While most of the student body was busy either trying to process all that had happened or relentlessly abusing their new status over the innocent citizens of Central London, others headed further out into the outskirts, away from the unfolding chaos. Some wanted additional space, without the need to shimmy around clustered buildings or tightrope-walk their way through way-too-narrow streets; others were simply curious to see what the world looked like at their new size.
There was plenty to occupy a giant schoolboy out in the great wild yonder of the British Isles. Chasing down tiny specks while they fled from their homes quickly proved a popular pastime, along with leaving prominent foot and butt prints on the soft, squishy ground as they passed through the fields.
Two boys, however, wanted nothing to do with any of this unfolding chaos. There were other, more important matters to attend to.
After the meeting at the Academy had been dismissed, Vahid Dovel and Percy Macintyre headed straight back to Hanwell to check up on how the former's folks were doing. At the time they'd experienced their respective growth spurts, Vahid had been staying at Percy's old cottage home down by the lake, famed for being adjacent to an old, withered oak tree that had been around for a thousand years.
Needless to say, while Jarvis's family was alive and well, Percy's family was not. Nor that old oak tree, come to think of it. Poor thing just couldn't handle the strain of a preteen's back on its trunk.
That was why Vahid was here, awkwardly squatting 'behind' a two-bedroom house that couldn't even reach his ankles while he tried his best to comfort the sobbing brunet to his right. It made for quite a contrast; while well-toned and sturdy from his time on the swim team, Vahid was only 60 or so feet compared to Percy's 86, so he had to reach up a fair bit to pat the latter's shoulder even as he curled further within himself.
At least no one would think of picking on him any time soon. That was one small upside.
The black-haired Persian-Anglo wasn't sure what else he could do; he'd never seen Percy be this inconsolable. The brunet had always been shy and soft-spoken, the kind of guy who hovered through life in a general null zone of quiet dissatisfaction, but he was never an outright downer. Though he wanted nothing more than to drift through his school years unnoticed by the general student population, he never hesitated to give a helping hand when someone needed it. The day Percy stood up for him when he was getting jeered right and left by half the Academy because of who he was, he'd ensured Vahid would stay loyal to him for as long for as long as he lived
Naturally, for that one bit of kindness, Percy had been rewarded with attention from all the wrong types. Someone as weedy and small as him already served as the perfect prey for the neanderthals and subhuman wastes of oxygen that infested the Academy. The moment he dared to stick up for a Muzzie, his social life was more or less over. And now, that legion of psychopaths had been given free rein to rampage and terrorize all of London. They didn't even pretend to care about the people that had been killed as a result of their spurts, most of them being their families. If anything, they looked happier than a pig in shit, as though their mums and pops had been an inconvenience to bear with out of lack any better alternative.
Bloody miserable gints, right down to the bone. They thought that because they had more money than brains, that gave them the right to treat everyone else like they came from the bottom of an overstuffed latrine.
Vahid sighed. This was all a right mess. Still, as much as he didn't want to admit it, he couldn't deny that the temptation to join them in their horseplay was strong. There was something liberating about being so clearly above society at large. All these tiny little matchbox dollhouses were so helplessly fragile, he could barely get within a few meters of one without wondering whether it would collapse from the footfalls. The streets cracked with even the slightest pressure, and sturdy redwoods could be plucked out of the ground simply by grasping at the trunk with his toes. With such unbridled power over the world, it was no wonder so many of them had decided to just have their way with London. Even the more modest among them had stopped caring about the fact that they were nude as the day they were born - the perks being a giant were just that good.
Vahid couldn't do that, though. Not when he needed to make sure mom and dad and Katie were doing ok, not when he was still was trying to console his best friend. He owed that much to that mop of brown hair with sterling green eyes that may or may not have been Irish.
"L-look, I know that...." Vahid sighed once more and swallowed up some of the bile that had been gathering at the back of his throat. "I don't have any right to say this, but I know your folks wouldn't have blamed you for what happened. I'm sure they're more worried 'bout you being all right, so please, you don't have to beat yourself up!"
The diffident boy curled up even further into himself and continued to quietly sob.
"L-look, you didn't know this would happen!" Vahid hastily sputtered. "None of us did! You'll have a home with us, I promise! As soon as this all dies down, we'll make sure you're nice and settled in, and you won't have to worry about nuffin. Don't, uh, ask us how we'll be fed. Or where we'll get shelter. Or - you know what, forget it. Me and my folks'll be here for you, 'nd that's all that counts!"
"D-don't worry..." Percy rubbed the tears out of his eyes. "I'll, *sniff*, I'll be alright. At least I actually care about my family, unlike some people."
Vahid winced, but he couldn't exactly say his friend was wrong. While most of them had been busy coming to terms with what had happened, whether it was shifting through the wreckage of the homes they outgrew or checking in on family, far too many had treated the whole thing like a game. On the way here, Vahid had seen a couple of giant blokes tossing people's houses around and treating the neighborhood like it was some kind of sand pit for them to freely muck around in. They may have thought this was all fun and games, but for how long would that last? If James and the others didn't manage to settle things with the mayor in time, the armed force would be called on them. As big and strong as they were, he wasn't sure that his skin was rocket-proof.
"So, er, what do you think?" Vahid looked away towards the horizon, where a line of cars was heading out of the neighborhood. There had been a lot of movement out of Greater London in general, and he understood why, but it still stung to be treated as a monster. "You don't mind becomin' a Dovel?"
"...I wouldn't mind that. Though, I'd still like to be called Macintyre."
"Glad to hear it." Vahid smiled. "'ll make sure you don't regret it."
Percy decided to head off back to his cottage home, both to wash himself by the lake and to scoop up what was left of the ruins. As Vahid waved him off, a faint yet boisterous voice managed to make it up to his ears.
"My, my! I see that you've gotten us a new tenant already!"
The giant boy turned around and looked down to see a tiny man with a brown mackintosh waving up at them. Karl Dover was a man of broad dimensions and even broader presence, so to see him as a little brown grade that they could pluck with their fingers was more than a little disquieting.
"What else could I do? He's got nothin' left." Vahid looked around, brows pinched, before continuing. "You... you really should get going, dad. It's dangerous for you to be here."
Before Karl could reply, the ground rumbled, causing his to stumble a bit. Vahid's eyes dilated with horror, and he whispered down harshly:
"Dad, get mom and Kaite, now! I'll handle this!"
The proud man knew better than to argue with his son. He swiftly complied, rushing through the back door to their home. With any luck, he'd be able to sneak his family out the front door before too much damage could be done.
With that settled, Vahid got up and brushed the dirt and tree remains off his legs and turned to face the nasty-looking giants that come up to him. They were two ugly boars on hind legs, the very ones that had Percy had to face day in and day out at the Academy. Naturally, because Allah wasn't merciful or kind, they were both much taller than Vahid. If he had to guess, they were both around 80 and 82 feet respectively. Not very good odds all around.
"Well, well." the shorter boar chuckled. "Looks like we caught the Muzzie coming up short."
"Can it, Boris!" the Persian spat. "We're supposed to be figuring out how we're going to live at this size, you boar! Unless you want the military to be on our asses, go take your fat ass somewhere else!"
"Can it back, Mohammed!" The other boar chortled. "We all know this country's armed forces ain't worth shit! If anything, they should be thanking us for clearing out the filth around London."
Vahid's eyes widened. "You... you haven't-!"
"Bet on it, towelhead. And guess what: you and your folks are up next!"
Vahid didn't have time to think before he was suddenly seized by the shoulders and forced down to his hands and knees. His head was hovering just over his house, nose just brushing against the roof while he desperately struggled to lift his back against the foot that had been firmly planted.
He already knew that struggling was useless - those bastards were just toying with him, waiting for the right moment to press down and crush his home to pieces. All he could do was hope that dad had managed to get the others out in time.
Right when this was about to happen:
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