The Dangers of Daring Officer Dolly

Chapter 13. "The Duchy of Dollopolis"

by Skytower 

Hawk Hill Mall was busy. Officer Merry McCormack stood behind a pillar that was covered in holographic advertisements. There were two advantages to standing behind the pillar. The first was that she was inline with the side door, the second was that she was in a shadow and hard to spot. Merry McCormack stood over six feet tall with wide shoulders, large breasts and wide hips. In her blue uniform she tended to stand out in the regular mall lighting, but the side doors were fully in sunlight and the pillar in shadow. Anyone who’s eyes had adjusted to the muted mall light would have a hard time spotting her. The mall was filled with high school teens on back to school shopping sprees. Normally weekday mall duty was a cakewalk, even during the summer. The town of Pine Hill had no real crime to worry about. But during the back to school season things heated up as seemingly every parent in town held off buying their children’s clothes until the last minute. The result was a hoard of mothers and fathers with entire families in tow. The teenagers were left on their own while the parents and younger siblings went shopping. It was a waiting goldmine for pick-pockets and purse snatchers.

Merry glanced at her watch. She’d been behind the pillar for twenty minutes. In another five she’d leave and make another circuit of the mall. Shoplifting really wasn’t her worry; the mall security guards (all two of them) handled that. Most of the store managers planned for a loss of that type anyway and simply didn’t bother with alarms. Merry didn’t like that but she had learned there was nothing she could do about it. If she just cruised the stores the shoplifters just waited until she went home. Besides The Group thought she was too hard on teenage shoplifters. Merry followed their orders and unless it was very blatant left the shoplifters alone. But Merry had drawn the line at purse snatching and pick-pocketing.

Merry spotted Simone and her heart stopped for a moment. Simone Stronghollow was a slender young woman with short strawberry red hair and a soft round face. She looked better than when Merry had last seen her. Her body was still a bit too slim but had weight to it now, and her skin was tanned, not pale. Simone was wearing a pink jumpsuit with a wide collar, white boots and a scarf tied around her neck. It was a look straight from the late 1970’s and got her some stares. Simone, if she noticed them, did not mind. Her arms were full of packages and her purse dangled from her wrist.

"Not her." Merry whispered. "Please not her."

Merry’s prayers went un-heard. As smooth as they could two teens moved on Simone. Both were wearing jeans and gray sweatshirts and both had brown hair cut short under their baseball caps. They were not twins but Merry guessed they were brother and sister. The girl moved to one side of Simone and pushed the packages out of her arms. When they started to fall the boy grabbed the purse and pulled. They took off before the packages hit the ground.

It was done in less than five seconds and before Simone could even cry out the teens were halfway to the door. They moved through the crowd with practiced ease and Merry doubted that Simone had even gotten a good look at them. Once they made it out into the parking lot they were only a short run from the park and once in the park they were home free.

Or at least that had been their plan. Merry waited for a few seconds and then stepped out from behind the pillar. The pair had only a split second to see her and no time at all to avoid her. Merry let them pass by her and as they did her arms flashed out. She didn’t go for their wrist but instead grabbed their belts and braced herself. The teens’ momentum was fully absorbed by Merry’s body and they stopped short and doubled up. Merry pulled them back hard and sat them down onto the hard floor. Both teens were too stunned to react as Merry handcuffed their wrist together.

"Stay down." Merry ordered in a hard voice as she spared a glance for Simone. The sight of pink coming toward her was all Merry needed. She bent down and picked up the fallen purse.

"Yours I believe Miss Stronghollow." Merry said holding it out to her.

The teens leapt up but Merry grabbed the boys wrist and held on.

"Let me go!" He shouted starting to kick her in the shins.

"Let us go!" The girl repeated. She followed his example and kicked Merry in the shins.

Merry let them kick for a short time. She wore shin pads for a reason. Then she grabbed the wrists that were handcuffed and again sat them down hard on the floor.

"Shut up and listen." Merry said in a hard voice. "You’re under arrest."

"Bobby! Betty!"

Merry looked up to see a short woman in an Ice Cream Utopia apron rush toward them.

"Mom!" Both teens cried at once.

Merry growled silently as the woman reacted to the call for help. It was hard enough dealing with relatives; it was harder when you knew the relative. Because the Ice Cream Utopia stand was a favorite with teenagers Merry usually made at least one stop there per every half-hour. She knew Joan was a single mother but she had never seen her children. Merry didn’t like to think about where the criminals she arrested came from. That wasn’t what Officer Merry McCormack considered part of her job.

"What’s going on?" Joan demanded.

"Purse snatching." Merry said coldly.

"What?" Joan bent down and confronted her children. "What the hell were you two doing!"

"It was a joke." Bobby said.

"A dare." Betty added. "She was wearing that dumb suit…"

"Dumb suit?" Simone asked and Merry could have sword there was a hint of amusement in her voice. "You can talk in that faux punk get up."

Joan stood up and the plea that she was going to make died in her throat when she saw the look on Merry’s face.

"Are you their mother?" Simone asked.

"Yes." Joan said looking at Simone with renewed hope.

"Let’s go over here and talk for a few minutes, shall we." Simone said taking her arm and leading her back to the fallen packages.

"Stay down." Merry said sternly.

The teens’ stayed down and Merry sighed silently. She was used to The Group telling her to let teens go, but Simone wasn’t one of them. But she did know them, and Merry wasn’t sure just how far she should allow Simone to go.

It was a few minutes before Simone and Joan walked back over to them. The crowd that had gathered at the capture had mostly dispersed, helped along by Merry’s cold stare directed against anyone who made eye contact with her."

"I think we’ve come to an arrangement." Simone said.

{Go along with her.}

Outwardly Merry didn’t change her posture but inwardly she relaxed. That command had appeared in her mind and that meant that The Group was ruling in Simone’s favor. Any part of Merry that didn’t like that had long since grown silent.

"They broke the law." Merry said keeping up appearances.

"I won’t press charges." Simone said. She bent down and guided the teens to their feet. "Your mother is going to drop you off at my place on Saturday morning. Two days of work or I’ll let you go with the officer. Deal?"

"Yes." Betty and Bobby said quickly.

Merry sighed and released them from the handcuffs. The look on Joan’s face told her that the teens were by no means off the hook.

"Well that was fun." Simone said. Merry was suddenly struck by how soft her voice was. "Tell me would you have hauled them in?"

"Yes." Merry said.

"Young as they are? Knowing what their mother’s situation is?"

"They broke the law."

"From the look on your face a moment ago I take it our friends intervened?"

Merry nodded. Your friends, she thought, my masters.

"Come on, let’s do lunch."

"Not yet." Merry said looking over Simone’s shoulders. Simone looked back and saw a group of teens going into a jewelry store.

"Meet me at Pizza Heaven." Simone said.

Merry nodded and walked away.

Merry called in for a lunch break and joined Simone an hour later. The food court was on the second floor of the mall and Pizza Heaven was on the edge of a balcony. Simone had chosen one of the outer tables and from it she looked out on the main escalators. She was making notes on a pad as Merry joined her.

"Plain cheese." Simone said passing Merry a slice from the pizza."

"Thanks." Merry said digging into it. Half of the pizza was plain, the other half had so many toppings on it Merry wasn’t sure there was room for cheese or tomato.

"Look a them." Simone said looking out on the mall. "So many, so much potential."

"Potential for what?"

"They haven’t told you?"

"They don’t tell me a lot." Merry said. "Not unless it has to do with a mission."

"Yes, they told me, you are their James Bond."

"More like Jane Bondage this past mission." Merry said.

"Oh, so you do know comics."

"I used to." Merry said.

"But you haven’t been over to see Simon’s collection yet."

"I’ve been busy." Merry said.

"I’ve been expecting you over at the mansion." Simone said. "It has been nearly two months."

"I had to heal." Merry said. "And so did you."

"Really." Simone smiled mischievously. "And the thought that I might tear off your clothes the second you came through the door didn’t strike your mind?"

"Miss Stronghollow…"

"Simone."

"Simone." Merry paused to swallow her pizza. "You’re here right? Listening?"

{Yes.}

"Are they?" Simone asked.

"I don’t think they’re ever not with me." Merry said.

"You make them sound like invisible spirits." Simone said. "Sounds thrilling really."

Merry took a breath.

"Simone I don’t know how much you know, or have guessed. I don’t know where you fit into a relationship with them. Frankly I don’t know if I’m attracted to you or not, to any woman for that matter. Because of what The Group did to me… well if I saw you and another woman… I might… hell I don’t know. I never really thought about other women before. I don’t know if it’s a part of me they woke up, or a part of me they’ve put in by accident."

"Either way it makes you very scared doesn’t it." Simone said.

"Frankly yes."

"Well I can’t do much about your inner demons but I can set you straight on a few other things." Simone took a sip from her Coke and leaned forward.

"I am the new Duchess of Dollopolis."

"Huh?"

"The Duchess of Dollopolis." Simone said. "I’m going to be in charge."

"Oh." Merry swallowed. "What’s Dollopolis?"

"You don’t know?"

Merry shook her head.

"Dollopolis is the small, very small, town that they built. Lizzie and Jessie live there now."

"I never thought about where they lived."

{Did you think we kept them in cages?}

"Yes." Merry said. "You built a town for them?"

{Not for them specifically.}

{Dollopolis is a prototype in a far larger project.}

{Lizzie and Jessie was just handy material after you refused to shrink them into infinity.}

{The results so far are mixed.}

"Are you done?" Simone asked.

"I guess." Merry said. "I’m sorry, they were speaking to me."

"Not at all. A voice only you can hear? Now that really sounds thrilling. I could tell you were talking to them, your eyes get a peculiar look in them. At any rate Dollopolis is a very lovely place, but there have been discipline problems with Lizzie, Jessie and Mike. The Group realized that the societal model they were using, or were planning on using, wasn’t going to work."

"So I suggested a feudal one." Merry said slowly realizing for the first time that The Group had taken to heart her desperate words.

"Right, and since I was so good with Jessie they decided that I should run the place. So you are now looking at, or will be when we get the move done and the castle built, Her Royal Highness Duchess Stronghollow of the Duchy of Dollopolis."

Merry winced.

"You don’t agree with the title?"

"Does it need a duchess to rule over two teen age girls?" Merry asked.

"Well recruitment is one of my duties." Simone said. She showed the paper she had been working on to Merry. "This is my to-do list."

Merry read the list.

1), Build a new swimming pool.

2), Decide on a coat of arms.

3), Work out the economy.

4), Draw up list of laws.

5), Recruit new girls!!! That one in red looks cute.

• • "Build a swimming pool?"
    
    "I’ll explain that later." Simone said.

"I’m not sure I understand." Merry said.

"I can’t tell you how thrilling this is." Simone said. "Not long ago I was planning my funeral and now I’m going to have my own kingdom to run!"

"So you’re going to take care of all the women they shrink?" Merry asked.

"Yes." Simone said. "But more than that. I’m actually going to find the women."

Suddenly Merry understood. From the table where they sat Simone looked out on the Payless Shoes and Teen Miss Fashions. Both stores were filled with young girls. One the girls were standing in a crowd of her friends and she was wearing a red dress.

The alarms that Merry felt go off in her head must have shown on her face.

"Don’t look like that." Simone said laughing. "I’m not going to start kidnapping young women in the dead of night or anything like that."

"Then how?" Merry demanded.

"How did you find Lizzie and Jessie?"

"They helped Mike rape me." Merry said coldly.

"Oh." Simone said suddenly serious. "I’m sorry. I didn’t know."

"It’s alright." Merry said grimly. "It happened, it’s over."

"Well it’s the best thing they could have done for themselves." Simone said.

"What?"

"Because of that they were shrunk, and I have it on firm knowledge that they are better off in Dollopolis than they were before."

"What do you mean before?"

"You don’t know much about them do you?"

Merry shook her head.

"Abandoned mother, father who beat them, school drop outs, drug addicts… their lives were a mess. In Dollopolis they are safe and I can tell you they were happy to get back there after that business at the mansion."

"They got out of that better than I did." Merry said.

"From what they told me it was your idea."

"I have to get back to work." Merry said quickly. She was still looking at the two stores. Simone followed her gaze. Two teenagers in blue vests and blue pants were being slowly surrounded by five teens in over-sized T shirts and jeans."

"By all means." Simone said. "But on Saturday come to my house around 6 in the morning."

{Be there, all will be explained.}

"I’ll be there." Merry said.

Merry pushed all the thoughts and worries out of her mind as she moved smoothly down the escalator. Or at least she tried too. When they had first shrunk her The Group had told Merry they were going to take over the world. She hadn’t believed it possible then. Since then she had become progressively more certain that they could and would amass enough power to rule the world. But what sort of world would they be ruling over? What was she helping them create?

Merry didn’t let her inner demons distract from her job. She moved quickly and stayed close to the display glass of the shoe store and came up behind the rapidly tightening circle.

"We are trying to help you." One of the teens in the blue vest said. She wasn’t as young as she looked. She was short, as was her companion, but beneath the wild red hair the mature face of an adult could be seen. The girl beside her was a teenager with dull brown skin and flat black hair.

"The path you are on now leads only to ruin." The younger girl said.

"No it don’t, this path leads to the toy store." One of the youths surrounding them said. The rest of the laughed and Merry slowed down. The five that surrounded the two were well known to her. They had been simmering for most the summer with petty vandalism. The one who was doing the talking was Merak Sims. Merak was nearly 18, from a military family and generally convinced that the world was his. He backed that up with some minor martial arts training. On their first meeting Merry had taken him down with one move and thrown him in jail. That had caused Merak’s father, a blustery man with colonels bars on his uniform to come storming into the police station. Merry had sat the man down and showed him the video tape of Merak first stealing a six pack of beer and then the tape from the parking lot of his son trying to steal a car. Like most of the youths that Merry caught Merak blamed her, but also like most of them he had learned not to cross her. Merry was simply hoping that at 18 the kid would be the army’s problem. His current ‘gang’ was hardly worthy of the word, but they could be dangerous in the right situation. Her job of late had been to stop the simmering from changing to boiling.

"The Lord Aegis would bring you the true joy of life." The older woman insisted.

"Tell you what would bring me the joy of life…" Merak said smiling. He trailed off and nodded to one of his friends.

"I hate to do this to you ladies." Merry said stepping into the circle. Her hand flashed out and took hold of the teen behind the older woman. The cupful of soda that was about to be dumped onto her head froze in place. Merry eased passed him and put enough pressure on his wrist to make the kid wince. Then she let go. Merry turned her back on Merak and his friends and looked at them. "But the owners of the mall got an ordinance passed, no religious or semi-religious material in the mall. Sorry."

"They can’t do that!" The older woman said. "That is against freedom of speech!"

"Probably." Merry said. She turned the two of them around and steered them away from the teens. "It’s still being appealed, but until that’s done with you can’t try to convert anyone in the mall. Not that anyone in here worships anything but a credit card anyway."

In the slight reflection thrown by the store glass Merry saw that Merak and his friends were moving on. It was the best way she knew how to handle it; it saved Merak’s ‘honor’, and still got the two of them away from him. It wasn’t the easier way and Merry regretted not being able to lay into him, into anyone at this point. Her mind was still boiling with what Simone had told her.

"So are you arresting us?" The older woman demanded.

"No, just getting you away from a bad situation." Merry said forcing her mind back to them.

"She’s right." The younger woman said. Her face was round and attractive with wide set eyes and arched eyebrows. Her nose was short and almost too small for her face. "I used to hang with a crew like that. We weren’t getting anywhere."

"We must try Monica." The woman said. "Our lord demands it."

"You won’t get far in a mall." Merry said. "The only thing people worship in here is their credit cards."

"Are you ordering us to leave?" The woman demanded. From the look on her face Merry guessed that nothing would please the woman more. She was just past middle age if Merry gauged the lines around her hazel eyes correctly. Far too young to have been in the sixties but probably read about it.

"Nope." Merry said. "Wander around and talk if you want, but not about religion. What god are you working for anyway?"

"This is Monica, I am Harriet. We serve Lord Aegis." The woman said haughtily.

"Don’t know him, don’t care to know him." Merry said pleasantly. "But don’t mention him again until your outside. Good afternoon ladies."

It wouldn’t stop them. Merry knew from experience. But at least there would not be any trouble. Merry kept an eye on them over the next few hours and the only thing out of the ordinary she saw was Monica talking to Simone. But Merry was too busy keeping a customer and a manager from strangling each other to really take note of it.

The Stronghollow estate was located next to the Pennytorch Estate. They were among the five estates left from the founding days of Pine Woods. The families that owned those estates owned the town, or thought they did. Merry knew that among them only the Pennytorch’s still held true power.

Merry pedaled through the open gate and proceeded up toward the house. It was almost six and she normally only heard the sounds of birds and insects, but now she heard construction machinery from the back of the house. Merry paused to take a deep breath. She had made the bike ride the last part of her morning workout. She was wearing cut off jeans and a jog bra underneath a T-shirt. Merry would have liked to wear more but the late summer heat made that impracticable. It didn’t matter with The Group of course; they knew her body inside and out better than she did. But Simone had never seen her nude and Merry wanted to keep it that way for as long as possible. But if Simone was now part of them Merry knew she’d do what Simone ordered her to do. That was what was making her hands shake.

Stronghollow House was one of those mansions made to look like a castle. Made of brick and with a slate roof the house would have looked at home in any English country setting. Merry put her bike next to the door and opened it.

{Up the stairs to the right.}

In front of Merry was a large hall with a curved stairwell. Merry walked up slowly. She knew the house well from the vantage point of a twelve-inch tall person, but she’d only been in the house once when she was full sized. A grandfather clock struck the hour and Merry jumped.

At the top of the stairs she turned right and walked into a small solarium. There were potted plants and a wrought iron table and chairs. A hot tub faced a window that looked out onto the back of the house. Seated in the tub were Deborah and Delilah Pennytorch and Simone.

"Good morning." Simone waved cheerfully causing her bare breasts to rise out of the water. "Care to join us?"

"I…" Merry hesitated.

"Don’t tease her Simone." Delilah said pleasantly. She indicated a chair and Merry sat down.

"Well she’s hot and sweaty." Simone said. "She could use a bath."

"Not yet." Delilah said standing up. She was completely nude but Merry knew enough not to look away. Still she tried hard not to stare at Delilah’s slim and well toned body. Delilah put on a gold robe and beckoned Merry forward with her hands. Merry walked over to the edge of the tub.

"Look." Delilah said pointing out of the window.

Merry looked down and saw a small construction crew of five men and thee bulldozers. Merry had no idea what they were doing besides digging a very large whole in the ground.

"I hope they don’t find any bodies." Merry said. The Stronghollow family had a long history of burying relatives after killing them.

"That is a possibility." Delilah said.

"But we are taking that chance." Deborah said. She stepped out of the water and put on a blue robe. Deborah and Delilah were twins and Deborah’s body was just as well conditioned as her sisters. "What they think they are doing is digging Simone a swimming pool."

"What they are actually doing is going down a lot further and preparing the new home of Dollopolis."

"Won’t they be able to tell?" Merry asked.

"Not really." Delilah said. She pointed to a tall man who seemed to be in charge. "Do you recognize him?"

"Nathan Lazksy." Merry said.

"That’s right." Deborah said. "You spent a night inside his television. Once you were done we had spent more time hypnotizing him and his crew. He was overjoyed when he won that free sports package for his cable and so were they. As far as they are concerned they are humoring a crazy rich girl by building her a swimming pool as fast as possible."

"Oh." Merry said. She remembered that night well. Getting the new chip into the set hadn’t been too hard, but on the way out she had ran into Nathan’s cat.

"It’s well known that I’ve always wanted a pool but was afraid to put one in because of Simon." Simone said. "I was always worried about a drowning accident."

"That would have been a distinct possibility." Deborah said. "But he is gone now."

"Yes." Simone turned a smiling face and eyes at Merry and stood up. "Thanks to you Merry."

"Your welcome." Merry said taking a step back.

"Simone Tremont is here and he has brought Lizzie and Jessie."

"George!" Simone squealed. She dashed past Merry grabbing a robe as she did so.

"She may not be dumb but she is flighty." Deborah said going to the table and sitting down.

"Extremely so where twins are concerned." Delilah said joining her. "Heaven help us all if she ever finds triplets."

A look was all that was needed from Delilah and Merry sat down.

"First off I think you are in need of some updating." Deborah said.

"Simone is not one of us, ‘The Group’, as you have so melodramatically named us." Delilah said.

"In a hierarchical chart we would be at the top, Simone bellow us and you bellow her."

"So she really is a duchess?" Merry asked.

"The title seemed appropriate." Deborah said.

"What this means is you will follow her orders as they pertain to Dollopolis and its citizens."

"But that is about it." Delilah said. "You are ours to command, not hers."

"Does she understand this?"

"Yes." Deborah said.

"What is Dollopolis?" Merry asked not trying to keep the relief out of her voice.

"Originally Dollopolis was a little collection of models that Molly and Tremont built back when we were first exploring miniaturization." Delilah said.

"It was a very rudimentary place that we planned to use to run experiments on those we shrunk." Deborah said. "That was before Molly convinced us of our true destiny. When we shrunk Jessie, Lizzie and Mike and you refused to kill them we put them into the town."

"It was both a study and a learning experience." Delilah said. "We quickly learned their limitations."

"Which are many."

"And by the end of their stay we realized that a community of shrunken women would be of immense use to us."

"Just women?"

"Just women." Deborah said.

"We can not risk procreation." Delilah said. "The variables due to the miniaturization process would make the birth completely unpredictable both for the mother and the child. But we also could not prevent Jessie, Lizzie and Mike from at least starting to have sex."

"Even after our extreme punishments Mike continued to pursue and Jessie seemed ready to agree."

"So we will take all men out of the equation." Delilah said. "Women can have any sort of sex they want. And we already have to women to start with."

"You’re going to make Paradise Island?" Merry asked.

"Not quite Wonder Woman’s home." Deborah said.

"This will be a working prototype of places we will build later." Delilah said. "At the start Simone will run it on a feudal-lord basis. She will be altered to fit the place."

"You’re going to shrink her?"

"She’s looking forward to it." Deborah said.

"She is?" Merry exclaimed.

"I suspect it is more about getting closer to Lizzie and Jessie than anything else." Delilah said.

"What about me?" Merry asked.

"Your part in the running of Dollopolis will come later." Delilah said.

"Your task for the moment is to help Simone select and gather citizens."

"How many?"

"Given space and energy limitations as well as food projections the number came out to 69." Delilah said.

"A co-incidence we find very amusing." Deborah said.

"Your task is to help Simone, but not to let her get carried away. Above all this requires tact and secrecy. We do not want any relatives coming to search later on."

"I understand." Merry said. "How soon will the place be finished?"

"Another two weeks or so." Deborah said. "The inner dome will be complete soon and then it is just a matter of the internal systems.

"Don’t expect to get an entire town at once." Delilah said. "One at a time, two at the most will do nicely."

Merry nodded.

"Now before we let you get to the comic books." Deborah stood up and shrugged off her robe.

"Simone was right you do need a bath." Delilah said standing up.

Merry sighed and started to undress.

Merry had never been a serious collector of comic books. She had lived in an apartment for most of her childhood and there wasn’t much space in it. She had made up for that by befriending Maurice, the kid who’s parents did own a house and who would have been willing to let Merry eat his comics so long as she pulled off her top first. That relationship had lasted until he grown up and went into the Marine Corps. During those years Merry had read thousands of comics. That, like so many others of Merry’s fangirl hobbies, had faded away as her life as a cop took over. Leafing through a copy of Ms. Marvel took Merry back a bit. She leaned back against the couch and welcomed the feel of the satin robe against her skin. Deborah and Delilah had washed Merry thoroughly. It was something they did now and then. Oddly enough Merry had no stirrings of lust as they washed her even though their hands found ever inch of her body. When she thought about it Merry suspected that any lustful feelings were submerged under an ocean of fear. After the bath Deborah had handed Merry the robe and they had dismissed her. Merry had walked past the library on her way to the comic book vault. Realizing that the couch would be more comfortable than the metal reading table in the vault she had carried a box up and settled down to read. The library was like much of the house; a copy of an English sitting room lined with shelves filled with books. Merry doubted that any of the books had ever been read. She didn’t care to read them either. Her couch was one of a pair of overstuffed Victorian couches that were set next to the windows. A large coffee table sat between them. Merry had gone through half of a box of comics. Now the late morning sun was filling the room and Merry was deep into heroics and childhood memories.

"Comfortable?" Simone asked walking into the room. She was wearing a one piece blue swimsuit and a sheer outdoor sun robe. In her hands was a silver tray.

"Yes thank you." Merry said. "Planning on swimming so soon?"

"It’s almost all I have that’s comfortable and I haven’t done the wash yet." Simone said. "Debbie says I shouldn’t hire any cleaning staff until they can properly pick out some that will be easily mc’d."

"Mem seed?" Merry asked.

"Mind controled." Simone said. She put the tray down next to the box of comics and Merry froze. On the tray was a decanter, two glasses, a collection of cheeses and Lizzie and Jessie. The shrunken sisters were seated at a small table on the tray. Each was wearing a black tunic belted at the waist.

"Hi." Lizzie said.

"Hi." Jessie said.

"Hello." Merry said coolly.

"I thought we might have something to drink and eat." Simone said. "I don’t know about you but the girls and I have had a very physical morning."

"I always have a physical morning." Merry said. "I never know when I’m going to have to be strong enough to fight off someone."

She looked at the shrunken girls as she talked and Simone blanched at the tone in Merry’s voice. She looked up and saw Merry staring at Lizzie and Jessie.

"Oh dear, I thought you…"

"You thought wrong." Merry said. "They caught and helped torture Margarita, then me, then in the desert someone tried to kill me by burying me in a cave in."

"That was Mike!" Lizzie protested.

"Margarita wasn’t." Merry snapped. "She was a scared terrified girl and you duct taped her to a tree and…"

Merry trailed of and calmed her self down.

"But on the desert…" Lizzie said. "You were nice…"

"I was on a mission." Merry growled. "I serve The Group and I was helping someone who served them."

"I don’t understand." Simone said. "You saved their lives. I thought…"

"I didn’t… I couldn’t let someone like your brother get hold of them." Merry said. "I know what he’d do" she looked at Jessie and Lizzie, "because it’s what they’d do if the situation was reversed."

"We wouldn’t!" Jessie said.

"Not anymore!" Lizzie added.

"You did once." Merry said. "And I’m still not sure which one of you hit me on the back of the head with the shovel."

Lizzie and Jessie both looked away from her.

"I know they’ve done some bad things." Simone said. "But look at them Merry, haven’t they paid?"

"They can never pay enough." Merry said. She leaned toward the shrunken teens. "I remember where your hands went Lizzie. I remember Jessie grabbing my hair and shoving my face into her crotch. I remember what she tasted like and I remember you Lizzie shouting ‘Do her’. I remember you two squeezing my breasts like you were trying to milk a cow. Do you remember that? That isn’t the sort of thing someone forgets."

Again Lizzie and Jessie looked away.

"Look at me!" Merry shouted slamming the table with her hand. The shrunken teens fell off of their chairs and scurried toward Simone. "Do you remember! Do you remember stabbing me?"

"Calm down Merry." Simone said gathering them into her arms. "I’m sure they’re sorry."

"Sorry." Merry said bitterly. A terrible rage filled her and she started to stand. "I lost Mar… I don’t care if they’re sorry!"

Merry could feel the rage in her and desperately tried to calm down, but she couldn’t. Her blood pounded through her veins and roared in her ears. Her hands clenched and un-clenched into tight fists. She could see the fear in Simone’s eyes and the terror in Lizzie and Jessie’s faces. But she had seen that same terror and pain in Margarita’s eyes.

"I…" Merry trailed off and dug her hands into the velvet couch. She used that hold to drag herself back onto the couch. "I… Sorry… You’re sorry…"

"We are!" Lizzie shouted.

Merry growled and stood up again.

"Calm down Merry." Deborah said softly but firmly.

Merry looked up and saw Deborah standing at the library door. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a light pink blouse.

Merry responded to the voice and the presence and turned away from Simone and the girls. She took a few deep breaths and dug her hands into the couch. A sob escaped her and felt Deborah’s hand on her shoulder. Merry didn’t try to stop the tears from running down her face as Deborah pressed her back down onto the couch.

"Calm down Merry." Deborah said again. "Simone take them out of here." She pressed her palm against Merry’s forehead and gently applied pressure. Out of the corner of her eye Merry saw Simone carry Lizzie and Jessie out of the room.

"I wouldn’t have hurt them." Merry said choking on the words. "You need them."

"I know." Deborah said gently. "Don’t think. Relax. Rest. Sleep."

Merry closed her eyes and was asleep before Deborah finished the last word.

A few days later Merry stood outside of her house at sunset and waited. When she had woken up from Deborah’s calming sleep Merry had found her clothes waiting. It was late in the evening and the house was deserted. Feeling better than she should have Merry had gone home. Later The Group had told Merry when she and Simone would start working. Lizzie and Jessie would not be part of the mission.

Merry was surprised at Simone’s taste in cars. Instead of a sports car or an SUV Simone drove an old gray dodge minivan. Simone pulled up in front of Merry’s house and Merry got in.

"Nice." Merry said as she looked in the van. The dashboard had enough sophisticated readouts to make the space shuttle look simple. Behind her the seats were gone and a model of a cylon fighter rested in a set of clamps.

"I was surprised as well." Simone said. "I’m not even sure what powers it."

"The car or the ship?"

"Both."

"Best not to ask." Merry said.

"Well." Simone said cheerfully. "Ready for our first night of hunting?"

Merry nodded. Merry was ready. She had dressed in black jeans and a black long sleeve shirt. Her blonde hair was tucked into a black cowboy hat. Simone was wearing a black jumpsuit.

"Well then." Simone said. She started to drive and then stopped. "Merry, about the other day, I really didn’t know."

"It’s alright." Merry said.

"They are sorry."

"Every one is sorry after they get caught." Merry said in a tone of voice that could have caused frost to form on the windows. "I hear the words ‘I’m sorry’ most of the time when I’m putting the cuffs on someone."

"I can tell you that Lizzie and Jessie haven’t been the same since…"

"Since I almost tore their heads off?" Merry shook her head. "I wouldn’t have done anything, even if Deborah hadn’t shown up."

"Well they’ve been sulking ever since." Simone said. "I think they are truly sorry for what they did to you."

Merry shrugged.

"Let them sulk." She said coldly.

"Well then I’m sorry."

"You don’t have to be. You never raped me." Merry took a deep breath and tried to smile at her. "Now how are we going to do this?"

"We start at 45 Culver Lane." Simone said as she pulled the van away from the curb.

"The Nighty Night Motel?" Merry asked.

"Yes." Simone said triumphantly. "Current abode of Monica Florida and Harriet Smith."

"Who are?"

"Members of the cult of Aegis." Simone said.

"Those two from the mall?"

"That’s right." Simone handed Merry a Palm Pilot. "Take a look."

The small screen came alive and Merry read from it.

"Monica Florida, parents deceased, run away from foster home…"

"Doesn’t matter she’s 18 now." Simone said.

"Doesn’t tell us a lot." Merry said. "When she was in school she had average grades, her psych report says she’s stable but not ambitious."

"Scroll down."

Merry scrolled down.

"Once a frequent poster to alt.sw.paradise.net."

"alt.sw.paradise.net is a usenet newsgroup for shrunken women and men stories." Simone said.

"There are things for shrunken women on the net?"

"My dear there are things for every thing on the Internet. If you google the term shrunken women you get over one hundred and fifty thousand responses."

"One hundred and fifty thousand?" Merry couldn’t keep the amazement out of her voice.

"More than one hundred and fifty thousand." Simone said. "Men wanting to be shrunk by women, women wanting to be shrunk by men, women wanting to be shrunk by women…"

"Wait a minute! There are women who want to be shrunk?" Merry nearly dropped the Palm Pilot. "Truly want to be?"

"Yes. In fact I’m going to be shrunk myself."

"They told me. I can’t believe you want it too happen."

"Well I can’t very well be Duchess of Dollopolis if I’m a giant. There will be day to day details that will be easier to oversee if I’m small. Besides " she smiled at Merry "I’m really looking forward to getting closer to my subjects."

"Uh-huh." Merry said hollowly. "I don’t know what sort of impression you’ve gotten Simone but being small is not the greatest thing in the world. It’s not like Dollopolis is going to be your private pleasure dome."

"Oh I know that." Simone said laughing. "But I think you’ve overlooked the more exotic aspects of living small."

"I’ve been through most of them." Merry said.

"I said exotic, not erotic." Simone said. "But from what I gather your experiences have all been forced. Try to imagine true lovemaking. Exploring someone else’s body while she, or he, explores yours and all the time you are resting in the palm of someone’s hand. Completely safe."

Merry said nothing but shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"Haven’t you had any fun since your first G.M?"

"gym?"

"Gulliver Moment."

"Define fun." Merry demanded. "I’ve been attacked by rats, cats, dogs, men, women, gargoyles, spiders, children, and demons. I’ve been raped by most of them. Fun has not been there for me."

"I am sorry." Simone said softly.

"They needed me to do it." Merry said "The worlds a better place with them in charge."

"But you?"

"I’m ok."

"Here we are." Simone said pulling to a stop. Merry suspected that Simone was as grateful for the interruption as she was.

Merry looked out the window. The Nighty Night motel was a two-story ranch style motel. A line of small rooms with a parking lot set off of the main road on the outer limits of the town.

"So Monica once wrote to this newsgroup and she’s an orphan." Merry said.

"And she is less than enthusiastic about the cult she’s in." Simone said. "I’ve been buying her lunch at the mall. She is in the cult basically because she does not want a job. Or at least that is what she says. I think she’s longing for a place to be."

"So how do you recruit her without telling her about The Group?"

"Subtly." Simone smiled. "First I get her attention, which is why you are here. You will fly over to her room, stand in the window until she sees you, wave, smile and then fly off. Tomorrow at the mall I’ll guide her next to the toy store and see how the conversation develops."

Try as she might Merry could not keep her jaw from dropping.

"That’s your plan? They agreed to this?"

{Yes, we did.}

{It is unconventional, but has the merit of being completely dependent upon Monica’s interest.}

{If she does not respond there is no harm.}

{If she does respond we will decide upon the next step.}

"Well?" Simone asked.

Merry shrugged.

"If they need me to do it I’ll do it."

"Good."

{Be ready.}

Grateful for the warning Merry braced herself against the reality wrenching jolt that accompanied every size change. It took only a few seconds for her head to clear and Merry climbed out of the tent her hat had become.

"Oh my god!" Simone said as Merry climbed out from under the hat.

Merry flushed both from embarrassment and from the waves of lust that Simone was generating. For a moment she was lost in them, then she pulled herself together. At any size Merry was beautiful, her breasts had large waxen nipples and her pubic hair had grown in well and formed a perfect blonde V. Her body was solid muscle an while shrunk Merry knew she could outmatch any Barbie doll ever made.

"This is for you." Simone said. With trembling hands she reached into her purse and handed Merry a short green off-of-the-shoulder dress and a wand. "Lizzie and Jessie made it."

"A Tinkerbelle dress." Merry sighed.

"The first cute shrunken woman." Simone said. "Disney just released a line of Barbie Tinkerbelle’s for Toy Story 3. There is a huge display of them in the toy store."

"Tinkerbelle doesn’t need to fly a cylon fighter."

{You do.}

{This will allow Monica to dismiss her sighting as an illusion of some sort.}

{Far better than your nudity.}

{Which is hard to ignore.}

Merry started to put on the dress but stumbled on the soft fabric of the car seat.

"Here let me help you." Simone said. She reached down and picked Merry up. Her fingers slid over Merry’s body and Simone gave out an audible whistle.

"Let go of me!" Merry shouted struggling wildly against Simone’s fingers as she was groped.

"Sorry." Simone said putting Merry onto the fighter. "I’m sorry."

Angrily Merry put on the dress glad for any covering she could get. Simone’s fingers had been hot to the touch and there had been a moment when Merry had been both afraid that she would not let go and hopeful that she wouldn’t. The dress hung on her breasts and hips and if Simone hadn’t already seen her naked the dress would have left her with few things to imagine.

"Everyone’s sorry." Merry whispered the growl while she climbed into the fighter. There were three seats in front of a trio of windows and a control panel. She settled into the center seat and the panel above her slid closed. Then half-moon shaped ship vibrated slightly as it took off.

{It is a good thing you are not twins, she might not have let you go.}

"A grown woman should have more control." Merry said. In the windows she watched as the top of the van slid open and the ship lifted into the sky.

{Self control has never been one of Simone’s highly developed traits.}

"But you’re giving her a kingdom to rule?"

{Is that a question Officer Dolly?}

"No!" Merry said quickly. "No, it wasn’t."

{Very well. Stand by, we are taking you to the back of the building.}

Merry leaned back into the seat and breathed a sigh of relief. In front of her the dials of the fighter glowed with green and red information. This model had been updated slightly, with cushion seats, soft carpeting and padded walls. The colors were black or gray. For a moment Merry remembered the original show and realized that the ship was built for three. Merry wondered if Lizzie and Jessie had originally been part of the mission?

They wouldn’t do that to me, Merry thought. They know how I feel. Not for something as simple as this anyway.

The craft operated with only a slight hum and Merry was flown over the building and hovered in the back alley.

"Can you hear me Merry?" Simone said over a radio link.

"Yep." Merry said. "First problem. There aren’t any windows in the back that look into bedrooms. Just some thin ones that look into bathrooms."

"Really? What a cheap place."

"Do you know what room number she’s in?"

"Ah… no."

{Second one on the left.}

{We are moving you toward it now.}

"Don’t worry." Merry said. "They got it covered."

"Good."

"Yea." Merry said carefully keeping her tone neutral.

{This is only her fist attempt Officer Dolly.}

{Go easy on her.}

"Right." Merry said.

Merry drove her frustration into the back of her mind as the fighter lifted her toward a dimly lit window. The window was a small rectangular patch on a wall badly in need of some paint. Bellow her was an alley that slopped off into a gully. The hatch slid open and Merry climbed out onto the top of the ship. A stiff breeze was blowing filling Merry’s head with the scent of the Kentucky Fried Chicken place down the road. The muted sounds of the night; animals in the alley, cars going buy on the highway and music coming from the motel rooms got her attention only for a moment. She looked at the window. It was closed and the dim light was filtering in from the other room.

Merry stepped from the cylon fighter to the window ledge, ignoring the spider webs and the corpses of dead moths and flies. She was large enough so that the gold and black spider sitting in the web would not be a danger so long as she didn’t touch the web. Still she could feel all of its eyes on her. Merry wished the wand were sword. Merry stepped up to the window and peered inside. From where she was she could see a toilet, a shower stall and a sink. Merry wiped the glass with her hand and tried to see more clearly. All that got her was a hand smeared with dust and grease.

"What now?" Simone asked.

"We wait." Merry said.

The fighter moved back into darkness and Merry sat down on the ledge and waited.

"I think I’ve found a fault in my plan." Simone said a few hours later.

"Really?" Merry asked looking at the wand. It held the radio link and glowed as Simone spoke.

"Well… yes. It seems as if they aren’t in the room."

"Where are they?" Merry demanded.

"Just getting in now." Simone said. "It never occurred to me they wouldn’t be there."

Merry said nothing but stood up. She watched from the window as the light in the bedroom was turned on. Monica and Harriet stumbled onto the bed and lay still.

"They’re drunk." Merry said.

"I didn’t think followers of Aegis drank."

Merry watched as Monica rolled off of the bed and onto the floor. Slowly the drunken teen got to her feet and crawled into the bathroom. For a few minutes she hugged the toilet and heaved.

"Are we sure we want her for Dollopolis?" Merry asked.

"Anyone can get drunk once in a while Merry." Simone said.

I don’t, Merry thought. When she was fourteen her father had lost his job and came home drunk. Violent, angry and barely coherent he had stumbled into their apartment at midnight. Merry had sworn then and there never to take a drink.

Monica fell back off of the toilet and pulled her shirt off. Merry was surprised when she saw that Monica had bound her breasts with an ace bandage. She un-wrapped herself with a slowness that betrayed pain. Once they were free her large breasts fell freely and she massaged them for a few minutes. Merry’s mouth went dry at the sight, but her feelings did not stop Merry from seeing the bruises on Monica’s body. As she undressed and got into the shower Merry saw that the young woman was more than thin. She was super thin, with a sunken stomach and a pronounced rib cage. Her skin was the color of coffee and Merry noticed more bruises on her stomach and arms and legs. Monica showered and seemed a bit more sober after she stepped out of the water. She stumbled over to the sink and looked at herself in the mirror.

{Now would be the best time Officer Dolly.}

Merry jumped and realized that she had been staring at the young woman. Pulling herself back to her task Merry banged on the window with her wand. She had to do it a few times before Monica looked up at the window. Her eyes were set far apart in her head and she needed the room as they opened wide. Her mouth dropped open and Merry saw gaps where teeth were missing.

"I feel like I should be singing something." Merry said smiling.

{If a tune comes to mind go ahead.}

Monica blinked and splashed water on her face again. When she looked back Merry was still smiling and waving. Dropping her to knees the young woman threw up again.

"I’ve never gotten that reaction before." Merry said.

"It must be humbling."

Monica looked up at Merry and climbed to her feet. She staggered toward the window and reached for the hand crank that opened it.

{Best to move on Dolly.}

{Two steps back please.}

Merry kept smiling and waving and took two steps back. She stepped onto the cylon fighter and it smoothly backed away into the night as Monica cranked open the door and tried to peer out into the darkness.

"That went very well." Simone said.

"It did." Merry said. She was grateful for the detail in the cylon fighter’s construction. The designers of the old show had called it ‘surface excitement’ to excuse all of the small rings and rods, curves and loops on the hull. For Merry it meant that her toes could easily find a good grip.

The fighter hovered as Monica stuck her head out the window and looked around. Merry guessed that it would be impossible for her to see the ship in the darkness and she was right. Several times Monica looked right at the fighter and saw nothing. After a few minutes she went back inside and closed the window. Merry felt a slight hum as the fighter flew back over the motel and eased into the mini-van.

"On to the next one." Simone said as Merry climbed into the front seat.

"Not yet." Merry said. "Lift me up onto the dashboard."

Merry felt Simone’s fingers on her breasts and ass again but ignored them.

"What are we waiting for?" Simone asked.

"We need to see how much curiosity she has." Merry said.

The door to Monica and Harriet’s room opened and Monica stumbled out. She was wearing a towel, a short one that barely covered her body, and carrying a small flashlight. She went to the edge of the building and shined it into the darkness. After a few minutes she gave up and staggered back to her room, shining the light into the shadows every few feet.

"She’s curious." Simone said.

"Very." Merry said. She leapt down from the dashboard to the passenger seat.

"What now?" Simone asked. "Go back?"

"Not while she’s looking for me." Merry said. "Your idea worked. Let her sleep on it for now."

"Right." Simone started the van. "Onto target number two."

"Not yet." Merry said. "What do we know about this cult she is in?"

"Not a lot." Simone said. "Why?"

"She’s been worked over." Merry said. "Someone has been beating her on a regular basis."

{We saw the bruises.}

{This actually makes her more of a candidate for Dollopolis than before.}

"I know." Merry said. "But it could also mean trouble. I’d also like to know why she bound her breasts like that."

{Agreed.}

{We will investigate the cult.}

"Thank you." Merry said.

"All done?" Simone asked.

"Yes." Merry said.

"Good, now as I was saying on to target number 2."

"Who is she?" Merry asked. It was strange to ride in the front seat and not be able to see the road. For a moment Merry was reminded of when she was a little girl and riding in the front seat was a privilege.

"Snowbelle Strongbolt."

"As in the daughter of Julia Strongbolt?"

"Younger sister." Simone said. "Her mother died when she was born and her father went down in the Pacific while he was flying to a business trip in Hong Kong."

"I thought no one with living relatives." Merry said.

"Snowbelle doesn’t really have a good relationship with her sister." Simone said. "The terms of the will stated that Julia was to inherit the estate only if she looked after Snowbelle until she was 18 years old. After that the estate and the business are hers and she’s boasted that she is going to throw Snowbelle out."

"Nice." Merry said. "How old is Snow now?"

"She’s 17 until next month." Simone said.

"So after next month nothing?"

"Nothing but a twenty million dollar trust fund." Simone said.

"That’s nothing?" Merry demanded.

"Not compared to her sister getting the one hundred million dollar shipping empire." Simone said.

"Ok, if she’s going to get twenty million dollars why would she want to go Dollopolis? It is a one way trip isn’t it?"

"Not completely." Simone said. "Everyone who is going to live in Dollopolis except me will live there. There should be no reason to leave, and if they do wish to leave for a trip to someplace or another they can, but with restrictions."

"So why would someone who’s rich want to live in there?"

"Community, purpose and simply the fact that not everyone is satisfied with our society. Not to stress it too much Merry but you aside there are many girls who would rather live in Dollopolis than anyplace else."

Merry shook her head, mystified.

"You’ll see." Simone said.

"I guess." Merry replied though her voice showed how uncertain she was.

Strongbolt Mansion, like most of the founding family mansions, was built along the lines of an English estate. But in the case of the Reverend Jameson Strongbolt gothic touches had been added as well. The main house was a cross-shaped structure and at both sides of the cross were bell towers that reached into the sky. Gargoyle head downspouts directed water when it rained. Merry shivered as she saw the place.

"Not very inviting is it." Simone said seeing Merry’s reaction. "I went to Julia’s birthday party here once and some joker nearly deafened us with those bells."

"It’s kinda late." Merry said. "Will Snow be awake?"

Simone tapped a control on the dashboard and the screen came to life.

"She’s awake. She’s in a chat room arguing about who win if Enterprise-D went up against the Battlestar Galactica."

"Enterprise." Merry said automatically. "Wait a minute she’s a fangirl?"

"Very much so."

"But she’s rich."

"Why would that make a difference?" Simone asked looking at Merry.

"Well… I mean… rich… money…" Merry broke off. "I didn’t think rich people did…"

"The same things you did?"

"Well… yea." Merry said.

"Well we do." Simone said. "Or at least she does, I couldn’t tell a Battlestar from an eagle."

"It’s easy." Merry said. "Space 1999 was a different show with a lower budget."

Simone giggled and Merry found herself joining in.

"Well it did." Merry insisted and they both broke up laughing.

"Here." Simone said lifting Merry up. She placed her onto the cylon fighter and Merry got into the ship. Merry settled down into the ship and it lifted off.

"There’s another reason you want her for Dollopolis isn’t there?" Merry asked calmly.

{Of course.}

{Snowbelle is not only a fangirl like yourself, she is also a tech-geek and an artist."

{She is not as developed as we are, but she has an aptitude for theory and mechanics that, coupled with a smaller size, should allow her to create brilliant pieces of technology.}

{Under our guidance.}

"Dollopolis is going to have a class system isn’t it?" Merry asked. "Workers, thinkers…"

{Yes.}

{Simone will be the administrator of day to day chores.}

"Lizzie, Jessie, Monica will be workers." Merry said. "Putting together the stuff that you and Snowbelle design."

{Right.}

"Will it work?" Merry asked. "Will they be happy?"

{They will be Officer Dolly.}

{We are choosing with care.}

{The balance of personalities, desires physical and emotional are the key.}

{We have thought long and hard upon what makes people happy.}

"What does?" Merry asked.

{Security.}

{Personal choice.}

{Variety.}

{Love.}

{They will be happy. Everyone in Dollopolis will be happy.}

Merry wasn’t sure why but all of the hairs on her arms suddenly stood up as that last sentence appeared in her mind.

What about me, Merry wondered. Laughing with Simone had been the only happy moments she could remember since before The Group had taken her. What would be her roll in the small city?

The cylon fighter stopped across from a window and Merry looked into Snowbelle’s bedroom. It was a bit like the view Merry would have had if she had seen a museum of eighteenth century furniture. The bed was a canopy style with deep velvet curtains. There was a throw rug on the floor and the walls were paneled in deep mahogany. The dresser and the desk were all old, all clean. In fact the room was so clean Merry wasn’t even sure it was lived in. Then she saw Snowbelle sitting on the floor tapping away at a laptop. She didn’t fit the room. Her long black hair was multiple-braided and hung past her shoulders. Her skin was well tanned. Her face surprised Merry. Her eyes were outlined with Egyptian style designs and more Egyptian symbols were drawn on her face. She was wearing a white tunic that was open at the sides and belted with a wide gold belt that was almost a girdle.

"Man you never know what you’re going to find at the other end of a chat room." Merry said.

{She is a passionate role player.}

{Aside from the argument about the Enterprise and Galactica she is also participating in an on-line role playing game where she is servant to an Egyptian queen.}

{In nearly 80% of her on-line rpg chatting she plays a submissive in one way or another.}

{As noted Officer Dolly, we chose carefully.}

"Has she ever been in a room where small women are talked about?"

"Yes, and nearly all the time she chooses to play the shrunken woman." Simone said. "Some of her on-line chat logs are so erotic they make me blush."

"She seems to be done." Merry said.

In the room the teenager had set the lap top onto the floor and stood up. She stood no taller than four feet five inches but her figure was decidedly girlish. She had wide hips and a small chest. She bowed to the laptop and then tapped out a command on the keyboard with her toes. It went dark and Snowbelle stretched and yawned.

Merry felt a hum as the cylon fighter moved closer to the window. Opening the top hatch she climbed out and steadied herself. The air outside of Strongbolt mansion was cleaner, with more pine than car exhaust and Kentuky Fried Chicken. Merry heard a few bats flying around the towers but wasn’t too worried. Owls she would worry about, but not bats.

The fighter moved to the window and Merry stepped onto the brick. There were no dead bugs or spiderwebs here. In the room Snowbelle had take off her Egyptian tunic and put on an oversized T-shirt that read ‘Die Orc’. She was just pulling the covers off of her bed when Merry knocked on the window.

Unlike Monica Snowbelle looked up immediately. Her eyes went just as wide and Merry smiled and waved at her.

"I hope this one doesn’t throw up." Merry said.

Snowbelle didn’t look sick at all. She scrambled over the bed and stumbled in a rush toward the window so quickly that Merry felt a stab of fear. She felt the fighter move slowly back and suddenly wished it would go faster.

"Wait!" Snowbelle said opening the window. She leaned out and made a grab for Merry, coming just short in her reach.

Merry kept smiling as the ship pulled her further away from the exited young woman.

{You might want to say something.}

"What?" Merry whispered.

"Come back!" Snowbelle shouted.

"The Galactica wouldn’t last against the Enterprise!" Merry shouted.

"Wha!?" Snowbelle’s mouth dropped open and the stunned look on her face was almost comical.

{That wasn’t what we had in mind.}

{Tell her that ‘A grand life is possible for her.’}

"A grand life is possible for you!" Merry shouted. The fighter had continued to move further and further back. Snowbelle ducked back inside her room and reappeared a second later with a video camera. A beam of light flashed across the night sky.

{Down!}

Merry needed no urging but she was a split second too slow. She slammed her body down onto the ship but not before the light from the camera fully illuminated her body. Merry held on as the ship suddenly pulled high-G’s and when they stopped Merry saw that she was directly over the mansion.

"Are you alright Merry?" Simone asked.

"Yea." Merry said getting her breath back. "I thought she’d just have a flashlight or something."

{We underestimated her as well.}

{Still, no real harm done. The picture will not be very clear.}

{Our tap into her isp will prevent her from posting it on the net.}

{Aren’t you glad you were wearing clothes?}

"Big time." Merry said. She looked over the edge of the fighter. Bellow her Snowbelle was walking around the lawn with a flashlight and the camera. "I think I’d better get out of here."

Merry climbed back into the fighter and it moved off.

"I’ll get started." Simone said. "I’ll meet you at the end of the street."

A few minutes later Merry felt the clamps take hold of the fighter. She opened the hatch and climbed out.

"That was thrilling." Simone said.

Merry said nothing but climbed into the front seat.

"Well we know she’s curious." Simone said.

"We also know she’s got quick reflexes." Merry said.

"Care to come to the mansion? You can pick up a box of comics if you want."

"Thanks." Merry said.

"I’m going to take a moonlight swim." Simone said.

"The pool is ready? That was quick."

"Money moves mountains." Simone said smiling.

"I swim in my bathtub." Merry said.

"Really? Very practical, but not great for tanning."

"Not really." Merry agreed.

"Now for a really good…"

What ever else Simone was going to say was lost in a split second. With a cut-off curse she slammed on the breaks and spun the steering wheel. Merry hadn’t thought of strapping her self in and the seatbelt was too large for her anyway. She had an instant to realize that was a mistake before her head made contact with the dashboard.

Merry woke up with her head pounding. She tried to remember what had happened but the pain got in her way.

"How is she?"

The voice came from just beside her. Merry was laying down on something soft. For a moment she didn’t recognize the voice. Then someone else spoke.

"We shouldn’t be in here."

Lizzie and Jessie. She was in danger! Merry opened her eyes and reacted. Her arm shot out and grabbed Lizzie’s arm. With a growl Merry twisted the young girl around and shoved her into the wall. Even before Lizzie hit it Merry had launched herself out of the bed and wrapped Jessie in a bear hug. Jessie screamed in fright and tried to fight loose but Merry just squeezed harder.

"No wait!" Lizzie shouted grabbing Merry from behind.

Lizzie’s weight through them off balance and all three women fell to the floor. Merry reacted instinctively. She lashed out at Jessie’s stomach and then sat up. Both arms flashed and each of her hands took hold of a throat.

Lizzie and Jessie both clawed at her arms, each of them gurgling out a desperate plea that Merry was only beginning to hear. The pounding in her head was giving way to thought. Still it took enormous self control to loosen her grip on their throats as Merry finally came completely to herself.

"What’s going on?" Merry demanded.

Both of the teens gurgled and tried to speak but failed.

"Let them go Merry." Delilah said.

Merry instantly let go of the girls and looked around. For the first time she saw where she was. The sight was surreal. Beyond weird. She was in a bedroom. The bedroom held a bed, a dresser, a wardrobe and a small chest. If she hadn’t turned around Merry would have guessed that she was normal sized and in a normal sized room. But she turned around at Delilah’s command and saw the room wasn’t normal sized. It had only three walls. The far wall was open and Merry had a view of a bedroom that dwarfed the one she was in. Merry had an impression for a moment of being in a perspective drawing where everything gets smaller as you look toward the center. Delilah, wearing white lab coat, stood in the bedroom and her cold angry gaze was not directed at Merry. Instead it fixed on the cowering twins. Merry tried to stand but fell onto her side as a wave of dizziness took her.

"We told you not to go near her." Delilah said. "We specifically told you not to go near her."

Merry knew that tone of voice all to well. Knew it and dreaded it. Delilah was angry.

"We… we heard her moaning Mistress." Jessie gasped out between coughs.

"You didn’t think that we knew she was waking up?"

"No." Lizzie said. "Mistress, please we were just trying to help."

They were terrified, Merry realized. More than terrified. Both of the teens were huddled against each other and the wall. There wasn’t a word in the English language strong enough for the emotion they were feeling.

They’ve been punished before, Merry thought. Just like me.

"You help by following orders." Delilah said.

"Delilah it’s ok." Merry said. Again she tried to stand and this time managed it. She felt her stomach lurch as Delilah turned that awful gaze on her but Merry didn’t falter. "I woke up with my head pounding and I just reacted."

"You reacted to a stimulus that should not have been there." Delilah said. "Your head injury was not as serious as we first thought but you did need rest."

"She seems to have gotten enough." Deborah said stepping into the room. She too was wearing a white lab coat. "The scan is clear."

Lizzie raised her hand and after a moment Delilah nodded.

"We were just trying to help Mistress." Lizzie said. "We heard her moan and…"

"Enough." Delilah said cutting Lizzie off.

After a look with her sister Delilah and Deborah took a few steps away and talked together. Merry sat down on the bed and felt her head. It still ached but the pounding pain was gone. There was no bandage and the rest of her felt all right. Merry suddenly realized that she was naked. Mentally she shrugged the fact off. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Lizzie and Jessie hugging each other and trembling. Both teens were wearing gray tunics that were soaked in sweat. Merry could guess why. Merry remembered all too well the fear that came with The Group’s punishments.

"For this once you’re forgiven." Delilah said as she and her sister walked back to them.

"Thank you mistress." Lizzie and Jessie said at the same time.

"How long have I been out?" Merry asked.

"A few days." Deborah said.

"What happened?"

"Simone saw a deer crossing the road and she swerved to avoid it." Delilah said. "In the process she crashed into a tree and you crashed into the car. Quite a strong little head you have there Officer Dolly."

"What about Simone?" Merry asked.

"Air bag." Deborah said. "She’ll be fine."

Merry took a breath and let it out. Then she looked around again. Now that she was calmer Merry could see that she was in a doll house and that the doll house was in Simone’s room.

Delilah looked steadily at Jessie and Lizzie and both teens wilted under the look.

"This is your house isn’t it?" Merry asked them.

"Yea." Lizzie said.

"It’s nice."

"I take it your defense of them your enmity concerning these two has faded?" Deborah asked.

Merry had only a few moments to make up her mind. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Delilah. Always the most dangerous of The Group Delilah was foremost in wanting to punish and far too clever in how she punished. The twins had escaped her for now, but that only meant that later on Delilah would be waiting and watching. Delilah was frequently in Merry’s nightmares. Looking at Lizzie and Jessie Merry remembered the rape and what they had done to Margarita. Merry remembered it and then shoved the memory out of her mind. They were two kids; two scared kids and turning them over to Delilah would just give Merry more nightmares.

They want me over it! Merry realized. The Group didn’t want her to hate Lizzie and Jessie. That was why they had put Merry into the twin’s house. They knew what would happen.

Everything went through Merry’s mind at once and it only took her a moment to make the decision.

"Yea I’m clear about it." Merry said.

"Good." Deborah said. She reached into the doll house and picked them all up. "Now lets go talk to the new Duchess of Dollopolis."

Merry wasn’t too surprised when Deborah carried them outside. She could tell that Lizzie and Jessie were scared but Merry knew better. As long as she was with one of The Group, even if she was small and naked, she was safe. It was early morning and the air still smelled a bit like night. There was also a hint of a mist in the air that signaled the coming fall. Merry would have loved the air if she were jogging. It was the kind of air that filled her lungs and made the blood race through her veins. Deborah carried them over to the pool. The pool was large, larger than Merry had guessed it would be. It was circular and there was a patio built onto an island in the pool’s center. Two flat bridges, barely above the water, led to the patio. Seen from above Merry realized that the pool would look like two circles, one in the center of the other with a line through the center of both of them. A table and chairs had been set up on the patio. As they got closer Merry realized that there was a hot tub beside the table and she realized that the pool was bigger than she had first thought.

Deborah set Merry and the twins on the edge of the whirlpool and Merry’s sense of scale took another blow. Floating naked on a small pool chair was Simone. She wasn’t full sized, but she wasn’t as small as Merry or Lizzie or Jessie. Simone was twice their height.

Merry stared at her. Simone’s slim body was tanned and getting more so. It was a lean body with surprisingly full breasts and bright pink nipples. The lower half of her body bobbed in and out of the water and the red patch of hair between her legs seemed to wink at Merry.

"This is how you get a great tan." Simone said smiling. "Glad to see you’re feeling better Merry."

"She has a hard head." Deborah said. She unzipped her lab coat and took it off. Then she stepped into the hot tub. Delilah joined her and Merry realized that the lab coats had been the only things they had been wearing. Once in the water Deborah picked up Lizzie and Delilah picked up Jessie. After pulling the clothes from the shrunken teens both of the giants dropped them into the water.

"Come over here girls." Simone called as Delilah moved behind her.

Somewhat clumsily Lizzie and Jessie swam over to her. Merry blinked as she saw small and smaller next to normal size.

"Don’t worry Officer Dolly." Deborah said. She reached over and picked Merry up. Leaning back she placed Merry onto her left breast and Merry balanced there. "Your eyes are working just fine."

Merry swallowed as she felt Deborah’s breast between her legs. Deborah was leaning back just enough so that she wouldn’t slip down. The warm water rose up and down just past her ankles. She could feel Deborah’s breath on her back and neck. Jessie and Lizzie reached Simone’s pool chair and hung off of the edge of it. After a bit of clumsy pulling and Delilah reaching over and steadying the chair they managed to climb up onto it. Simone crossed her legs and sat up and Jessie and Lizzie crossed their legs and sat in front of her.

"They did a nice job on the pool." Merry said trying to force her mind away from the feelings that Jessie, Lizzie and Simone were sending out. The three of them weren’t doing anything but the way Simone was looking at the twins made it clear what she wanted to happen.

"The design is practical and decorative." Deborah said.

"Directly beneath us is Dollopolis." Delilah said. "The pool will hide the duchy from any satellite scans."

"Who’d look?" Merry asked.

"No one yet, but someday someone might." Deborah said.

Lizzie had raised her hand and Delilah nodded.

"What’s a ‘duchy’ mistress?"

"A small community, a kingdom really." Delilah said. "The old Dollopolis was not working as a good place to put shrunken people."

"Even with you two," Deborah said, "even with the punishments you knew we would meet out, we had problems."

Lizzie and Jessie squirmed a bit at the tone in her voice.

"In fact we were going to abandon that part of the project and rely strictly on Officer Dolly for our needs." Delilah said.

Merry felt a twinge of sympathy as she saw the look of fright on the twin’s faces. ‘Abandon’, as Delilah used the word, sounded sinister.

"But Officer Dolly made a rather impassioned plea that spurred our creative processes." Deborah said. "The problem was not with the city, it was with the way things were run."

"You two need discipline." Delilah said. "And I’m sure the ones who come after you will need it as well."

"That’s where I come in." Simone said.

"You’ll notice that Simone is twice as large as you are." Deborah said. "That is not by accident. Once the city is complete Simone will rule it, managing the day to day affairs."

"So from this moment on you will call her ‘Duchess’ or ‘My lady.’" Delilah said.

"Or ‘milady’ if you want to shorten it." Deborah added. "She will tell you what to do and when to do it."

"And you will obey." Delilah added firmly. "We are building a dungeon into her castle after all."

"It’s alright." Simone said leaning forward and putting her hands on Lizzie and Jessie’s shoulders. "I’m not going to be a tyrant."

The twins sagged in relief and Jessie put up her hand. Deborah nodded.

"You said other people mistress, will Merry be living with us?"

"No." Deborah said. "Though she will I’m sure spend some time there. We need Officer Dolly in the big lands."

Merry gave a short scream and they looked up to see Bobby and Betty walking across the bridge. Instinctively Merry tried to cover her nudity with her hands. Both of the teens were carrying trays and both were wearing blue jumpsuits.

"Don’t worry Dolly." Delilah said.

Bobby walked over to the edge of the tub and knelt down to present the tray to Delilah while Betty did the same to Deborah.

"We brought the snacks you wanted." Bobby said.

Merry looked at the trays. There was cheese, crackers, what looked like chocolate milk and bowls of ice cream. The food was a mix of normal sized servings and servings that were made for Simone and the smaller women. The sight of food reminded Merry that she hadn’t eaten yet but the sight of Betty and Bobby stopped her from moving. Jessie and Lizzie were also rooted to the spot.

"It’s alright girls." Delilah said.

"Watch." Deborah said. She picked Merry up off of her breast and held her up to Betty. "Betty do you like Merry’s bathing suit?"

"It’s nice." Betty said looking straight at her.

"Ah… Thanks." Merry said.

"You two better get moving on the rest of the chores." Deborah said. "Your mother will be here at one."

"The young are so easy to hypnotize." Delilah said as they walked off.

"They didn’t see us?" Lizzie asked Jessie.

"They did." Deborah said.

"They just say you at full size and clothed." Delilah said.

Deborah put Merry back on her beast and handed her a cheese cracker. Merry took it and started to eat. Soon they were all eating and it was a scene that Merry felt could have equaled the tea party in Alice in Wonderland.

"Simone needs someone to clean the house after all." Deborah said. "Fate dropped those two into her lap."

"But they’re only kids." Merry protested.

"It’s a part time job." Simone said. "A few nights a week, a Saturday here and there. They get paid, learn a bit of responsibility and stay out of trouble."

"What about their mother?" Merry asked.

"Easily hypnotized as well." Deborah said. "We’ve made some slight improvements to the kids attitudes that should help her. Betty is finally going to do the dishes without griping and Bobby doesn’t have to be told ten times to take out the garbage."

"And of course they are both going to apply themselves more in school." Delilah said.

"Little things count." Simone said.

"That was so weird." Jessie said munching on a cracker. "He looked right at me, right at my boobs and he didn’t see them?"

"Disappointed?" Delilah asked.

"Well… sorta."

"Think of how Officer Dolly felt." Deborah asked.

Merry blushed as the others laughed. Deborah picked up one of the tiny bowls of ice cream and handed it too her. The bowl was silver and inlaid with Celtic designs. There was a tiny spoon as well and Merry dug in. It was chocolate and she loved chocolate.

"You don’t realize it Dolly but you are eating a Lizzie creation." Delilah said.

"You made this?" Merry asked between bites.

Lizzie nodded while chewing.

"They are becoming good craftswomen." Simone said. "I can’t wait until they do some miniatures for my D&D games."

"You play D&D?" Merry asked.

"You really don’t know much about me do you?" Simone asked.

"Guess not." Merry said.

"Simone’s games were not regulation." Deborah said.

Simone, Deborah and Delilah all laughed at once and a look from Merry warned Jessie and Lizzie not to ask.

"At their size it will be more like sculpting than casting." Delilah said. "And players demand quality."

"A good mini can make or break a character." Merry said seeing the confusion on Lizzie’s and Jessie’s faces. "In Dungeons and Dragons the miniature becomes you, or you become the minature. I’ve seen players hold funerals for minis or build shrines to them."

"There is a games shop opening in the mall you know." Deborah said.

"There is?" Merry asked.

"Tremont and Molly are seeing to it." Delilah said. "They’ve found a nice young couple and are training them as we speak."

"I didn’t know the town had a gaming community that could support a gameshop." Merry said.

"There isn’t." Deborah said. "Ultima Comics will enlarge and the gameshop will be added to it."

"There is enough of a gaming community for you to join." Delilah said.

"Me?" Merry nearly dropped the ice cream.

"You need a social outlet that does not involve shrinking or sex." Deborah said.

"But…"

"Do not argue Officer Dolly." Delilah said in a tone of voice that caused Lizzie and Jessie to stop eating.

"It will be fine Merry." Simone said.

"Will you be there?" Merry asked hopefully.

"No." Deborah said. "This must be separate for you. We know best Dolly."

"Ok." Merry said. "I’ll join."

"Of course you will." Delilah said.

"If nothing else comes of it maybe we’ll find more Dollopolis recruits there." Simone said. "After all the people who go for those things are tired of this society already."

"No kidding." Merry said remembering her own gaming days. The memories were mostly pleasant and she tried to forget that she didn’t have a choice.

"Of course in Dollopolis we will also have games." Simone said smiling. "And plays and possibly even a movie or two."

"Can we still keep our house milady?" Lizzie asked.

"Of course." Simone said. "But you will also have rooms in my castle."

"We will?" Jessie asked.

"Jessie." Delilah said sternly.

"Milady?" Jessie added.

"Yes." Simone said. "I’ll need help with some things after all."

Lizzie and Jessie looked at her with new respect and Merry realized that she had finished the ice cream.

"More ice cream Merry?" Delilah asked.

"No thanks." Merry said.

"You needn’t worry." Deborah said softly taking the dish from her. "The games will be fun."

Merry felt her spirits lift at the tone in Deborah’s voice. She knew why of course, it was the same reason that she strove with all her might to serve them; they were more like gods to her than they were fellow human beings. What they had done-the miracles she had seen them perform- they awed Merry. She couldn’t imagine The Group doing anything wrong. And-deep down- Merry was too terrified of making them angry to displease them in anyway. It was a realization that Merry rationalized whenever she could and now was no different.

They’re looking out for me, Merry told herself.

She held up the empty ice cream dish. "Could I have cracker?"

"Why not." Deborah said. She reached over and picked up a cheese cracker. "Here you go." She said holding it in front of Merry. Merry reached for it and Deborah pulled it back. Merry looked back over her shoulder and saw a mischievous look in Deborah’s eyes. Turning back to the cheese she lurched forward caught it in her mouth and pulled back.

"Well done." Deborah said smiling and Merry felt a warm feeling fill her.

"Let me try." Simone said. She picked up a piece of cheese and held it in front of Lizzie. Smiling Lizzie lurched forward but she went a bit too far and missed. She fell into Jessie and the two of them fell into the water and that unbalanced the chair and Simone fell backward into the water with a splash.

Merry laughed and it was the first pure laughter she could remember in a long time.

"Not as easy as it looks is it." She called out to them.

"You got more to balance on." Jessie called out.

"Oh come on I’m not that big." Deborah said.

"Oh yea?" Merry stood up carefully digging her toes into Deborah’s breast.

"Watch those toenails Dolly." Deborah said laughing. She reached over and picked up another piece of cheese.

"No hands!" Simone called.

"No hands." Merry agreed. She folded her arms behind her back and bent her knees slightly. Deborah moved the cheese in front of her head and Merry shifted forward grabbed it in her mouth and pulled back.

"Yes!" Merry shouted as she chewed raising both arms in victory.

"BOO!" Lizzie and Jessie shouted. They started to splash her.

The splashing caught Merry off guard and she slipped and fell backward against Deborah’s breast.

"Contest!" Simone called out.

Reaching over Deborah picked up Jessie while Delilah picked up Lizzie. They settled the twins on their breasts and after a few tries both girls managed to stay on their feet. Deborah and Delilah both picked up pieces of cheese and held them out. Merry sat down on Deborah’s other breast and waited. Just as Jessie was going to grab the cheese Merry reached down and grabbed a handful of water, using it to splash Jessie. Jessie screamed and lost her balance falling off of Deborah’s breast and into the water.

She surfaced sputtering and swam back.

"I got it!" Lizzie cried out.

Merry was distracted long enough for Jessie to grab her ankle and pull her off balance. Merry balanced for a moment on one leg and then fell into the water.

Oh no you don’t, Merry thought. She kept her eyes open and swam underneath Jessie surfacing behind her. Merry grabbed Jessie in a bear hug and wrapped her legs around the teen’s waist.

"Gotcha!" Merry said laughing. "Now say you’re sorry."

There was no anger in her. Merry would realize that later. For the first time in as long as she could remember there was no murderous rage or overwhelming need to hurt. There wasn’t even the feeling that she was going to do something for The Group. For the first time in a long, long while Merry was just lost in the fun of the moment.

"Gotcha!" Lizzie shouted grabbing Merry from behind. As Merry had done with Jessie Lizzie wrapped her legs around Merry from behind.

They all thrashed in the water at once and quickly realized that no one could get free.

"Ok, break it up!" Simone shouted swimming over to them. Taller than any of them she was also a little stronger and tried to pull them apart. But the water offered her little leverage and all she did was add to the chaos.

Suddenly Merry felt Lizzie running her fingers up and down Merry’s side. Merry started to laugh and in retaliation started to tickle Jessie. Jessie managed to grab hold of Simone’s feet and tickle her. For a few minutes the chaos was absolute as mutual tickling and slapping took place. But since everyone also needed to stay above the surface they all quickly tired out. It all ended when Deborah and Delilah, who had stayed out of the battle, reached in and picked them up one at a time and put them on the hot patio.

Merry lay on her back breathing heavily. She heard a moan and looked up. Simone was on her back as well, but Jessie and Lizzie were lying on top of her, pinning her larger body down with their smaller ones. Simone’s tongue was between Jessie’s legs while Lizzie laying on Simone’s stomach and running her hands up and down the slit on Simone’s vagina.

For a moment Merry felt an urge to join them. But she fought it down and looked away.

"I think we can leave them alone for a while don’t you?" Deborah said picking Merry up.

"Definitely." Delilah said.

"Let’s get you home and get you some real rest Officer Dolly." Deborah said. "You have a big night of appearances tonight."

Merry let herself go limp in Deborah’s hand and drifted pleasantly off to sleep.

This time the van was deep green. Simone picked Merry up at her house after sunset. It had gotten cloudy in the afternoon and now it was more than partly cloudy. The half moon and the stars drifted into and out of sight. It was also colder than it had been before. Merry had prepared by wearing a light black jacket and jeans with sneakers.

"Ready?" Simone asked. She was wearing a black jumpsuit.

"Yea." Merry said.

"I’ll try not to crash this time."

"That would be good." Merry said.

"It’s a pity you didn’t stay this afternoon." Simone said.

"Wasn’t two enough for you?" Merry asked amazed.

"Oh it was wild." Simone purred. "I have made love to women before, even two women, twins as you know being my choice, but to be so… large… while they are sooooooo… smallllll… Their little hands and tiny tongues…" Simone sighed. "You have no idea."

"Guess not." Merry said keeping her voice neutral.

"They reached me in places no one ever thought of even looking for before!" Simone said.

"Do we know if Monica and Snowbelle showed up at the mall?" Merry asked trying to change the subject.

"Debbie and Del checked the security tapes." Simone said. "They were there."

"Well let’s see what happens tonight." Merry said.

"Well I doubt they’ve forgotten you. Here we are." Simone pulled the van to a stop.

{Are you ready?}

"I’m ready." Merry said unzipping her jacket.

Once again Merry felt reality tear away from her for a moment. When the world reformed Merry was resting against her crumpled up jacket. She looked up to see Simone staring at her.

"I planned better this time." Merry said. No bra, no underwear."

"No kidding." Simone said staring at her. She handed Merry the green dress.

Merry sighed and climbed into it. She could feel Simone’s desire and it took a good deal of self control not to call it her own. She climbed into the cylon fighter and waited.

"This time they are there." Simone said.

{We put a bug in the room. They have been preying for hours.}

{Hopefully that will end soon.}

Merry felt the fighter take off.

{We will guide you through what to say.}

{No fangirl moments this time please.}

The fighter had flown over the motel and reached the window. After about twenty minutes the bathroom door opened and Monica walked in. She was wearing a multi-colored robe that looked like it might have been at home at Woodstock. Merry climbed onto the top of the fighter and braced herself as it floated to the window.

"I hope she doesn’t throw up this time." Merry said.

She stepped onto the windowsill and peered in. Monica was brushing her teeth. Merry waited until she spit out and then tapped on the window.

Monica’s head shot up as if someone had fired a gun. Her eyes again went wide and she walked toward the window. Merry slowly took a few steps back until she was on the fighter. Then she stood and waited.

"Don’t go." Monica pleaded softly once she had cranked the window open.

Merry stayed where she was and Monica started to reach for her.

"No hands." Merry said.

Monica pulled her hand back.

{Go slowly. Do not spook her.}

{You know her name, start talking to her.}

{Find out how she feels about her current life.}

{And if she’d like a change.}

"Hello Monica." Merry said.

"Hi." Monica answered. She was standing rigidly still, barely breathing.

"I’m here to talk to you." Merry said. "About your life."

"Wha…?"

"Your life." Merry repeated.

"What about it?" Monica asked her eyebrows coming together in puzzlement.

"Are you enjoying it?" Merry asked. "Do you like serving this lord Aegis."

Monica winced at the name.

"Got no other choice." She said.

"Would you like one?"

"Me?"

"Yes."

"Why me?"

"Why not you?"

The puzzlement returned and Merry felt sorry for her. That sort of puzzlement was what she had seen in many kids with no family or friends. It was the puzzlement, the dawning amazement, that life could actually improve.

"It’s very simple." Merry said. "If you want I can give you a whole new life. No more beatings, no more prayer."

"What does it cost?" Monica asked and Merry recognized the cynical tone of someone who had never been given anything good in life.

"I need to be honest here." Merry whispered.

{Go ahead.}

"What?"

"I’m going to be honest." Merry said. "I can show you a better life, not a perfect life, but a better one. I’m not doing it for entirely selfless reasons, but I am offering it. If you take it I can promise you safety, I can promise you fairness. I can’t promise you riches."

"How do I know it’s better?"

"You don’t." Merry said. "But do you want to keep playing a religious servant the rest of your life?"

"It’s not so bad." Monica said.

{Ask her about the farm.}

"What about the farm?" Merry asked.

"The farm?" Monica repeated dumbly.

"The farm." Merry repeated.

"I can’t go back there."

{It was her last foster home, six months there and at the end she burned down a barn. But she has an affinity toward farming.}

"I know you can’t." Merry said wishing the group had told her some of this before she got to the window. "But you were happy there. You liked growing things."

"Yea, so?"

{Ask if she would like to do that again.}

"Would you like to do that again?"

"Maybe." Monica said, but there was tone in her voice that Merry recognized as hope.

{That is enough for now.}

{Tell her to come to the park alone tomorrow evening.}

{At sunset she should be on the bench next to the statue of Howitzer Pennytorch.}

{There her questions will be answered and she will have to make a choice.}

"I’m out of time." Merry said. "If you’re interested then come to the park alone tomorrow evening at sunset. Sit by the statue of Howitzer Pennytorch. Questions can’t be answered till then."

"What if I say no?"

"Then you go back to praying." Merry said. She felt the glider begin to move back into the night. "Your choice." She called.

Monica didn’t say anything. But she stayed at the window for a few minutes. Merry watched until she cranked it shut and then got back into the fighter.

{Very nicely done Officer Dolly.}

"Thank you." Merry said. "I hope Snowbelle will go this good."

It was darker when they reached Strongbolt Mansion. Merry had spent the trip wondering about Monica. What would she, could she say to the young woman tomorrow?

‘Hi, I’m going to bring you to people who’ll shrink you down so you can serve them?’ Merry ran trough the idea in her mind and rejected it.

"I’d like to see Dollopolis." She asked aloud as Simone drove up to the road alongside Strongbolt mansion. "I’m not sure I can convince Monica or Snowbelle that they’ll have a better life if I’ve never even seen the place."

{It’s not done yet.}

"I’m afraid my castle is taking up a lot of their time." Simone had said.

"But what will I say?"

{We will guide you when the time comes.}

"I think you should trust them Merry." Simone had said.

"I guess." Merry replied.

Now she was standing on the cylon fighter slowly moving toward Snowbelle’s window. There was a light on and on the other side of the bed Merry saw the top of Snowbelle’s head. Merry shivered. The night had gotten darker and colder and the Tinkerbelle dress was by no means warm. And there was something else wrong.

As the ship got closer to the window Merry couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. She tensed and looked around. When the ship was only a foot away from the window Merry saw something coming at her out of the corner of her eye. She ducked but it caught her a glancing blow and Merry tumbled off of the ship with a cry of surprise. For a second she was falling then she was caught. Merry struggled and twisted but only found herself more and more enmeshed in the fishing net. Still struggling she was pulled into the open window beside Snowbelle’s room.

…To be continued

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