Manifest Destiny
Chapter Two
By GirlX2
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"Octy, ya should have stood by me--this is incredible."
Jed was walking from one end of the pharaoh's chamber to the other; the journey that formally took five minutes was now accomplished in a few steps. Octavius stood on his upturned palm, slightly dazed. His usual aversion to being manhandled was being eclipsed by the utter strangeness of the situation.
'My best friend has become one of the giants.' He gulped, and tried to take the idea in. The general was used to being towered over by the museum's other inhabitants--but this was JED for Jupiter's sake!
"Remember Jedediah--this will only last until tomorrow evening. At sundown you'll be normal again." Akmenrah reminded him.
"Yeah, yeah, thanks Akh." Jed turned toward the entrance. "What say we show Gigantor the new me?"
"I suppose we might as well." Octavius sighed. Jed's enthusiasm was not to be dampened, it seemed.
Jed let out a whoop and raced out the door. Octavius grabbed one of his fingers for support. Gods above, he hated being manhandled.
Jed rand past other inhabitants of the museum, oblivious to their stares and shouts. Octavius felt his stomach drop as Jed catapulted down the stairs at lightening speed.
"Beats havin' to climb down, eh Octy?"
"I--wouldn't--know." Octavius said through clenched teeth. Jed's reckless car-driving was preferable to this bounding about--at least the car had seatbelts.
Octavius let out a sigh of relief as Jed reached the lobby and slowed down. Larry was talking to Teddy near the front desk.
"Hey, Gigantor!" Jed yelled across the lobby.
Larry turned to Jed, waved, turned back to Teddy, and did a double take. "Jedediah?!"
"In the flesh." Jed strolled over.
"H-how--"
"How's anything happen around here? The tablet." Jed grinned. "Why Gigantor--I do believe I've got a few inches on you! Guess I'll have to call ya something else."
Teddy frowned. "Akmenrah let you use the tablet for this?"
"Yep. He was happy to oblige." Jed slapped a hand onto Teddy's shoulder. "It's good to finally see you eye-to-eye, Mr. President."
"Yes." Teddy shot a worried look at Larry. "I think I'll be going on my rounds now Lawrence."
"Yeah, sure Teddy." Larry was unable to take his eyes from the gigantic miniature. "Are you going to stay like this?"
"Naw, it only lasts one night."
"Excuse me." Octavius cut in sharply. He didn't care to be ignored.
"Octavius?" Larry started slightly. He'd completely overlooked the general. "Um…you alright?"
"A tad nauseous. Jedediah insisted upon running to meet you." He replied dryly.
"Ah, don't mind him. He didn't have the stones to go though with it, so now he's jealous." Jed winked.
"I most certainly am not!" The general roared. "I wanted no part of the whole thing from the beginning!"
"Well, if that's how ya feel, I'll take ya back to the diorama." Jed huffed. A sly grin crossed his face. "And since ya seem to hate being in my hand…"
"You wouldn't dare!" Octavius shouted as realization hit.
"Um, Jed, I don't think you should do that." Larry said as Jed dropped Octavius into his pocket. The general's shouts were muffled by the cloth, but Larry could see the fabric shake as he struggled.
"Ah, he's fine."
"I put you into my pocket, you'd be pissed." Larry said sternly. What the hell was wrong with Jed?
"Well, you won't be doing that for at least one more night, shorty." Jed laughed and took off upstairs.
"Jed, come back! Damn it." Larry started after him.
In the cowboy's pocket, Octavius was fuming. How dare Jed treat him this way? He was a great leader! A Roman general of the highest class!
'And I thought I was his friend.'
"Here we are." Jed's voice boomed as he extracted the general from his pocket and dropped him unceremoniously into the Roman diorama. A few of his men raced forwards.
"Are you injured, my liege?" One helped him up.
"No, no, thank you."
"By the gods--the barbarian has become one of the giants!" Another of his men shouted in amazement.
"Indeed." Octavius glared up at his friend. "When you've returned to your proper size--and senses--I'll speak with you."
"Ah, Octy, don't be like that!" Jed called as the general stormed into his quarters. "Fine."
Suddenly alone, Jed strolled over to his own diorama. Several of his people looked at him, and began shouting in amazement.
"Jedediah, what in tarnation's become of you?!" One of the railway workers yelled.
"Easy partner. It's only for tonight. By sunup I'll be back down there with all of ya."
The men looked uneasy, but didn't seem to question this. If Jed said it would be alright, it probably would be.
"Jed!"
Larry had finally caught up with him. Jed sighed as the guard approached.
"Look Shorty, I've only got one night to enjoy this, and I don't wanna spend the whole thing yapping with you."
"Too bad." Larry grabbed his collar and slammed him against the wall.
"What the hell--"
"Listen to me, Jed. I don't know what's going on with you, but what you did to Ocatvius was unacceptable. I don't let anyone push the miniatures around just because they're small--and that includes YOU."
"I was just joking around. It's not everyday I can walk around here like a real man." Jed grumbled.
"I don't care. If Octavius had done that to you, you'd be pissed beyond all reason. So don't act like you don't understand." Larry released him. "Because, whatever else you are, you're not dumb."
Jed's eyes slid sideways from Larry's gaze. "I just…I'm just excited. I mean--well look at me! I'm actually life size, and Octy is actin' like I cussed out his precious Roman gods."
Larry gave him a hard glare. "This isn't you, Jed. I just hope you can get that though your thick head in time to apologize to Octavius."
"By tomorrow I'll be normal, and he'll have nothing to complain about." Jed snapped back. "And I ain't a child, Larry. Don't scold me like I am."
Jed stalked off, leaving Larry at a loss for words. He knew the cowboy was defensive about his normal size, but this was something different. Ever since the Kahmunrah business he'd been acting strangely…
'I'd better talk to Teddy about this.' Larry went to find the mannequin.
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To be continued...