The Excalibur Principle II: Pixilated free porn video

The Excalibur Principle II: Pixilated By Morpheus "Another day, another killing," I muttered, glancing at the headline about another school shooting on the paper that I'd just pulled from the machine. But without so much as another glance, I folded the paper and shoved it into the bag of stuff that I'd just picked up from the store, not giving much thought to the shooting since it seemed to happen so often lately. With a sigh I looked up at the clouds in the sky for a moment, almost feeling the rain drops against my skin, even though it had yet to start raining. But I knew that it wouldn't be long so I shrugged and started back towards my car, eager to get home after a long days work. As I opened my car door, I smiled at the irony, realizing that I'd just spent all day at a cable company and the first thing that I wanted to do when I got home was to turn on the TV and veg in front of the cable. Then again I frowned, knowing that I didn't really have much else to do. At least not since my girlfriend... ex-girlfriend Tina and I broke up a few weeks earlier. The only good thing about it was that it wasn't on bad terms. We were still friends and talked by e-mail. It had just been one of those things, a job offer on the other side of the country, but I still missed her. Or was it just the idea of having a girlfriend that I missed? I wasn't quite sure about that myself so didn't bother thinking about it anymore. "HBO here I come," I muttered, just before I started for home. Several minutes later, I had climbed back out of my car and stared at the door to my house for a moment before starting towards it. The bag I'd picked up from the store was clutched firmly in my hand while I used my other hand to reach for my keys. Then suddenly I heard a howling from the neighbors yard. I snapped around automatically, taking several seconds before I realized that it was just the neighbors cat going at something under the rose bushes. I watched him for a moment, slowly moving forward and wondering if he'd cornered a squirrel or something. "Let's see what you've got Samson," I said towards the calico, but he didn't pay any attention to me. But when I got closer to Samson, who was really going at whatever he'd found, I was shocked to suddenly hear a terrified voice cry out, "Help me! Please... Somebody!" "What the hell?" I exclaimed, glancing around me quickly but not seeing anyone. Then I heard another cry for help and realized that it was coming from over by Samson. I was even more surprised and confused than before, dropping my bag to the ground without a thought. "Who..." I was bursting with curiosity and confusion as I rushed towards Samson, shouting, "Scat!" and chasing him away so that I could get a better look. However as soon as I looked down to the base of the rose bush, I let out a gasp of disbelief. "No fucking way," I whispered, staring at what seemed to be a tiny woman about 5 or 6 inches tall, with short pink hair. I would have sworn that she was nothing more than some little girls doll if she hadn't actually been moving around. "Oh shit," the tiny girl cried out, sounding hurt. As she slowly tried to stand up, not even looking towards me, I got a much better look at her, noticing the pointed ears for the first time and then her injuries. She was badly cut and scratched, bleeding from several places and obviously in a lot of pain. Then I finally noticed the pair of dragonfly like wings that were on her back, one of them crumpled and bent at an angle. I just stared in amazement at the tiny girl, too stunned by the sight to even wonder if I was dreaming or not. Finally the girl was standing up straight and still not looking towards me as she faced towards Samson who was a short distance away in a predatory crouch. Then the girl glared at him viciously while spitting out, "Bad old puddy tat!" "What... who..." I started, not sure what it was that I wanted to know... or for that matter, if I really did want to know anything about what was going on. "Oh..." the girl muttered, turning towards me with a look of nervousness and fear on her face. She gulped visibly then quietly said, "Th... thank you." But then as she started to move her wings, she cried out, "OW!" wincing in pain and reaching back towards her injured wing. "Are... are you all right?" I asked her quietly, unable to help but feel pity for the tiny creature. She seemed so... helpless... whatever she was. She nodded and looked back at me, forcing a smile. "I'll heal," she said. Then she stared at me for a minute while I stared back, neither of us saying a word. It took me a moment to realize that she was staring at me with almost as much amazement as I was staring back. "Wow!" she finally gasped. "A real live mortal." She giggled. "I can't believe that I'm talking to a mortal. I've always wanted to meet one." "Um... all right," I said slowly, not sure how else to respond. Then I noticed Samson moving forward again and yelled, "Get lost cat!" Samson didn't pay much attention though until I made a move towards him, then he growled and ran away. Once Samson was gone, I turned back to the girl, relieved to see that she was still there. I'd been more than half afraid that she would have suddenly vanished the instant I took my eyes from her. Then I very carefully crouched down low so that I could get a better look at her. "You saved me from that... beast," the girl said, the sincerity clear in her voice. "Thanks a lot." "No problem," I answered slowly, then asked, "But what are you?" "I'm a Faerie," she exclaimed proudly, doing a bit of a pirouette to show off, but wincing from the pain as she did so. She then dropped to her knees, making me worry though she didn't seem to really be any worse. In fact I could almost swear that she looked a little better than she had a minute earlier. For a long moment, I stared at the girl, my mind filled with a confusing mass of thoughts. Some were trying rationalize or explain her away while others were just amazement at seeing something that didn't exist. But then I remembered some of the stories I'd heard and gulped. "So..." I said carefully, "since I've saved your life... and I guess sort of caught you, does that mean I get 3 wishes?" She froze and stared at me for a moment before snorting, "What do I look like? A fuckin genie?" "Well... I..." I started, but she cut me off. "I don't THINK so." Then she giggled. "But let me tell ya that you ain't never had a friend like me." She giggled again, then glanced around nervously before once again looking at me, this time with a very thoughtful look. For a long moment, she just stared at me as if trying to decide something, then she said, "Um, I know that we just met and all... but would you know some place I can stay for a day or so until I'm better?" She looked hopeful, wincing again at the same time. "Oh..." I gulped, caught by surprise at her request. But since there didn't really seem to be any reason not to, I nodded my head slowly. "Um... you can stay at my place for the night." She suddenly smiled and stood back up, wobbling slightly as she did so. "Oh my," she muttered. Then quickly recovering... or hiding her pain, the tiny girl exclaimed, "Thank you. But if you don't mind..." she winced as she gestured back towards her wing, "could you possibly... give me a ride?" She looked extremely embarrassed about this and blushed as she explained, "I can't fly right now." I just nodded at that. "Sure," I answered, trying to hide the nervousness in my voice. "I mean..." I muttered to myself, "I carry tiny people with wings around all the time." Then I shook my head as I bent down, wondering why it was that I was the one who was nervous and afraid when she was but a fraction of my size. "Just be careful," she warned me, slowly stepping into my hands once I'd laid them down on the ground next to her, palms up. After she was in my hands, she looked up and said, "All right, big guy, I'm ready." She actually sounded a bit nervous, which was made more obvious when she sat down instead of remaining standing. "OK," I told her, getting back up and being extremely careful not to let her fall. "Hang on tight." Then I slowly started walking back towards my door, completely forgetting about the bag of groceries which was still sitting on the ground. A minute later, I was back inside my house and had set the tiny girl on my kitchen table. She gave me a quick, "Thank you," as she hopped off, then she started to slowly walk around on it, looking at everything with a look of interest. For several minutes, neither of us said anything. She just walked around my table, limping and wincing every couple steps before she came back in front of me. "Um..." I gulped finally, wondering what I could possibly say to what I still half thought of as a figment of my imagination, "Hi," I muttered, feeling a little stupid, "I'm Matt." The tiny girl smiled, then stuck her hand out, proudly exclaiming, "I'm Tryx." "Tryx," I mumbled, feeling even more stupid when I realized that she wanted to shake hands. Then with a shrug, I held my finger out, which she grabbed in her hand. "Pleasedtametcha." "Likewise," I responded, still feeling rather nervous, in spite of the fact that she seemed to be no danger to me at all. After all, she was even smaller than a Barbie doll. And injured at that. "Do... do you need a band aid or anything?" I asked her, but she shook her head, assuring me that she would be fine on her own. We both just quietly examined each other for a minute after that. "Are... are you hungry?" I asked her, more to be polite and fill the silence than for any other reason. She looked at me for a moment before nodding. "I am a little hungry." Then she broke into a grin and asked, "You got any chocolate?" I stared at her for a moment. "Chocolate?" Tryx nodded again, looking just a little embarrassed. Then she winced for a moment before sitting down and rubbing at her injured shoulder. "I've heard that it's really good, but I've never had any before." With a shrug I went over to my candy jar and pulled out a Hershey's Kiss, figuring that one would be more than enough for someone that small. After Tryx had thanked me, unwrapped the chocolate and taken her first bite, she looked up thoughtfully while chewing. Finally she looked up and announced, "Pretty good, but I've had better." Then she had a dreamy look on her face as she muttered, "Like golden honeyberries. Yum." Tryx sighed and shook her head, wincing once again before she went back to eating the chocolate, obviously enjoying it anyways. I left Tryx on the table to finish eating while I went back outside to get the groceries which I'd left on the ground. When I got back in, I purposely avoided looking at her, putting the groceries away instead. For the next hour, I avoided the tiny girl on my table, trying to convince myself that I'd imagined it. And just when I'd almost convinced myself, I heard an, "Ahem," coming from the table. "Um, yeah?" I said, moving back towards the girl... Tryx who was still sitting on the table, looking a bit better than before. Not quit as bloody and her wing looked a little straighter. "You haven't forgotten about me... have you?" Tryx asked me, a mischievous smile on her face. I gulped and shook my head. "No. I just..." Then she just giggled. "I was just teasin ya." "So..." I said slowly, staring at the Faerie, filled with questions that had been occurring to me since I'd first laid eyes on her. "What are you doing here? I didn't think that... well, that fairies existed." Then I gulped, hoping that I didn't insult her with that. "Oh, we exist all right," she grinned. "It's just that we've all been away from the mortal realm for a long time. In fact, this is my first time here. It's so cool." Then she let out a yawn. "Away?" I asked, hoping that she'd explain. She didn't disappoint me either. "Sure," she told me. "We've all just been... away. Waiting till we got a new queen." She grinned at that, looking rather pleased for some reason. "Then..." I gulped, "there are more of you." I couldn't resist glancing around nervously as if expecting to see more tiny ladies. Tryx just giggled at that. "Oh yeah. Lots and lots. But not here." She yawned and sat back down, telling me in a conspiratorial voice, "But we're not supposed to be here yet. Jaestyne is teaching some Faerie about the mortal world so that they can be ambassadors." I nodded at that, growing even more nervous. I couldn't help wondering if there was going to be some sort of alien invasion of these tiny little girls. Tryx didn't look like any kind of a threat and I couldn't see how anyone that small could be, but that didn't ease my fears. "You said you're not supposed to be here," I pointed out slowly, staring at Tryx and wondering what her story was. She shrugged, looking a little sad. "Nope. But I couldn't resist..." She stared up at me and sighed. "Jaestyne is gonna be royally pissed, but the door was open and I couldn't wait. I had to see the mortal realm. I just had to." She stared at me with eyes that seemed to beg for understanding. "Um... Jaestyne?" I wondered who that was since Tryx had mentioned the name several times. "Our new queen," Tryx told me, her eyes twinkling inside, however she said nothing more after that, only letting out another yawn. I scratched my head for a moment, then said, "You look tired." She nodded agreement and I told her, "Wait here," knowing that it sounded a bit stupid since she couldn't really go anywhere at the moment, "I'll get you something to sleep on." Several minutes later, I returned to the table with the spare pillow from my bed and a couple wash rags, figuring that they should do for a bed. Or at least as much as I could do for her at the moment. "Will this be all right?" I asked Tryx quietly. Without a word she climbed onto the pillow and pulled the wash cloth over her, letting out a loud yawn as she curled up underneath. "Just fine Matt," she mumbled. "Thanks." For a long moment, I just stared at her sleeping on the pillow, then suddenly realized how rude that was. Even if she was a Faerie, or whatever she was. Feeling a little embarrassed about that, I turned off the light and left the room, wondering how I was ever going to explain this. But at the moment, I decided that it would be better not to tell anyone. At least not yet. After all, I still had to make sure that I wasn't just seeing things, and a good nights sleep would help with that. --- I woke up in the morning, still feeling a little groggy as I started towards the bathroom to take care of my business. Once I'd finished taking a leak, I turned towards the mirror over my sink and stared at my face, blinking several times. The reflection was that of a 27 year old guy with dark brown hair, looking rather nondescript except for a slight scar on my chin from a childhood accident. It was the very same reflection that greeted me every morning. "Man what a strange dream," I muttered before turning away from the mirror to take my shower. Once I was done with my shower and dressed, I started towards my kitchen, eager for a cup of coffee before I had to go to work. Then I remembered the tiny girl from the day before and smiled slightly, wondering where I'd gotten that dream from. But still something nagged at me, telling me that it was far too real to be a dream, no matter what I told myself. "Oh," I muttered once I was in front of my dinner table, seeing the pillow that sat on top of it. However there was no sign of Tryx on the table. Just an indentation in the center of the pillow. "Um... Tryx?" I asked cautiously, half fearing that there would be no response and half fearing that there would. Suddenly I heard an, "Up here," from above me. I looked up and gasped at the sight of Tryx, sitting on the light that hung from my ceiling, a mischievous grin on her face. Gulping I knew that there was no doubt about her being real. At least not unless I was going insane, which I rather doubted. "G... good morning," I said, trying to be polite. Tryx jumped off the light and her wings started flapping rapidly as she floated down towards the table, smiling broadly and she cheerfully exclaimed, "And good morning to you too." As soon as she was standing back on the table, she said, "Thanks again. I'm feeling a lot better now." I nodded, seeing that she certainly looked better. Her wing looked perfectly straight, or at least matching the other one. There was no sign of any injury or blood on her at all. Without the blood, I could make out her features just a little better, seeing that she looked like she could have been anywhere from 16 to 23, depending on her expression, as well as noticing that she was wearing new clothes for the first time. She had shiny black pants on and a black T shirt. It took a moment longer to realize that it was a Marilyn Manson shirt. This was definitely stranger than I ever expected. "You want some breakfast?" I asked her, already moving towards the kitchen, not waiting for her answer. Several minutes later, I was sitting at the table, a cup of steaming coffee in front of me and a slice of jam covered toast in my hand. Tryx sat cross legged on the table, just a short distance from me, eating the honey covered cracker that I'd given her and talking almost nonstop, though not always making much sense. I just ate my breakfast, nodding occasionally and watching her with utter amazement, scarcely believing that such a creature could exist somewhere outside of fairy tales and cartoons. "I hope I don't offend you..." I started slowly, filled with questions about her, "but what are you doing here?" "I'm eating breakfast," she snorted, then turned back towards me with a grin. Her smile faded and was replaced with a somewhat more serious look. She seemed to be wondering if she should tell me or not, then finally responded. "I've always wanted to see the mortal realm, so I snuck over to look around." Her eyes suddenly gleamed. "It's totally awesome. So different from what I'm used to. You've got all sorts of really cool things, even if you do have a lot of iron around here too." She gave a disgusted look, pausing for a moment. At that, Tryx frowned, looking a little embarrassed as she added, "But I kinda got lost and... well, after hitching a ride on a couple of those cars and flying around, I got tired." "Oh?" I muttered quietly, not taking my eyes off of her. Tryx nodded, then stood up, stretching as she did so. I gulped, realizing for the first time that she was a definite little hottie. If she was my size... but unfortunately, she wasn't. Shrugging Tryx continued, "I saw a bush and thought that it would be a good place to rest where no mortals could see me." Then she winced, absently rubbing at her shoulder. "I didn't see that... monster until it was too late." After that she let out a sigh and muttered, "I shoulda used a tree." "I'm sorry about Samson," I told her gently, glad that she was doing all right. I just hoped that the cat didn't find anything else like her. Then trying to change the subject, I asked, "So... what do you... fairies do for fun?" Almost immediately Tryx brightened. "Faerie," she corrected me, though I didn't really see the difference. "Lotsa things," she told me with a grin. "Let's see... there's sex, and singing, and magic, and eating and sex and painting and sex and dancing." She giggled, a mischievous look on her face. "So... ya wanna have some fun?" I nearly choked at that, making Tryx laugh harder. Then trying to recover some dignity, I gasped, "You dance?" "Oh sure," Tryx grinned. "See." And with that, she started moving around in a way that looked completely ridiculous... but familiar at the same time. Then it dawned on me. "The Macarena?" I gasped in surprise. Tryx just grinned and kept dancing for a few seconds longer. Definitely weird, I thought to myself. Once Tryx had settled back down on the table, we talked for a little longer, mostly while she told me about some of the things from her homeland, wherever that was. She wasn't really very clear about that. And she also excitedly asked me questions about some of the things that she'd seen since arriving, with me answering the best that I could. However she seemed to have a much better grasp of the real world than I would have expected. Even after her little performance. With a bow Tryx finished her little dance and then fluttered her wings, floating up into the air. She flew around rapidly, too fast for me to follow completely, though she quickly settled back down to the table, landing on the newspaper that I'd bought the day before. "Wow," I said, not having to pretend the amazement that I felt. Tryx just grinned, not saying a word. Then she glanced down at the paper she was standing on and suddenly froze. "Holy SHIT!" Tryx cried out, her eyes wide with disbelief, locked on the paper. "What?" I demanded, instinctively jumping to my feet, wondering what was wrong. However all I could see was that Tryx stared at the newspaper article about a museum robbery. I glanced at it, remembering that I'd read the story just the night before while Tryx slept. Someone had robbed a museum and taken only one item. Some sort of crystal or something. I stared at the picture on the paper of a large crystal, set into some sort of wooden stand, knowing that this was what Tryx was staring at, since after all, she stood directly on that picture, staring down with her mouth hanging open. "What is it?" I asked, this time more gently. "I've seen that before," Tryx whispered, a slight quiver of fear in her voice. "Back home. Or at least pictures of it." Then she looked up at me gasped, "It's them. It has to be." "Them who?" I asked, feeling more than a little confused. I took a sip of my coffee while Tryx just stood there. "The rebels," Tryx said quietly, more to herself than to me. "Maetrell." It took another minute before I was able to get anything more out of Tryx, though it still wasn't much. Apparently a bunch of Faerie had tried some sort of coup back where she'd come from and then escaped here. She was sure that they were the ones who'd robbed the museum, though I didn't see why. What was so important about that crystal, especially when there were so many more valuable things that had just been ignored and left behind? "Well..." I said after a little longer, glancing at my watch. "I've gotta get going to work." Tryx nodded, still staring at the picture. "I've gotta find them," she said in a quiet but firm voice. "I've got to find them and then get back and tell Jaestyne. I don't know what they're up to, but it can't be good." "Good luck," I told her, putting my empty cup in the sink, still feeling rather odd about the whole idea. That tiny women with wings actually existed. And that there were more of them as well. I could just picture the rebels in my mind, a whole swarm of tiny women flying around... apparently stealing things. Then something dawned on me. "You're going to be gone when I get home... aren't you?" Without saying a word, the tiny girl nodded hear head again. Several seconds later, she whispered, "I've gotta find those assholes before they do something too fucked up." I stared at Tryx for a moment, feeling rather confused. A part of me was thrilled that she was going to be leaving, knowing how unnerving such a creature was. However a much stronger part was the disappointment. The slight chill that ran down my spine at the thought that I'd probably never see her or anything like her, ever again. "Y'know Mattie boy," Tryx said, grinning once again, this time suddenly floating in the air in front of me, "I think I'm gonna miss ya. You're the only person I know around here." "Me too..." I started, then paused, realizing something. "But aren't you just going to get lost again?" I asked Tryx. "Why don't you let me be your tour guide. I mean, I know the area and all." Tryx brightened up immediately. "Really? That is like... so awesome. You da bomb." She gave me two thumbs up, then to my surprise, shot forward, kissed me on the cheek and zoomed off again, all before I'd even realized it. "Wow," I muttered, shaking my head in disbelief. A few minutes later, I left for work, having promised Tryx that I'd take her out and help her try to find the rebels as soon as I got home from work. But even as I left, I couldn't help but wondering if she really would still be at my house waiting for me when I got home. If she might take off on her own... or just turn out to be a figment of my imagination yet. But there was one thing that I knew for certain, and that was that it was going to be a VERY long day at work. "Do you see anything?" I asked Tryx again, glancing to where she sat on my dashboard and then back to the road. We'd been driving around for over half an hour, ever since I'd gotten home from work, letting Tryx get a guided tour of the city as well as trying to find whatever it was that she was looking for. I still wasn't completely sure what that was myself. "Lot's stuff," Tryx responded, a tone of awe in her voice. "Just not what I'm looking for." She sat crouched on the dash, her nose nearly pressed up against the windshield. "Awesome. This is a lot better than watching stuff in the scrying glass. But still..." I nodded, already knowing how much she wanted to get out and fly around herself. Apparently my tiny companion was not used to riding around in a car. "Trapped behind glass," as she put it, making a few comparisons to pet butterflies or something. "Where the hell are they?" Tryx demanded impatiently, "I know that they're the ones who stole it." "Maybe," I said thoughtfully, "but even if they did, they could be just about anywhere by now. That was two days ago you know." Tryx turned towards me, frowning. "I know." "Besides," I added as an afterthought, "it's going to be damn near impossible to find a bunch of 6 inch flying people if they don't want to be found." For a long moment, Tryx just stared at me, her mouth wide open. Then she suddenly burst out laughing. "What's so damn funny?" I demanded, feeling a bit insulted at her reaction. Tryx just looked at me again, a big shit eaten grin on her face. "Whoever..." She giggled again. "Whoever said that they were all the same size as me?" My response was a somewhat confused, "Huh?" But Tryx just giggled again. After shaking my head, I decided that it might be better to not even ask what was so funny. However I couldn't help but wondering at what she had said. Then Tryx suddenly sat upright, a strange look on her face. I didn't say anything, not sure if this might not be something like a Faerie hiccup or something. After a minute of the tiny Faerie staring out the window with a strange look of concentration on her face, Tryx whispered, "I can feel it. Faerie magic. They're somewhere close by." I gulped at that announcement, beginning to feel a little nervous. I wasn't quite sure why since I still had a suspicion that we wouldn't really find anything. But still, I was burning with curiosity and more importantly, I had promised Tryx that I'd help her. After we had driven around a little longer, Tryx directing me vaguely towards where she felt the magic strongest. She'd mentioned that she was sure it was the ones she was looking for since no other Faerie were even on Earth. Or the Mortal Realm as she kept referring to it. Finally once we were pretty close, I parked my car and we got out. "I should be able to find those rotten pieces of dragon filth now," Tryx told me, flying above me and seeming to almost vanish. However I could still hear her add, "And once I tell Jaestyne where she's at, she might not be pissed at me for coming here." "But what am I here for?" I mumbled, knowing that now Tryx was close to what she was looking for, I was there mostly just to satisfy my own curiosity. "Y'wanna wait here a minute?" Tryx suggested from above me. "I'll zip around and see what I can find." Then with that, Tryx quickly flew away at an unbelievable speed. Shrugging I leaned back against the wall of a store, figuring that I might as well wait. However I couldn't help but feeling disappointed that I wouldn't actually get to see any of the other Faerie Tryx had mentioned. Especially after her cryptic comment about their size. It was then that I noticed a gorgeous blonde woman walking on the other side of the street. My eyes immediately bulged at the sight of her. "Good God," I muttered, trying my hardest not to actually drool, and it was difficult indeed. She looked a little shorter than I normally liked, but her figure was unbelievable. I watched silently as the blonde walked along the sidewalk, other men turning and ogling her as well. However she didn't seem to even notice anyone else. It was almost as if she was walking the street, all alone. Suddenly a teenage boy on roller blades shot down the sidewalk, just barely avoiding the blonde. He didn't even bother to look behind him as he continued down the sidewalk, drawing the attention and curses of everyone else on the sidewalk. However I had still been watching the blonde and gasped in shock at what happened next. The woman had lost her balance and started to fall, grabbing out and catching herself on a car that was parked next to the road. At that very instant, the blonde woman was gone. In her place was another woman. A completely different woman. "Holy shit," I gasped, staring at the purple haired woman who had taken the blondes place. Her clothes had changed as well, turning into some sort of shiny white and purple dress that looked unreal. It was only then that I noticed the other things. The pointed ears and the butterfly like wings that came out of her back, making her look an awful lot like Tryx. "Oh fuck." As soon as the woman stood up, pulling her hand away from the car, her whole body shimmered and the blonde was back. She glanced around quickly, looking a little nervous and then quickly, apparently satisfied that no one had seen the little incident. I guessed that she hadn't looked across the street and seen me, for which I was very grateful. "She's one of them," I whispered to myself, suddenly realizing what Tryx had meant about them not all being her size. I'd found one of the people... Faerie that she'd been looking for, completely by accident. For a long moment, I just stared at the blonde as she got further and further from me, and then in one impulsive second, I found myself going after her, determined to find out more. After all, I had promised Tryx that I'd help her, and this was probably my only real chance. I followed the blonde for several minutes, wishing that Tryx would show up since she knew more about these people. The thought occurred to me while I followed the blonde that these people were criminals where they'd come from. Who knew what they might do to me if I got in their way. However that didn't stop me from following her, half sure that they couldn't really do anything to me anyway. After the blonde left the sidewalk, I followed her for a little more, going down one of the alleys and then watching as she went through a door off to the side. I hesitated for a few more seconds before going to the door myself. I was half surprised to find that it wasn't even locked. What the hell kind of criminals didn't bother to lock their hideout, if it was their hideout that is? But then again, I reminded myself that they weren't from this world, for which I was thankful at that moment. Inside the building, I glanced around, seeing that it was a largely open room. The back storage room for some business or other. I could see shelves lining the walls, filled with boxes of who knew what. The center of the room was large and open and I could tell that most of the stuff that had been there had also been moved out of the way, probably by the people Tryx was after. Then I froze, my eyes shooting wide open as I noticed THEM. A group of Faerie gathered together around a table in the corner. I knew they were Faerie because all of them had wings like Tryx's, though none of them were anywhere near that small. In fact, most of them were about the size of humans. Of course they were all dressed pretty weird too. There was the girl with purple hair that I'd seen on the street. The false blonde. There was a man with white shoulder length hair and with a green lock in front. I could only see that little green when he turned around slightly. There was another woman with brown hair that seemed to have leaves entwined in it, another woman with pure black hair. A bald man with a several black tattoos or marks pained on his head, as well as a couple more whom I couldn't really see too clearly. And at the sight of all of this, one thought occurred to me. "Oh shit!" Suddenly, before I could even consciously decide to get the hell out of there like my instincts were screaming, one of the Faerie pointed straight at me with a furious expression on her face. Then she started yelling, though I couldn't understand a word that she said since it was in some sort of strange... almost musical language that I'd never heard. This time I cried out the "Oh SHIT!!!" that I was thinking and snapped back around to the door. However before I'd even made it more than a foot away, I suddenly felt a burst of pain shoot through my body, vaguely noticing a green glow out of the corner of my eyes as I collapsed helplessly to the ground. I was terrified, cursing silently as I frantically struggled to get back to my feet, though I to no effect as I wasn't even able to move a muscle. It was like when my leg goes to sleep, but over my entire body at once. I shuddered in fear as they gathered around me, still talking in that strange language but sounding really pissed. I was sure that I'd shit my pants when several of them pulled out swords and knives made of some gold colored metal, looking extremely menacing. Somehow though, I didn't. Perhaps because whatever it was that had paralyzed me had also paralyzed those muscles as well. "Oh God no," I prayed silently, closing my eyes tightly, too afraid to look. Too afraid to see my own death coming. However nothing came. It took me a moment to realize that they were arguing, obviously about what to do with me. That made me feel a little better, but on the other hand, more nervous as well. Finally I opened my eyes and looked, seeing the white haired man with the green in front talking to someone off to the side, beyond my sight. A blue haired woman stood next to him, scowling intensely. Apparently the decision had finally been made since they stopped arguing and I suddenly found myself lifting off of the floor. However it only took me a moment to realize that none of them was actually touching me. Somehow I was actually floating, just a foot off of the ground and moving at that. Moving towards the center of the room... further from the door and my previous hope of escape. A minute later, I was suddenly dropped right back to the ground, getting a couple bruises in the process. Though I still couldn't move, I was positioned enough so that I could see a strange bluish green glow forming on the floor a few feet away, then several crystal spikes growing from the ground. I stared in awe as the spikes grew upwards and started to mesh, quickly forming what looked to be some sort of crystal dome cage around me, resembling a giant drooped spider web. And oddly enough, I couldn't help thinking how pretty the cage looked and better yet, it separated them from me. I might have been captured, but they obviously didn't intend to kill me. At least not yet. I couldn't help gulping at that. After that, the Faerie ignored me, while to my relief, the strange paralysis I'd been feeling started to wear off and I was able to move again. Once I was able to, I sat up in my cage, looking around carefully, trying my hardest to keep from panicking and look for a way to escape. I even tried to quietly test the crystal of the bars, figuring at first that they'd break easily, but they didn't and I wasn't about to try too visibly with those bastards such a short distance away. Sitting patiently... and nervously in my cage, I watched the alien creatures that Tryx had been chasing, knowing that she was likely to be my only hope. But then again, I didn't know what she could possibly do, being as small and outnumbered as she was. I didn't even know if she'd find me or even bother to save me if she did. I might have taken a liking to her, but I still didn't really know her. All I could do at the moment was watch, wait... and pray, even if I wasn't a religious man. At the moment, that didn't seem to be that important anymore. --- I sat cross legged on the floor of my cage, looking out the bars at the Faerie who occasionally walked past me. I'd been in there for nearly two hours already, even trying unsuccessfully to break out of the cage again. However it was far stronger than it looked, much to my disappointment. Every once in a while, one of the Faerie would come and look at me, making me feel like some sort of zoo animal. However none of them looked pleased to see me and I didn't think that any of them were tempted to try feeding this 'animal'. After awhile, I started to become just a little less afraid, and to my surprise, almost bored. And for the first time in my life, I actually hoped that I'd remain that way for some time to come. However that was not going to happen. Suddenly I heard a "Pssst," nearly causing me to jump. I snapped around my head around, only to see Tryx, hovering in the air in front of me, a finger to her lips. "Shhhh." "Tryx," I gasped, then bit my lip, glancing around nervously to see if I'd been overheard. Fortunately, no one seemed to have noticed us. Tryx landed on my shoulder and said, "We've gotta get outta here... and quick." I nodded, more than ready to agree with her. "Can you make these bars vanish or something?" I asked her quietly, knowing that if those others could make them appear, then Tryx could probably do the reverse. "No can do," she responded, a somewhat wistful sound in her voice. "I don't have that kinda power." I groaned while she continued, "I'm gonna try and see if I can find something to break them with." However I couldn't help but noticing the slightly hopeless tone in her voice. Then with a forced grin, Tryx said, "Now don't go anywhere," before flying out of the cage. I just groaned, silently wishing her luck. After all, it was my butt she was trying to save. I waited impatiently for several minutes, nervously watching the human sized Faerie the whole time with only occasional glances in the direction that Tryx had gone. Finally I noticed her coming back towards me, hovering just above the floor and to my surprise, carrying a pair of bolt cutters. My eyes bulged out at that, thinking that they had to weigh several times what she did. "All right," I muttered, finally letting myself sigh in relief. Hopefully those things would get through the crystal bars, or at least enough of the smaller ones so that I'd be able to slip out. "Hurry." But I knew that she wouldn't be able to hear me from halfway across the room. But suddenly a flash of light shot out of nowhere, hitting just in front of Tryx. She let out a scream, dropping the bolt cutters and starting to fly away. Just as I thought she was going to make it, yet another flash of light shot out, followed by three of the Faerie. "Tryx!" I called out in warning, but it was too late as one of the Faerie snatched Tryx right out of the air. It was the tall man with the white hair, and a horrible sneer on his face. "Lemme go!" Tryx screamed, but the man made no effort to do so. Instead he snapped something at her in that strange language. I couldn't understand what was said, but I guessed that it meant 'shut up' or something like that. The other Faerie quickly gathered around and started talking among themselves, and to Tryx in their strange language. Tryx responded the same way. I couldn't understand what Tryx was saying, but I knew profanity when I heard it, regardless of what language it was in. A few choice English words were sprinkled in as well. But Tryx's insults obviously didn't go over well as the guy holding her yelled back, then started to squeeze harder. "Let her go!" I demanded frantically, knowing that I couldn't do anything to enforce that, but I felt better for at least trying to. Of course they all ignored me anyway. Then just when I thought things couldn't get any weirder, the guy that was holding Tryx turned to the side, and to my surprise, started talking to another Faerie who was floating in the air, who just happened to be even smaller than Tryx. I gulped and tried to get a better look at her, seeing that she had green and white striped hair and seemed to be wearing some sort of golden tiara or headband. Then I was amazed even more when after a minute, I realized that she seemed to be their leader. Tryx argued with the other tiny woman who now hovered in front of her with an annoyed expression. Then after a minute, the smaller Faerie glanced at me, scowling as she did so. She said a few more things to the others and all of a sudden, I felt a strange tingling for a moment. "What the hell is going on?" I demanded, trying to cover up my fear with false bravado. "Shut up mortal!" the white haired one who was holding Tryx snarled in perfectly understandable English. "W... what..." I gasped in surprise. The way they'd all been going on, I didn't think that any of them even could speak English. Suddenly Tryx blurted out, "Be careful Matt. They put a language spell on you so that they could make you talk." It was obvious that by making me 'talk', Tryx meant torture. I definitely didn't like that idea, but before I could really consider it, Tryx screamed in pain from being squeezed tightly. "Quiet urchin!" the man holding her snarled furiously. "You don't talk unless we tell you to." Tryx nodded her head faintly, obviously still in pain. "Your orders Maetrell?" the purple haired woman asked the tiny floating one. Maetrell scowled for a moment, then snapped, "Put her in the cage." For a moment, I felt a stab of relief that they were actually going to be stupid enough to put Tryx in the cage with me. After all, she was small enough that she'd be able to fly though the holes in it without any problems whatsoever. However I saw a moment later that this wasn't what they had in mind. One of the other Faerie brought out a birdcage, smirking as she set it down and they shoved Tryx inside. "Lemme outta here you bastards!" Tryx screamed, shaking the tiny bars of the cage to no real effect. It looked like a very sturdy cage and they'd put a padlock on the small door to make sure that she didn't get out. Then as they started to step back, Tryx demanded, "Where's my phone call? I wanna see my lawyer!" The Faerie took no notice of Tryx's demands, though Maetrell flew closer to my cage and stared at me with a look of disgust before turning back towards the white haired man. "It was well that the urchin..." the word 'urchin' was said with incredible scorn, "was stopped before she could report our location to the impostor." Again, the word 'impostor' was filled with venom. She paused for a moment, looking thoughtful then continued, "Interrogate these foolish ones as soon as your task has been completed Daeden. I must know how many spies and assassins the impostor has sent after me." Daeden, the white haired Faerie bowed, responding with a, "Yes... your majesty," looking somewhat ridiculous as he bowed to the 4 inch tall floating woman. I swore that I could even detect a faint look of sarcasm on his face before it was quickly gone. "It shall be as you order." Maetrell nodded before flying off and leaving the room. The other Faerie quickly departed as well, most of them sneering towards me and Tryx. I was definitely relieved once they were all gone, leaving me and Tryx alone in the room. For a minute, Tryx and I were both silent, then at the same time gushed, "I'm glad you're all right." She giggled slightly at that while I just smiled. "So, like what happened?" Tryx asked me. She didn't sound disapproving or angry at my having gotten into trouble, only curious. Almost as if she was inquiring about what was on TV. So after I'd filled her in, Tryx nodded, "Bout what I figured. But at least we found em." "But why did that one change from human into..." I started, remembering the gorgeous blonde that had first caught my attention and how she'd changed into the purple haired Faerie right before my eyes. "Ya said she fell against a car?" Tryx asked. When I nodded, she grinned, "Iron." At my blank look, she explained, "Iron kinda messes up magic," She shrugged, then shook the bars of her cage, snorting, "I guess that's why they stuck me in here. It's made of iron." I stared at Tryx for a moment, slightly mad at her for getting me into that mess to begin with, but also mad at myself for blaming her. "Shit happens," I muttered, reminding myself that life sometimes worked that way. I only hoped that I'd be able to find whatever toilet paper that I'd need to make that particular shit go away. "So," I said a minute later, looking intently at Tryx, "why don't you tell me everything." Tryx stared at me for a few seconds then let out a sigh. "All right," she said slowly. Then she started telling me about what was going on. Though she didn't go into a lot of details, Tryx told me that the Faerie had all been in some sort of other dimension for a couple hundred years, ever since their old queen got knocked off. Apparently by some of the same guys that had caught us, but she wasn't sure. Afterwards, they'd somehow avoided a civil war and stayed wherever they were until they recently chose a new queen, which some of the Faerie didn't like. So, they rebelled and ended up escaping to Earth. "And this Maetrell is still pissed because she wanted to be queen," I summarized after Tryx had finished. "Yep. Pretty much." Tryx nodded, then with a mischievous smirk, she added, "And because Jaestyne shrunk her." Then she laughed. I wasn't sure that I really wanted to know. After a while longer, the Faerie started to return. Daeden, whom Tryx told me was Maetrell's brother, walked towards me with a sadistic look on his face. "I shall slaughter this... mortal before we begin our questioning," Daeden told the Faerie with him. I could tell that he was definitely going to enjoy killing me too, which scared me to no end. Then as Daeden pulled out his sword, Maetrell suddenly announced, "NO!" I turned and saw her entering the room, floating above the others, several of whom gave her dark looks. "I have another use for them once the questioning is complete." Daeden nodded, looking a little disappointed but he didn't argue. "As you command," he said quietly. I was relieved to have been left alive, but still scared at what was going to happen next. However they left me alone, turning towards the cage that Tryx was in and started asking her questions. They asked one after another, most of which Tryx answered with smartass answers. They were pretty pissed about it and going to cast some kind of spell on Tryx to make her answer when Maetrell interrupted again. "I have another manner to loosen her tongue," Maetrell said, landing on the floor in front of Tryx's cage. I almost laughed at how she had to look up to look Tryx in the face. "I shall be avenged for your role in my humiliation urchin," she spat towards Tryx. Tryx's only response was to laugh, then in a mocking voice, ask, "But who's the urchin now?" Maetrell just grew more furious, turning and snapping at several of the Faerie, "Bring me the CHALICE. NOW!" Immediately the blue haired Faerie woman and a shorter one with long red hair and lots of flower petals in it ran off, returning several minutes later with a wooden box that they carefully set down on the ground. With a nod from Maetrell, the bald tattooed man undid several latches on the bottom and lifted the box away, leaving the bottom and the contents still on the ground. "Wow," I whispered, recognizing the thing that had been stolen from the museum. Sitting on the ground, a short distance in front of me, was the same item that I'd seen in the newspaper. The stand was a tripod made of dark wood, holding a large and mostly clear crystal in the center of it. I could see writing or markings of some sort carved into the tripod, just where the crystal set into it, though none of them made any form of sense to me. However it didn't really look all that impressive. I'd seen more impressive crystals at new age shops in the mall. Tryx on the other hand gasped, "By Gloryanne's wings..." "Yes..." the blue haired woman said with a superior grin, "we have found the Chalice of Souls." "Chalice of Souls?" I repeated silently, trying not to draw any more attention than necessary. However they obviously heard me. Maetrell flew in front of my cage and scowled at me. "Yes, the Chalice of Souls, lost in this world long ago upon our departure like many of our other tools." She smirked as she moved closer to the crystal, adding, "Fortunately the mortals are too stupid to discover their uses." "Soon we shall locate and reclaim the other lost tools which rightfully belong to us," the blue haired one said smugly. "Silence Yrylle," Maetrell ordered. The blue haired woman scowled but nodded faintly while Maetrell moved in front of Tryx. "Within a fortnight I shall possess the power to destroy that impostor and reclaim my rightful size and throne." Tryx let out a gasp. "No... You can't..." Maetrell just scowled. "Now urchin, once you have tasted of the fate I have planned for you, you shall plead for me to hear all that you know." Then Maetrell turned towards her followers and ordered, "It is time to ensure that the powers of the Chalice are yet intact so that my plans can begin." The last was said with an almost amused tone that sent shivers down my spine. Whatever this Chalice of Souls did, I definitely didn't want anything to do with it. I watched in a nervous suspense, glancing to the side and seeing that Tryx did likewise as they went to the Chalice. Maetrell walked along its base, being dwarfed by the artifact that was three times her height. However she didn't hesitate as she put her hand to it, causing the crystal to glow with an eerie green light from within. "Can't we talk about this?" Tryx interjected in a fearful voice that went unanswered. Suddenly I felt something strange inside of me, making me roll in confusion. It was a strangeness, a churning at the very fiber of my being. Before I'd even had a chance to realize what was happening, I was overwhelmed by the twisting and tearing inside, closing off every one of my senses. Then just as suddenly as the world had been torn out from under me, it returned with a vengeance. Reality snapped back around me and I was overwhelmed with my senses rushing back in, trying to reestablish my bearings. I grasped the bars of my cage tightly for support and forced myself back to my feet, feeling confused and strange. I knew immediately that something was truly and severely wrong. More wrong than I'd ever imagined what it could be, though my conscious mind didn't know what it was. Not until I looked at the metal bars of my cage and then past the unbelievably huge crystal cage that seemed a long ways away, and at the extremely familiar looking giant that was inside of it that the true horror of my position become apparent. "Oh my God," I gasped out in Tryx's tiny voice. "No. No! NO!" I stared at all the giants that stood towering over my cage and then frantically down at myself, grabbing at my chest and crotch and gasping in shocked disbelief. "This is impossible." However I knew that there was no denying my own senses. Somehow... I'd been turned into Tryx. For what seemed like an eternity, though was truly only several seconds, I stood where I was, staring down in absolute shock, denying what my own eyes were telling me. What every one of my senses was telling me. That I was no longer within my own body but instead was in the tiny body of Tryx... as the bulges pushing out from my chest attested. For a long moment, I just stood there in stunned silence, then finally brought my eyes up, forcing myself to look around me. It was a horrifying sight that met my eyes as I was surrounded by giants. All except for the Maetrell who still stood by the Chalice of Souls, a triumphant look on her face. "It is successful," Maetrell announced smugly. "The magic is yet intact. Soon I shall destroy that impostor." Then she started laughing. I barely looked at Maetrell though. Instead I stared up... way up. At all of the other Faerie who were gathered around. Then I gulped nervously before looking over at the huge crystal cage that I had been trapped inside just several minutes earlier. Inside if it was yet another giant. One which looked horrifyingly familiar. It was myself, or at least my body... occupied I immediately assumed by Tryx. "Oh no..." Tryx cried out in my old voice, filled with terror. "No. I'm..." she patted her chest and then her crotch before staring at her hands in horror. "I'm a... a... mortal." The word 'mortal' was gasped out in a way that I did not like coming from her. "Tryx..." I whispered, seeing a look of panic in her eyes. I was damn close to it myself, feeling incredibly tiny and helpless. Then suddenly Tryx collapsed to the floor of the cage, crying, "I'm dying. I can feel myself dying." The panic was pouring out of her, even as she cried, "I can't die. I can't be a mortal. I'm Faerie..." And with that, Tryx curled up and cried while the Faerie watched on with amused silence. I stared at Tryx in shock, feeling horrible for her. I was barely hanging on myself, doing more so from shock than anything else. But Tryx... she was handling it even worse. There was no mistaking the terror and panic that gripped her at the moment. After a minute, Maetrell snapped, "Enough with that urchin!" A blast of lighting shot out of Yrylle's hands and hit Tryx, making her scream out in pain this time instead of panic. She smiled sadistically as she did so again. When Tryx glared back at them, the tears streaming from her eyes, Maetrell demanded, "Should you desire to ever regain your form, you will tell me that which I want to know." "I..." Tryx started, "I can't." Her voice shook as she responded. Then she suddenly went on the offensive, demanding, "What are you going to do with the Chalice?" But before Maetrell could respond, Tryx gasped, "You're going to trade places with her." Maetrell just sneered. "Trade places with that... that impostor? NEVER!" She moved closer to Tryx, glaring more viciously for a moment before adding, "My soldiers will get near her in the guise of those she trusts... then slay her unawares." "Jaestyne..." Tryx whispered, her voice shaking with the obvious worry that she felt for her friend. A moment later, Maetrell exclaimed, "Soon I shall destroy that foul impostor and reclaim my rightful size. I shall be queen of all Faerie... as is my right!" "Your precious queen will feed the griffins," Yrylle spat out, earning a glare from Maetrell. "Now... urchin..." Maetrell started, "one final time. Tell me that which I wish to know... and perhaps I shall free you from that mortal shell." Tryx stared at her, the temptation obvious in her eyes. Finally Tryx spat, "Fuck you bitch!" Maetrell just grimaced before gesturing at Tryx, muttering something quickly before saying, "I have not the time for this insolence so I shall loosen your tongue another way." With that Tryx's features went blank, almost like she was in a trance or something. She just sat there with a blank look on her face... my real face while Maetrell began asking questions. First about how many other Faerie that Jaestyne had sent through and then about how we had found them. Tryx answered each of the questions without hesitation... or emotion. Once Maetrell was finished, she gestured with her hand and suddenly Tryx's features became more animated, filled with the panic and fear once again. "Oh no," she gasped. "Jaestyne. I betrayed Jaestyne." And with that she curled up onto the floor again crying, "I deserve to be a mortal," she whimpered, "I deserve to die." After that there was only the sobs coming from her shaking form. "Oh shit," I whispered, staring at Tryx in horror, then over at the Faerie who'd captured us. Maetrell flew into the air and then stared down at the Chalice for a moment before looking at the short Faerie girl who had the brown hair with all the leaves in it. "Return the Chalice to safekeeping Graelle," she ordered. Then she turned her attention towards the purple haired false blonde whom I'd seen earlier, adding, "Myri... assist her." "As you command," both Faerie responded, grabbing the box and putting the Chalice back into it. "And what shall we do with them dear sister?" Daeden asked the tiny Maetrell, glancing quickly towards Tryx and myself. Yrylle immediately burst out, "Slay them." I gulped, knowing that she would definitely enjoy doing so. Probably slowly at that. "We have no more need for the mortal or urchin." Maetrell glared at her. "Silence!" She looked at Tryx for a moment and then me, a thoughtful look on her face. "We have other business to attend to. They shall be destroyed when we return." I let out a sigh of relief at that though I was simultaneously horrified. I looked nervously at Yrylle, seeing the look of hatred on her face and strongly suspected that the only reason that we were going to last any longer was because Maetrell wanted to show that she was the one in charge. Either way though, I was going to live a little longer. With that Graelle and Myri left the room with the box containing the Chalice while the others slowly followed behind them, leaving Tryx and myself alone. Trapped in our cages with no way out. Then with another sad look towards Tryx who was still curled up into a ball on the floor of her cage, I sank to the floor myself... hoping that I'd just wake up to find that it had been a dream. --- I took a deep breath, keeping my eyes closed and trying desperately to remain calm, though it was not very easy. Especially since I was stuck in the body of a tiny little girl... with wings, not to mention locked up in a birdcage until I was murdered. It had been an hour since I had been suddenly thrown into Tryx's body and in that time I had barely even looked at myself. Instead I had wallowed in self-pity for awhile and then tried finding a way out of my cage, though that wasn't very effective since I hadn't found anyway out. "Oh Tryx," I whispered, looking up at the huge giant in the other cage. She was still in shock, though seemed to be coming out of it. "It's not your fault," I told her, calling out loudly. "Please... isn't there some way out of here?" She moved a little then slowly sat up, looking in my direction. "Can't you just wave your arms or something and free us?" For a moment, Tryx just looked at me then she shook her head. "No," she answered slowly, speaking for the first time since our kidnappers had left. "I don't have that kind of power, even if..." she gulped visibly, "even if I was still in my own body." I just groaned, "Just great." Then I looked back at Tryx, staring up and seeing the sadness in her eyes. "I'm sorry about your friend," I whispered. She just nodded, obviously worried about her. Then for several minutes, Tryx and I just stared at each other silently, amazed at how strange our situation was. I felt tiny in comparison to her, dwarfed even more by the enormous room. Finally Tryx stood up and muttered, "I'm so... big." The awe was evident in her voice, as well as the sadness. I just nodded and stood up myself, absently stretching out and being surprised at the wings on my back. I turned and stared at them, at least as much as I could then reached back and slowly touched one... amazed that it seemed much less delicate than it actually looked. "Weird," I sighed. "Even by my standards," Tryx readily agreed. Since Tryx was up and talking again, we made use of that and talked for another fifteen minutes. She told me a little more about her world, though we also talked about escape ideas... none of which could possibly work. We were both trapped in our cages, and going to die if we didn't find some way out. Sitting back down, I closed my eyes and thought about that hot looking blonde I'd seen earlier, even if she wasn't really a blonde. Tryx had told me that Faerie... at least most Faerie could use glamourie... some sort of magical illusion to disguise themselves. That had only saddened me to learn that the blonde was even less real than I'd thought before. Then suddenly something dawned on me. It was something that Tryx had said earlier. Something about that blonde. "Iron," I gasped, turning to Tryx. "You said that Iron messes with magic... right?" Tryx nodded slowly. "And your point is?" "And that cage is made of magic... right?" I asked, gesturing to the crystal cage, knowing that I certainly didn't need to ask that question but did so anyway. "No, crystal cages grow naturally," she answered sarcastically. Then I grinned triumphantly, bursting out, "That's it!" At Tryx's blank look, I explained my plan to her, grinning even more at the look on her face. A minute later, Tryx had pulled the small pocketknife from my front pocket and unfolded the blade, staring at it hesitantly before she began to cut at the thick crystal bars. To my delight, the blade started to cut through the crystal with unbelievable ease... like a hot knife through butter. "No way," Tryx burst out after cutting enough bars for her to get out, "It couldn't have been that easy." I just grinned in response, especially after she'd found the bolt cutters again and cut the lock off of my cage, letting me out as well. As soon as I stepped out of my cage, I stared up... way up... at Tryx. She was humongous, like a skyscraper almost, towering over me as if I was nothing more than a bug... even while crouched over. And though I knew that she meant me no harm, I couldn't help but being terrified anyway. At feeling so small... and helpless. Tryx didn't help with her amazed, "I can't believe how small you are... how small I was." I snorted at that fighting back the instinct to step back... into the cage where I was at least protected somewhat. However I already knew that the cage meant death... not safety. So after gathering my courage, I carefully stepped into Tryx's offered hands, holding on tightly as she stood back up. "Just don't drop me," I told her nervously, looking over the edge of her hands and seeing how far the floor seemed below me. I shuddered again at the feelings of helplessness, wondering how Tryx could possibly stand it. Tryx nodded, gently promising, "I won't." Then a moment later, she said much more serious voice, "We've got to find the Chalice of Souls." She paused for a moment before continuing a bit more nervously, "Then we can get back to normal." "A... all right," I gulped nervously, terrified of what they'd do if they found out that we were free. However I was even more afraid of being stuck as a living Barbie doll. "Just be careful. I don't want to fall." With a nod Tryx slipped me up onto her shoulders where I grabbed on tight, trying to keep my balance while she slowly started towards the door we'd seen the Faerie all leave through. My heart raced with every step, even after we had gone through it and saw an empty hallway. "I don't see them..." I whispered into Tryx's ear. Tryx nodded but we both remained quiet as we slowly moved down the hall and peaked into all of the rooms, relieved to find no sign of the Faerie. Whatever business they were taking care of, apparently all of them had gone to do it. However much to our fr