The Giant Leap

The room was suddenly still, sunlight streaming into the target zone, blue sky filling the round window behind the mat. Ariel sat blinking in confusion, electricity still crackling in the cozy attic lab. Her now tiny face slowly fell into a glare as she tilted her head down, looking up into his face. The whirring and whining power supply slowly faded out as blood surged into his head, stars began dotting his vision, he barely noticed her flinch when he jumped in the air. 

His senses returned while he was punching empty space. “I wanna shout Eureka, is that too much?” His voice wavering as his ragged breathing slowly dimmed the floaters in his eyes. Wheeling around, he quickly knelt down and palmed the emitter, it was still hot to the touch. The monitor to his left flickered as the program refreshed, data streaming into the black and green window. 

Ariel said something, but his gaze was fixed on the slowly expanding retention unit. It pulsed slightly with a faint light as Ariel’s lost mass filled the expanding catch bag. It creaked a bit, but slowly settled down. ‘Damn, I should have included a scale.’ His voice echoing in his mind as his fingers flew along the keyboard attached to the device. 

A light, sort of sharp pressure filtered through his subconscious. Blinking, he looked down, seeing the voluptuous woman glaring up at him through impossibly thin strands of black hair. “Nick, I can’t believe you.” She growled, her voice unusually high. 

He reached down, pulling his hand back at the last second. “Brilliant! How does it feel? You’re the first ever person to be rescaled!”

A tiny foot lashed out, colliding with the rigid canvas of his sneaker. “You said you were taking my picture you ass!” She snarled, he giggled as her body undulated and shifted with each movement. “You better fix me this instant!” 

“No! No. No. No no no no no!” He said, pouting. He waved his hands over her head. “I mean… uh… yeah I can! But I need to document some things first… Height, weight, reaction time… come on Air, this is important.”

She put tiny hands on her equally tiny hips. “Important? I’m standing here in lingerie! We were supposed to have a romantic night! Not another mad scientist session.” 

He smirked, arching an eyebrow. “I thought you liked roleplay?” 

He marvelled as her tiny cheeks flushed. The change noticeable even from his lofty position. “N-not when you’ve shrunk me. Jesus Nick, the time you had me floating in the air was kind of fun, but we haven’t had a normal night in two years!”

“I know, I know. I promise, give me twenty minutes and we’ll have a proper date.” 

Ariel folded her arms beneath her ample bust and stomped back to his nephews old rocking horse. “Fifteen. And what’s with the toys?”

The sunlight filtering through her hair was almost divine, the device beside him chirped as the final figures were compiled. He rolled forward on his knee, resting his knuckles against the hard wood floor. “What? Oh!” He leaned back and turned the monitor towards her. “I…did take pictures, the toys were for scale.” 

“Wait… did you intend to use those pictures for whatever report you plan to write?!” 

His cheeks burned, he tried to speak but the words melted together in a large glob at the back of his throat. “Well… yeah kinda… I mean I didn’t expect you to-“

She waved him off with one tiny hand, rubbing her forehead with the other. “Just… I dunno get Josh or Andy to be your guinea pig for those. DON’T share those pictures.”

“Never!” He stammered. “You look really pretty?” 

“I know! Now… do whatever you gotta do and make me big again.”

With a flash he moved back to his device, working feverishly. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as Ariel Returned to the rocking horse, stretching her arms over her head. It was surreal, his fingers slowing as he watched her stride around the now apparently enormous objects. 

He rolled onto his heels watching the gorgeous woman move. Her tiny feet washed out and almost invisible in the sun. Watching her kneel beside her now oversized dress, lifting the once daring neckline. Her expression was curious, not fearful or happy... but something else. His pulse began to race once again. 

Nick looked to his left, seeing the indicators flickering green. The emitter was ready to go whenever he was ready.

“Hey…any interest in some… extra study? I’ll bet EVERYTHING is different now...” Raising his hand, he scratched the back of his head. The curvaceous doll looked up, meeting his gaze. She opened her mouth, the closed it.

Nibbling on her lower lip, he could see her face flush again. “I guess so…” 

Her voice almost imperceptible, almost breathy. He rocked forward, reaching out his hand. The wood floor sliding along under his outstretched fingers. ‘I wonder what it sounds like to her…’ He pondered, stopping his hand when it reached the silky fabric of her sundress. “Come on then…”