"Are you okay?!" Kristofferson asked, only to swallow hard and gawk in astonishment at what he saw. Ash had become gigantic! The once tiny fox had dramatically risen to twice his size, and was just as amazed as his cousin.
"What... happened to me..?" Ash groaned, dazed but regaining awareness, "Why are you so small?"
"I'm not small," Kristofferson said, his voice full of worry, "You grew!"
"What??"
Indeed, the tree was roughly half as tall as it had originally appeared. He might not have been the brightest student in class, but Ash knew that trees didn't grow underground. The pair studied it in silence, as if acknowledging the presence of something magical. Whatever it was, it was a strange thing, and its small, banana-like fruit was quite a sight. Ash began to reach for one when Kristofferson threw out his arms and yelled, "What are you doing? Don't touch that!"
But it was too late. The enormous fox had plucked the fruit and was turning it over in his palm.
"Relax," Ash said dismissively, "The damage is already done. Besides, what if it's the key to making me little again?"
Ash felt like he was grinning inside. "Little again." He was no longer 'little'. He was big. Huge, even. Even his father, the "Fantastic" Mr. Fox would look up to him. He felt great! In fact, when he really focused on it, his whole body was pleasantly tingling. Is this what it was like to feel powerful? He'd always been particularly slender, lacking any muscle mass to speak of, but this was different. Noticing for the first time that his size change had also endowed him with an above-average physique, he scanned the toned definition of his forearm and flexed his bicep.
"I feel cussing fantastic," Ash beamed.
"Ash..." Kristofferson gasped, "You're still growing!"
Ash couldn't help but smile. "Yeah! I'm finally going to--"
"This isn't good at all, Ash. We've got to get you out of here and above ground! Come on! Through the crack, follow me!"
Normally cool under pressure, Kristofferson was visibly shaken. He maneuvered gracefully through the crack in the wall and started to run before suddenly realizing he'd left his cousin behind and doubled back. Ash was doing his best, and failing miserably, to squeeze through. "Cuss it!" Ash growled, and spit, "I can't make it!"
"Um..." Kristofferson thought, "Well, you're really big now. Try pushing on it."
"I am!"
Just then, as Ash gave it all his might, the bricks gave in and crumbled outward, giving him enough space to break through. Now roughly three times his usual size and growing, the young fox panted and wiped his brow. "Wow. This is crazy."
"The closest way out is over here," Kristofferson said, gesturing into the dark.
Ash hesitated. What would he do, once he was safely in the open? His folks would have a meltdown if he went home like this. He was huge, but not gigantic, not to mention that the tingling he'd felt had weakened. Maybe his growth spurt would stop, then he and his (considerably smarter) cousin could figure out how to shrink him back before anyone else could see. Ash glanced at the strange fruit he'd taken and considered his options.
"Let's go!" Kristofferson yelled.
What should he do?
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