Barry Lockridge was humming the tune to 'Hooked on a Feeling,' as he walked along. Behind him, Alexander Fitzhugh trotted along, his shirtsleeves rolled up, and his two top buttons undone. It was early summer in this hemisphere now, and the sun was burning down with all the intensity of the one native to Earth's solar system.

Chipper wasn't trailing behind Barry on this day. He'd been left back at the ship, while Barry, and Fitzhugh were being sent west towards the park to scout out possible food supplies. Fitzhugh had been in the middle of one of his mid-day naps, and naturally wasn't in the best of moods when the Captain sent him packing.

"A simple nap is all I ask for," Alex muttered, "after all, as the military branch of this motley bunch, it seems right that I should be entitled to rest in order to plan defenses, for our base camp. But no, I'm out here demoted to logistics."

"But Commander," Barry said from up ahead, "I thought you would've been pleased to be in charge of this expedition, considering the fuss you made about last nights dinner."

"Firstly my dear boy," Fitzhugh replied, "I was up all night last night on guard duty, so I should be allowed some rest, and secondly, a two day old chocolate bar is not what I would call dinner!"

"When I was much younger, did you know what I would've given to have something like that?"

"Yes, I understand youth," Fitzhugh snorted, "But I would love, just once, to sink my teeth into a nice juicy plump roast dinner." He then licked his lips and hummed at the thought. Then, his face sagged as he was brought back to reality. "Oh, what a miserable existence I live."

"Oh come on, Mr. Fitzhugh," Barry said, "There are plenty of people in both our world, and this one, who are much worse of than us."

"Worse off?" Fitzhugh scoffed, "How could theirs be worse than our lives? At least a poor man on this world and ours, can walk the streets without fear of being stepped on, or walk in the forest without worrying whether he's going to be some animals - or insects - lunch."

"That's not what I meant, commander," Barry said.

"Then by all means, my dear boy," Fitzhugh said waving him on, "Do explain."

"I mean, some people, giants I mean, are enemies of the state as well. What about all the people who are fighting to bring this government down? They're in the same boat we're in, however, they're a much bigger target. There are others because of their size, aren't able to get a decent meal at all."

Fitzhugh just snorted, and rolled his eyes.

***

Shiva walked along the small concrete path in the park. In front of her, her small white spaniel trotted along, sniffing this and that. He loved walks in the park, and it was one of the luxuries Shiva loved to grant him.

Behind her, Khan, her butler, strode at a pace that equalled her own dismal speed. Tall, and in his early fifties, Khan was in charge of looking after Shiva whenever she left the confines of the mansion. Then again, he'd been doing that job ever since Shiva could walk.

Watching Shiva sigh, he couldn't help but feel sorry for her. Her parents may be very rich industrialists, but they were business people first, and parents whenever they had the time. Which was like once a month. Shiva had grown up knowing Khan as her only true friend. None of the kids at the private school she went to hung around her at all, and the recent addition of Ratch, the small white spaniel, had only lifted her sprits for a few months.

What Shiva really needed, was a friend, her own age.

The walks in the park were sometimes in hope of meeting such a person, but other kids didn't want to play with her because of their parents. Most of who usually moved their picnic away whenever she wandered in their direction.

"Don't mix with their kind," she once heard a mother say to her son. "They might have parents on the High Council."

Shiva knew a plenty of kids who had parents in the government. Many teachers were afraid of those kids.

Shiva never really noticed when Khan approached her and placed a warm, caring hand on her shoulder.

"Cheer up, my dear," he told her, "It's a beautiful day. The sun is shining, and the air is fresh. And young ladies like yourself shouldn't be looking sad."

"Khan," she asked, "Do you know when mom and dad will be coming home?"

Khan thought for a moment. They hadn't been home in nearly three days. Business deals on the southern continent was the reason. "I'm afraid not, my dear," he answered truthfully. "I have not received any calls from them yet."

"I see," Shiva said sadly as she turned to look down at her feet.

At that moment, Ratch came back, tail wagging and a stick in his mouth.

"I do believe that Ratch would like to play," Khan said with a smile. The small white spaniel sat on his hind legs, his tail wagging, as he looked up at Shiva. She smiled, and took the stick from his mouth.

"You want the stick, huh boy?" He jumped up and down, his eyes following the sticks every move. "You really want it?" He barked loudly. "Fetch!" She cried out, and tossed the stick far off down the path. Ratch took after it like a bullet.

"Say," Khan said, turning his head a familiar smell. "Would you like a chilidog?"

"Yes please," she said, "And can Ratch have one as well?" Khan smiled down at her.

"Of course my dear," he said, patting her shoulder one more time, then headed off. "Try not to wander too far so I don't lose you," he called out after her.

Ratch came padding back, his tail wagging happily and the stick in his mouth. He dropped it at her feet, and looked up with pleading eyes.

"Fetch boy," she called out, as she tossed the stick again, with Ratch hot in pursuit.

***

"What was that?" Barry said, turning his head at the sound of something big and heavy crashing in the bushes off to the right.

"Probably just some falling bits of bark," Fitzhugh muttered as he was inspecting a discarded old paper napkin. "That's common around this area, especially with all these old trees." He then waved his finger at Barry. "Speaking of which, you ought to look up and mind your head."

"Yes, commander," Barry replied.

Fitzhugh leaned over and sniffed at the paper napkin. "Hmmm," he hummed, "Someone was eating a hotdog when they used this." He sighed and licked his lips. "Oooh, what I wouldn't give for one right now."

Suddenly, a loud crashing noise exploded, from the direction of the first crash. It shocked both Barry and Fitzhugh.

"What was that?" Barry exclaimed.

"That's no bark!" Alex gasped. "That's a giant!" He quickly ran and took cover among some tree roots. Barry ran and hid under the old paper napkin.

The tall grass was suddenly pushed aside, as the gigantic head of a White Spaniel pushed through. In his mouth, was a stick, obviously someone was playing fetch with the dog.

Barry smiled. He hadn't played a game of fetch with Chipper in days. Perhaps he could...

Suddenly, his smiled dropped, as the Spaniel turned it's had, and looked directly at Barry, or rather, the napkin. It dropped the stick in its mouth, plodded over, and started sniffing at the piece of trash.

Over by the tree roots, Fitzhugh's eyes were wide with fright. He'd seen Barry dive under the napkin, and realised what was happening. "The hotdog," he whispered, "It smells the hotdog. Barry, get out of there!"

Barry was to petrified too move. He was as still as a rock, his breathing quick and shallow. Hot air blasted the napkin, as the dog started sniffing, and blew under it, plastering Barry with a wave of hot air almost like a high intensity blow dryer.

Then, everything went deathly quiet.

Suddenly, there was an explosion of bright light, as the napkin was lifted off and flung aside. Barry, at first, didn't move. Blinded by the light, he only glanced up, his arm shielding his vision.

Looking around him, he saw that the dog was still interested in the napkin, and not him, sniffing at it, and occasionally licking. Barry let out a small chuckle, as he thanked his lucky stars.

"Barry!" He turned at the sound of his name being hissed. He saw Fitzhugh over by the tree roots, a worried expression on his face, as he waved his arm at the boy. "Come on!" He hissed again.

Barry took another glance at the dog, then shot up and ran like a sprinter for Fitzhugh.

Suddenly, the dog's head swung in Barry's direction, and in that moment, it saw the tiny boy. With a suddenly leap, it was in the air, and crashed down, almost on top of the poor boy.

Barry was thrown of his feet, as the dog landed down, its two front legs on ether side of him, and was sent head first into the dirt. At first, he didn't' move, because of the pain he was feeling. Then, the hot air blasted him again, and he looked up, right into the big, wet, black nose, of the Spaniel.

Barry sniffed himself, and to his horror, he realised he had some of the smell of the hotdog. He glanced up with fearful eyes.

The spaniel sniffed Barry over thoroughly, and then, dipped it's head down. Barry actually screamed as the wet tongue hit him. But instead of being drawn into the mouth, he was rolled over. Then, the tongue licked him again, and again. Now, Barry was laughing, not screaming.

Over by the tree root, Fitzhugh sighed with relief.

"Now cut that out," Barry cried out amidst fits of laughter.

"Ratch," a female voice called out, "Here boy!" The dog turned in the direction of the voice, it's ears perking.

"That's a boy, Ratch," Barry said soothingly to the dog, "Go back to your master." The dog looked down at Barry, then in the direction of the voice.

Suddenly, its head dipped down again, catching Barry by surprise. It's mouth opened, and descended upon Barry. Its teeth closed around his waist, and with a solid grip on the boy, lifted him up into the air, and bounded off towards the calling voice.

"Barry!" Fitzhugh hissed, reaching out an arm, as if trying to catch the boy before he was gone. But it was no use. The dog quickly vanished into the bushes and was gone. "Barry," he hissed out again. There was no reply. "Damn it, Boy," he muttered, and slowly, started off after the dog.

***

"Ratch," Shiva said, as the dog emerged from the bushes with his stick, "There you are. What did you find this time? Another rabbit?"

Ratch, with Barry dangling about in his jaws, ran straight to his master, wagging his tail, and set the tiny Earth boy, gently on the ground.

"What's this?" Shiva said, her eyes narrowing with curiosity, as she leaned down to inspect the object he'd brought her. She saw a tiny human figure thrashing about, covered in dog saliva. She gasped as she recognised what it was.

Little people.

Barry coughed loudly, and then was aware of the huge shadow loaming over him. He looked right up, into the face of a young girl, perhaps just a few years older than he. "Uhh, hi," Barry said softly up at her. "I'm Barry."

She broke out into a grin. "Oh, this is neat!," she said, almost squealing.

Barry called out to her, but she had turned away, setting her purse down on the ground and opening it. "Ma'am?" he said, a bit more loudly.

Suddenly her hands were around him, lifting him of the ground. Barry grunted in surprise; his arms going wide as if trying to grab hold of the ground, but only bumped his hand against the giant girl's knuckle.

Before he could react further, he found himself dropped into the purse. The girl put the shoulder strap back on, and stood up. Barry fell over as the bag was hoisted into the air, then yelled as a lipstick case as big as he was rolled into him.

A huge hand opened the purse more widely, and he saw the girl's face peering down at him, blue eyes that seemed nearly half the size of his body. "Are you okay?"

"Please," Barry said, very loudly. "I have to get back to my friends."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Khan approaching her, with three hotdogs in his hands, some napkins, and a paper plate under his arm. She looked down at him, and then giggled, shutting the purse.

"I'm back!" Khan called out carefully.

"Good boy, Ratch," Shiva whispered to the Spaniel. "Very good boy," she scratched behind his ear, as she secretly, but softly, patted her handbag.

"One chilidog for the young lady," Khan said, handing her one.

"Thank you Khan," she said. Khan smiled back at her, and placed one on a paper plate, and put it on the ground before Ratch.

"And one for the younger master." Ratch attacked his with gusto, finishing it before ether Khan over Shiva had taken a bite out of theirs.

"Khan," Shiva asked with pleading eyes, "Would it be okay if we went home now?"

"Now," Khan seemed surprised by her request, "But we've been here for only ten minutes."

"Yes, I know," she said, "But I just didn't feel up to my walk today, and besides," she tapped her watch, "You're favourite show will be on in twenty minutes."

Khan looked down at his own wrist watch. "My dear, you're right," he said, "And you would give your walk up for me? Oh, you're such a sweetie." He narrowed his eyes as he looked down at her. "But I want to know that this is what you want, and not what I want."

"Oh, I want you to be happy as well," She said, smiling at him, then took a bite out of her chilidog. "That and its thanks for the hotdog."

"Very well," he said, "Then let's not dawdle any longer, shall we?" They then headed back down the path they'd come down before.

***

From the safety of the bushes, Fitzhugh watched in frustration and horror, as he'd seen the girl pick Barry up, and leave. Catching his breath, he looked around, to make sure no one was watching, then moved off, following the safety of the bushes, and keeping the girl in sight.

***

Shiva jumped into the back seat of the limo, as Ratch quickly followed. She was careful not to land on her handbag. The one containing her prize. She gave a quick glance down at it, and then made sure Ratch didn't accidentally bash it as well.

"Is your seatbelt on?" Khan asked form the front seat.

"Yes, Khan," she replied.

"Then let's go home," he said, as he started the engine, then checking for oncoming traffic, put on the indicator, and pulled out of the parking lot.

***

Fitzhugh watched as the limo the girl had gotten into sped of down the road. He'd gotten a good look at its license plate and recorded the numbers there. Gasping for breath, he then turned about, and headed back in the direction of camp.

***

The ride back home had only lasted about 15 minutes. Khan parked the limo in the garage, and then unlocked the house for Shiva, who promptly ran up stairs. Ratch followed her, trailing just behind her, as she rushed to her room.

Listening with her ear, she could here the sounds of the television from down stairs, indicating that Khan was preparing to watch his show. Then, she fully closed the door, and quickly locked it, keeping the key in the lock.

She smiled, then rushed over to her bed, and carefully removed her handbag. She opened the purse and thrust a hand in without looking. It knocked Barry into the back of the purse; he let out a loud, pained 'whuff!'

"Are you okay?" She asked, peering inside at the tiny form, huddling in the bags very bottom.

Barry noted that her voice did contain an apologetic tone, so he answered her. "Just, a little winded," he replied, crawling onto all fours, "Just please, be careful with me, I'm fragile."

"Okay," Shiva replied, as she reached in more carefully this time, wrapping her fingers around him softly, then gently pulled him out. She held her right hand up before her face, and scrutinised him more intensely.

Barry blinked to adjust his eyes to the sudden rush of bright light, as to the darkness of the handbag. He finally blinked his eyes into focus, and looked up at his giant captor. She had long, blond hair, pulled into a long ponytail that went down to her shoulders. She wore a long-sleeved silk light blue shirt, with a creamy coloured short skirt that went down to her knees. Her sneakers were red and white, which she'd discarded on the floor, and only wore her white socks.

Shiva in turn studied Barry, as she crossed her legs, and brought her hand closer towards her face. He seemed just one or two years younger than she, from her perspective, with a dull orange long-sleeved shirt, and long dark brown pants. He wore black shoes and had dark brown hair.

She smiled down at him. "Hello," she said.

"H-hello." Barry replied.

"Don't be frightened, little one," she said in a soft voice, "I won't hurt you." Barry just gulped, and nodded meekly. "I'm Shiva," she said to him, "Shiva Torage. What's your name?"

"Barry Lockridge," he replied.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Barry," she said. "I'm sixteen years old, how old are you?"

"Fourteen," he said. "Look, Ma'am, it's been nice to see you, and your home, but I really should be getting back to my friends now." He got up, and crossed his legs, like her, sitting in her palm. "They'll be terribly worried about me by now."

"Please, stay a little longer," Shiva asked, "I haven't had any company in a long time."

"What about your parents?" Barry asked.

"They're never around," Shiva said, rolling her eyes. "What about yours?"

Barry bit his lip, and looked down at his own feet. "I don't have any," Barry confessed.

"You're an orphan?" She asked, her eyes wide with surprise.

"Yeah," Barry mumbled, "You could say that."

"Oh, you poor thing," Shiva said, raising a finger from her free hand to stroke Barry's head, but he shied away from her touch. Seeing that, Shiva lowered her hand. "If it makes you feel better, I'm usually all alone myself." Shiva said.

"You have your dog," Barry said.

"But not any friends my own age," Shiva answered, "Or close to it."

Barry just nodded. He knew how she felt. He was practically all alone himself, no friends his own age. Or his height. "All the people I'm with are grown ups," Barry said. "I'm usually alone myself."

"Then stay with me," Shiva quickly said, grinning, "We can be friends forever."

"Uhhh," Barry was stumped. He didn't know exactly how to answer this one. "But this isn't my home, or my world," he said, "One day, my friends and I are bound to find a way back to my world, and I would like to go with them."

"But... why?" She asked. "You yourself said that you're an orphan?"

"I was going to live with my uncle and aunt," Barry said, "when I ended up on your world by mistake. I do believe that they would want to see me again."

"But can't you stay with me, until you're ready to go?" Shiva pleaded.

"I- I'd love to," Barry said, "But I can't!"

Shiva frowned. "Why not?" Barry was at a loss for words.

"I- I have a dog of my own, Shiva," he finally replied. "And my friends, they need my help too, at trying to get home. And besides, they may not be much in the way of friends to play with, but we've known each other for such a long time, we're like family." He paused, and then said, "If you like, I could come and visit you! That way we can still see each other."

Shiva didn't look impressed. Her smile was gone, and her eyes held a tinge of sadness. She lowered her hand away from her face, and looked out the window beside her bed. Barry began to worry. Had he pushed her too far?

"Shiva?" He asked.

"I'm sorry, Barry," she said softly, and he found himself knocked of his feet, as she uncrossed her legs, and got up off the bed. She crossed the room to a big oak desk on the other side. On this desk was a reading lamp, a few school books, some pens and pencils, and a hamster cage.

"W-Wait!" Barry called out to her. But she didn't listen to him. Instead, she opened a drawer in the desk, and pulled out a small padlock and key. She then placed it on the table, and opened the hamster cage door. She then placed Barry inside, dumping him roughly onto the plastic ground of the cage.

When he got his bearings straight, he rose to his feet, and looked around, just in time to see Shiva close the cage door, and lock it with the padlock. She placed the keys in the draw she'd gotten the padlock from, closed it, then sat down in the chair, and leaned closer towards the caged boy.

"This cage use to belong to my pet hamster, Trac," she said, "He died about a week ago, and I never bothered to get rid of his cage. It's a good thing I didn't, it should make a perfect home for you, don't you agree?"

"Shiva, don't..."

"I'm sorry, Barry," she said, shaking her head. "But you've left me no choice. I'll get some olds newspapers for the bottom of the cage later on, and some food."

"Shiva!"

"Don't bother calling out for someone's attention," she looked over at the door, which exited her room. "That door is sound proof, so not even an explosion would be heard outside."

"But... But..." Barry stammered.

"I can't have you running off, Barry," Shiva said shaking her head softly, as if disciplining a pet. "In time, you'll learn to like me. I know you will. And then, you won't have to live in the cage anymore."

"Yeah," Barry cried out, putting his hands on his hips, "And what if I don't!?"

"Then I hope that you find the cage very comfortable." She grinned at him, and then backed away. "I'll go and get some food. Maybe when I get back, you'll feel like talking?" Then, she was gone.

*Man,* Barry thought, as he sat down on the cage's bottom, *Has that girl got issues or what?*

He looked around the cage, and then over at the padlock. Not even Superman could break through that. He walked up and tested the bars. Solid as steel. And too close together for him to slip through.

Still, as he stood there, he couldn't help but feel sorry for Shiva. Poor little rich girl, with no one to love. Now she had him, and was keeping him like a pet. He sighed, as he walked back to the center, and sat down.

His only hope, was that Fitzhugh would tell the others, and that they'd find him somehow.

How? He didn't even know where he was. All he could do, was pray.

***

Steve placed his hands on Fitzhugh's shoulders, and said slowly, "Okay, calm down, what happened to Barry?"

"A dog!" Fitzhugh gasped. He'd raced the whole way back to camp, and was gasping for breath. "A girl! A car! Barry!"

"Well," Betty said with a shrug, "That made about as much sense as his last story."

"Fitzhugh," Steve said, shaking him a bit. "Calm down!" Fitzhugh slowed his breathing down, and started to catch his breath.

"Here," Valerie said, bringing him a glass, "Drink some water."

"Thank you," Fitzhugh gasped, as he downed the glass in a second. Then calmed his breathing down, until he was no longer puffing.

"Now," Steve said, "What happened?"

"We were in the park, scavenging for food," Fitzhugh said, "When we were attacked by a giant dog. Barry hid under a napkin, which still had the smell of hotdog on it."

"That dog didn't...?" Betty gasped.

"No," Fitzhugh said. "Instead, it took Barry back to its owner. A giant girl. She took Barry with her, into a limo, and she left."

"Where are they now?" Dan asked.

"They were too fast for me." Fitzhugh replied. "But I got the licence plate." He clicked his fingers, trying to remember. "L? L? It started with an L." He then snapped his fingers, as he pointed directly at Steve. "LGU - 89!"

"Well," Dan said, "It's not much, but it's a start."

"So we got the licence number," Valerie said with a shrug. "Now what? I mean, it's not like we can walk into the nearest public office and look it up."

"Well, maybe we can," Betty said.

"How do you mean?" Dan asked.

"A few months ago, Fitzhugh and I were mapping an area of the sewer system. One of the tunnels we mapped leads right under the Public Office Building." She said. "After hours is when that place is usually disserted. We have a map to get there, so we just sneak on in, and take a peak."

"It's not going to be easy," Steve replied, scratching his chin. "The giants don't have personal computers like ours. That means we're going to have to somehow pull open a filing cabinet, and look through folders."

"Well," Fitzhugh grumbled, "We can kiss that plan goodbye."

"Now, hold on there," Steve said, "Just because it's going to be tough, doesn't mean we have to abandon it. The licence plate number is all we have, so unless we search every house in the city, were not going to locate Barry in a hurry."

"That's if the girl hasn't handed him over to the SID yet." Valerie said, folding her arms.

"I don't think so," Fitzhugh answered. "She looked very well off, with a body guard, and a limo, she might be the kind of person who's very well off. So, why would somebody who has lots of money need a reward?"

"Good point," Valerie said.

"Then why would she take Barry?"

"She's a giant for God's sake," Fitzhugh snapped. "Who knows what she's thinking."

"So what do we do now?" Betty asked.

"We wait until night falls, then we make our way into the city through the sewers," Steve said, "Then when the public office's close, we make our way inside and locate the files on licence plates."

"Let's get ready then," Fitzhugh said, getting up, "Who knows what horrible things she's doing to the poor lad."

***

Barry sighed happily, as he sank deep into the warm soapy water. His arms spread out along the ridges of the bowl, and let out a low sob.

"Are you alright?" Shiva asked peering through the bars, somewhat concerned.

"I'm fine, it's nothing, really." Barry said, as he shook his head. Most of his time spent on the giant's world, the group were used to showering and bathing in the near by stream. Hot Water to bathe in had been something he'd taken for granted, now it was a luxury he could enjoy once more. "Just been a long time since I enjoyed a hot bath, that's all."

"I'm glad you like it, Barry," Shiva said. Although she hadn't let him out of the hamster cage, she'd brought him a large soup bowl, filled with warm, soapy water, and allowed him to take a bath.

"Thank you for the bath, Shiva," Barry said, as he washed under his arms with the small piece of rag she'd given him to use for a washcloth.

"I still don't understand why you would prefer living in the wild, as opposed to living with me, where you could have everything."

Barry didn't answer that question. He couldn't. For a split second, he actually couldn't disagree with her. But the voices in his head, kept asking, 'If I stayed with her, would she let me go when the chance to go home arose?'

Instead, he just shrugged. "Most giants, usually want to probe me, and ask for things I don't understand," he finally said.

"I would never do that to you, Barry Lockridge," Shiva said, leaning closer to the cage all of a sudden. "Can't you see that I'm offering to look after you? Why won't you let me?"

"It would never work out, Shiva," Barry replied, looking into her eyes. "I mean... just look at us!"

Shiva just lowered her eyes, hurt at his rejection, then 'humphed,' and turned away from him.

Barry just threw up his hands in defeat and let them splash down in the water. Man, now he knew how that girl in King Kong felt. Except she wasn't a 35 foot tall giant gorilla. She was a 60 foot tall giant teenage girl. Not only that, she was a 60 foot tall giant teenage girl who had a crush on him.

Life on this world wasn't just frustrating, it was embarrassing.

After an hour-long soak during which Barry must have dislodged a kilogram of dirt he roused himself, climbed out, dried off with a torn piece of a giant washcloth, which he used as a towel. Then, walked over, and pulled on his clothes.

He turned around, and screamed, as he found himself looking right into the big bright face of Shiva. "Jesus," he gasped, "How long have you been standing there!?"

She just giggled and smiled at him. "Long enough," she said, then lowering her voice, added, "You do have a very cute butt."

Barry's hands immediately went to cover his rear, but he already had his pants on. He blushed violently, which made Shiva laugh. Barry felt humiliated, and he tried to slink away, only to trip over the newspaper lining the ground, and fall flat on his face.

"Damn it," he snapped getting up, "Stop laughing at me!"

"You're cute when you're angry, you know that, Barry," Shiva said, then leaned in much closer, and whispered in a sexy voice, "But you're even cuter when you're naked," and then blew a soft breeze over him.

Barry suddenly went from feeling humiliated, to feeling hot. He took a deep breath, and tugged at his collar, which wasn't even done up. "Don't...." he said, very quietly.

Shiva leaned her head closer. "Am I getting to you?" she breathed, the wind from her mouth blowing threw his shirt, and across his chest. Barry started gasping for air like he was in a sauna.

"Now, stop this!" Barry said firmly, holding out his hands. "We can't get this involved."

"Why not?" Shiva replied, resting her chin in the palms of her hands.

"I mean, you're... and I'm...!"

"Doesn't mean that we can't try, Barry," Shiva said.

Barry quickly turned about, and marched across to the other side of the cage, and crossing his arms, glared down at his feet. Suddenly, the cage began to move, and Barry realised that Shiva was spinning it around so that he would be closer to her again.

"Shiva..."

"Why won't you let me be your friend, Barry Lockridge?" Shiva asked. "Can't you see that we're one and the same? Can't you see that we're both cast adrift by our parents?"

"Please," Barry said, biting his lip, "Stop reminding me about my parents!"

"You need a friend, Barry," Shiva said softly. "I'm here for you. I'm only asking that you be here for me."

"Shiva," Barry said softly, "I... I..." To his horror, Barry found that he couldn't finish his sentence. Shiva smiled slyly at him.

"You can deny it all you like, Barry," she said, "But deep down inside, you know you really want it."

"Shiva," Barry suddenly exploded, "This is ridiculous!"

"Is it?" She asked.

"You're a giant, for crying out loud!" Barry cried. "I'm nothing more than... than a talking hamster to you!" Shiva narrowed her eyes. "You say you want to be my friend, yet you keep me locked up like a pet! If you love me as much as you say you do, then you'll let me go!"

Shiva suddenly pounded the desk, just inches in front of Barry, making the whole cage jump, and knocking Barry of his feet. "Curse it all, Barry," she cried out, "Why did you have to go and spoil the mood like that!?!"

"Because I have to wake you up, Shiva," Barry said.

"Wake me up!?" She scoffed loudly. "I know what I want, Barry, why won't you just realise what you want too!?"

"What I want, Shiva," Barry said climbing to his feet, "Is to go home, to Earth, to my Uncle and Aunt, to live a normal life with them! What kind of a life can I live here! I can live a pampered life with you, but what kind of life would it be? I could never go out to dinner with friends, or to a movie, or go for a stroll in the park! I'd be trapped in this house, knowing that if I ever took one step outside, my life would be in constant danger. I'd live a hunted life, and is that what you really want for me!?!"

"Barry, stop it!" Shiva cried out.

"Why?" Barry said, "Because it's the truth!?!"

"No!" Shiva was starting to cry.

"Then what is it then!?!"

"That's how I live my life!" Shiva broke out into tears, and she flung herself onto the bed.

Suddenly, all the anger, all the frustration, and all the tension that had built up in Barry, vanished, like draining water from a sink. He stood there, watching Shiva through the bars, bawling her eyes out, and feeling guilty. Guilty at what he'd said.

That's when he realised what she meant. That's how her life was already like. Not being able to take one step outside her house, being ostracised because of who she was. In constant danger from kidnappers.

It was then, that Barry truly understood what she meant. She was right. They were so much alike. For being so small, he was a huge jerk.

"Shiva?" He called out to her.

"Go away!" She sniffed. "Leave me alone."

"Shiva, I'm sorry!" Barry called out to her. "I-I didn't mean to say those things."

"Then why did you say them?" She demanded looking over at him. Her cheeks streaked with tears.

"I-I---," Barry hesitated. "I'm scared, that's why," Barry finally said. "I want to go home, yes that part is true," he took a deep breath, then said, "But I'm sacred that if I get too close to you, then I won't want to go home. That's why." He sighed loudly. "You are right, Shiva, I do feel something for you, maybe even more than I know. However, I also want to go home, too. I want to have both, Shiva, but I can only have one."

Shiva got up of the bed, wiping away some tears. She went and sat down at the desk, leaning close towards the cage. "Then stay with me, here, Barry Lockridge," she said, "Stay with me here, and we can be together. We live the same life, Barry. We can be happy. Stay with me."

"Shiva?" He asked.

"Yes?"

"T-This is a big decision, I have to make." He looked down at his feet. "Can I have some time to think about it?"

She smiled at him. A warm, caring smile. "Take all the time you need." She said.

***

The pipes echoed all around them, as the group marched along, their shoes splashing through the water, sending distorted noises up and down the length of the metal pipe. Steve led the way, shining his flashlight ahead of him, with Fitzhugh bringing up the rear.

"Now," Betty said, shining her flashlight over the map. "There should be a right turn coming up very soon."

"I see it," Steve said, flashing his torch on the turn.

"Good," Betty said. "We take that for about a mile, and we should be right under the Public records building."

The group headed down the turn, and walked down the tunnel, eventually coming to a drainage pipe.

"Is this it?" Dan asked. Betty checked the map, and nodded.

"This is it." She said, folding it up, and putting it in her knapsack. "This leads right into the Public Records Office. Dan and Steve glanced up the pipe.

"Hmmm," Dan mussed, "Looks like this leads to some sort of sink hole."

"Well thank your lucky stars, it's not a toilet." Fitzhugh commented.

"Can we reach it?" Mark asked, taking a look.

"We should," Dan said, as he un-slung his grappling hook. "It's not too high." He then got the others to back off, as he twirled the hook around, and then threw it up as high as he could. It pitched up into the air, nearly making it, before plummeting back down to earth.

"One more time," Steve said. Dan picked it up, and tried again.

This time, he got it. The safety pin soared up and popped through the sinkhole, catching on the drain plug. He tugged at it, to make sure it was secure, and then tested it with his body weight. It didn't fall.

"It's good," he said, and started to climb. Steve followed him, then Mark, and finally, all the rest made their way up.

Dan reached the top, and poked his head up through the plug. Darkness. He looked around the sink, seeing nothing in it, and no danger. He then climbed out, and looked around again.

Steve soon came up, and patted Dan's shoulder to get his attention. "Getting out of this sink may be a bit of a challenge," he said, I think we may have to stand on each others shoulders."

They both crossed the sink to the edge, and Steve climbed on top of Dan's shoulders. Dan lifted him up, and Steve climbed out, onto the sink and looked around. They were in some sort of staff kitchen. There was a refrigerator, humming in the corner, an oven, a few cupboards, and cups and plates here and there.

"Give me a hand!" Dan called out to Steve.

"Wait there," he said, eyeing the cups, "I've got an idea." He then rushed over to the cups, and checked inside them. Most were still filled with cold half drunken coffee, but he did find one that was only barely empty. Still, it was better than nothing.

He then pushed it all the way to the edge of the sink. "Stand back," he called out to them, as he pushed the cup over, and into the sink.

It landed on its side, making a loud metallic noise as it struck. Steve winced at the sound, and started to reconsider ever doing that. He would just have to hope, there was no night security around.

"Oh marvellous," Fitzhugh hissed up at Steve. "Perhaps you'd like to try that again, in case the giants didn't hear you the first time."

"Put a sock in it Fitzhugh," Dan snapped, as he flipped the cup over on it's top. Then pushed it to the edge of the sink, so that the group could use it as a stepping stone to get out of the sink.

Soon they were all up on the kitchen table, looking down. "Now comes the hard part," Dan said, looking out the kitchen door. "Now we have to locate the files in which the license plate registration's are kept."

They all then walked to the edge of the kitchen table to where an electrical cable ran, and climbed down it to the floor below.

"Alright," Steve said to the group once they were all down. "We'll split up. Depending on how big this place is, and on the level of security here. This may be an all nighter, but we have no other choice if we have any hope of finding Barry."

They exited the room, and looked around in shock.

As far as the eye could see, there were rows, upon rows of filing cabinets. They stretched from one end of a massive room, to the other.

"Looks like it's going to be more than just a night, my dear captain," Fitzhugh remarked.

"Then let's get started," Steve said, walking towards the filing cabinets. "Valerie and Betty, you go that way. Dan and I will take this isle, and Mark, you and Fitzhugh take that one."

"And remember," Dan said, the number we're looking for is LGU - 89. So look for filing cabinets marked 'L.' Okay?"

"A-Okay!" The girls both said, and rushed off.

"Come on commander," Mark said, leading Fitzhugh away.

"After you?" Steve said, pointing with his grappling hook.

"You're so kind," Dan remarked with a smile, as they started jogging off.

***

Barry grumbled, as he turned over. The bed Shiva had given him was one from one of the many dollhouses she had. It was just the right size for him, however, when the giants made these things, they had never intended for anyone to actually sleep in them.

It was the most uncomfortable thing Barry had ever slept in. Even the chairs in the Spindrift were more comfortable than this.

He sighed loudly, and got up, throwing off the sheets. The pyjamas that Shiva had given him were also meant for dolls, and hung around him rather awkward, but still, they were nice and warm.

He scratched his head, and looked around. He could make out Shiva's sleeping form in her bed. The giant girl had gone to sleep over two hours ago. Barry just rolled his eyes, as he went and sat back down on the edge of the bed.

He then pulled the mattress off, and lied it down on the ground, then tried lying down on it. It wasn't as bad as before, and he might actually enjoy it. But something was still on his mind.

Getting up, Barry walked to over to the bars, and called out, "Shiva?" The girl didn't stir, but Ratch did. His ears perked, and he looked up, over in Barry's direction. "Shiva?" He called out, a bit louder this time. Shiva moaned in her sleep, and she rolled over. "Shiva!?" A bit louder this time. "Are you asleep?"

"Huh?" She moaned, sitting up. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. "Who's that? Barry, is that you?"

"Yes," Barry called out. "Are you awake?"

"I am now," she mumbled, as she fumbled in the darkness for the bedside lamp. She clicked it on, and took a few moments to adjust her vision. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"I- I couldn't sleep," Barry said, "And, I just felt like talking, that's all."

She smiled softly at him, and rested her head against her propped up hand. "Okay," she answered. "What do you want to talk about?"

"The choice I have to make," Barry said.

"Have you decided yet?" Shiva asked hopefully.

"Not yet," Barry said. "But I would like to discus it with you."

"Alright," She said, "I'm listening."

"If I agreed to stay with you," Barry asked, "Would I be able to visit my friends?"

"Barry," Shiva said with a sigh, "If I let you out of my sight, what's to stop you from running off and never coming back?"

"No, not like that," Barry quickly interrupted, "I mean, for you to come with me, and visit my friends as well." Shiva thought about that.

"You mean, take you to where they all live?"

"Yes," Barry said. Although he knew Steve would never approve of that.

"Then, yes," she replied with a smile. "That I will allow." Barry nodded, and took a deep breath.

"In that case," Barry said, "I will stay with you, Shiva. But only until the chance to go homes arrives."

Shiva blinked, and then clapped her hands together as she almost squealed in joy. "Excellent," she cried, jumping out of bed, and rushed across to the cage. "I knew you loved me too, Barry."

"Yes," Barry said shrugging shyly, "But only until I can get home, do you understand?"

"Yes I do," she said, smiling and nodding her head, "That just gives me some more time to try and convince you to stay."

"Shiva!"

She folded her arms over her chest. "I was stubborn enough to keep you in this cage, and stubborn enough to convince you to admit your true feelings. And to convince you to stay. Don't think I'll stop being stubborn now."

Barry actually chuckled. "I must confess now, Shiva, it will take some getting use to."

"You managed to adapt to our world, didn't you?" She asked, leaning down towards the cage. "Here with me, you'll have all that you'll ever need. Food, hot water, a nice warm bed to sleep in."

"Say," Barry asked, "Speaking of living, when will I get a change of homes?"

"When I'm convinced of your word," Shiva answered. "To be honest, I'm still not truly convince yet."

"Shiva," Barry said, "A relationship is built on a foundation of trust you know."

"The more time we spend together, the more trust we'll have," Shiva replied. "Then I will be certain of your word."

"You push a hard bargain, Shiva," Barry said. "Honestly, I don't know what I see in you."

"Yourself," she said, grinning at him. "We're both the same, Barry Lockridge. Besides some - excuse the pun - big differences, we both suffer from the same problems."

They both stood there for a few moments, looking at each other, before Barry said, "You know something, you some of the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen in my life." She smiled at him.

"That was sweet," she said. There was a sudden twinkle in her right eye, and her hands vanished from sight, as she opened the drawer. "Here, I want to give you something."

"What?" He asked. Her hands returned, holding the key to the lock on his cage. Barry's eyes widened. Was she going to let him out permanently?

She unlocked the padlock, and opened the cage door. "Come here," she said, as she reached in, and stretched her open hand for him. Barry stood still, as Shiva's big hand closed around his torso, lifting him into the air. Then, ever so gently, took him out of the cage, and brought him towards her face.

"Shiva...?" Barry said softly.

"From the moment I first saw you, Barry Lockridge, I knew you were the one for me." She sat up straight and tall. "But I didn't know whether or not a little man - one, little as you -- would even find me attractive."

Barry blinked a stupefied expression. "I-I---!" He mumbled, his mind was at a loss for words.

So," she said, putting her free hand on her hip and leaning over him again, "do you find me attractive?"

Barry gulped.

She smiled down at him, her expression still mischievous. "I don't know what to say, Shiva," he said weakly.

"You're afraid if you say 'no,' I'll squish you?" she said, laughing softly.

"I'm just as afraid of what might happen if I say yes."

This time, she just smiled a plain smile. Not mischievous. Not playful. Just a simple loving, caring smile. Then, she leaned her face down towards him. Her mouth grew closer, and lips parted. Barry closed his eyes.

And she kissed him.

It was a long drawn out kiss, as she lingered, kissing not just him, but his whole face. Barry squirmed, his dangling legs kicked about, as he was gasping at the sensation it was having on him. Her lips closed around his whole face, Barry was immersed in total darkness, for what seemed like hours.

Then, he could see again, and her lips were gone. He blinked a few times, and saw the smiling face of Shiva looking down at him from above.

"That --!" Barry gasped out loud, "Was... the most, sensational experience of my entire life!"

Shiva grinned down at him. "I'm glad you liked it," She said in a soft voice. "I enjoyed it too."

Slowly, a smile spread across his face. For the first time since being brought here, he was actually enjoying her company.

Suddenly, her face began to drift away, as she lowered her hand, and slowly, and gently placed him back inside the cage. Setting him down, she withdrew her hand, and locked the cage.

"Good night, Barry Lockridge." She said, blowing him a kiss, then walked back and climbing back into bed, switched of the bedside lamp, plunging the room back into darkness. "I'll see you in the morning," she called out, then rolled over, and went back to sleep.

Barry was still standing where she left him. His eyes were wide, and his face still damp from the kiss. He let out a loud gasp of breath, and blinked a few times.

"Wow." He muttered. He didn't want to believe it, but he actually enjoyed it. He was actually beginning to like Shiva. Not just as a friend ether. He then walked back over to his mattress, and lay down. After a moment longer, Barry fell back against his mattress with a thump, breathing heavily.

As he lay there, he started thinking about Shiva. What did he really feel? What did she really feel? He rolled onto his side, facing away from his Shiva's bed. If he didn't stop himself from being attracted to the giantess, the coming months might be a great deal more frustrating than he had anticipated.

Still, he couldn't help twisting his head around to look at her sleeping form. He stared at her for a while. "What am I to you?" he said softly.

***

"Any luck yet, girls?" Steve said into his walkie-talkie.

"Negative," Betty replied. "So far, all these files seem to be 'LGU.' But there's no way we can tell about the numbers. What about you guys?"

Steve looked up at the gigantic filing cabinets. "Ours are also 'LGU.' But I think that's coming to an end a few cabinets down." He replied. "What about you, Mark?"

"This row contains 'LGU,' as well, but," he sighed, "There's no way of knowing in which file is LGU-89."

"That's just what I said," Betty replied.

"There's no way we're going to know, unless we chose to open one of these cabinets," Dan told Steve. "We're just going to have to look and see which numbers are attached to LGU."

"Well, let's try that one," Steve said, pointing at a drawer that was closest to them, and near to the ground.

"Right," Dan said, as they rushed over to it. Dan looked inside the lock, and asked for the grappling hook. Steve handed it to him, and he pushed the pin edge inside, and began fiddling around. There were a few clicks, and Dan withdrew the needle.

Then, he and Steve went to ether end of the drawer, and using the razor blades of their axes, levered the drawer open, then pushed hard on it, opening it a few centimetres.

"Okay," Steve said, dusting his hand off, "That should do."

Dan then went around to Steve, and gave him a boost up to the edge of the drawer, where he climbed up, and sitting on the edge, looked at the tabs on the files.

"Well?" Dan asked. Steve shone the flashlight on the tab, to read the faded type writer ink.

"LGU-04." He said.

"Well," Dan said, "We're a long way off."

"Then where's LGU-89?"

"What's the number behind that one?"

"LGU-05." Steve replied.

"Then LGU-89 must be down that way somewhere," Dan said, looking down the row of drawers.

"Let's call the others," Steve said, tossing Dan down the walkie-talkie. "We gonna need all the help we can get."

"Right," Dan said, "All right," he said into the speaker. "Betty, Valerie, Mark, Fitzhugh, converge on our location. We have a row that may or may not be the one we're looking for. Ether way, we're going to need a hand opening a few drawers."

"Right, Dan," Betty replied.

"We're on our way," Mark answered.

"Look out below," Steve said, as he jumped from the edge of the drawer, and landed beside Dan.

"So which one is our lucky contestant tonight?" Dan asked, rubbing his hands together, as they looked down the enormous row of drawers.

"Well, let's take a guess, shall we?" Steve said, looking up and down.

"Uh, How about..." Dan said, as he mentally calculated, looking down the rows of filing cabinets. "That one!" He pointed to another drawer, close to the ground.

"We'll wait for the others, then let's find out." They jogged down the row of cabinets, till they came to the one Dan chose, and then waited. They didn't have to wait long. The last to join them was, without surprise, Fitzhugh.

"Okay," Dan said to the others, "We're going to try that drawer there," he said, pointing to a drawer that was on the ground. "We need to know what numbers are inside to locate LGU-89."

Dan then walked over, followed by the group, and using the grappling hook, unlocked the drawer. It was much easier opening it this time, with the whole gang. Then, Dan was given a boost, up to the edge of the drawer, and looked inside with the flashlight.

"Any luck?" Betty called out to him.

"This file is LGU-70." Dan said. He asked the group to move the drawer out even further, as he glanced down the row. But the last file ended at LGU-79.

"Well, that means we're close then," Mark said, looking up at the higher up drawers.

"So how are we going to get up there?" Fitzhugh asked.

"That's what we're all here for," Steve said. "Dan, can you grapple your way up to the second drawer?"

"No problem," Dan said, as he balanced himself on the drawer's edge, then swung the grappling hook a few times, and let it fly. He managed to get it on the third go, and then making sure it was secure, hauled himself up to the handle on the second drawer.

"Be careful Dan," Valerie called up to him.

"This is going to be a challenge," Dan muttered, as he reached the handle. On the bottom drawer, the handle was only 12 feet from the ground. Standing on Steve's shoulders he could pick the lock, but here, would be very difficult.

Hooking his legs over the handle, he then lowered himself forward, and stuck the grappling hook into the lock. It was a dizzying experience, and Dan thanked God he wasn't afraid of heights.

Suddenly, they heard the sound of a door opening. The sound ripped through Dan like a thunderbolt, and he spun his head towards the other end of the row of cabinets. Even though there was no one there, it distracted him long enough to lose his balance.

The grappling hook slipped from his grasp to fall to the floor. However, at the time Dan was picking the lock, he was leaning his full weight forward on the grappling hook, and when he lost it, he fell forward, untangling his legs, and fell all the way to the ground below.

Valerie screamed out loud in shock, as Dan fell. Luckily, his fall took him in the direct path of the open drawer below, where he landed. The files and folders cushioned his impact, but not enough.

"Hello?" A voice called out. Valerie; even though she wasn't making any noise, quickly clamped her hand over her mouth realising what she'd done. "Is anyone here?"

"Giants!" Fitzhugh hissed. "We have to leave, now!"

"But what about Dan?" Betty asked, looking up at the drawer.

"Dan!?" Steve called out in a loud whisper. "Are you okay?"

There was a short moment of silence, before they herd papers shuffling. "No." Dan said weakly. "My back hurts."

"Well at least he's alive," Mark replied.

"Is there anyone there!?" The giant called out. The group all looked in the direction of the voice. Then, came the sound of slow, but approaching footsteps.

"Damn," Steve said, switching his vision between the end of the cabinets, and the open drawer. "Dan, can you move?"

"No," Dan replied. "It's hurts all over. It'll take some time."

"Which is something we don't have, Captain," Fitzhugh hissed more urgently this time.

"Dan," Steve said, "We'll be back, just for the moment, sit tight."

"I'm not going anywhere," Dan moaned weakly. Then, the group quickly ran off, as the approaching foots steps grew nearer.

No sooner had they rushed around the corner, and then a flashlight was shone down the isle. "Hey," the giant said, "What the--?" He spotted the open drawer, and walked up to it. Peering around the corner, Dan recognised his uniform as a security guard, and saw that besides a nightstick, he also carried a revolver, and a walkie-talkie.

"What's going on?" Betty whispered. Steve just shushed her, and looked back.

The guard shone the torch over the open drawer, and Steve held his breath. For what seemed like hours, the guard hovered over the drawer, then reached down, and pulled out a folder. The guard flipped through it, then placed it back inside, and closed the drawer.

Steve frowned. What happened to Dan? Didn't the guard spot him? The drawer closed with a soft click, which meant that it was locked again. The guard then stood up, and flashed the flashlight around, then walked down, and turned left, looking around some more.

"Wait here." Steve told the group. "Mark, come with me." The two of them then quickly hurried across towards the filing cabinet that held Dan. They reached it, and Steve gently tapped against the drawer. "Dan," he whispered. "Can you here me?"

There was a moment of silence, before, "Yeah, Steve," Dan replied. "Loud and clear."

"What happened?" Mark asked, "I thought that giant would get you for sure."

"I managed to just barely crawl out of the folder I landed in, and hide in between the folders, "He never saw me. After all, they do have poor night vision."

"So how are we going to get him out of there with that giant walking about?"

"We're just going to have to wait until he leaves," Steve said with a shrug. "It's not much, but it's all we can do."

***

Thade, the Security guard wasn't in the best of modes. He'd been making his nightly rounds, when he'd heard noises coming from the public records room. Investigating, he'd heard what sounded like a scream. Then, found a filing cabinet open, and a file that looked like some one had been exploring in.

However, there was no one in sight. And he was beginning to think that maybe, he was chasing a rat. Perhaps that drawer hadn't been opened, but had been left open by a careless employee?

He had a nasty expression on his face, as he walked back down the hall of filing cabinets. He needed a coffee, and headed for the kitchen.

Pushing open the door, he then headed for the fridge, to get some milk, and frowned when he went to get the plunger.

A coffee cup lay upside down in the sink, cold coffee spilled all around it. He dipped his finger into the coffee, and tasted it. It was cold, but it had been recently knocked over.

"Great," he muttered, "There's rats in the kitchen, too." As he grumbled in frustration, he paused, listening.

He could barely make them out, but the sound of someone running along the floor. Judging form the sound, they were really far away. He turned around, and looked at the door. Someone was out there. Slowly, eh drew his pistol, and ever so gently, pushed open the door.

He glanced out, but couldn't see much due to the fact that it was dark. There was some moonlight streaming in through the window, but not enough. The patches of light just illuminated the floors, and the filing cabinets. There was no way he could...

He suddenly paused. There, standing in the moonlight, was a tiny little man. Next to him, was an equally small one. They were both looking at the filing cabinet he had just inspected.

He blinked with realisation, and looked back at the sink to where the coffee cup lay. Then back to the floor. The little people were no longer there anymore. They'd gone. A smile slowly crept across his face, as wheels inside his head started turning.

***

Steve and Mark both watched as the giant's head disappeared back inside the room.

"Gee," Mark said, "That was close."

"A little too close, for my liking, Steve replied. "Next time, we run softly." Mark nodded, as they kept in the shadows. They had seen the giant looking out from the doorway, and realised he was looking in their direction. He turned around to look at something else, and while he'd done that, they'd quickly moved out of the light and in the shadows, where his poor night vision wouldn't be able to see them.

"Do you think he saw us?" Mark asked. They waited and watched, and then the guard finally came out, and started walking down the hallway towards the door he'd entered from.

"Well," Steve said, moving form the shadows, "If he did, let's get Dan out of that drawer, and let's get out of here."

"What about the file on LGU-89?" Mark asked. "What about Barry?"

"We'll just have to try again tomorrow night," Steve answered. "I don't won't to risk any chances in losing anyone else."

They both hurried across to the filing cabinet, and called out for the others. They all came over, and together, they all opened the drawer. Steve then climbed up, followed by Mark, and they hopped down into the drawer, to look for Dan.

"Dan?" Steve called out, "Where are you?"

"Down here," Dan called out weakly. They moved in between two files, and found Dan, lying on his left side, with a weak smile on his face. They both rushed over to him.

"How are you feeling?" Mark asked, checking Dan over for any signs of damage.

"Like I used to feel after a football game." Dan said, trying to chuckle, but moaned in pain.

"Can you walk?" Steve asked.

"I'll try," Dan said, as Steve and Mark both put an arm around his shoulder, and lifted him to his feet.

"Come on," Steve said, "We're going home for the night."

"What about Barry?" Dan asked.

"There's always tomorrow night," Steve replied. "That file isn't going anywhere, but that security guard may be coming back, or he may be calling for reinforcements. Either way, we can't chance it, or getting caught.'

Steve then climbed up to the edge of the drawer, and Mark helped Dan climb up, then Steve helped him down the other side, where the others caught Dan. Then both Steve and Mark climbed down.

"Now," Steve said, "Let's close this drawer in case the guard does come back. Finding it open once, won't arouse his suspicion, but finding it open twice, will." They all heaved against it, and closed it, making sure it clicked and locked.

Then, they all helped Dan limp across the isle towards the kitchen door. Steve had told everyone what they planned to do, although Fitzhugh wasn't too happy that they weren't going to rescue Barry, Steve told him just to shut it.

***

From the other side of the room, Thade watched, as he saw the little people cross the floor and into the kitchen.

He smiled. He knew he'd seen little people. There were about six of them all together. If he could capture them all, that would make him very wealthy indeed. As they vanished into the kitchen door, he slowly pushed the door he was hiding behind all the way open, and quietly tiptoed towards the kitchen.

***

"Alright," Steve said, "Where going to have to use the grappling hook to get Dan up," Steve said. "Mark, you, Fitzhugh and I will climb up and then well both pull Dan up. Betty and Valerie, I want you to tie Dan onto the grappling hook so we can haul him up. While that's going on, then you girls can climb up the cord."

They all nodded, and then set about making it happen. First, Steve, then Mark, then Fitzhugh, all climbed up the black electrical cord leading form the power socket to toaster on the kitchen counter. Then, they firmly attached the grappling hook, and lowered the rope down to the floor below.

"Okay," Steve called down to the girls, "Tie the rope around his waist, and we'll pull him up."

"Okay!" The girls answered back. Then set about tying the rope onto Dan.

Suddenly, the kitchen door swung open, and the room was filled with light as somebody turned on the kitchen lights. Everyone froze like an animal caught in the headlights of an oncoming car.

"Don't anyone move!" The giant security guard shouted, as he pointed his nightstick at the group.

"Scatter!" Steve shouted down at the girls and Dan.

"Come on, Dan!" Valerie cried, trying to untie the rope.

"Forget about me," Dan shouted back, "Run!"

"But..."

"GO!"

Betty and Valerie both took off. The giant moved forward to grab them.

"Hey!" Steve shouted at him. "What's the matter, too slow to catch us?" The giant glanced up, giving Betty and Valerie a chance to run out the kitchen door.

"What the--?" He said, suddenly realising what happened. Then, he glared down at Dan.

"Why don't you come after us!" Mark shouted, as he and Steve started throwing bread crumbs at him.

"Cut that out!" The giant snarled, as he rose to his feet.

"Now," Steve said to the others, "Run." They all took of in different directions. The giant looked confused, as he tried to follow the paths of all three.

"Damn it!" He snapped, and grabbed for Mark. Mark dived and rolled, just in time to dodge the giants grasping fingers. Mark rolled onto his knees, as the giant came back, and gave a swing of his axe, landing a decent blow on the guards thumb.

The giant cried out in pain, and jerked his hand back. He sucked at his thumb, and when he looked back, Mark was no longer in plain sight. He looked down at the counter to see no one in sight. He growled, and looked about.

Looking down, he saw Dan trying to stumble away. "No you don't," he snapped, and reaching down, scooped up Dan, and dropped him into his left pocket. "Well, that's one." He looked back out the kitchen door, then back at the sink. He picked up the kettle, and placed it squarely over the sinkhole. "I'll get you three later," he said to the room, as he turned about, and left.

"The giant got Dan," Fitzhugh said, as he came out from behind the coffee pot. "Now what do we do?"

"First," Steve said, "We find a way to get rid of that," he pointed at the kettle, "If we want to get out of here."

They all jumped down into the sink, and looked at the kettle. "No way we're moving that," Mark said, "We're going to have to find another way out."

"Where?" Fitzhugh asked.

"Do you feel that?" Mark asked.

"Feel what?"

"The cold air." Mark said, pointing to the ceiling. "That means air conditioning. I felt the same thing out in the hallway. That means that this building has a ventilation system running up around here.

"Over there!" Steve said, pointing over to where a few ceramic jars were. Just above those, was a small vent, with some lever controls next to it. "Mark, you and Fitzhugh open that vent up," he then turned and looked over at the kitchen door, "I'm going to get Dan back."

"How?" Fitzhugh asked.

"I'll figure that out when I get to it." Steve said, as he ran over to the cable leading to the floor below. He then shimmied down, and ran over to the door.

Looking out, he saw the giant walking up and down the rows of filing cabinets, shining his torch around. He waited at the door, not sure whether to call out to the girls, or were they already making their way back to the kitchen door.

Suddenly, he heard noises from one of the aisle of the filing cabinets, followed by the giant's laughter.

He grimaced, and started running towards the aisle the giant was in. "I was hoping the girls would stay hidden," he muttered. He ran down the hall, which was about sixty feet, and came to an aisle.

The giant laughed again; this time the sound was punctuated by a high shriek of terror. Valerie!

He walked up to the edge of a filing cabinet, and looked around the corner. The giant had the woman in one hand; Valerie looked pitifully small in his grip. He then brought his hand to the same pocket that he'd put Dan in, and dropped her inside.

Great, his troubles had suddenly doubled now.

Just then, the giant flashed the torch down towards his end of the isle, and Steve quickly ducked back. The giant then flashed the light down the other end, and started walking of in the direction. He hadn't seen Steve.

"Steve?" He nearly screamed out loud, as a hand touched his shoulder.

"Betty?" He said, spinning around.

"The giant, he got Valerie," Betty said. "How are we going to rescue them?"

"He has to put them down somewhere," Steve said, looking around for the shining of the torch. "In the kitchen, we found a ventilation system. That should lead to his office."

"If he is going back there," Betty said. "What's to stop him from going straight to the SID right now?"

"First off," Steve said, "They're not technologically advanced to the point where they have mobile phones, and secondly, he still has a job to do as night security. He has to call the SID and get them to come here."

"All right," Betty said, "Let's go then."

They then looked about, and jogged back towards the kitchen. Once they got there, they then climbed back up the cord, and ran across the kitchen counter. Reaching the coffee pot, Steve climbed up, and then helped Betty.

He walked over to the vent, which had been opened to its full capacity, and peered inside. "Mark?" He called out. "Fitzhugh?"

"Up here!" He looked up to see the grappling hook rope leading towards another shaft. Up there, he could make out the silhouette of Mark, waving down at him.

"Where does that lead?" Steve asked.

"This leads to an outside pipe that will take us out of the building," Mark said back down to him. "We can get out of the building this way."

"That's great," Steve said, "But does it lead to other parts of the building?"

"I think it does," Mark said with a shrug. "Why?"

"I'll explain once we're up there," Steve said, as he started climbing into the vent. "Come on, Betty." Betty took two steps towards the vent, and screamed as she suddenly was yanked backwards. Steve, who was half way into the vent, looked back in shock, and saw Betty rapidly moving away.

"Got you!" The giant guard said triumphantly, as he lifted Betty up to his face, holding her by the back of her jacket. She struggled in mid-air, kicking and waving her arms about. He then lowered her to his pocket, and dropped her inside.

He then looked back to the vent, and gasped as he realised that there was another little person already going inside. He made a grab for Steve. Steve quickly shoved the rest of his body all the way through, falling hard on his left side with a grunt.

Fingers groped at the vent, trying to push through and get him, but they were too big. Steve chuckled, and then started to climb the rope.

Outside the vent, the guard swore, and then peered inside the vent. Were ever that little person was, he wasn't there anymore. Perhaps moving through the system to who knew where.

"Maybe this will flush you out," he snarled, as he reached over, and turned the air conditioning up to the coldest level he could. Then, he closed the vent shut. He chuckled as he walked away and headed back to his office. He knew that the vent couldn't be opened from the other side.

"Steve," Mark said to him as he reached the top and hauled himself up. "What happened down there?"

"The giant," Steve grumbled, as he started to collect the grappling hook. "He got Betty, and Valerie."

"Damn," Mark said, "So how are we going to rescue them?"

"He's got to take them back to his office," Steve said, "We can figure out something from there."

"Do you know how to get there?" Mark asked, "Because I sure as hell don't."

"Well we have to try something," Steve said. "Maybe we can find a map of this place somewhere. Look I'm trying to roll with this, okay? I didn't plan for any of this happening, so let's just try and keep our heads, without taking off each others."

"Jeez," Mark said, "I just asked a question, that's all."

"Sorry," Steve said, shaking his head. "It's been a long night, and I'm starting to get tired." He looked about, and then asked, "Where's Fitzhugh?"

"He's waiting for us at the exit," Mark said. "When we found the way out, he took the other grappling hook with him, and kept on going."

"Typical," Steve said. "Come on, Let's go find that office."

***

Thade walked through the door of his office, over to his desk, and sat down in his wooden armchair. He then pulled out his key ring, and opened a drawer on the desk.

He then reached into his pocket, and pulled out the three figures, dumping them all into the drawer. "Now you three don't try to go anywhere," he said with a large grin. "You wouldn't want me to lose my reward now, would you."

"In your case," Valerie shouted up at him. "Nothing would make me more happier."

"Ohhh," he said with a mock grin, "Big words from the little lady. Wat'cha gonna do, sweetheart, sock me with your itty-bitty handbag?" He leaned back his head and laughed loudly.

"Don't tempt me," Valerie snarled.

"You're cute," Thade said, leaning down towards Valerie. She stood her ground, and crossed her arms, refusing to be intimidated. "You know, I'm almost tempted to hand over the others, and just keep you, my darling, but," he waved his hand in a circular motion, "250 grand, per little person is quite a lot of money, and unfortunately, I'm as greedy as the next man, and 750 thousand is much more beautiful than you."

"You and the couch must get quite a lot of personal time together, eh?" Valerie said with a smile.

"I'd watch your tongue, little Miss," Thade said, leaning his hand down towards her. Valerie didn't move. Suddenly, he placed the tip of his middle finger behind his thumb, and before Valerie could even react, he flicked her into the back of the drawer. She landed with a loud crash.

"Valerie!?" Betty cried out.

"After all," Thade said, leaning away from the drawer. "Due to your size, accidents are bound to happen."

Betty got up and rushed towards her fallen friend. "Are you alright?" She asked. "Anything broken?"

"Just my pride," Valerie moaned, holding her stomach where the finger had hit her. "However, I don't think I'll be able to take anything in for quite a while.

"Come on," she said, helping her back to where Dan lay.

"Awww," Thade said, turning his head to one side. "Now ain't that cute?" He then reached across the desk towards the black phone there. "Now, I'm just gonna call some nice people who know what to do with smart mouthed little trespassers. Then, I'm gong to go and look for your other friends, and then I'll be rich enough to leave this job." He laughed again, as he started dialling.

***

"You know," Mark said, rubbing his arms, "Is it just me, or is this place getting colder?"

"No, it's not you," Steve said, buttoning his uniform all the way up. "This vent must be channelling cold air throughout the building."

"Which means someone turned on the cold air," Mark said. "I think our giant friend must be planning on flushing us out."

"Maybe Fitzhugh did have the right idea after all." Steve said. "We still haven't found one outlet that has shown us a map of the whole area."

"Then I suggest that we take leave of the vent," Steve said, "Before we all get frost bite." They hurried along, and took the next vent they found. They climbed out of the vent, and onto a carpeted area.

"Well," Mark said, "At least he won't hear our foot steps."

"And nether can we," Steve said, "So let's keep to the shadows, and be one with the night."

They then started jogging down the hall towards a 'T' intersection at the other end. Suddenly, they froze, as the giant guard came around the corner, his torch in one hand, swinging it like the cane of a blind person.

"Freeze!" Steve hissed, and they both plastered themselves against the wall and did not move.

The giant walked past them, just barely missing them with the beam of his torch, and walked on, finally stopping at the vent they'd just emerged from. He bent down on his hands and knees, and flashed the light into the vent.

"Any little people in there?" He asked. When no one answered him, he said, "Oh well, you can stay in there. I hope you like the cold." He then closed the vent, and getting up, walked off.

"That was close," Mark said breathing a sigh of relief.

"Well," Steve said, pointing down the hall the giant had just come from, "That giant just told us where he came from." He then took of down the hall, "Come on."

They turned the corner, and kept jogging, looking from door to door. They reached the end of the hall, and found another 'T' junction.

"Okay," Mark said, "Now which way?"

"There!" Steve said, pointing down the hall. Down the other end of the left passageway, was a large door, with 'SECURITY' written in big block letters across the glass window. They rushed down the hallway, and quickly slipped under the door.

It was surprisingly small. With a wooden desk dominating the room.

"They have to be in the room somewhere," Steve said. "Maybe in the desk." They raced across the floor to the desk, and called out.

"Steve?" They heard Betty call out. "Is that you?"

"Yeah!" He answered her. "Where are you guys?"

"In the left drawer," Valerie called out. "But it's locked."

"Come on," Steve said, and Mark un-slung the grappling hook, and swung it around, launching it for the desk. He got it on the first go, the testing it, climbed the rope, with Steve fast behind him.

Steve then pulled up the pin, and ran across the desk for the drawer.

"How do we get them out?" Mark asked.

"Grab my feet," Steve said; laying down on his stomach, "I can pick this lock too." Leaning down, Mark grabbed his feet, and Steve performed the lock picking upside down. Finally, the lock clicked, and Steve hollered to be pulled up.

Mark then walked over and grabbing a ruler, dragged it back, and stuck it into the space between the desk and the drawer. He and Steve then tugged hard on it, and pulled. Slowly, the drawer opened.

The three captives all blinked up at them. "Come on," Mark called down to them, with an arm stretched down, "It's a jail break."

They helped Betty and Valerie out, then they all helped Dan climb out.

"Come on," Steve said, "Let's make ourselves scarce." They all turned around and headed for the desk.

Suddenly, the door swung open, and they all froze.

"Well," Thade said, his grin growing larger. "Looks like my night has just gotten a whole lot better."

***

Fitzhugh paced around in circles, waiting for the sound of the others to start materialising. The venting system led to the street outside in an ally. The ally led to the sewers, and the sewers led back to the Spindrift.

He glanced at his wristwatch. Where the devil were they? This was supposed to be an easy snatch and grab rescue mission. The Captain had always managed to pull these types of missions off, so where the devil was he?

He glanced at his watch again, and then tapped his foot impatiently.

If they didn't show up soon, he'd have to leave without them. That was a sacrifice he was willing to make.

He stopped pacing to do up his shoelaces, and then slapped his knee in frustration. It'd been nearly an hour since he left Mark back in the vent.

Suddenly, the sound of an approaching car, drew his attention to the mouth of the ally. Hesitantly, he walked over and peeked around the corner. He gasped. It was an SID car. Two men got out of the car, and walked over to the buildings main door.

They knocked on it, and the giant security guard came out to great them. There was a short conversation, before they entered the building. Fitzhugh gasped again. Had they all been captured? Were Mark and Steve too late?

A million questions rolled through his mind. About fifteen minutes passed, before the two SID men exited the building, carrying two cages between them. Fitzhugh cried out in shock. Mark and Steve were in those cages.

They SID men hopped into their car, and drove off.

Fitzhugh couldn't believe it. They'd captured them all. All of them. First Barry, and now, the rest of the group. Fitzhugh realised with horror, that he was now all alone.

He placed his fist into his mouth, trying to hold back the tears. For a split second, he didn't know what to do. Then, he decided that the only thing he could do, was go home. Head back to the Spindrift and figure out something.

With that, he quickly turned about, and ran for the sewer opening. Everything now rested upon his weary shoulders.

***

Barry was rudely awakened by the sensation of something hard, poking him in the sides. He grumbled, rolled over, and onto the floor of the cage. He lay in a tangle of sheets, and blinked in amazement.

"Well," a voice from above him said, "It's about time you got up."

"Huh?" Barry looked up and saw Shiva smiling down at him. In her right hand, she held a pencil, which she had stuck in through the door of the cage, and had poked him with the eraser end.

"Come on," she said, "It's time to get ready."

"Ready?" Barry said, "Ready for what?"

"Ready for school," Shiva said as she backed away. She was now dressed in a black blazer that had red here and there, with a short black skirt. He could make out a battleship grey long sleeved shirt under her blazer. She wore almost knee high socks with black buckled shoes.

"School?" Barry scratched his head. He hadn't been to school since he left for London.

"Of cause," Shiva said, "Now hurry up and get dressed, we're leaving in ten minutes."

"Why am I going to school?" Barry asked, as he picked up his clothes.

"It's so we can be together," Shiva said, as Barry went and hid down behind the soup bowl that had been his bath, so he could get changed without her scrutinising him in his birthday suit. "That, and so that none of the house staff accidentally discover you while they're cleaning my room."

Barry shrugged. That made sense. He finished dressing, stood up, and walked over to the cage door. "Can I have something to eat before we go?" He asked Shiva. "I am a bit hungry."

"Of cause you can," Shiva said, walking over to the desk. She unlocked the cage, and reaching into her pocket, pulled out a chocolate-chip cookie, and placed it on the ground before Barry.

Barry reached out, tearing chunks off the edges, and stuffing them into his mouth, almost stuffing it down his throat.

"I love chocolate-chip," he said, between mouthfuls.

Shiva then sat down in the chair next to the desk, as she watched Barry eat, then when he was finished, she took the cookie out, and wrapped it up. "You can have some more later, when you feel like it," she told him, as she placed the cookie in her lunch bag. Then placed that in her school backpack.

Then, she reached into the cage, picked up Barry, took him out, and gently lowered him down into a pocket that was inside her blazer.

"Comfortable?" She asked, peering into the pocket.

"At the moment," Barry said. "Try not to jog so much."

"I will," she said with a smile, and then buttoned up her blazer, rushed out the door, and down the stairs, to where Khan was waiting with the limo.

From Barry's perspective, the ride didn't last that long, about half an hour. Then, the car slowed down considerably, as it moved over a few speed bumps, and came to a stop.

"All out," he heard Khan say. "Have a nice day, Ms. Torage."

"You too, Khan" she replied, as she shifted, across the seat, and opened the car door. She got out, closed it, and hurried off. Barry didn't know where she was going, but she walked along at a fast rate.

Then the sound of the girl's footsteps became audible, as if she was walking on a floor rather than the ground.

"Good morning, Miss Walvin," the Shiva's voice came.

"Good morning, Shiva," a deeper voice came in reply. Shiva's footsteps increased in pace, and the jostling became rougher.

"Slow down, Shiva," Barry muttered.

Another moment passed, and the girl came to a stop. The sound of a door being opened followed, then a few more steps and the sound of the door being shut.

She reached into her pocket abruptly, and closed a hand around him, and then pulled him out.

Then suddenly he was sitting on the pillow of a small bed. The bed shook as Shiva dropped onto it; she rested her elbows to either side of the pillow and supported her face with her hands, peering down at him from what seemed ten feet above. It was uncomfortably close.

"What is this place?" Barry asked, looking around the room. By human standards the room was old-fashioned, with wooden walls and rafters visible along the ceiling, and utilitarian furniture of the sort common to schools: a lone long desk facing the bed, a shallow bookshelf taking up most of the wall with the door, and on the wall opposite that, were two cloth-covered armchairs that had passed their prime long ago. This was the only wall in the room with a window, looking out on a manicured lawn.

"This is my privet study room," Shiva said, looking around. "Those of us with money, lot's of it, can afford a little extra comfort here." She sighed. "I've always had those two chairs up here in case I ever had any friends up, but I've never had any friends here."

"Why don't any of the other kids want to be your friend?" Barry asked.

"This isn't your average private school," Shiva said. "This is a private school for the mega rich, like with armed security guards, and top notch teachers. All the kids here are real snobs. They have high standards, and I'm considered an outcast."

"Why?"

"My ideas," she said, "My views. All the kids here are about as human as a washing machine. They all want to follow in their parents footsteps, and have no idea on the concept of family, or having fun." She looked back down at Barry. "They view that as commoner rubbish."

"Now what?" he said after a moment.

"Well," Shiva said, "I thought we could just talk, until it's time for first period.

"Talk about what?"

"Earth," Shiva said, "The planet you come from. What is it like?"

"Earth, eh?" Barry said. "Well, actually, there's not much really to explain. It actually looks a whole lot like this world.

"Except everything else is tiny, like you." Shiva said.

"And that's pretty much it." Barry replied.

"What about your society?" Shiva asked. "From what the government says about you little people, you're more technologically advanced than us."

"Okay," Barry said, thinking. "We have phones that you can carry in your pocket, personal computer's so small that they could fit in your bag. Engines that make travel much faster and safer. Ships that can reach beyond the heavens. A connected network system that links everyone to the whole world."

Shiva just sat there, listening in awe to the technological wonders of Earth. No wonder the high council wanted to get their hands on them. "Some of your devices are more complex than anything else I have seen before. Are your weapons the same?"

"Yes."

"And your kind fight each other?"

"Sometimes," Barry admitted, then looking around the room, gave a shrug and a wry smile. "A lot of the time."

"We have a lot of problems like that," Shiva said. "There are about eleven different kingdoms on the planet, and we all hate each other."

"What are the problems?" Barry asked.

"Who knows where it all started," Shiva replied with a shrug. "Only the people in power know anything like that."

"Don't you study history?"

"History, to me, is what it is. History." Shiva said with little indifference. She then flashed a predatory like grin down at him. "I'm more concerned about the future."

Barry smiled back. She reached out a single slender finger, and stroked the right side of his face. Barry just closed his eyes, and gave into the sensation. Then, she stopped, holding her finger against the side of his face, and Barry reached up an arm, as if to hold it there.

"I love you, Barry Lockridge," Shiva said softly.

Barry smiled gently back up at her, and kissed the tip of her finger. Then started to playfully nibble on it. Shiva squealed and pulled her finger away, and sarcastically inspected it for damage.

"Trying to eat me, are you?" Shiva said with a mock leer on her face.

"I quote the fifth!" Barry replied, holding up his arm.

"The fifth?" Shiva said, a puzzled expression. "The fifth what?"

"It's an old Earth joke," Barry replied. "It protects a person from saying anything incriminating."

"Then the verdict is guilty!" Shiva said in a deep voice. "And the punishment is..." Her fingers suddenly rushed for him, knocking Barry to the ground. "Death by tickling!" Barry roared with laughter, as Shiva tickled his chest. He tried in vain to push her fingers away, but she was too strong for him. She eventually gave up, and let him roll up, trying to catch his breath.

"What kind of a lady are you," Barry said, "Taking advantage of someone as helpless as me?"

Gazing rapturously into his brown eyes, she asked, "What am I gonna do with you, handsome?"

Barry smiled, just as locked to Shiva's deep blue eyes, and replied coolly, "I can think of a few things, but you being an lady and me, a gentleman--"

With a catlike smile, Shiva stroked Barry's chest and whispered seductively to him, "And whoever said I was gentle?"

Just then, a loud screeching sound that reminded Barry of an air raid siren started blearing. He looked about confused. "What's that?" He asked.

"The bell," Shiva said with a groan, as she rolled off the bed, and grabbed her backpack. "Time for first period."

"What about me?" Barry asked. "Will I be safe here?"

"No," Shiva said, "Remember, this is a rich school, we have staff who constantly clean things. This room included. You get to come with me." With that, she bent down, scooped him up, and placed him inside her blazer pocket. "Now, let's go, we don't want to be late."

Then, she hurried out, locked her room, and trotted off down the hall towards her classroom.

***

The sensation of the warm sun on his face, woke Fitzhugh with a pleasant feeling. He yawned, stretched, and sat up, scratching behind his ear. He looked around the camp, at all the empty beds, and lowered his gaze to the ground.

"Oh," he mumbled, "That's right." They were all gone. Suddenly, a small white bundle leapt up onto the bed with him. Well, they weren't all gone. "Good morning to you too, Chipper." He scratched behind the dog's ear and he wagged his tail in approval.

He sighed, as he looked over at a certain bed. "You miss Barry, too, huh?" The dog seemed to know what he was talking about, because he suddenly started to whine. "Don't worry, old boy," he replied, "I'll get him back. I promise."

He then pushed the dog off his lap gently, and getting up, clapped his hands together. "But first, I'm going to need some breakfast." He turned and winked back at the dog, "Can't do any military strategy on an empty stomach, my old friend."

He then walked into the ship, and started to raid the pantry. There wasn't much of a menu to choose from. Then he slapped his forehead in realisation. This was how this whole fiasco started in the first place. They were running low on food. He ate what he could. Three-day-old bread crusts, and a pea. Muttering at the selection of food, he then exited the ship's pantry, and went into the passengers cabin, where his seat lay. This seat that was supposed to take him to London.

He sat down in the chair, and began to think. Fitzhugh did quite a lot of thinking here. Often when he was left alone, or when he wanted to avoid work, he came here to think about his life.

Now, as he was the last member of the Spindrift crew, he sat down in his chair to think. What should he do? How could he do it? And what would be in it for him? Well, first, he'd have to rescue the other from SID headquarters. Okay, now he had a mission. Next question, how would he do it?

Fitzhugh drummed his fingers on his chin as his mind thought of ways to pull it off. "What would our dear captain do?" Fitzhugh muttered, trying to put himself into Steve's shoes. "I know, he'd organise a..." His mouth sagged as he realised he couldn't organise any help. It was just he, and Chipper. He then drummed his fingers on the arm of the chair.

He looked down at his feet, as Chipper padded over, and sitting down on his hind legs, looked up at Fitzhugh. "Chipper my dear boy," he said, "I do believe this is going to be a lot harder than I first thought." Chipper then barked, and jumped up into Fitzhugh's lap, and curled up. Fitzhugh smiled, as he started to absentmindedly pat the dog.

"What am I going do, Chipper?" Fitzhugh asked, staring off into space. "What can I do? I'm just a military man who's never fought a war in his life."

His mind floated back to memories at the naval academy. The constant lessons in navel history, learning the strategies of all the masters. Nelson, Togo, Doenitz, Nimizt. All of them, masters at sea warfare. He'd studied their tactics, their ways. He was a supreme tactician when it came to the waves.

And here he was, not an ocean for miles. So what go could he do?

He began to twiddle his thumbs, as he started to realise things looked pretty hopeless. But if he didn't try something, and soon, he'd starve. Getting up, Fitzhugh started to paced about, Chipper hot on his heels, following in the Commanders every footstep.

"But what can I do? All by myself?" He said to Chipper. "I'm just one man, against a world of giants." OH what he wouldn't have given for Barry to be here, so the boy could give him a pep talk, and make him realise that he could save the day.

He stopped pacing, and looked over at the seat that Barry had occupied. Barry. This whole disaster had occurred so that they could rescue Barry. Well, if Steve wasn't going to save the day, then it would be up to Fitzhugh. He'd come racing to the rescue the last time, when they first landed on this oversized mud ball.

Grabbing the last handful of the food, he marched through the ship, to the engine room, where Mark spent most of his time, trying in vain to fix the engines. Looking about through his tools, he came across what he was looking for. Mark's homemade flamethrower. He'd used it that time against the toy soldiers that had been attacking him.

He picked it up, and switched it on. Then, fired it. The seven-foot long flame burst forth, and nearly shorted out the engine. Fitzhugh quickly looked around, to make sure no one had seen his little mistake. Then he switched it off.

Next, he rummaged through Dan and Steve's things, until he found what he was looking for. Steve had made these small grenades that although were crude, were more than capable of blowing up locks, and causing general havoc. Fitzhugh took about six of them, and placed them in a shoulder bag that Valerie had made. Then, he picked up a spare grappling hook, an extra flashlight, and some more food.

He then rushed out to the front of the ship, and stood in the morning sunlight. He paused, as if posing for a publicity photo, as he admired his own courage. "Never fear," he said as if to an audience, "Fitzhugh is here!" He then rushed down the steps, and out of the camp.

A few feet away, he paused to catch his breath. "Boy, all this equipment is heavy," he muttered. Then started up again.

***

"You know something," Betty said, as she leaned against the side of the cage, "This is becoming a regular event, our cameo appearance at SID HQ."

"Yeah," Mark replied, "Well, I wish I were an event that would get cancelled."

"You and me both," Dan scoffed.

"I think it's all unanimous," Steve said, looking at the door, waiting for it to open. "I supposed it's inevitable after all, we haven't spoken to Kobick in nearly three months."

"I wonder how he's been?" Betty couldn't help but mutter.

"Okay," Mark said, "Enough of the comedy, How are we going to escape?"

"Fitzhugh's still free," Betty, said, "Maybe he's mounting a rescue as we speak."

"This is Fitzhugh we're talking about, right?" Valerie asked.

"Don't put your hopes on Fitzhugh, Betty," Dan said, "Most likely, we're on our own in this one."

Just then, the door opened, and a man of Middle Eastern decent, with a navy blue suit entered the room. He had short dark brown hair, and a trimmed moustache, and black polished shoes. He walked in the door, and closed it behind him with a soft click. "Good morning," he said in a careful voice, "And how are we all today?"

"You're not Kobick," Mark said, "Who the hell are you?"

"No, I'm not," the giant said. "Inspector Kobick is on long service leave at the moment. I'm in charge of this city until he returns."

"Well," Valerie said with a shrug. "That was a surprise."

"So," The giant said, pulling up a chair, "How about we get down to discussing the location of your ship?"

"How about we, forget it." Dan said. The giant smiled.

"I was hopping you say that." He then picked up a phone, and pressed a button. "Yeah, it's Jattor, Connect me with the science department." He waited for a few minutes, drumming his fingers on the table, looking around the whole room, even leaning back in the chair. "Hi, is that you Ghad? Yeah, look, our little guests have refused to cooperate, I want you to bring the... you know what. Huh? Of cause I mean right now. Good, I'll see you here in five minutes then." He hung up the phone, and grinned back at the little people in the cage.

"What was that all about?" Steve asked. "A torture device?"

"Something like that," Jattor answered. "That fool Kobick never wanted to try experimental techniques on you aliens. I'll prove him for the fool he is."

"So in other words," Steve said, "You're just doing this for a grab at power?"

"Now I didn't say that," Jattor answered, pointing a finger at him. "You said that."

About six minutes passed, before a knock at the door heralded the arrival of someone new.

"Well," Jattor said, as Ghad came in through the door, carrying a briefcase, "It's about time."

"Oh, put a sock in it, Inspector," The short, fat balding man in the white lab coat replied.

"Some one's not in a good mood," Jattor said.

"It's my reputation that's on the line if this doesn't work," Ghad snarled back. "I truly wish you'd given me more time to test it."

"We don't have time for that rubbish," Jattor said. "We need results now."

"Results, results," Ghad muttered, placing the case up the desk that the little people were on. "Always results with you types. For once, I'd like to see you plan things out, instead of trying to just get results."

He flipped the clips, and opened the case. The lid had opened up towards the little people and they couldn't see what was inside.

"Is that it?" Jattor asked, peering in the case.

"Of course," Ghad snapped back. "What did you expect?"

"May I ask what it is?" Steve said.

"You talk?" Ghad said, peering over his glasses at the man.

"No, this is just your mind gong crazy," Steve replied, rolling his eyes.

"What did you expect?" Jattor asked.

"I didn't know where they could speak our language, that's all," Ghad said, defending himself.

"Now, my question?" Steve asked.

"Oh," Ghad said, as he grabbed the case, and spun it around for all the little people to see. It looked like an old-fashioned switchboard, with hundreds of wires attached to it. There was also a set of headphones, designed for a giant. Ghad then reached into his pockets, and pulled out a set of headphones, specially designed for little people.

"Uhh, what's it do?" Mark asked.

"It's quite simple." Ghad said, happy that someone wanted to know about the technical side of his device. "The typical brain, as we all know, generates small amounts of electrical energy in order to function." He then pointed at the device with both hands. "Now, my machine is a sonic manipulator. Those electrical pulses that our brains produce also response to different sound waves. If we ring a tuning fork at a certain level of sonic vibration, we can tune into our brains, and stimulate certain reactions, like pleasure, hatred, and..." He paused for effect, "Cooperation."

"So in other words, you've built yourself a brain washing device." Mark said.

"Impudent little fool," Ghad said, obviously hurt. "It's more than just a brain washing device. It can also reprogram a persons mind, and if used improperly, could cause the brain to explode."

"And this you want to use on us?" Steve said.

"It's not my idea," Ghad protested. "I still want to run some more tests."

"We don't have time for tests," Jattor said, waving the question away with the flick of his wrist. "How long will it take to set up?"

"About an hour," Ghad said. "Even then, despite it's outward appearance, it will take quite a lot of power to run."

"Just do it," Jattor said. "And try not to blow anything up."

Ghad nodded and whispered something unpleasant, and set about attaching power cords into the wall, and unplugging everything else.

***

Fitzhugh was completely out of breath by the time he reached the park. He doubled over, gasping, as he lay down all his equipment on the ground. Then, he pulled out some breadcrumbs, and had a light snack.

Who would have thought that mounting a solo rescue mission could be so tiring? He sat down, and rested his weary feet, as he plotted his course of action. He'd been with Dan and Mark and Steve to the SID Head Quarters so many times, that he knew practically all the routes to take and how to get there in record time if need be.

However, at this rate, record time wouldn't be at least until night fall. He quickly ducked behind some flowers, as a giant couple walked by. Mumbling to himself, he picked up all his things, and started trotting off again.

Keeping to the long grass, Fitzhugh made his way to the edge of the park, and towards the main road, to where the buses were. He knew that at approximately 11:12, there would be a bus that would take him to at least a block from SID head Quarters.

One time, Betty had discovered a discarded bus timetable, and looking up its stops, located this bus, in case of an emergency, such as the one he was facing now.

After about a half hour wait, the bus finally rolled around the corner, and pulled up at the usual bus stop. He waited, hiding in the shadow of a waste bin, as he watched passengers disembark, and get on.

As the last passenger walked up the steps and started to pay for his fare, Fitzhugh summoned up all his courage, and dashed across the walkway towards the rear of the bus. There, he never had time to catch his breath, as he un-slung his grappling hook, and tossed it up to catch the bumper bar of the bus. He managed to hook it, just as the driver put the engine out of neutral and into first gear. He then heard the ticking sound of the indicator, meaning the driver was pulling out.

Fitzhugh barely had time to grab all his things, before the bus lurched off, and pulled out into traffic.

He screamed out loud, as he was swung about like a pendulum, crawling up the rope, towards the bumper bar. He then started to climb, but was nearly sent flying as the bus changed lanes. He screamed again, and held on, squeezing his eyes shut. The wind tore at him, as his bag flapped about, threatening to tear itself away.

His grip tightened, almost to the point where his hands were turning red. Ever so slowly, he opened his eyes, and looked down. The ground was rushing past at fantastic speeds, and he closed his eyes again. But he had to move; his arms were getting sore and tired.

He opened his eyes again, but this time, looked up. He could see where the grappling hook was attached to the bumper bar, and he had to reach it. His right arm shot up, and grabbed hold of the rope higher up, then he pulled himself up. He reached up again, and pulled himself along.

Finally, after a few more close calls, he managed to climb all the way up, and grip hold of the metal bumper bar. He pulled himself up, and clung on for dear life, his face frozen in terror.

"Oh God," he muttered. "I must be completely out of my mind." He checked his bag, to make sure everything was still there. It was. He sighed in relief, and closed his eyes once more. He didn't plan on opening them until the bus pulled up at its destination.

***

"Did you make this?" Barry asked, holding up a tiny spoonful of the cold soup that Shiva had given him.

Shiva nodded a little. "It's nothing really," She said.

"It's very good," Barry complement, as he took another mouthful.

"You're just saying that because you know that I made it, and you don't want to hurt my feelings," Shiva said with shrug.

"No," Barry said, taking another spoon full, "I really mean it. It's super."

Shiva just blushed, and turned her head away at Barry's approval. "You're very kind to say those things."

"You know," Barry said, taking another mouthful, "It's a wonder you don't have any friends at all." He swallowed, and then looking up, said, "You have a charming personality, and you are very beautiful," Shiva blushed heavily, turning away slightly.

"Oh, stop it," She said in a small voice.

"Do you always spend your free time up in here?" Barry asked, finishing up the last of the soup, and crossing his legs, and looking up at her.

Shiva just dipped the spoon in her soup, stirred it a bit, and then slightly nodded. "I had this room commissioned to get away from the school bullies."

"Can't the teachers do anything about bullying?" Barry asked.

Shiva shook her head. "Most of the bullies are children of high ranking council members," she answered. "Some parents even pump enough money into this school to bankrupt a small nation, so they can't afford to make any of those rich people angry, so they let them get away with anything."

"Money greases the gears so easily," Barry muttered. Shiva nodded.

"The government is so corrupt, and most people don't even realise it." She sighed, looking out the window. "To have a government where the people elect their representatives would be nice, but those in power aren't planning on giving up their power so easily."

"We had a government like that once," Barry said. "On a different continent called Europe, there was a government much like yours. They never wanted to give up their power, and in the end it took a war, that cost 45 million lives to finally end their reign."

Shiva opened her mouth in shock. "All those people, dead?" Barry nodded. "Many people want change, but they're too afraid of the cost, rather than the eventual outcome. I pray something like that never occurs here."

"I believe it won't," Barry said with a smile. He got up and walked over to where Shiva's left hand rested, and started stroking it softly. "If the government is as corrupt as you say it is, then it shouldn't be too long before it falls. And most definitely with as little bloodshed as possible."

Shiva smiled down at him. She then placed her spoon down, and reaching over, started stroking the right side of Barry's face. "Thank you for being here for me, Barry," she said, "You've made me more happy than I have ever been in... well, far too long."

"You're welcome, Shiva," Barry replied, resting his head against her giant finger. "For the first time since I arrived on this planet, I actually feel like everything will be alright."

Shiva's right hand suddenly lay down, palm up, and she motioned with her head for Barry to step on. He climbed on, and sat down cross-legged, as the hand rose to her face, stopping just inches in front of her nose. He glanced up into her big expensive blue, almost liquid eyes.

"Thank you for everything, Barry Lockridge," she said softly. She then lowered her hand just a little, so she could a plant a quick kiss on his head. Barry closed his eyes during the kiss, and enjoyed the sensation. He opened them as her lips pulled away, finding her eyes once more.

At that moment, the siren went, signalling everyone that it was time for classes again. Shiva looked out the window, then back down at Barry. "We'll finish this when we get home this afternoon," she said, gently lowering her hand to her blazer pocket, and depositing him inside.

She then picked up her books, and opening the door, stepped out, locked it again, and hurried down the hall towards class.

Inside the pocket, Barry pulled his legs up against his chest, and curled his arms around them. He lay against the silkily lining of her inner pocket, and closing his eyes, tried to concentrate on the feeling still on his head from her kiss.

Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted, when he was rocked, as the pocket jerked violently, along with the sound of something hitting the ground followed by a 'woof' of pain. It took Barry a few seconds to realise that Shiva had tripped and fallen.

"Well, well, well," a female voice taunted, "Look what we have here?"

"Hello, Tassia," Shiva said with cold tone, as she clambered to her feet. "Hello Burnhild, hello Gaya. I have no time to talk, I have to get to class."

"What's the hurry?" Shiva jerked wildly, as if she'd been shoved roughly. Barry bit his lip with realisation. This Tassia girl was a bully, and she'd targeted Shiva.

"You may not want go to classes, Tassia," he heard Shiva answer, "But I want to, now, if you'll..."

Shiva started to walk, but suddenly halted. "You'll leave when I say you can!" Tassia replied bluntly.

"Get your hands off me!" Shiva cried out.

"Or else you'll what?" A different female voice said. That must have been one of the other giants with Tassia.

"The teachers will save you? Hah! They've never done that before." Another female voice asked. "If Tassia says you should say, you'd better listen."

"Or else bad things can happen to those who are in too much of a hurry." The other girl replied.

"I haven't done anything to you guys," Shiva said, her voice sounding worried. "Just leave me alone."

Shiva suddenly shook, as if being shaken. "You didn't say please," Tassia said in a soft, almost cooing tone. In that moment, Barry actually heard Shiva whimper. In all the time he'd spent with her at the beginning, she'd seemed like a bully to him. She was big, powerful, and controlled his life. Now, Shiva seemed nothing more than another child, the awe of her power melting away with every passing second.

"Well?" A girl asked.

"Please," Shiva said softly, "Please, leave me alone."

"Say it like you mean it," Tassia said, and suddenly, Shiva was falling again, and hit the ground hard. Barry bounced around in her pocket, and lost his balance, unaware of any direction, until Shiva rolled over, and he felt her hand feeling his pocket, to see if he was still okay.

"What are you doing?" A girl asked.

"Seeing if you damaged my blazer," Shiva said back.

"I don't think so," Another girl said. "I think you're hiding something."

Barry froze. What if they found him? He began looking franticly about, but there was no escape from Shiva's pocket.

"I am not!" Shiva cried back, starting to get up.

"Liar!" Tassia spat, and Shiva shook, as someone grabbed her arms. Suddenly, a giant hand rushed into the pocket, and knocked into Barry with almost the force of a speeding car. Barry had the wind knocked out of him, and he cried out in pain.

"What the hell?" the harsh voice of Tassia said. The hand returned again, heading directly for him, and roughly closed it's fingers around his waist, pulling him out. Barry blinked at the sudden burst of light, and glanced up at his captor.

She looked to be older than Shiva, perhaps seventeen. He realised she was taller than Shiva was, perhaps five-foot-nine... or almost seventy feet tall. She had long dark red, almost crimson hair that flowed down past her shoulders. Her eyes were a deep green, and she wore exactly the same clothes as Shiva.

Looking around, he saw too other girls standing on ether side of Shiva, holing her arms. The one on the right, looked to be of African decent with short brown hair, and the other, of Asian decent, with long black hair tied up in a pony tail, much like Shiva's.

All three girls stared at Barry with open mouths.

"Little people," the black girl gasped.

"I can see that, Burnhild," the red head said. She was Tassia by the sound of her voice. The black girl was Burnhild that meant the other girl, was Gaya. "What I want to know is what little Miss Torage is doing with one?"

All the girls turned to look at Shiva, who was panicking. "Leave him alone!" She said. "Barry's done nothing to you!"

"Barry?" Tassia turned to look down at the boy gripped in her tight fist. "It has a name?"

"He," Shiva correct. "Barry's a he, not an it!"

"I don't like the tone of your voice, Torage," Tassia said, pointing an accusing finger at her. "I think you need to be disciplined. Burnhild, Gaya," a sly smile spread across Tassia's lips. "Go show Miss Torage a Blue Gold Fish."

"NO!" Shiva started struggling furiously. "At least give me back, Barry!" She pleaded. Tassia held up her hand, and the girls stopped dragging her away, as Tassia stepped closer to Shiva, almost touching her nose.

"You didn't say please!" She cooed.

"Aww, Please, PLEASE!!!" Shiva cried, as Burnhild and Gaya dragged her away. Tassia watched her go, then glared down at Barry, still in her grasp. "And as for you," she said, lifting him up so that he could be at eye level with her, "I could always use a new doll for my collection."

"Bitch!" He spat at her.

"You talk?" She said, her surprise quickly disappeared, as she walked around a corner, to where three bags lay. She then unzipped it, and pulled out a glass jar. "As for first comment, I suppose I am," she chuckled evilly, as she unscrewed the lid of the jar, and dropped him inside.

"Wait!" Barry called up to her, "You can't put me inside here, I'll suffocate!"

"Don't worry, you little freak," Tassia said, pulling out a pencil case, "I'm already two steps ahead." With that, she unzipped it, and pulled out what looked like a protractor.

"Oh Jesus," Barry gasped, trying to push himself flat against the bottom of the jar. "You're insane!" He shouted out.

"Duck!" She said with a giggle, as she stabbed down with the sharp end of the protractor. The needle like point broke through the lid of the jaw, coming to rest just inches away from Barry's face. His eyes went wide and he froze. The point wiggled about, then withdrew. A split second latter, it came back down, in a different location, nearly skewering Barry's left leg.

Barry tried to scramble away. Outside, Tassia was giggling like a lunatic, as she pulled the protractor out, and stabbed down again. Barry just missed being staked in the back, as he rolled out of the way. Tassia pulled it and tried again, this time, she just grazed him, tearing his left trouser leg.

"You're going to kill me!" Barry shouted.

"Relax," Tassia said, pulling the protractor out, and putting it away. "I'm just playing with you." Barry felt his torn trouser leg. No blood, and he sighed with relief. "See," she said, obviously seeing that he wasn't hurt, "You're still in one piece." She exaggerated a thinking pose, and then added, "For now."

"And just what the hell dose that mean?" Barry demanded.

"You'll find out," she said, placing him inside her bag. She nestled the jar in between some very thick textbooks, and zipped the bag closed. Barry banged on the jar until his fists began to hurt. Cradling them, he sat down and rested his jaw against a propped up fist.

Well, all he could do was wait, and pray that Shiva managed to some how rescue him.

***

Mark fell onto the table, shaking visibly, as he was released from the miniature table.

"Mark!" Valerie cried out to him. "Speak to me!"

"What's wrong with him?" Jattor asked as he peered down at the tiny man, writhing on the tabletop.

"It was too much for him to handle," Ghad replied, checking over the equipment, and changing a few settings. "This is why I wanted further testing on my device. The sonic waves my machine produces can manipulate the brain, but if you use to much power, or the wrong settings, you could liquefy the brain, or blow it up."

Jattor turned from the doctor, to Mark, and back again. "So, is he a vegetable?"

"I don't know, it could have just been a shock to his system," Ghad said, peering down at the man, who was now still. "Or he could very well be dead."

Over by the cage, Valerie screamed, and Betty gasped.

"Monster!" Betty shouted up at him.

"Hey!" Ghad said, defending himself, "I'm not the one who wanted to use it right away."

"History has proven that progress is made through trial and error!" Jattor said.

"But at the cost of lives?" Valerie shot back. Jattor nodded with chilling indifference.

"When it comes to enemies of the state, anything is justifiable."

"You may not be Kobick, but you sure as hell act like him." Steve said.

"Thank you," Jattor said with a smile. "Inspector Kobick is the most highly decorated man in the entire division."

"You want to replace him, don't you!" Steve said.

"Hopefully," Jattor said, his grin growing wider. "And by locating the space ship of the little people, I'm bound to be a shoe in."

"But if you kill us, you'll have nothing!" Valerie spat back.

"That remains to be seen," Jattor muttered, glancing back down at Mark. He was very slowly moving, as if all his joints were welded shut. "Ahh, I think your friend is coming around. See, he's not dead."

"Mark!" Steve cried out. "Are you okay!"

Mark didn't answer.

"Mark!?" Steve called out, a little worried. "Mark, answer me!?!"

Mark moaned softly, as he slightly rolled over on his left.

"Well," Jattor said crossing his arms, "He's not going to tell us anything, put him back with the others." Ghad picked up the unconscious man, and placed him in the cage with the others, who quickly crowded around him.

Mark's hair stood on end, and had a burnt smell to it. His muscles occasionally spasm, as he lay there, moaning softly. Steve pulled back an eyelid and observed the flickering pupils with concern.

"Is he going to be alright?" Valerie asked. Betty moved her arm, and placed two fingers against his neck.

"His pulse is beating at a rapid rate," she sighed and shock her head, "We'll just have to wait and see."

"Is there anything we can do?" Steve asked.

"Pray," was all Betty said.

***

Fitzhugh was clutching his heart pretty tightly, when the bus finally reached its destination. He was so shook up from the bus ride that he nearly forgot to get off. He just managed to yank the grappling hook free as the bus began to roll away.

"I can only hope my fellow comrades appreciate what I am doing for them." He muttered, before seeking shelter in the gutter.

There weren't very many giants on the street this day, and Fitzhugh was grateful for that. That meant less chances of him getting caught.

Looking around, he spotted a half crushed, empty soda-pop can laying in the gutter. Rushing over to it, he used it as a stepladder, to climb up to the street. Looking around, he made a dash for the nearest fire hydrant and crouched down in the shadow. Looking about, he confirmed that no one had spotted him.

He took a few minutes to catch his breath, before rushing for the shadows of the nearest building. Then, making sure that no one had seen him again, made his way towards SID Head Quarters.

***

"And now," Burnhild, said with a chuckle, "For the icing on the cake." She and Gaya both pushed open the doors to the toilet and heaved Shiva out onto the grass. She landed face down, sliding a few inches.

"Not bad," Gaya said rubbing her chin. "The judges give it about a 7.8."

"You would," Burnhild said with a half smile, as she watched Shiva struggling on the ground. "Come on," she then said, as they both turned around and left, "We'd better get to class now."

"Don't worry about your tiny boy friend, Shiva," Gaya called out, "I'm sure that Tassia will take extra good care of him."

"Intensive care that is," Burnhild finished, and they both laughed like hyenas as they vanished out of sight.

Shiva swore loudly as sh