An anthro gray wolf laughed atop a stone temple surrounded by dead bodies. Blood stained his emblem, a silver circle with three wolf claws, on his cape collar. He wore a brace on his right arm, which, along with his sword and eyes, glowed in a sicky red. The wolf’s brown tunic and face held blood that splattered all over him, with some dripping down his sword.

“AHAHAHA!!” The gray wolf splayed his arms back. He slashed his sword against a large stone brick, which split in half. “This is what POWER feels like!” He stomped his left foot-paw on top of a body, one of the former soldiers of his mercenary group. “I thought I needed that thief’s help, but breaking into that temple was simple! AHAHAHA!” He leaned close to the body, leaning the arm brace and sword close to it. “You and others thought that these would drive me mad!” He stood up straight, pointing his sword to the sky. “But with these, I don’t NEED any useless soldiers any more! All I need is ME!”

The gray wolf laughed some more. Unknown to him, an anthro red fox snuck up from behind. A brief fire burst came from the fox, with the fire solidifying into a longsword. The fox, who held a posture similar to knights, grimaced at the fallen soldiers before turning to the wolf while hardening his expression.

“I’m now the greatest sword wielder!” He slammed his sword against the stone floor, which shattered. “AND NO ONE CAN—” The anthro fox tapped his shoulder. The gray wolf flinched and spun around. “Who in the world—”

The red fox, Daren Crevan, stabbed his sword deep into the gray wolf’s chest, piercing through the chainmail underneath the tunic. The blade ripped through to the other side with ease. The gray wolf coughed, his heart impaled, and lifted his sword toward Daren. His strength failed, however, and he went limp. Daren drew the blade out, letting the gray wolf’s body fall. His emblem dropped from the cape and chattered on the floor.

“Yeah, yeah. Unstoppable strength. Silly stuff like that.” Daren swung his sword, splattering the blood off the blade. “But the Nex Mutatio did not make you any smarter or help you pay attention.”

Flames engulfed the gray wolf’s body, though not because Daren used any of his fire magic. His Athrú’s power, and a deeper power within, reacted with rage whenever he fought against anyone using a Nex Mutatio. His powers sought to purify anyone tainted with those vile machines, holding perversion of Fear. The wolf burned until only the brace and sword remained, with no ashes remaining.

Daren sighed before he flinched at a flapping sound. He turned toward the temple’s bottom, where an anthro bat took off in a flight. Part of him felt tempted to follow, but Daren let him go. After all, that bat wore nothing like the mercenaries, like a black cape, armor, or even a weapon; likely, he came at the wrong place and time.

Instead, Daren focused on the brace and sword, the Nex Mutatio that corrupted the wolf leader. He swung his sword three times at them, slicing them into pieces. Sparks came from both, with the red glow flickering until they stopped glowing. Rust covered them in seconds, with both useless.

“Another Nex Mutatio down. Another corrupted user down.” Daren kneeled at the spot where the wolf fell. “I wonder what kind of person you were before you found those accursed objects. A simple gang leader? A gatherer of lonely and lost folks? A prideful father to your followers? Raiders of villages?” He shook his head. He crouch-walked to the emblem and picked it up. “Regardless, you are at peace now.” Paw steps came from behind. “Isn’t he?”

Daren lifted his head before turning to Zelda, an anthro silver vixen. She already held out her Spiorad, which took a form of a wooden longbow with dark blue waves on the arms. Zelda rubbed the thin black string on it, standing like an archer while glancing at the dead bodies. She approached one while folding her ears back.

“We came too late,” Zelda said. She patted one dead soldier on his shoulder. She pushed back her blue with silver highlights hair back. “If we had come a day or two earlier.”

“Yeah.” Daren turned to his left forearm and flipped it over. With his other hand-paw, he pocketed the emblem. “We were too busy dealing with our own issues then.”

Zelda nodded. She glanced at Daren’s left forearm and swallowed. “How is it?”

“Eh? Oh, this?” Daren lifted his left arm. “It’s fine. I no longer feel the slightest sting from staring at that wolf.” He tapped one of the broken sword shards with a toe. “You know, it’s strange. I had that curse since I was five, waning or waxing with strength. I never imagined, even in my happiest dreams, of that curse lifting.”

Zelda smiled and stood up. She reached and held his left hand-paw. “Good.”

The two stood there for half a minute, deep in thought.

“Those last few days seemed to stretch forever, didn’t they?” Zelda remarked.

“Last few days? More like the previous year for me.” Daren glanced away while folding his ears back. “But yeah, the last few days especially. There was one bright spot during that time.”

“And that is?”

“The one bright star that carried me out of my darkness of shame and guilt.”

Zelda’s cheeks reddened. “Daren, you are a dork! But then, you’re my sunlight, and I couldn’t let that get blackened.”

Daren blushed as well. “Ah, shucks. Thanks, Zelda.” He held up his Spiorad, his longsword. It burst into flames before flowing into his chest, where his heart beat. “In any case, my dear Zelda, shall we get back to the TF?”

“Oh! Um. Er.” Zelda blushed some more. Daren blinked before he lowered his eyelids at her. Zelda returned with the widest grin. “I, um, set the TF to go forward in time by a couple of days.”

“So, you’re saying that we’re trapped here?” Daren asked. Zelda nodded fast while keeping the grin. Daren sighed and rubbed his forehead. “I wondered what you were doing with the controls. I should’ve asked instead of ignoring you.”

“But look at the bright side!” Zelda reached around Daren’s back, grabbing his right side and tugging him closer. Despite being half a head shorter than him, she easily pulled him. “It means two days of peace since that was the only Nex Mutatio in this universe!”

“The same one we should’ve gotten here sooner?”

Zelda kept silent for a couple of long seconds. “True. Still, we’re making a dent in ridding all these evil machines off the face of the multiverse. I bet that we can get rid of the rest within a year, so two days shouldn’t be wasting too much time.”

Daren sighed while he turned to one of the temple’s pillars. It held an engraved 364 on it, almost in mockery of him. Still, he understood why Zelda wanted to do this. She would like him to rest after everything regarding his bandaged arm the previous year. Plus, though Zelda hid it well, he sensed that she felt guilty for her part.

“Yeah. You have a point.” Daren said. Zelda leaned in and licked his cheek. “We need a place to stay.”

“Good thing we know a place!” Zelda winked at him. “Remember that tavern we saw when we materialized into this universe? We can stay there for a couple of days and relax, play games, you name it.”

Daren laughed. “That sounds like you.” His expression changed with concern and curiosity filling it up. “Still, I cannot help but feel I’ve been there before.”

“Oh, come one.” Zelda dispelled her Spiorad, which dissolved into water before flowing into her chest. “There are countless universes out there. What are the chances we went into one you went to before?”

“Knowing how well I attract trouble like fire to a moth? Highly likely.”

Zelda kept silent, unable to respond to that. The two anthro foxes stepped down the stone temple’s steps while avoiding any dead bodies. Zelda brushed her hair back behind her shoulders.

“You know, I do fear for you,” Zelda said. “That someday, you’ll find yourself in so much trouble that it’ll take forever to escape it.”

“You mean like restarting a war?” Daren asked. He shrugged. “Thought at least that one has positive outcomes that I never saw coming.”

“Indeed. I never imagined that after everything he did.”

“And I have seen and heard stranger stuff than that. And returning to a universe I have been to without realizing it wouldn’t be too farfetched by our standards.”

“I checked the archives. We never recorded this universe before.”

“And that’s the thing. We only started archiving universes after the first two tests with the TF prototype when Alex figured out how to do it.”

“Still, if you did been to this universe before, what are the chances of meeting with someone you met?”

The two stepped onto the stone path leading away from the temple. Despite the heavy topic, they wagged their tails in tangent. For them, nothing remained superior to the two chatting and having fun with each other. Whether they talked about universal travel or the time Daren challenged Death, they felt much joy with each other.

“So, that’s how you got captured?” an anthro brown rat asked.

Caleb Lloyd nodded while leaning his big belly against the bar countertop. Despite the layers of fat the thief held, with his hips farther apart than his shoulders and his stomach protruding farther than his swollen chin, he wore multiple layers of clothing. His dark red sleeveless coat hung open, strapped against his body thanks to his chest belts. Lined with tan, a coffee-brown gambeson lay underneath with the bottom button unbuttoned. His waist belt strapped tight around his belly, with the buckle on the exposed olive-green shirt. Despite wearing barn red fingerless gloves, Caleb ate through pepperoni pizzas as he talked.

“Yup! The only time I was successfully put in jail!” Caleb bit into one of his pepperoni pizzas before he continued his story. “That red fox, I never caught his name, I thought I had him beat. Gave him a nasty punch hard enough to break the wall behind him. But he was a crafty one. He managed to fish out from me just enough about my curse—” he slapped his belly, which jiggled “—to trick me. Got me to become such a lardball that I couldn’t move. Since I was so massive, they had to widen the doors to fit me through. And I do mean massive. It took seven soldiers to carry me at least!”

Several folks listening to the story whistled.

“Uh-huh” the brown rat said. He kept his eyes on Caleb’s stomach. “So, how did you escape?”

“I had some,” Caleb paused for dramatic effect, “close friends. They paid for my bail and helped me slim down to a manageable size. They had plenty of experience with that. And I do mean experiences. They owned a bakery chain and knew all about round customers and workers; heck, they just as often became just as often fat as me, if not more so! I find myself using their techniques whenever I need to, such as when A-Fox comes and want a fox belly.”

The brown rat adjusted his glasses while raising one of his eyebrows. “Like now?”

“Huh? Oh, this?” Caleb grinned. He adjusted his sitting position, with him sitting on two stools. “Nah. He hasn’t come in two months. I just keep myself this fat for the extra challenge. Just imagine!” Caleb swung his pudgy arm around the rat’s shoulders and pulled him close. “A thief at least four hundred pounds, breaking in and stealing stuff that someone a quarter of my weight and size would have trouble with! That is something only a master thief can do!”

The rat blinked at the sudden shoulder hug Caleb pulled him into. Much of his face pressed against the giant belly, with it reddening in response. Caleb let him go, with the rat breathing out from embarrassment and the other customers laughing. Caleb’s stomach squeezed against his belts stronger than before, with the next button straining from popping off. The rat blinked at that and then checked his pockets and pouches. Once done, he held an open palm toward Caleb, raising his eyebrows.

“My two coins. Give them back.”

Caleb snickered before flipping a couple of gold coins over to the rat. The rat caught and pocketed them, sighing. Caleb slapped his belly again, which shrunk to its previous size in response to returning the gold coins. He reached for the last four pepperoni pizza slices when the anthro rabbit bartender snatched them.

“Na-ah. You know the rules. No more than sixty slices in one day,” the bartender said. “And if you must, eat the sixty-fourth slice outside. The folks at the other tavern are still repairing the damages.”

“Ah. Right. My bad.” Caleb grinned while rubbing the back of his head. “And it wouldn’t be good for my next mission.”

“Your next mission?” The bartender tapped her finger against the countertop. “What would that be, ah?”

“Oh. I haven’t got to that part.” Caleb winked at her. He wiggled off from the stools. The floor beneath him squealed. “You see, Kiba and his mercenaries approached me a couple of nights ago.” He reached into his pouch and pulled out Kiba’s symbol, a silver circle with three wolf claws. “He said that he found a temple in a forest. He believed that it held treasure or something of the kind that could elevate his mercenary army’s status. He told me that he would make his own attempt but asked me, a master thief, to assist if he failed! So naturally, I couldn’t resist the challenge. Plus, I have worked with him before. He is a cool wolf who cares for his followers.”

The other patrons nodded in approval, with a couple looking at Caleb in envy. Though most anthros saw mercenaries as loyal to their coin, Kiba fought for anyone who paid him as hard as any loyal soldier. With incredible skills with any weapon and intense teamwork in the thick of battle, his forces held high regard compared to other mercenaries. Plus, Kiba took care of his units and defended them against transgression.

Caleb grinned as he handed the bartender some gold coins. “Thank you again for the wonderful pizza. You did a fantastic job, as usual.”

“Thank you. Our cooks are taught by the best, after all,” the bartender said. She snatched the gold and placed them away. “Especially since this tavern is brought by your bakery friends, ah.”

“Ah, right.” Caleb nodded. He bowed to her. “I best head off—”

The tavern doors smashed open, with the hinges almost ripped off. All of the anthros, including Caleb, turned to the newcomer. An anthro bat stumbled in, sweat drenching him from head to toe and everything in between. An otter mage stood and held the bat up with his body. He summoned a mug of water from the front counter. The rabbit bartender extended her arm in protest but pulled herself back after noticing the bat’s blue face.

“Here.” The otter mage gave the water to the bat, who drank it in one gulp. “Come on, Lys. Take deep breaths.” Lys nodded and breathed in and out. “Good. Now, what happened?”

“Ki-Ki-Kiba,” Lys said. He coughed for a few seconds. Caleb twitched his ears, and his joyful expression disappeared. “Ev-everyone’s de-dead.”

The entire tavern turned silent as though Death stepped in with a chill cold following behind. Time froze for Caleb, his mind flashing back to the last time he met Kiba. His regal gray fur flowed in memory, flanked by two others who assisted him. Despite that, he alone held an aura of power, the type a father emitted, which impressed Caleb. When Caleb closed and opened his eyes, time flowed, and everyone in the tavern uproared at the news.

“Kiba’s dead?!”

“That’s impossible! Nothing can beat him!”

“It’s not just him?! It’s everyone that followed him?!”

“What monster would do something like this?!”

Caleb moved forward despite not putting in any effort; perhaps it moved because of some will within him. Before he knew it, he stood before Lys and grabbed his shoulders. His pudgy fingers squeezed them, causing Lys to wince. Caleb’s bright orange eyes stared at Lys’s blue.

“Is this true?” Caleb asked in a small voice. Lys nodded while clenching his teeth. Caleb flared his nose. “You know who killed him and the others?”

“Th-the entire temple was covered in bl-blood.” Lys shook in horror. “All from his followers. And-and the killer sn-snuck up from behind. Ki-Kiba only had time to tu-turn around before the killer stabbed his sword through.”

Caleb darkened his expression. “Show me.”

Caleb and Lys walked toward the stone temple through a forest’s path. At least, it worked as an improvised one, with various chopped-down tree branches laying as a path days before. Despite the round rouge’s mass, he walked easier than Lys behind him. He remained silent, the kind he cloaked himself while breaking into a castle’s vault. He kept his eyes on the path ahead for anyone ahead.

His ears twitched at the faintest sound ahead, and he bent his knees low. He grabbed Lys’s wrist, dragging him behind a bush for cover. Lys flinched but kept silent. After all, if someone as bombastic as Caleb desired concealment, it would be wise to follow.

Caleb pressed his fat finger against Lys’s lips before poking himself from the cover. Ahead, a shadow of two anthro foxes came to view, coming from the stone temple’s path. As they approached, one of the two felt familiar to him, with their features increasingly visible. He flinched in recognition when he saw that the one held bright red fur, sea blue eyes, and a golden A on his belt.

“Here,” Caleb whispered. Lys hesitated before he poked an eye out from the cover. “Are they the ones?”

“Th-the red one is,” Lys whispered back.

Caleb narrowed his eyes and squeezed his left hand-paw into a fist. So, the red fox who outfoxed him all those years ago reappeared out of nowhere. He also brought a companion, or rather an accomplice, with him: a silver vixen with watery blue hair and silver streaks on it. Any other time, Caleb would not care for revenge for that red fox for tricking him; he thought it helped improve his thievery skills overall.

As a murderer of Kiba and his entire mercenary forces?

That held a different thing altogether.

“Is everything all right, my dear?” the red fox asked.

“Hmm. I thought I saw someone around here, but they disappeared,” the silver vixen answered.

“Oh?” the red fox glanced around, even eying the bush Caleb and Lys hid behind. “You sure?”

“As sure as I can see you.”

“Hmm.” The red fox crouched low. He pressed his fingers around where Caleb last walked on the path. “Someone did come by. There are slight signs of someone stepping to the side over here and another more obvious. They disappeared to the right, but where else, I can’t tell. The rest of the ground is so solid and dry that even someone weighing a thousand pounds wouldn’t leave a print.”

“So, we can’t tell if they’re near or not.” The silver vixen glanced around. “You know, that tavern looked like a good place at first, but now I’m not sure if we should stay there.”

“Maybe, but the sun reached sky’s peak now. It’ll be nighttime by the time we get to another tavern.”

Caleb inhaled, grabbing his knife’s hilt. He felt the temptation to throw it and pierced it through the red fox’s head. He stopped himself before he drew it an inch out. Unlike last time, the red fox wielded his magic at full strength instead of it suppressed thanks to a collar. One wrong move and Caleb would fall in battle. He poked his belly, filled with sixty slices of pepperoni pizza, and an idea formed.

“Then the nearby one is our best bet then,” the silver vixen said. “Still, I feel a lot of fear about this.”

“I know, but let’s keep our hopes up.” The red fox extended his hand-paw toward her. “After all, that might have been a hunter who spotted a prey.”

The silver vixen nodded, and the two continued down the road. Caleb frowned, keeping his eye on them until they disappeared from view, heading to the tavern. He waited thirty seconds before stepping out from the hiding spot. Lys followed, though with a heavy amount of reluctance.

“Sh-should we head back to the tavern?” Lys asked. He twitched his thin tail while keeping it close to his legs. He turned from side to side like the trees might come to life and choke him. “We-we got to warn them.”

“Wait,” Caleb said. He set his hand-paw on Lys’s shoulder. “Head over to another tavern. It shouldn’t be too hard since you can fly. And keep quiet about this, all right?”

“Are-are you crazy?!” Lys widened his eyes at Caleb. “Need I remind you—”

“Please. I insist.” Caleb reached into one of his pouches and handed Lys a few gold coins. “They might get,” he paused for a couple of seconds, “provoked into doing to same in the tavern. In fact, after today, you might find it gone.”

Lys gulped and nodded. “Y-yes.”

Lys took the gold and flew in the opposite direction. Caleb stood there for a few seconds, thinking deeply about the red fox. To think that he did not believe that the red fox would stoop to such lows as murdering an entire mercenary group. It felt odd since, years ago, the red fox avoided killing him, let alone not killing a dragon when anyone with half a brain would destroy it. Perhaps time changed a person more than he expected.

“I promise, Kiba, that I will avenge you,” Caleb said. “But, even with my trump card, I need all the help I can get.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a shining green stone with a lightning bolt symbol. “If there is anyone I can count on, it’s you.”

Caleb tapped against the bright yellow lightning bolt. It glowed and sparkled against his fingerless glove in response. He tossed it on the ground and took a couple of steps back. The sparking continued, growing more frequent before it burst.

A white column jetted up from the stone, high into the sky. The wind picked up, swirling around despite the lack of heat to suck upward. Caleb covered his face while his sleeveless coat fluttered behind him from the force. Those two foxes would see it and return to this spot, which suited Caleb’s plans. His ally would observe them when they came.

Once the light died out, the wind stopped swirling, and the noises quieted, Caleb lowered his hand-paw. An anthro dragon stood before him with jet-black scales covering much of his body. His long black scarf danced around between his enormous wings. He brushed back his butter-colored hair, his tail tip having a patch of fur with the same color as well. The dragon turned his long neck to Caleb, showing his black snout and his yellow eyes, with the sclera a Tuscany color.

“Howdy, Caleb!” Glaurung the dragon slammed his chaotic-looking staff on the ground. Its large electric green gem on the head sparkled. “You are looking nice and plump today!”

“Thanks,” Caleb said. He took a step forward. “And you’re looking slim yourself. Taking a break from binge eating?”

“For now.” Glaurung patted his flat as paper butter-colored plated scales belly, going from his neck to the bottom of his tail. The stomach itself lay exposed, his torn-up Egyptian blue shirt unable to reach the imperial blue jeans. “I’ve been keeping an eye on a friend for the past few months. Like me, he turned into a dragon, but he is sweet and shy. That would fit well with him, except that he is a mountain of muscles, and I ain’t talking figurately here.”

Caleb rolled his eyes. “Whatever.”

“Aww. What’s the matter?” Glaurung approached and rubbed Caleb’s belly. “You’re sourer than a lemonhead, which doesn’t fit with your doughy form at all.”

“You’ll be too if you heard what I heard.” Caleb leaned his head over Glaurung’s shoulders and wings. “Excuse me for a moment. Try to learn from them.”

Before Glaurung blinked, Caleb slipped back into the bushes’ shadows, hiding from view. Even with a slight sight improvement spell, Glaurung saw only a shade of him in the darkness. For such a thick thief like Caleb, he held a gift in hiding, no matter how round and heavy.

Glaurung scratched the top of his head-fur before his ear-fins twitched from paw steps. He spun around, spotting what Caleb saw: two anthros foxes with clothes unfitting for this world’s time. The red one held a red aloha shirt hanging unbuttoned over a jade green shirt. The silver vixen’s queen blue shirt had a black string where the lowest button would be. Glaurung raised an eye at them before he spread his wings out.

“Howdy, fellows!” Glaurung said when the two foxes approached. For a split second, he paused when he noticed the red fox’s sea blue eyes and the golden A on his belt buckle. The silver vixen beside him held a similar golden A on her belt. He continued without missing a beat. “Please, call me Glaurung, the legendary dragon mage!”

“Glaurung?” The silver vixen flattened one of her ears back.

“Why, yes! I’m so glad that you heard of me!” Glaurung hung his free hand-paw over, flipping it to show it held nothing. Once done, he produced playing cards one at a time, letting them flutter to the ground. The cards dissolved before they touched the ground. “I’m well known for playing tricks that baffled the mind!” Glaurung flung the rest of the cards over his head. He tapped his staff against his open palm, forming a smoke cloud. He pulled his hand-paw out, producing beautiful daisies and handing them to the silver vixen. He kept one eye on the red fox, who showed no sign of envy from such a blatant move. “Pretty cool, eh?”

“Um, yes,” the silver fox said.

The red fox crossed his arms. “You’re not from this world, are you?”

“Why, how can you claim such scandalous speech!?” Glaurung recoiled, though his voice held a heavy amount of mockery. “Why, I ought to—”

“Uh-huh.” The red fox stared at him with a flat expression. “The time period of this world is comparable to the mid to late Middle Ages, with the occasional exception. Yet, the clothes you wear, even that tacky scarf,” he poked it, “is clearly strung together in a modern factory.”

“Besides, the name ‘Glaurung’ came from Tolkien’s Middle-earth books, which doesn’t exist in this world,” the silver vixen added.

Glaurung grinned wide. “OK. I admit it. But you two also revealed that you came from another world as well.” He snickered when the two foxes stared at each other. “So, what are two world-hoppers doing here?”

“We saw a light and heard noises over here,” the red fox said. “Was that you?”

“Correctamundo!” Glaurung rubbed his staff’s green gem. “If I may ask, what’re your names?”

The two foxes glanced at each other momentarily before turning to Glaurung.

“Call—no.” The red fox shook his head. “My name is Daren.”

Glaurung’s eyes flashed at that name, though he said nothing.

“I’m Zelda,” the silver vixen answered. She reached over and rubbed Daren’s shoulders. “So, why did you come to this world?”

“Why, I like to travel places and show what kind of tricks I can do!” Glaurung snapped his fingers. Despite it being a cloudless day, lightning struck fifteen feet behind him. Daren and Zelda flinched, stepping back with their tails puffed up. “Aww. Are you two worried? I wasn’t planning on striking anyone.”

“I, er, of course.” Daren spoke with a higher voice than before. “As long as it wasn’t going to hit us.”

“Heh. I wasn’t.” Glaurung stood straight with his eyes closed. “Though that was one of the many—”

Zelda took a few quick steps forward, with rage boiling over every inch of her body. She punched Glaurung hard on his nose, blood splattering from the attack. Glaurung staggered back, startled as he reached up and touched his bloody nose. Daren rushed to her side and pulled her back, with Zelda growling without crushing the daisies.

“Uh, sorry?” Glaurung blinked. Zelda glared daggers at him with her ears folded back. “Did-did I offend you?”

“You’ll have to excuse us,” Daren said. He coughed a few times. “We don’t like lightning at any time.”

“If you pull that joke again, I will break every bone in your arms.” Zelda’s face reddened. “Clavicle, scapula, humerus, rad—”

“That’s enough, Zelda.”

“You hate them just as much, if not more, than I do!”

“But I try not to apply that hatred to—”

“You KNOW he did that on purpose!”

“He didn’t know!”

“Uh-huh. I guess I, um, accidentally hit a button on you two,” Glaurung’s face reddened with embarrassment. “Now that’s a shame. I even have a whole routine, which is now ruined because of my mistake.”

“Out of ignorance, yes.” Daren nodded. He rubbed up and down Zelda’s shoulders, which calmed her expression. “It’s hard to explain.”

Glaurung breathed in and out, and then he shrugged. “All right. I swear that I won’t pull that stunt on either of you two again. Deal?” Zelda still glared at him, but she nodded. Glaurung rubbed the blood off his nose. “Good. As an apology, here.”

Glaurung twitched his staff, and a small black hoop materialized before him. He stabbed his staff into the ground and grabbed the ring with one hand-paw. He flipped his other hand-paw over before inserting it into the hoop. It disappeared as though it entered through a portal instead of a ring. He grinned and pulled it out, carrying a stack of video games.

“Here you go! Games from my personal hoard!” Glaurung handed the games to Daren, who blinked. He checked out the games, with the stack being a mix of PCs and WiiU games. “I have multiple types of hoards, but the video games one is my personal favorite.”

“Uh, thanks.” Daren lifted a copy of Xenoblade Chronicles X from the stack. “I’m sure Alex will be happy with this.”

Zelda huffed, though much of her anger died off. She lifted the flowers Glaurung handed her from before. No stem broke, and no pedals fell from the flowers. Glaurung reached up and touched his nose again, still bleeding out.

“Yeah. I think this is going to happen all day,” Glaurung said.

“Uh, you said that you’re a mage, correct?” Zelda asked. Glaurung nodded, though his face reddened some more. “Why don’t you heal it?”

“Ahahaha. Yeah, that’s the thing.” Glaurung rubbed the back of his head. “I don’t know any healing spells. In fact, despite my earlier boasting, much of my magical skills and knowledge are nothing more than a mere droplet. I usually went by because of my ocean amount of magic.”

Zelda sighed and lifted a palm. At once, a water sphere formed above it, swirling around. She approached Glaurung again and pressed it against his nose, soaking it. Glaurung flinched, but kept still though his body shook. Once she pulled it away and he reached up to his nose, it stopped bleeding with the wound closed.

“That’s little more than a simple healing spell,” Zelda said. She took a couple of steps back. “It shouldn’t be hard for someone like you.”

“Er, yeah.” Glaurung dried up his nose.

Daren opened his aloha shirt, and a large pocket appeared. He slipped the games into the pocket one by one, with them sinking in deeper than the shirt suggested. Daren’s Fóntais belt held deep magic enchanted by the Athrú generations ago, with one ability to allow infinite storage and ways to access them; even attaching the belt to a door allowed him to enter this storage within. When he needed something from the storage, like a weapon, it either appeared in his pockets or materialized around his hip.

If he needed something larger, he would use a drawer or a door to get that item.

“I hope that you two will have a wonderful time in this world!” Glaurung waved at them. The two foxes waved back and turned around, heading back where they came from. The two disappeared from Glaurung’s view, and his smile faded. He rubbed his bloodless nose again and sighed. “Truth be told, I have no interest in learning all of this deeper magic stuff. I’m good where I am.” He turned toward the bush. “You can come out now.”

Caleb stepped into the light as though out of nowhere. He kept his left hand-paw close toward one of his multiple daggers. Glaurung tilted his head before he grabbed his staff and twitched it. A single card appeared on top of his palm.

“Hey. Want to see a—”

“No.” Caleb’s voice turned low and dark. Glaurung flinched and placed the card back into his pocket. Caleb turned to the path where Daren and Zelda walked. “I need assistance to deal with those two.”

“Oh? You mean Daren and Zelda?” Glaurung waited until Caleb nodded. “What for? Do they have some serious treasure that you were after? Did they take a bite off your last pizza? Oh! Maybe they—”

“Enough with the jokes!”

Glaurung took a step back with his ear-fins folded back. “O. K? What’s the big deal? You’re never been this angry before.”

“Those two foxes murdered my client, Kiba, and his entire mercenary force,” Caleb answered. He unsheathed a knife and tossed it toward a tree. The blade pierced through an inch in. “They were good anthros, better than me. And I want your help to avenge them.” He pointed his finger at Glaurung. “With your power and my skills, even they can’t stop us.”

Glaurung stared at Caleb for a few seconds. “Mmm. He. Hehe.” Glaurung leaned back, laughing. “Ahahahaha!!”

Caleb flattened his ears back. “Don’t laugh at me. I know I’m a master thief, but even murdering crosses a line.”

“AHAHAHAHA!! Sorry.” Glaurung snickered. “What you said, ‘killing’ this Daren here, is utterly ridiculous. I can’t help you there.”

Caleb’s face darkened. “You said that—”

“—that I will do my best to assist if you call, yes.” Glaurung waved a hand-paw. “But even I know when I’m outclassed.”

Caleb rolled his eyes. “I didn’t think that vixen—Zelda—would make you so scared.” He poked at Glaurung’s nose. “Nor did I expect you to be so craven. And all over a bloody nose.”

Glaurung sighed and growled. “True. I didn’t expect her to patch such a powerful punch. But Daren, he should’ve given you a clue.”

“Daren? That red fox?” Caleb walked over to his thrown knife and yanked it from the tree trunk. “I know he’s a tough fellow. He took a punch as powerful as a horse’s kick and still walked away like it was nothing. But surely your magic can make short work of them? After all, you found out about their little thing with lightning.”

“By accident.” Glaurung rolled his eyes. “But Daren, and maybe Zelda, are dangerous, far more dangerous, than you think. Have you noticed his eyes and their belts?”

“Bah. What about them?” Caleb stabbed the tree again with the same knife. It dug in deep enough to expose only an inch of its blade. “Those aren’t anything special!”

“Oh, but they are.” Glaurung waved his staff around. At once, two phantoms jumped out from his staff. Caleb spun around, only for one of them to hop on his belly while wagging its three tails. The other loomed behind Caleb, curling its nine tails around him. “You know of A-Fox and A-Ninetales, correct?”

“What about them?”

“There are certain patterns in the multiverse,” Glaurung said. If he heard Caleb’s response, he did not react. “Patterns that echoed time and again. One such pattern is a kitsune, or what is equivalent of a kitsune, with sea blue eyes and an A on their backs. And, time and again, they are either born with or found divine-like powers. Such powers grow endlessly with age, allowing them to reshape even the multiverse. Some called it Pneuma. Others called it Hope. And Zelda there reminded me that there are rumors of a compliment power.” Finally, Glaurung dispelled the phantom A-Fox and A-Ninetales. “A friend, Glorfindel, made it a duty to find the exception to that rule.”

“Yeah, yeah. God-like powers. Things like that. Except for one thing.” Caleb yanked the knife out from the tree. “That A is only on his belt, not on his back like the other two.”

“And you saw, with your own two eyes, that this Daren doesn’t have an A on his back?”

Caleb took a second before he said. “I’ll go and get them alone. If you’re too much of a coward to fight and kill, fine. You can go back to whatever you were doing.”

Glaurung extended his arm to protest, but Caleb already ran down the road. Despite his round shape with a jiggly, he ran with the fitness of someone half his weight. Glaurung remained standing there, baffled over this turn of events. He extended up and rubbed his nose.

“Is this how Glorfindel feels whenever I ignore him?” Glaurung sighed and rubbed his chin. “You know, I should head back. I should review Andracca’s training and make sure he doesn’t outgrow the planet again. Though Glorfindel should be more than enough mentor, especially with Mahal taking an interest.” He paused before he repeated. “More than enough.” His lips curled into a grin. “Yeah.”

With his goal for the day realized, he ran down the road, following the path the others took. His scarf fluttered between his two large wings, dancing and bouncing. Regardless of the outcome, Glaurung realized one thing: he should not miss a single second of that fight.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a popcorn bag. “This will be fun!”

“All right. One room for two,” an anthro black cat said. His green eyes glistened from the candlelight. He reached into a drawer, pulled out two keys, and handed them to Daren and Zelda. “I hope you’ll enjoy your stay.”

“I’m sure we will,” Daren said. He lowered his head, bowing to the cat. Once he lifted it, he led the way toward the stairs, where his and Zelda’s room lay. He felt an odd sense of familiarity regarding this place, as though he roomed here before. Gears ticked in his head by a bit until he stopped walking, sensing that Zelda stopped following. He turned to her and raised an eyebrow. “Anything wrong?”

“Huh? Oh, just curious about this room,” Zelda answered. Daren strolled back to her side before a door. It held a sign saying ‘Hammock Room’ on it. “I never heard of a room like that before.”

“I have,” Daren said. Zelda leaned her head to him, interested. “It’s basically a cheap room if you don’t mind rooming with strangers. They set poles for you to hang your hammocks on, which will be your bed. You have to bring your own and maybe a secondary pole, though.”

“Huh. I never realized such rooms were built,” Zelda said. Daren held her hand-paw close, squeezing it. She remained standing there until Daren tugged a bit, and she nodded. The two walked toward the stairs again. “Did something like that exist back home, historically speaking?”

“Not that I’m aware of,” Daren answered. He climbed the stairs with Zelda beside him. “Really, something like that is more common in fantasy medieval-like words. After all, adventurers never stay in one place for long, always searching for a next quest to fulfill.”

“You know, I thought those hammocks got created by the time of the New World.”

“That’s when they got popular.”

The two reached the second floor, where Daren paused briefly. Again, he felt a familiar sense regarding this tavern. Zelda glanced at him in confusion before she poked his shoulder. He flinched but nodded before leading the way to the room. The wall around the door held newer wood than the rest of the wall.

“Well, this is where we’ll stay for the next couple of days,” Zelda said.

“Yeah,” Daren said. He remained still, however. Gears ticked within his head, though with a struggle as though it turned with a missing piece. Zelda rubbed his shoulder, and he relaxed. “Sorry.”

Zelda nodded and inserted a key, turning it and unlocking it. “You should lay on the bed to relax.”

The door opened up, with the two foxes stepping inside. The tavern room held few pieces of furniture, with only a large bed, a couple of drawers, and a table with a couple of chairs. Sunlight shone through the lone window, large enough for someone to slip through. Zelda laid the daisies Glaurung gave her on the table before tugging Daren. Despite Zelda guiding him to the bed, Daren glanced around with the familiar sense growing by the second. His fingers rubbed against one chair’s woodgrain, with it newer than the other chair. When she set Daren on the bed, he felt gears clicking on his head.

“That drawer,” Daren said. He spoke with a softer voice than usual. “That table. That chair.”

“Huh?” Zelda pressed her palm against Daren’s forehead. “You’ve been acting funny since we got here. What’s going in your—”

Daren jumped up, startling her. “Half of the furniture here is only a few years old, the rest being at least decades older. Even this bed here,” he tapped the bed bunk, “is a relatively new feature.”

Zelda blinked and glanced at it. “Hey. You’re right.” Her expression hardened, and she reached to Daren. “Still, Daren, you should—”

Daren rushed to the wall opposite the bed, avoiding Zelda’s grasp. “I swear I’ve been here before.” He rubbed his fingers against it. “If I’m correct, there should be traces of wall damage—” He paused. Despite the crude paint, he felt traces of repair work on it. “Yes.”

“Daren, what’s going on?” Zelda asked. She rushed over to him. “Why are you acting so funny?”

“I know I’ve been here before.” Daren took a couple of steps back. The missing gear fell into place in his head. “Yes, I have been here before!” He turned to Zelda, excitement filling every inch of his body. “Do you remember when we were testing the TF prototype? The second test, I mean.”

It took Zelda a couple of seconds for it to click. “Oh, yeah! I took you in for chiropractor treatment when you got back!”

“Yeah. Fate can be pretty funny,” Daren said. He stepped toward the two chairs and table. “This is the room I stayed at during that week. And on the last night, a fox thief, Caleb, I think his name is, broke in while I was sleeping. He attempted to steal the gold I collected while here, even set a collar on me that suppressed my magic.” He rubbed his neck. “But I exploited his curse, the one where he gets fat from any valuable he steals.”

Zelda nodded, with relief returning to her expression. “That’s one mystery solved, then? So it’s just one massive coincidence?” Daren hesitated a little, but he nodded. “That’s good. Still,” Zelda strolled over to his side, “is this Caleb still in jail?”

“I hope so.” Daren rubbed the table’s side. “I don’t see him walking anytime soon, and not just because of how he ballooned with fat. Even if he is walking free, he doesn’t seem to be the petty type for revenge. And besides, what are the chances that he is nearby?”

Doubt flashed on Zelda’s face. “You never know. After all, you’re a magnet for trouble.”

Daren reached behind and rubbed against the kunai, Bás, for a second. It hummed from his touch. “True.” He glanced around the room and shrugged. “Now that’s settled, it’s time that we—”

A cold flash of light came from the corner of Daren’s eyes. Instincts took over, and he kicked up the closest chair next to him. A half-second later, a pair of knives pierced through, flinging splinters out from the other side. Despite the suddenness of this attack, Daren did not flinch and instead bent his knees low, combat-ready.

Zelda flinched from this sudden attack for a quarter of a second. Once passed, she extended her left hand-paw. Water flowed from her chest, joining her outstretched arm and stretching out wide. It solidified into a longbow. She formed an arrow from her other hand-paw and strung it against the bow, aiming out the door.

No one stood at the entrance.

Daren frowned and extended his right hand-paw. A stream of flames flowed from his chest, joining with stretched-out arm. It solidified into a longsword, with a red fuller at the center and a red grip, side guard, and pommel. He gripped his other hand-paw on the handle for better grip while keeping his sword close for a defensive stance. Daren strode from one side of the door to the other, but nobody hid on either side of the door.

He glanced back at Zelda, who nodded while keeping her bow low. Daren turned to the door, facing it at an angle, and inhaled. He made a wide stride through the door, bringing his sword closer so it would not poke out first. So far, nothing—

A reflective shine came from the side. Instincts took over again, and he swung his sword. It rang, knocking aside a knife from its course toward his head. It clattered on the floor behind him. Daren frowned and glanced at the stairway where the knife came from.

A familiar anthro orange fox leaned out for a split second before disappearing into the stairway.

Daren blinked in confusion. “What?”

“Did you see who it is?” Zelda asked. She rushed to his side, keeping her bow low and ready.

“Yeah. I believe it’s that thief we talked about,” Daren answered. Zelda raised an eyebrow at him. “Fate has a sense of humor, all right.”

“Does he carry a grudge after all?” Zelda rubbed her arrow.

“I don’t know.” Daren turned back to the tavern room. He hummed while staring at the window.

Caleb grunted, his back against the wall. He aimed too well for his liking. He planned to lure them to the dining room, but aiming for the kill too soon made them cautious. Memories came to him regarding his first fight with Daren, who fought well despite having his magic suppressed. He attempted to fight Daren at full power and with someone helping him. If Glaurung agreed to assist, he would not risk the luring strategy.

Glaurung’s words echoed about Daren’s possible connection with A-Fox, A-Ninetales, and this ‘power’ they held. He tightened his grip against the knife and shut his mind off from such thoughts. Glaurung only meant to scare him, nothing more.

A shadow appeared from the top of the staircase, approaching closer. Caleb reached within his coat, counting how many knives he held. Once he counted all eight of them, he flipped the one he had and caught it near its tip. At least he thought of eating a beefy sandwich to boost his throwing strength enough to be threatening.

A flash of red came from the top, and Caleb threw his knife. It aimed better, near Daren’s thigh. He rushed down the stairs, quick on his feet-paws despite being two anthros wide. A ringing sound came near the top, and Caleb smiled. At least he succeeded in salvaging his luring plan since Daren still followed. The anthro black cat in the main hall lifted his head, confused over the noise. Across the hall, outside of the tavern exit, lay away to the dining hall. If he reached—

The main hall’s doors slammed open. Zelda stepped in, holding her longbow taut toward Caleb’s chest. Pawsteps came from behind, which Caleb glanced at. Daren stood a few steps above the floor, his longsword pointing at Caleb’s back. Caleb frowned and cracked his knuckles.

“Now, now,” the black cat said. He stood up with his palms out. “What’s the matter here?”

Daren ignored the question, his focus on Caleb. “It’s a good thing I remember how you last broke in.”

“What’s this about?” Zelda demanded. “Payback?”

“What do you think?” Caleb asked in turn. “Even a thief desires righteous vengeance.”

Daren raised an eyebrow. “You consider it to be ‘righteous’? Seems more petty to—”

Caleb felt a burst of anger before he moved. Zelda released her bow, with its arrow flying through the air. Caleb rolled away, the arrow zooming inches above him before it embedded itself deep into the wooden staircase. Daren leaped down the stairs, landing on the floor with a thud.

“Now, now!” The black cat yelled. “We have rules! No fighting in the tavern!”

Caleb rushed toward the diner, but Zelda leaped in his way. He pulled out another knife and swung it at her bow. Its blade bounced out without a single scratch on the bow, confusing him. Zelda summoned another arrow from water but jabbed it toward his shoulder.

He grunted, though the gambeson he wore withstand much of the attack; he only felt the arrowhead pricking his skin instead of diving in deep. Using this opening, he thrust his knife toward her waist. She leaped back, the blade gashing through her blue shirt without harming her body. Not that he minded since, whether the attack succeeded or failed, it ended the same: Zelda letting go of the arrow and allowing him to rush into the diner.

“HEY!!” The black cat screamed. “AREN’T YOU LISTENING TO ME?!”

Daren followed right behind Caleb with both hand-paws gripping the longsword. Caleb already disappeared into the diner, and he paused briefly with Zelda. Zelda slung the bow around her waist and shoulder. The two nodded and rushed in, entering the restaurant. Everyone in the room glanced up, each confused by the noises and fighting.

Caleb ran toward a table where an anthro husky and fennec fox argued over a single pepperoni pizza slice. He slammed his hand-paws on the tableside, using the momentum to flip over the table. While the two arguing anthros paused and stared at Caleb, he snagged their last pizza. Before he landed on the floor, he ate the pizza with no more difficulty than swallowing air.

“Hey! That was mine!” the husky screamed at Caleb.

“Yours?! We were about to agree that I’ll have the last one!” the fennec fox yelled at the husky.

“NO, WE WEREN’T!”

The two argued more, not that Caleb paid attention anymore. He grabbed a waitress’s serving plate and tossed it toward Daren’s head like a frisbee. Daren swung his sword downward, chopping the plate in half. The two pieces zoomed past his head, piercing the wall behind him. The black cat, who rushed in behind Daren and Zelda, flinched when one of the two pieces stabbed near his cheek. He rushed out with his fur sticking up.

Daren charged forward, dodging tables on his approach to Caleb. He swung the longsword’s flat side against Caleb’s head. Caleb lifted his knife above, blocking the attack. He clenched his other hand-paw and punched Daren in his stomach. Daren felt the air forced out from him, flung back to the other diner’s end.

Zelda went behind Daren and caught him. “Stop being reckless!” She helped Daren steady himself. He turned to her and nodded before he readied himself. “Good. Let’s get him!”

Daren and Zelda charged toward Caleb, who dashed around some tables. He rushed past a table with an anthro kangaroo and otter. Two slices of pepperoni pizza lay between them. Caleb smirked and circled, snagging the pizza in the process. When they realized what happened, Caleb had already inhaled the two pepperoni pizza slices. His belly gurgled, nearing critical mass.

“What’s the big deal, ah?!” the rabbit bartender demanded. She stormed out from the back, carrying a plate full of pepperoni pizza. “Oi!”

Caleb eyed the pizza she held, still in its perfect circle. More than enough, he thought as he charged onward. Zelda skidded in front of him, her feet-paws’ claws digging through the wooden floor to stop. He swung his fist at her, but she caught it with her free hand-paw. Caleb flinched, baffled that his enhanced strength somehow equaled with someone a head shorter and a lot thinner than him. He pulled his fist back, but her grip and stance held.

Daren reached behind Caleb and swung his leg, slamming his side. At the same time, Zelda released her grip. Caleb grunted as he tumbled and fell on top of an empty table. It snapped and splintered against his weight. He rolled forward, getting back on his feet-paws and unsheathing a couple of knives.

“Oi! Stop it!” The rabbit bartender set the pizza on the counter. She leaped over it and stepped between the three. “We don’t allow fighting in the pub, ah!”

“Believe me, after today, I love to take a break from fighting,” Daren said through gritted teeth. “But—”

Before anything more happened, like Daren completing his sentence or the rabbit bartender interjecting, Caleb tossed one of his knives. The tips glimmered in the candles’ lights while zooming toward Daren’s waist at the side. He swung his sword, knocking the knife to the floor.

“—that happened!” Daren said. His sword rang.

“Caleb, ah! What is wrong—” Before the rabbit bartender completed her question, Caleb took the distraction to sprint toward the pizza. Her eyes widened in horror, realizing Caleb’s goal. “Oh, lord! STOP HIM!!”

Zelda listened and rushed between Caleb and the pepperoni pizza. Daren tossed over her his longsword, which she caught. She pointed the sword’s tip toward Caleb’s chest. He gritted his teeth and stopped just in time, parrying the blade with his knife. She smirked and struck with Daren’s sword again.

Caleb grunted, taking a few steps back to escape from the sword’s range. Even if he somehow thinned out on the stop to increase his agile capabilities, he would not get near enough to strike without getting stabbed first. Zelda kept swinging, approaching closer and almost knocking his knife out of his grip. Meanwhile, Daren picked up the knife Caleb threw and charged at the side.

The opportunity to slip through the two skilled foxes shrank. Already, Caleb felt the time on his extra strength wearing off. The rabbit sprinted toward the pizza, the thing he needed to overwhelm his enemies. He frowned until he noticed how wide Zelda swung that longsword, telegraphing her attacks to him, and an idea formed in his head.

He waited until Zelda pulled back for a swing. He crouched and charged, gripping his knife. Daren rushed in and stabbed but only grazed Caleb’s sleeveless coat. Zelda swung the sword, but Caleb raised his knife to block it, already knowing where Zelda aimed at. The blade dug into the knife’s edge, so he released his grip. Zelda flinched as Caleb sprinted past her. Daren threw the knife at Caleb, but the gambeson blocked the attack with little more than a cut.

Daren’s strength may not equal Zelda’s, but her sword skills paled compared to his.

The rabbit bartender already leaped over the counter by that point. Caleb rushed forward, though he felt his strength boost waning. His body’s fat fought and dominated against his shrinking muscles. Though Caleb trained well enough to move quickly, even while doughy, he lost the extra speed he desired from the beefy sandwich that granted him extra strength. He heaved one last leap toward the pizza tray. The rabbit bartender grabbed the pizza plate and pulled it away seconds before Caleb landed belly-first on top of it. He rolled over, his feet-paws crashing against the shelves and knocking several bottles down.

“Caleb, what is wrong with you, ah?!” The rabbit bartender flattened her ears back. “You know the rules here! No fighting and no eating pepperoni pizzas to sixty-four sli—” She glanced at the pizza plate and paused in horror. One of the slices disappeared, and when she turned to Caleb laying his thick butt on the floor, he already swallowed it whole. “Oh, no. Was that—”

The answer to her question came when red horns grew on top of Caleb’s head.

“EVERYONE! GET OUT! HE ATE THE SIXTY-FOURTH PIZZA!!”

Daren and Zelda blinked in confusion. Everyone else understood, with them stopped whatever they did and running out as fast as possible. Several chairs and tables crashed onto the floor, with the round tables rolling on its side. Food and drinks clattered onto the floor, with Zelda stepped away from the beer spreading out.

Before the two asked the obvious question, Caleb reached his arm from behind the counter. His claws, now scarlet and doubled in size, dug deep into the wood. He pulled himself up from behind the counter. Daren and Zelda turned to him and flinched in surprise. Caleb grinned at them, sticking out his thinning tongue at them.

Caleb’s multiple belts snapped off as he grew and thickened in size, the belts clattering on the floor. His belly swelled with fat, popping off the gambeson’s buttons one by one. The lime green shirt rolled up, exposing his stomach with its fur falling off and replaced by scales.

“Is he turning into a DRAGON?!” Zelda asked. She handed Daren back his sword. “How?!”

Daren yanked the knife off the blade before charging at Caleb, his sword beside his head. Caleb turned to him and grinned, flexing his pudgy fingers. His clothes strained against his expanding bulk, especially at a couple of lumps on his shoulder blades. Daren swung his sword against Caleb’s neck. Caleb grinned, with glowing white magic forming on his right hand-paw before he caught the edge. He stood taller than Daren, snarling with steam flowing from his mouth. Caleb balled his other hand-paw into a fist and punched Daren in the chest. He zipped by Zelda and then crashed through a wall. Caleb chuckled, tossing away the longsword.

“Ah, yes! This POWER!” Caleb’s growing wings ripped through the layers of clothing on him, each having fuzzy scales and ending with scarlet tips. He lay his ample belly on the counter, which collapsed under his weight. His deep coffee shorts ripped from his thickening thighs and tail. “I like to see YOU beat THIS dragon!”

Daren leaped through the hole with only his fur ruffled up and some splinters sticking on his aloha shirt. Zelda rushed over to him with an admonishing expression. Caleb’s bones cracked, and he slammed his arms, or rather his front legs, against the floor. What remaining clothes that stuck through the change torn apart into ribbons. His tail, which grew long and ended with a diamond-shaped scarlet tip, sliced through the wall behind him. Scarlet spikes grew on his back and down his tail. His face stretched out long, with his black nose sinking against his face until they became mere dots and a scarlet spike above it. His stomach rubbed against the floor, which cracked against his growing mass.

“Not now!” Daren pulled out his TF Scriúire and aimed it at Caleb. Remembering that tool from last time, Caleb smirked and swiped with his tail. Daren yelped, the rod-like machine knocked out from his grip. “Gah!”

Caleb grew huger as he lumbered closer, to the point where his back scraped against the ceiling. His neck stretched out, his horns piercing through the top. Daren and Zelda glanced at each other and, with the same idea, ran through the open door. Caleb lunged, though his swelling body pinned him against the floor and ceiling. He growled and narrowed his eyes.

“Jeez, that was a close one!” Daren stepped outside onto the dirt ground with Zelda close by. “I’m still baffled how he did that! He never pulled that trick last time!”

“He never tried to kill you last time,” Zelda said. She glanced all around, with anthros still running from the tavern. “They knew. But why? Why do any of,” she stopped talking, letting her last word trail off. “Why?”

The entire tavern rumbled before it burst from the roof. Caleb stood on his hind legs, with multiple lumbers sticking onto his spikes and horns. Daren and Zelda took two steps back; their necks craned upwards. Birds flew from the shakings, with any remaining anthros outside the two foxes running away. When Caleb slammed his front legs down, the earth shook, which collapsed the rest of the tavern. He chuckled, towering over at thirty-five feet tall.

“Heh. You all look cute at this size,” Caleb said. He swung with his tail, striking Daren to the side and separating him from Zelda. “But playtime’s over.”

Caleb inhaled, with a reddish-orange glow coming from deep into his mouth. Daren grunted and pushed himself back to his knee. He extended his hand-paw toward the tavern wreckage, where his longsword lay. At once, it reverted into flames in the shape of a two-tailed fox. It rushed toward Daren, trying to reach his side again. It sprinted with tiny flames left behind, but Caleb fired a powerful fire blast toward Daren.

The flames engulfed Daren, with nearby trees without coming into contact with the fire bursting into flames. Zelda held her arms out against the force, but it knocked her to her rear. Caleb kept firing his fame attack, his orange eyes shining bright white from its reflection. The two-tailed fox entered the flames toward Daren. Billowing smoke engulfed the air, with trees and grasses bursting into flames. The tavern wreckage caught on fire.

Caleb, at last, stopped his onslaught. Smoke slipped between his lips and nose. “Try and survive that, murderer!” He turned to Zelda. “It’s your turn now!”

Zelda stood up, her fur and clothes singed from the heat. Sweat covered much of her body, her clothes soaked from it. She turned to Caleb while pulling out her longbow. Caleb hissed, his ears flattened back. No grief fell upon her; instead, her determination solidified.

Caleb breathed in—

The fires around them danced into a cyclone. Caleb blinked and glanced around in confusion. The flames floated off the burnt trees, grass, and what remained of the tavern. They converged to one spot where Daren Crevan stood. A shadow of his body formed through the orange-yellow fire, with him standing up again.

“What?!” Caleb twisted to Daren in bafflement. “None can survive that!!”

The flames funneled toward Daren, enough that he appeared through the shadows. He held his sword up, the fire fusing into its blade. Much of his clothes burnt off, leaving him with what remained of his jeans strapped up by the still pristine Fóntais belt; its Athrú magic prevented him from losing all his jeans. He flicked an ear indifferently, the flames soaking into him like hot water.

“You ever committed an attack that made your opponent stronger?” Daren stepped forward. His sword and he absorbed the last of the flames, leaving the area a smoking ruin. His tail flickered, appearing on one side and then the other. It stopped flickering, but he still had two tails swishing behind him instead of one. “Because you committed that mistake.”

Daren leaped toward Caleb’s head, his speed almost like a bolt of red light. Caleb tilted his head fast enough that Daren only grazed his cheek fur with a claw. Caleb shifted toward his attacker, only to freeze in place. A white A lay upon Daren’s back, as clear as crystal.

“Im-impossible!”

Memories flooded Caleb’s mind of A-Fox, the trickster kitsune who enjoyed stuffing him with food like a turkey; even revenge by doing the same backfired. He thought of A-Ninetales, that unassuming Ninetales he found out the hard way grew from absorbing flames. Throughout it all, Glaurung’s words echoed through, almost taunting him for underestimating Daren. Caleb dug his claws into the ground and roared out, which went for miles.

“No! I will NOT give up just yet!!”

The ground broke apart from Daren’s fast landing. Caleb swiped his tail at him, which Daren ducked under. Daren zipped toward him, the land forming mini craters with each step he made. Caleb stood on his hind legs before slamming down hard, shaking the earth. Daren stumbled but regained his footing and crashed his foot-paw against Caleb’s bloated belly. Despite the fat layers and size, Caleb felt the kick.

“Grk!” Caleb swiped Daren before he leaped off from the belly. He squeezed him and smashed him against the ground several times. Dirt and grass leaped up from the smashing. Caleb leaned back, readying for a heavy smash when one arrow, followed by another, pierced through his furry chest. Zelda glared at Caleb, generating another arrow from water. She pulled the bow and aimed again. Caleb growled and, changing plans, tossed Daren toward her. “Take this!”

Daren twisted around enough that he spun around Zelda instead of crashing into her. He crashed against a burnt tree with a yelp, but he stood back up instantly. Despite the smashing and the squeezing, he stood as though it only annoyed him. His longsword glowed until it burst into flames, glowing bright white. Zelda fired one last arrow at Caleb before she stepped away for Daren. He nodded and charged, slower and without breaking the ground beneath him but still fast.

Caleb snarled. “All or nothing, eh?” He held up his front left paw until a magical white circle formed above it. White glowing armed molded around him, each for protection while enhancing his dragonish strength; even his swollen stomach wore armor. He stood on his hind legs, his glowing helmet snug on his head before he charged. “Come on, then!!”

Daren Crevan leaped with a force that caused the ground below him to shatter, flying toward the Caleb dragon. Caleb swung his right front paw at Daren, making an impact. That strike sent shockwaves throughout the area, with any remaining trees knocked back. The glowing armor on his leg cracked until shattering into magical pieces. Caleb widened his eyes in disbelief as Daren continued flying toward him, his jump not slowed. He swung his sword back and slammed the flat side on Caleb’s head.

The magical helmet shattered into pieces, not holding up for a second. Another shockwave came from the impact, stronger than the first. Zelda stumbled for a few seconds. Two seconds passed, and Daren flipped over and landed near the base of Caleb’s tail. Caleb rolled his eyes back and fell on his back with a quake that folks felt even miles away. Daren stared at his defeated foe with a confident expression, his sword no longer in flames.

Zelda rushed over to his side. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah.” Daren rolled his right shoulder a couple of times. “That overcharge from before protected me.”

“That-that was stupid!” Zelda shook her head until she pressed her finger on Daren’s chest. “If-if he knew that fire would’ve made you stronger, your recklessness would’ve killed you!”

“Yeah.” Daren rubbed the back of his head while giving her a shy grin. “But at least it went well, right?”

“Ugh!” Zelda rolled her eyes in disbelief. “And trying to do an all-or-nothing? One of these days, it’ll backfire on you. I swear!” She turned to Caleb, who lay flat on his back. “Still, that’s unusual of you. You kept him alive.”

“I know.” Daren rubbed his chin. “It doesn’t feel right.” She turned to him with a raised eyebrow. “I know. It’s just that, well,” he struggled to find the right words. “Back then, well, even when he made some attempts at killing me that night, it felt half-hearted. Like, this isn’t him normally. Now, though.” He let the words trailed out. “Still, perhaps that wasn’t the wisest move since—”

“Ah, excuse me.”

Both Daren and Zelda flinched at this new yet familiar voice. They spun around, searching for this person. This mysterious anthro laughed, and an area behind the two foxes shifted. Glaurung stepped forward, his staff’s glow fading and his long scarf twirling like a cape or a cloak. On his other arm, he held a bowl full of half-eaten popcorn.

“I must say, that was AWESOME!” Glaurung twirled his staff around. “To see you fighting off Caleb, even when he turned into a dragon. And then seeing him attempting to blast you into ash only for you to absorb it all. And finally, that final strike. WOW! That was—”

“Wait, were you WATCHING us!?” Zelda folded her ears back.

“Well, yes. For the most part, that is.” Glaurung stabbed his staff into the ground before pulling out the daisies he gave Zelda. “I rescued these before the tavern collapsed.” He handed them over to Zelda. “Still, staying to watch was such a GREAT idea! If only I had a—”

“Excuse me,” Daren said. He folded his right ear to the side. “You mentioned Caleb by name. You know him?”

“Know him? He was the one who summoned me to this world!” Glaurung grabbed his staff again. “I know that sounded bad after all this, but hear me out. When he told me of his plans for you two, I refused to help. Heck, I WARNED him that it was a bad idea, but he didn’t believe me.” Daren raised both eyebrows at Glaurung. “Sigh. This isn’t a good place for an explanation.”

Before Daren and Zelda reacted, Glaurung’s staff glowed in an amber color. A mix of blue, yellow, and green glowing lights appeared beneath them, including Caleb. The lights engulfed them bright enough that Daren and Zelda covered their eyes. Once the light faded, the four teleported into another forest, much greener than before.

“Yeah. This will due.” Glaurung tipped the bowl into his open mouth and swallowed the other half of the popcorn. “I doubt anyone will notice or care.”

Daren and Zelda glanced at each other. The ground underneath them rumbled, with Caleb shifting in place. He groaned and opened one of his eyes. He moved it around until it focused on Glaurung and Daren. He growled, his rumbling shaking the forest.

“You—”

Glaurung twitched his staff again, with the electric green gem on it glowing brightly. At once, Caleb’s belly gurgled loud. Before he said anything more, his belly surged in size. He flinched ad wiggled, lifting his head toward Glaurung.

“Hey! Stop that!” Caleb reached with his front left leg toward Glaurung, but he stood too far away. He attempted to roll, yet he had grown too fat for that already. “This is not the time!”

“It’s always time for pizza, Caleb,” Glaurung said. He winked at Caleb. “And pizza always makes you happy.”

Both Daren and Zelda stepped back in disbelief at the swelling Caleb. His belly, already large for a dragon, swelled beyond obese. Layers upon layers of fat rolled all over his body; neither knew if those pizzas had digested easier or if Caleb’s stomach absorbed food as soon as he ate it.

Caleb gritted his teeth, with his long neck swelling out to the point that it almost looked like it sank into his chest. His back ballooned with fat, enough that his legs wiggled in the air helplessly. His wings wiggled, almost comedic in how tiny they looked compared to the rest of his body. Caleb flattened his ears back, grunting, before he gave up. By that point, his belly towered at seventy feet tall and a hundred feet wide.

“Are we good?” Glaurung turned to Caleb, who puffed out his cheeks before nodding. “Good.” He turned to Daren and smirked. “Still, given how skinny you are, you could use a meal or three. Jeez, there’s not a single layer of fat or muscle on you. You kitsune need all the strength you need, after all.”

“Huh? Oh.” Daren twitched his tails. He had forgotten that he had transferred the magic from upkeeping the illusion to fueling his strength for that fight. He jerked one of them, and it faded into nothing, leaving him with one tail. “As for the meal part, if it’s anything like you did, no.”

“Aww. Ain’t that a shame. You’re different from him.” Glaurung leaned against his staff. Daren tilted his head, confused. “Still, I think we should all exchange stories so we’re all in the same page. Otherwise, I’m afraid that one of my favorite orbs to play with will want a second or maybe even a third bout.” Caleb half-closed his eyes. Glaurung smirked and pointed at him. “Let’s start with you, OK?”

Caleb rolled his eyes before he explained, with smoke leaking from his lips and nose.

“So, that’s what happened.” Glaurung said.

Daren and Zelda nodded with their ears low.

Caleb wiggled his arms closer as though trying to cross his arms. “I don’t believe it. I know Kiba. He would never DREAM of slaughtering his own group. Why, they treat each other as family!”

“It’s how we met him, I’m afraid,” Zelda said. She bowed to Caleb. “The Nex Mutatio, as designed by their creator, corrupts their users until they become a pale copy of themselves, doing mindless destruction.”

“We had to put down many who used them.” Daren averted his eyes from Caleb. “Very few wanted to be purged from their influence. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. The one you knew as Caleb died the moment he used one.”

“It’s why we travel throughout the multiverse.” Zelda reached over and rubbed Daren’s shoulders. “To stop more of this from happening. But we were too late, a lot more than we realized.”

“Yeah.” Daren sighed. He reached into his pocket and pulled out Kiba’s personal emblem. “Believe me, if there were a way to save him, I would have. I hoped to. But when we saw him, he was like a rabid beast, hungry for blood.”

Everyone stopped talking, each one digesting the information they shared. Caleb frowned at Daren and Zelda until he saw Kiba’s emblem and Daren’s expression. It held grief, like putting down an old yet favorite horse. Glaurung leaned against Caleb’s splayed belly with his arms crossed. Birds landed on Caleb’s belly; no matter how hard he wiggled, they would not fly away.

Caleb sighed and leaned his head back, though unable to touch the ground. “Well, you seemed sincere in your regret. I guess what you said is possible.” He wiggled his front left leg toward Glaurung. “What do you think?”

“Hmm. Technology fused with magic, with this one having a One Ring effect.” Glaurung nodded. “I never heard of that, but then the multiverse is a huge place. All right, I believe you.” He got off from Caleb before turning to him. “Now then, what do you have to say, lard dragon?”

Caleb inhaled and nodded. “Yeah. I apologize for trying to kill you. I guess I should’ve asked for an explanation before—” He irked, his eyes widening. “The tavern!”

“Don’t worry. I’ll help with the rebuilding.” Glaurung snickered. “I like that place too. But, for now.”

Glaurung waved his staff around, and a yellow glow formed around Daren and Zelda. He floated them up into the air, with the two flinching. Glaurung’s feet-paws also glowed, and he stepped upward as though climbing invisible stairs. Soon, the three stood on top of Caleb’s belly.

“Um, what’s this for?” Daren asked.

“To relax!” Glaurung flopped back on top of Caleb’s belly. “I’m sure that you two needed it after that—” A ringing sound came from Glaurung’s pocket. He sighed and pulled out his smartphone. He pressed the green button on it and spoke into it. “Hello. This is Glaurung speaking.” He paused, listening. “He WHAT!? I LEFT you in CHARGE so he DOESN’T—” he sputtered for a few seconds. He sighed and nodded. “All right. I’ll be there soon. Bye.”

“Um, what was that?” Daren asked.

Glaurung sighed as he ended the call and pocketed his smartphone. “That was Glorfindel. Sorry. I cannot stay. Andracca has outgrown a planet again; from what he told me, he might outgrow the solar system. See ya!”

Before anyone said anything, Glaurung summoned a circle underneath him and disappeared in a jet of light.

“Well, that happened.” Daren turned to Caleb. “You don’t mind us staying here, do you?”

Caleb huffed but did not object. For his part, he leaned back in relaxation despite his tail being the only part of his limbs lying on the ground. A blush glowed on his face, a sign of him enjoying being this fat.

Daren and Zelda patted the other’s shoulders before sitting down. Despite the scaly belly, it almost felt like sitting on a waterbed. The two smiled at each other and laughed. Caleb blinked and joined in on their laughter.

A beautiful friendship between a knight-like fox, his archer vixen, and a thieving fox turned dragon. Many such friendships formed, though few like this.