there is a biannual event where you anthros use macro techs,” David said even as Al turned to the side, rubbing the back of his head. “Care to explain more about that?”

“Basically,” Al said while rubbing his chin, the two passing by a smelter, “it’s an event held twice every year, where anthros throughout the continent get to be huge for several minutes. We anthros get put into a random draw, and those get filtered by testing to see how they could react when massive. The best ones are then chosen to be a part of this event.”

“Have you ever won?” David asked and blinked when Al laughed loud and long.

“Sorry,” Al said, holding against his stomach. “I haven’t had a good laugh like this in a long time. Give me a moment to recover from these stomach cramps.” David tilted his head even as Al snickered some more. “OK. I won the raffle twice, but I failed the tests. Apparently, they thought that I would be aggressive when huge.”

“Huh.” David squinted his eyes at Al, who grinned wide. “Never would’ve guessed.”

“Truth be told, I prefer being in a mech any day rather than being huge,” Al said, and David laughed as well. “Of course, I also would like to be in a simulation of being huge, like we used to a couple of centuries ago. Apparently, they used to be run by illusion-generating machines, learned from Zoroark like you. However, they broke down, and we lost the blueprints as to how they’re run.”

“Eh?” David tilted his head. “We met a Lycanroc, who had Zoroark traits such as Illusion, that have such a device. She used it in conjunction with her ability to grow big.” Al blinked even as he rubbed the back of his head. “Perhaps, if we retrieved the device, you could relearn how they work. Heck, I could figure how why they failed.”

Al nodded, though he grimaced a little. “I did suggest that you can assist with repairing them to Deputy Mayor Rosemary a week ago and, while she seemed open to the idea, she said that I shouldn’t get my hopes up. After all, it’s been so long, and she doubted that all of the various bureaucracy within The Second Capitol would agree with it.”

David’s ears flattened to the sides. “Oh. That’s a shame.”

“Indeed,” Al said before he rubbed his chin. “Say, there’s an incoming macro event coming within a month or so. How about I invite you and, if they’re available, I can invite the others as well? I’m sure that Deputy Mayor Rosemary would agree with that.”

“You can do that?” David asked and, when Al nodded, hugged him. “Thank you! It’ll be a great way to see how you guys use your macro technology.”

“Indeed,” Al said before turning up to The Philosopher and nodded. “Indeed.”

Day Twenty-Seven

A-Ninetales and Saria walked side by side as they reached towards The Philosopher, with both of them grinning. A couple of his tails wrapped around her as they passed by various anthros, who blinked at them. Still, they ignored the odd looks as they approached the multiverse entrance/exit opening, with A-Ninetales nosing Saria’s cheek.

“Have a good workday, my dear,” A-Ninetales said as she rubbed her cheek against his. “Try not to step on anyone.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t,” Saria said with a giggle, her tail getting loose from his tails. “Besides, the warning notice got released a couple of weeks ago. So they should know that I’m coming and what I’m here for.”

“That’s good at least,” A-Ninetales said even as Saria stepped into it, approaching the center of the floor symbol. “Take care!”

“You too!” Saria replied, and the light underneath her glowed brightly. It consumed her, with the pathway being nothing more than a wall of white light, even as A-Ninetales smiled at it. Several seconds passed before the light faded, and she disappeared, with him nodding.

He stepped away from the passageway, only to spot David running up to him. “Hello there. This is a surprise.”

“Eh, hello,” David said, with him leaning his own head to the side. “After breakfast, I got curious to see what you two were up to. So, after learning from Glorfindel that you two were heading over here, I ran as fast as I could. I guess I missed Saria, eh?”

“You just did,” A-Ninetales said with a nod. “As for what she is doing, she got a commission a couple of weeks ago. As per her dealings, the buyers must guarantee safety for herself and others before she does her job. Not to mention needing the two weeks to alert others of her coming and what she will do.”

“Oh?” David said even as the two walked south, passing by some trees and some anthros. “What is her job?”

“Her job is to demolish several buildings within a block.”

“Ah, that sounds pretty nice. I’m sure that—wait, what?!” David’s eyes widened as he stared at him.

“Oh, yes.” A-Ninetales shrugged. “They’re building a movie theater in its place. You need plenty of space to build one.”

“You know what I mean!” David squinted at him. “Her job is to destroy stuff?!”

“Yes,” A-Ninetales said with a nod, as though it was a job to get through a dungeon. “It’s something that she specialized in. After all, sometimes you need the job done quickly. While their machinery does the job, they are costly to make at times, and getting through paperwork to use them is even more so. So, she billed herself as a professional destructor who will destroy buildings, cities, and even planets for a fee.”

“Wait, she DESTROYS PLANETS!?” David flailed his arms up even as A-Ninetales chuckled. “What are you laughing about?! What use does it to destroy planets?!”

“For starters, some intergalactic travel uses different means to go through space,” A-Ninetales answered, his tails swaying behind him. “Some used hyperspace travel, where they either pop out and back between normal space and hyperspace, sometimes instantly, others taking up to years. Other used portals or wormholes, sometimes natural and sometimes artificial, to go through space. And other used a planet’s gravity to propel the ship to incredible speed. Whatever the reason, they either need the resources or even a pathway to travel through space. And space makes even Saria at her largest nothing more than a speck.”

“I-I guess that makes some sense,” David said, though he shook his head. “Still, destroying planets? I’m sure that there is a better use for it than just destroying it, right?”

“It’s not always that simple,” A-Ninetales said, shaking his head as well. “For example, the planet I take Faith in to train on. The soil, for starters, has too much salt for growing even grass. The red dwarf doesn’t produce enough radiation for us to thrive on. And while it has a decent level of breathable air, the atmosphere doesn’t generate the weather needed for rain in the long term. There’s plenty of other factors, but the main point is that terraforming would take too much time and effort and gain too little in return. So, what’s the best we can do with it instead?”

“Strip it of any resources, eh?” David sighed before rubbing the back of his head. “Sorry. I personally thought that destroying stuff is wasteful, even if they are a lifeless rock in the sky, and there’s always a danger of collateral damages.”

A-Ninetales nodded with a smile. “Perfectly understandable, and I think Saria would agree with that on many occasions.” David turned his yellow eyes at him, tilting his head. “After all, she personally dislikes needless destruction. She may enjoy smashing stuff, but she at least wants it to be worth it. Destroying for the sake of destroying, or even to terrorized, she despised. And she does her best to make sure that anyone around is safe, no matter how they act.”

“I guess that makes sense,” David said, his ears flattened back before shrugging. “Eh, maybe I did overreact. If so, I’m sorry.” A-Ninetales smiled before he nodded. “In any case, what about you? Do you take such jobs yourself?”

“Me?” A-Ninetales laughed, his neck leaned up even as David blinked. “Sorry, but no. Call me a wimp or a coward, but I dislike destroying stuff even if I’m paid to do it. I’m normally hired for protection, usually because there’s some asteroid incoming about to cause damage. So, I grow large enough that I can absorb the damages without getting harmed myself.”

“Oh?” David’s lips curled up into a grin even as the two stepped up to the building they were staying in. “Sounds like my kind of job. If you want, I can offer you some Wonder Orbs to help you out.”

“I doubted that I needed it,” A-Ninetales said as the doors slid open, and they stepped in. “But thanks.”

Day 44

David’s head turf swayed side to side with every step, with him right behind Al. A lanyard wrapped around his neck, with Al carrying a similar one around his own as they stepped through the crowds. He stopped when a couple of tall anthros, which David recognized as hyena anthros, held their arms against him, the two standing in front of a gate.

David tilted his head beyond the gate, with this part of The Second Capitol having far fewer tall buildings in the western part of the city. Even so, the building ahead was massive, though not just for its height but for its length and width, with him noting that Faith at the largest he saw her could fit in with no problem. Indeed, it towered over the buildings around it, though most of them were restaurants.

Al showed the card attached to the lanyard to the anthro hyena and, after going through their tablets, they stepped aside. David sighed, and both he and Al stepped in, bypassing the ever-growing line from the side. He turned around for a second, with him tilting his head a bit as he spotted some anthros in fancy clothes stepping to the hyena anthros as well. They flourished their cards, but the hyenas shook their heads and pointed at the line, which may have spiraled around the building.

“So, this is the SC Stadium?” David said as his fur bristled at the massive amounts of anthros and some Pokémon around them. Al nodded, and David added, “Must say, I never expected to see so many here.”

“It can contain up to 150,000 alone,” Al said, and he laughed when David blinked. “It’s a luxury to get to be a part of this, especially since the cheapest seats cost an arm and a leg.”

“And we’ll be going to the most expensive in the stadium, correct?” David asked.

“Correct,” Al said with a nod. “After all, it’s all the more impressive to see growing action in ground level.”

“Eh, fair point,” David said as they, along with a group, approached one of the many openings around this oval-shaped stadium. “Thank you for getting us the seats.”

“Thank Deputy Mayor Rosemary,” Al replied with a shrug, pulling out a flashlight and shining it in. “She is the who convinced the mayor to let you, as special guests of A-Ninetales and Saria, to come in.” He clicked the flashlight on and shined in. “I swear they gave up replacing dead lightbulbs.”

David gave out a smug grin. “Better for you than for me since I can see in the dark.”

“More power to you,” Al said, the two walking into the maze of hallways even as the light flickered on and off. “Of course, the batteries started to die when I needed it.”

David snickered while Al banged his palm against the flashlight before giving up and pocketing it. He shook his head, and, pulling out what he called a smartphone, he shined a light in. The two stepped through, following the numbers for their seats though Al walked less confident than David did. Soon, after finding their pathway, they walked through until the sunlight shined upon their faces, with them covering them up with their hand-paws. Soon, their eyes readjusted, and they lowered their arms.

David’s eyes widened, seeing a field of green, flat in such a way that he thought was impossible. The area itself was massive, with him wondering if all of the citizens of Arkanilacum could fit in it with no problem, even with the two Onix neighbors. Heck, he even thought if that would include Faith up to 250 feet tall. In addition, the field was stained with white paint in the form of circles and lines along with numbers. He even wondered if it was possible to repaint the area.

He tilted his head ahead, spotting a table with a white sheet on top of it. Ten wrist-like devices lay on the table, looking somewhat bulky even for him to wear. He felt a hand-paw clasped against his shoulder, and, turning to Al, he smiled even as he got let to the chairs, set up near the field.

“Those are it, aren’t they?” David said as he sat on one of the chairs.

“Yes. Our treasure and our curse,” Al replied with him sitting next to David. “Our macro tech.”

David nodded even as he crossed one of his legs over the other. Even from this distance, he spotted a few buttons on the machines, far fewer than what Maya had on her device. And, above it, was some kind of circle. He tilted his head a bit before he turned to Al, who kept his smartphone out and fiddled with it.

“How long until the event starts?” David asked.

“I say around an hour or so,” Al answered and chuckled as David squinted at him. “Look, I like to be early. Fewer crowds, less margin of error, and freer to avoid awkward positions.”

“Despite the crowds we fought through, eh?” David said before he shook his head, crossing his arms as well. “And it’s for 500 participants.”

“Indeed, though I should’ve warned you ahead of time,” Al said with a cheeky wink. “Because these seats are usually reserved for the leaders of the three nations and our city’s leadership, we’ll be forced to meet with the 500.”

“Of course,” David said, though he couldn’t help but grin. “Still, I own a shop. So I’m used to greeting others.”

“Good!” A new voice came to David’s right, and he jumped a bit. When he turned to the source, he spotted Saria the Absol sitting there. “Sorry. Just wanted to surprise you since it’s my day off.”

“Ah. Well, that’s good,” David said as he rubbed the back of his head. Al and Saria laughed some more, even as his fur ruffled a bit. “And the others couldn’t make it?”

“Glorfindel is more interested in doing his own magical stuff,” Saria replied with a grin. “And Daren is training Faith today, so they won’t be able to participate as well.”

“Ah. That’s a shame,” David said even as his ears flattened forward. “I heard from A-Ninetales on what you usually do as a job. Is that true?”

“Yup! But don’t worry,” Saria said with a wink of her own. “I make sure that no other gets harmed.”

“That’s good at least,” David said with a nod, and Saria laughed even as Al tilted his head.

The minutes passed as the seats around and above filled up, though the ones around them had professional-looking dresses instead. Flags of many kinds and colors waved overhead, either held by some anthro, Pokémon, or hanging on a poll. Soon, 500 anthros entered the field, approaching David and the others. He tiled his head while squinting.

“Say, Al?” David asked, and Al turned to him. “I don’t see any Pokémon participating with the chance to grow.”

“That’s because Pokémon are forbidden from this,” Al answered, and David blinked. Then, he sighed and lowered his smartphone, his eyes drooping. “For some reason, Pokémon broke the rules we thought were ironclad when it comes to growing with the device.”

“What do you mean?” Saria asked, leaning in as well.

Al rubbed the back of his right ear. “Based on what documents survived, the macro devices weren’t originally meant to cause us to grow. Originally, they were used as a storage system, where they could absorb matter down to the atoms and store them in a sort of pocket universe. It’s hard to explain since even our understanding is lacking, not helped by restrictions in researching macro technology. But that was what it’s originally made for. Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out that way because the disassembled atoms decay the longer they stay within this ‘hammerspace,’ fading away completely after six hours.

“And then someone figured out that they can transfer the matter into our own bodies, allowing us to grow in size. This breakthrough caused all such devices to be readapted for macro purposes. But, of course, there are limits to how big one can be and how much space can be placed within the pocket universe, which is how we figured out the correlation between how much can stay and how much one can absorb.

“But you Pokémon,” He shook his head. “You Pokémon broke the rules. In our documents, the most an anthro can grow is up to fifty feet. But some documents suggest that your kind has used the same tech to grow up to a thousand feet. The most we can guess as to what this is the case is because you Pokémon react strongly with it more than anthros can, but why we cannot tell.”

David nodded as the crowd approached and greeted the group. He waved, though he couldn’t understand their words since they don’t have the same translation device Al has. Even so, the words Al spoke of rang within his head. And, recalling their forced exile to this continent, he wondered how much destruction Pokémon caused at such heights. Perhaps that overreaction, along with such bans, wasn’t as unreasonable as he thought.

He blinked as he felt a poke against his leg and, when he turned down, he spotted a child anthro, a species that Al called a ‘maned wolf.’ Her green eyes seemed to pop even as she spoke some words that he couldn’t understand. Then, her ears flattened as she spoke up again, with David wincing some more.

“Allow me,” Al said before pulling out the flashlight and emptying it of batteries. He gave the batteries to her while saying, “Sorry. He doesn’t understand what you’re saying, and he doesn’t have anything he can offer you. Perhaps these batteries will do.”

Her ears flattened some more, but she took the batteries, pocketing them before going along with the rest of the group. A couple of more anthros approached David and even Saria, but Al shook his head and explained that they didn’t have anything they could offer them. After that, they left and continued onwards, with no more anthros stopping by.

“Sorry about that,” Al explained as David and Saria turned to him. “She wanted an offering from you. To explain, each device has been calculated with enough matter to cause an anthro to grow up an extra twenty feet. But, as long as the participants allowed their offerings to be examined to see how much matter they have, they can bring their own objects to grow from.”

“Huh,” David said before he chuckled, the 500 circling around the field. “Thanks. I don’t wish to offer one of my Wonder Orbs, and I know I’ll be swarmed if they know I have a few.”

“You have Wonder Orbs?” Al asked, his head tilting even as David grinned.

“I make them. The best in my home region,” David answered even as he examined his red claws. “Overcharging Illusion on a blank orb along with a few items allowed me to form orbs.”

“Huh. I didn’t know you could do that,” Al said with a grin. “I wish to see you demonstrate creating one. And it seemed that the event is finally starting.”

David stood up a little straighter, even as adult anthros entered the field, with two of them holding onto a rod-like device ending with some kind of puffed-up ball. Several of the anthros surrounded the table, setting up smaller tables with a scale on them. Soon, the two anthros, both Al explained are lizards, spoke into the device they carried one after the other. Finally, a booming voice came around the stadium, causing David to flinch and uncross his legs. He couldn’t understand the male of the two, but the female one he did with a stronger sense of electrical tone.

“Hello, everyone, and welcome to our biannual event!” they said, and a deafening cry from all around came as a response.

“Jeez, that’s loud!” David said, covering his ears even as Saria laughed, and Al nodded.

“For this event,” they said, “we arranged for our contestants to do a series of poses with the theme of protection and triumph!” They raised their fists up. “And, as we always do, we’ll list off all of the rules in advance!

“First off, the pose must be appropriate for everyone around!” David raised an eyebrow before skimming through the 500 contestants, realizing that most of them must be under the age of 17, with older ones fewer as it went up. “Next, while all the matter in the device is set up in advance, you can offer to put in any matter you brought with you! Just bring them to the tables around it; we’ll check and see if it’s good! If any extra matter has been snuck in and we found out, a hundred dollar fine per inch will apply!”

“That’ll get expensive fast,” Saria said with a nod.

“While giant, with the set limit of twenty feet, you are to remain within the fence’s borders! You also shall not fight beyond an arm-wrestling fight or try to attack anyone regular-sized like ourselves! Otherwise,” the two pointed around the stadium, “we’ll put you down and place a fine of $1000 at minimal, PLUS your name and face will be displayed throughout the entire continent!”

David tilted his head at that comment before turning upwards, and he blinked. Which was once a clear sky, three giant mechs, in a shape of a Flygon, a Corviknight, and an Archeops hovered around the stadium, each having a pair of cannons pointed downwards. He flinched, wondering how they got here without a sound before he heard Al laugh.

“They’ve been here for quite a while,” Al said when he stopped laughing. “Since we went in here.”

“They must have disengaged the perception filter for a moment just for this,” Saria said with a grin. “Makes for an effective warning, wouldn’t you say?”

“Yeah,” David said before he blinked and the flying mechs disappeared, or, more truthfully, his mind refused to see them thanks to the filter. “I like to overcome this filter because this is annoying.”

“In short,” the two lizard anthros said while raising their fists once more, “be tasteful and respectful to everyone here and at home! And remember, everyone is watching you and no one forgets!

“So, without further ado, let’s begin!”

At that moment, several cheers came from all rounds, with David pressing against his ears once more. He opened one of his eyes, where a couple of younger anthros entered the field in front of him. He turned around, seeing more younger anthros entering, numbering about ten. Indeed, the participants were split into five groups, a hundred each, waiting in front of a gate. Finally, the ten anthros reached the smaller tables, some of them holding onto an item like a wooden block or a plastic toy, and each one was weighed on the tables. While that happened, the participants were weighed and measured before the devices were brought before them.

The older anthros pressed one of the device’s buttons, and a dark hole formed above it, with David blinking. The anthros pulled out some blocks from it, each having some number on it before adding in the toy. Another group added in blocks after measuring and weighing the smallest of the anthro, with David squinting his eyes out.

“Remember, David,” Al said while clasping onto David’s shoulder, “they are to be in the same size. As such, they must account for their height to see how much they needed in or out.”

“I guess that makes sense,” David said before a cheer came all around, and he flinched.

The ten participating anthros were directed to stand in line, away from the table and from each other. Seconds passed before they were given a signal, and they pressed the device’s big red button. Their bodies glowed red before they grew in size, with David wigging his toes from the slight vibrations. Soon, all of them stood at twenty feet tall as they stopped growing, though their body still had a subtle red glow to them. Finally, the anthros turned around themselves, marveling at their massive size even as the crowds cheered even louder.

Most did the predetermined poses as directed, though two of them arm-wrestled, as countless flashes from the stadium flickered. A few minutes passed before the normal-sized adults waved at them. The giants nodded, and they pressed another button on the devices, with them shrinking back to normal. The crowds went wild once more while they returned the devices.

“I must say,” David said while wiggling, “that was interesting. Though why did their body glow like that?”

“I’m not sure,” Al said with a shrug. “And any research on them was restricted, as I told you.”

“To be honest,” Saria said while tilting her head, “if it weren’t for the lack of red clouds, I would’ve sworn that they were dynamaxing. But that’s just me.”

David nodded before he watched more participating anthros replace the leaving ones, with the pattern repeating itself again and again. He slouched down a bit, still recalling a massive Faith, A-Ninetales, Saria, Maya, and even Kyle being in far larger sizes than that. Heck, they did far more than just pose for the camera. But, then again, perhaps that was for the best since you never know what would happen.

An hour passed before David straightened up, a young anthro maned wolf entering a field while carrying batteries. Her long black hair flowed with the wind as she wore a yellow dress. Along with a fellow anthro, she reached the table and allowed herself to be measured while giving the batteries to them. After getting weighed and the batteries added to the device, she got it strapped around her wrist.

She, along with nine others, stepped onto a line as the shortest of the anthros. Seconds passed before they pressed the button, and their bodies glowed red, with them growing. The audience gasped, with David blinking and Al shaking his head, even as the mane wolf girl stood a couple of feet taller than the others.

“It seemed that she snuck in a little extra matter after all,” Al said before he sighed

An official ran onto the field, waving a flag to the table, even as the girl flustered. David squinted his eyes, noting a lack of satisfaction and a lot of confusion on her. Instead, she blushed and got onto her knees even as the other giants posed around her.

“Are you sure about that?” David asked even as the maned wolf covered her face. “She looked just as shocked as all of us.”

Al shrugged before all ten of the anthros shrunk in size. The flag-holding anthro approached the maned wolf girl and took her to the others while taking the device. Despite that, he tried to look caring even as the others rematerialized the stored matter from the device and put them on a scale individually. They looked through tablets and such, sometimes tapping into them. David squinted his eyes some more, noting that the restored batteries were the only steel objects there.

“If you’re wondering about the lack of metals,” Al said even as David opened his mouth, “it’s because they have more dense matter. So they can cause more growth than plastic or wood due to it, and they aren’t as easy to move around. But, of course, there’s another reason.”

“Oh?” David asked before another roar came from all around. The flag-carrying anthro waved the flag, and the maned wolf girl stepped away, smiling though not as much as before. “What’s that all about?”

“They cleared her of any wrongdoings,” Al replied while clapping. “Nothing that indicates that she snuck in some extra matter. In fact,” he said while rubbing his chin, “it’s what I was about to say. Metals seemed to cause extra growth for some reason, no matter how much we accounted for it. And the sad part is if the few research said is true, sometimes it doesn’t cause a boost in growth.” He shook his head. “Even now, we don’t know much about this technology and why it does what it does.”

David’s ears flattened back, his eyes half-closed, before he turned to the event, with only fifty more anthros to grow some more. Still, his mind kept turning to his dear Amber, who would kill to see something like this. He nodded to himself, wishing that one day he would show her this event if allowed.

Then again, he thought as he grinned to himself, perhaps she would try to hijack it for herself.