Time flew by as many more weeks passed until it was the middle of May. As the summer heat began to creep in, so did the excitement of the Loud siblings. How could they not get excited with the end of school fast approaching? Brian was one of the lucky ones that didn't need to go, but that was mostly from his usual tiny stature and the fact that he needed to stay out of sight. He easily understood the eagerness of everyone though, for now they could get to do anything within the bounds of their parents without worrying about the educational system. While that may have been the good news, something else brewed in that allotted time. While they were pretty rare early on the weird tears slowly started to appear more often, although thankfully they were still too small to suck in anything big. Lisa was hard at work trying to figure out just what exactly was going on, having to put research on the cure for Brian on hold several times because of it, which thankfully paid off as she noticed certain patterns and traits that she refused to tell anyone about. Even so, the Loud siblings had to deal with multiple tears suddenly appearing to try and take away their valuables, including Lori and her cellphone and even Luan almost losing Mr. Coconuts. Even after each incident, the parents were completely oblivious as the kids did everything to hide the fact that weird stuff was going on.
This didn't faze Lincoln though; he was too focused on the upcoming summer vacation. He already had things planned for him and Clyde while also explaining his plans to his other friend Ronnie Ann. Since she lived in another state though, he could only video chat with her over a computer. He didn't mind however, he still got to talk to her.
"…so we had to pretend to like the fruitcake. Blech, it tasted like shaving cream!" Lincoln said.
"Maybe she should have worked at a barber shop then, which would have been way better!" Ronnie Ann replied over the computer. The two laughed at the corny joke.
…and Luan suddenly got a cramp in her side a few rooms over. She didn't know why, but she felt like pranking Lincoln greatly tomorrow.
"Man that was great. By the way, remember when Bobby was obsessed with tortillas?" Ronnie Ann asked.
"I could never forget after he pigged out at that restaurant." Lincoln said. "He spent half an hour after that moaning in the bathroom saying he would never do it again, and he even caused a line to form outside!"
Brian rolled his eyes as he sat on the sidelines out of Ronnie Ann's view, arms crossed with a slight pout. Ever since Lucy showed him off to her friend Haiku, Lincoln had slowly but surely wanted to show him to his friend Ronnie Ann. While the other siblings, including Brian, didn't want yet another person in on the secret, since Ronnie Ann was in another city and wasn't coming anytime soon, it was decided that it wouldn't do any harm if she brought in on it. Brian just sat in listening on Lincoln's and Ronnie Ann's conversation until his cue was called. He wasn't angry or anything, he was just suffering from boredom with nothing to do but wait for his call.
He didn't have to wait much longer though as Lincoln brought the topic up.
"By the way Ronnie Ann and I know this might sound a bit…weird coming from me…"
"Lincoln, you go through weird things all of the time. I'm completely used to it." Ronnie Ann replied. "So what is it you want to tell me?"
"Well…" Lincoln started. "You know that I keep talking about the boy we took in that just so happens to be half an inch tall?"
"It's kind of hard to forget that with all of the incidents you inform me about." Ronnie Ann said. "They were really nice short stories with interesting outcomes."
"They actually happened!" Lincoln suddenly rambled out. Ronnie Ann cocked an eyebrow looking slightly weirded out through the computer monitor.
"Okay, now you're just pulling my leg. You're saying that a half an inch tall boy, currently living with you, actually was almost eaten by Lori, got trapped in Lynn's sock during a soccer match, AND went missing for a day after getting sucked into something that formed out of thin air?"
"Yes, that all happened! He's been through it all!" Lincoln responded. He quickly glanced over to the stationary Brian, who was still bored out of his mind, which was likely the signal for him to make an appearance. He got up and took a deep breath, not sure how this was going to end up.
"Sorry lame-o, but I think you have been hit in the head by Lynn's footballs too much. I've seen some weird things out of your family, but something like that? I don't think that is-"
"Oh, it's real all right." Brian suddenly spoke up as he walked up and came into view. Once the tiny boy entered her sight, Ronnie Ann immediately paused. Her eyes went wide as she seemed to be absolutely shocked, even causing her to get up close to the computer monitor to see if her eyes weren't playing tricks on her. She sat there stunned for a good thirty seconds before speaking up again.
"Is…is this some sort of sick joke?!" Ronnie Ann said still in awe. "You…you can't actually be existing and-"
"Oh, I exist all right." Brian said. "I've been staying here for a few months now."
Ronnie Ann rubbed her eyes as she tried to calm herself down from the sudden revelation. She did cool herself somewhat, but she was still bewildered and amazed that the tiny half an inch tall boy Lincoln talked about actually existed. Lincoln grinned as he knew Ronnie Ann now knew he wasn't completely crazy, even though she didn't completely get him at some points.
"Wow, just…wow." Ronnie Ann said. "I can't believe I'm actually seeing this."
"You aren't the first." Lincoln replied. "I practically went through the same steps when I first saw him. At least you weren't Lori, for, you know, I kind of told you about that…"
"Wait, so those stories actually happened?!" Ronnie Ann asked.
"Unfortunately, they did." Brian replied. He drooped a little, for being reminded of his near death experiences kind of put him in a bad mood. Ronnie Ann noticed this and looked at him with a similar look.
"Woah, I'm sorry you ended up going through those. Those must have been pretty rough to escape." Ronnie Ann said.
"You have no idea." Brian responded. "Knocking on death's door is not something you want to go back to, and I lost count of how many times I almost went through."
"I can imagine." Ronnie Ann said back. "You look like a pretty swell guy despite that and, well, the obvious size difference. Darn, this curiosity is making me want to see you in person!"
"I kind of have that relationship with people I meet. You aren't the first!" Brian replied.
The three of them laughed as they continued to chat with Brian now being brought into things. He eventually spoke on about the weird occurrences with the randomly appearing tears along with his nightmares and the signs he was getting, to which Ronnie Ann didn't think would get as complicated as it was. Of course Brian was asked many questions during that time to which he answered with the best of his ability. Eventually, Ronnie Ann wished Brian the best of luck to finding the answers he needed before signing off and telling Lincoln "Smell ya later lame-o!"
Lincoln looked back down at Brian once it was over.
"See? She's definitely someone that you can look up to. You're making friends Brian!"
"I know I am, but it's a weird feeling." Brian explained. "While on one side I appreciate the notoriety the other side brings up warnings to letting people know about me when clearly we initially wanted to keep numbers minimal. I'm split to both sides."
"I'm sure it will get better in the long run. You have been making the best of your shrunken height you know." Lincoln replied.
Brian would have responded on that, but immediately Lisa opened the door in her pajamas with dreary eyes.
"It's nearly time to lay rest to the senses so I'm going to need Brian." Lisa said.
Brian groaned. The table drawer he slept in her room wasn't the most comfortable, but it was the only good place to hide and sleep. Besides, he managed to endure there since he arrived so it wasn't completely horrible. Despite it, Lincoln agreed with Lisa as he let her pick up the boy into her hands while giving Brian one final look.
"We'll talk later, okay?" Lincoln asked.
"Of course." Brian replied. Lincoln nodded as Lisa exited the room and shut the door. He could feel the obvious "big girl" shudders as she walked down the hall, silently rolling his eyes behind her back. Even in those months she still didn't get over that certain giddiness, but he understood where Lisa was coming from. It must have been pretty down to have to look up to everyone especially with someone as smart as Lisa, and now to finally have someone shorter must have been a breakthrough for her.
"Are you enjoying all of these eyes knowing about you?"
Brian perked up and noticed Lisa looking right at him.
"Ummm, I guess it's nice to actually get attention around here." Brian replied. "I was expecting to get forgotten the first couple of days I was here."
"And yet the numbers keep growing, that's what I'm worried about." Lisa said. "The higher it goes, the higher the possibilities of risks. I do not want to see your tiny stature end up somewhere we wouldn't be unable to check up on you, so PLEASE don't let anyone else know about you."
As she said those last few words, Lisa really did look worried in Brian's eyes. She was really devoted to keeping him out of trouble, or maybe it was just so she wouldn't lose her only good test subject for various experiments. He still felt the itches from the "tub of mosquito spit and chlorine" experiment a few days ago, not a pleasant feeling.
"Well, I think your siblings are done introducing me for a bit, so I'm sure the numbers will be good at least for a while." Brian said.
"I sure hope so." Lisa answered.
"HELP! IT'S TAKING IN IZZY!"
Hearing the cry almost immediately, Lisa put Brian on her shoulder and hastily rushed her way to the source. It was coming from inside Lola and Lana's room, and once Lisa came in both her and Brian were quickly hit with an image of both Lola and Lana tugging away at one of Lana's reptiles that was getting sucked into a random appearing tear. Lisa placed Brian on a nearby drawer as she grabbed the twins both on the backside and assisted by heaving with them as much as she could, which was surprisingly effective despite the height, while Izzy himself wasn't expressing much due to being a lizard. It looked like a long shot, but eventually after what seemed like forever the siblings showed their strength as they successfully pulled Izzy safely out of the tear while falling backwards onto themselves at the same time. The tear itself, along with some weaker ones around it, suddenly faded from existence as the three got up and brushed themselves off.
"Oh my gosh, are you okay Izzy?!" Lana desperately said. Izzy gave Lana a blank stare before crawling on top of her head.
"I take that as a yes." Brian said from the drawer. Lola shivered as she saw Izzy move.
"I'm going to have to disinfect my hands after that." She said. "I really don't do well with scaly animals."
"Technically they are reptiles but who am I to judge." Lisa replied. Lana looked at the two with a big smile.
"Thank you so much! I don't know what I would do if Izzy was sent somewhere else by that…thing!"
"That's what sisters are for, even if it was VERY gross." Lola answered. "Ugh, I've had it with those stupid holes! Can't they just stay away so we DON'T risk losing our stuff?!"
"I'm currently analyzing their form and protocol as we speak." Lisa explained. "Once I can deduce a probable solution I'll make sure to let you know as soon as possible."
"Well they started appearing ever since Brian showed up, and-"
Lana stopped herself before all three siblings looked at the listening Brian, who began to have serious thoughts. The thoughts casted a mean looking shadow over him as they surged through his head like electricity. It was true, the tears did start showing up once he arrived, was he really…
"Oh man, no I didn't mean it like that!" Lana said. Lola gave Lana a snarky look as she picked up the depressed boy into her hands.
"Of course there's no way my dolly is causing this crazy stuff! He would never do something like that to a princess like me!"
"I'm afraid that's not completely conclusive." Lisa said. The twins looked at Lisa, not understanding what she was saying, while Brian watched with a hard rock in his stomach.
"I lack current samples to put any sort of theory to rest for now; it's a very complicated and sensitive project. Until I can finally understand what these tears are coming from, well…nothing is out of the realm of possibilities."
"So, there's a possibility that…" Brian slowly said. He really felt like he was getting stabbed in the chest. He couldn't be the mastermind behind it all, but even so those nightmares, those signs, and his amnesia all gave pretty negative vibes all over. They were sucking the emotions right out of him.
"Aww, don't be down little guy, it's not that bad." Lana said as she noticed how depressed he was. The other two looked at her like she was crazy.
"Well, I mean, we never have had something like this happen before! This has given us a mystery to perhaps something much bigger, and for us to be in the middle of it? You have to admit that you can't help but get eager to find out the true meaning behind everything. Just don't think about the negatives, okay?"
Brian looked at Lana's caring eyes. He did admit he felt somewhat eager to finally figure things out and put everything to rest, but the possibility was still there. Still, he couldn't feel upset to adorable eyes like hers.
"Well, I guess thinking things positive would be better for me…" Brian said. Lana nudged Brian in the elbow with a finger.
"That's the Brian I know!" Lana replied. Izzy took a peek over Lana's head at him, almost as if he was giving his support.
"Just to let you know, I still firmly believe all of this isn't your doing. No dolly of mine would do something like that!" Lola said.
"I'm going to remain neutral for now, for I'm going to need more information to finally conclude things." Lisa said.
Lisa took Brian back to her room to finally get to sleep. After glancing at Lily to make sure she was sound asleep, which she was, Lisa dropped Brian off inside the usual lab table drawer. The two wished each other good night before Lisa shut off the lights and drifted off to sleep. Brian had a harder time, for even if he was somewhat used to sleeping on something akin to sheet rock, the thoughts from earlier still haunted him.
"I lack current samples to put any sort of theory to rest for now; it's a very complicated and sensitive project. Until I can finally understand what these tears are coming from, well…nothing is out of the realm of possibilities."
The pestering thoughts began to sting causing Brian to shiver in his sleep. There were just too many negatives to think about any sort of opposite. The complements and recognitions fell on deaf ears as the insults and offenses took center stage and reigned. He started to feel cold, helpless, and alone. Gusts formed around him as the chilly winds rocketed behind him, but strangely it felt like something from outside. Unable to handle the low temperatures any longer, Brian bolted awake and definitely felt the winds now. He turned around to see where the winds were going to, and he was not excited once he saw it.
"Lisa, LISA, ANOTHER ONE IS TAKING ME IN!" Brian yelled. Unfortunately she was fast asleep at this point, but before Brian could scream again, the tear sucked him in and vanished.
Brian landed with a THUD against the ground as the tear spat him out. Not happy to have been taken into another tear without warning, Brian got up and brushed himself off as the tear faded away. As he looked down to adjust his pants, he was astonished. The green grass on the ground looked…normal, and once he looked up his assumptions were confirmed.
He was at normal size.
He held back the urge to scream with happiness, his number one goal has finally been reached. He no longer needed to hide himself around others massively huge over him, he didn't need to eat crumbs off of the floor anymore, and he could finally look at the Louds square in the eyes. It was a great feeling, so much so that Brian almost failed to realize his surroundings. Everything around him looked eerily similar, as in it looked like a complete replica of Royal Woods, but different at the same time. Behind him was the infamous Loud House, not as big as it once was before, and everything around it looked like a perfect imitation of the other houses and greenery. There were two things that set flags off in Brian's head though. One was the oddly colored pinkish orange sky, for even he knew that sunsets were unable to achieve that color, and the other was the lack of any sort of person anywhere, giving off a very eerie and strange feeling. Still, Brian was too excited to finally be at regular size to pay attention to detail, he needed to tell the Loud siblings as soon as possible. He was certain they would be eager to see him now that it was all over.
"Brian, there you are! Come on, we're literally going to miss the ceremony!"
Brian was just about to enter the house when he heard a familiar voice behind him. Turning around, Brian smiled to see that it was Lori in her usual attire. Just by looking at her straight in the eyes felt like a milestone. No longer was she gigantic to him, she was a regular sized person.
Brian rushed up to her in excitement.
"Oh my gosh Lori, I can actually speak straight to your face now! Look, I'm back to normal size! Aren't you happy to actually-"
"No time Brian, we're going to be late if you keep stalling like this!" Lori interrupted. She grabbed Brian by the arm as she forced him down the sidewalk, making Brian confused. She wasn't excited to finally see him back to normal? What could be so important that she needed to get there without a moment to waste? So many questions went through his head, and there was very little time to ponder on them.
Once he reached the center of town, his jaw nearly hit the floor. A very long stretch table that easily equaled the length of several streets combined overextended in the center of Royal Woods and not only that, there looked to be hundreds if not thousands of people seated at each chair, which there didn't seem to be a limit to. Past a few houses on the sides and at the opposite end of the long table was what looked like a pure gold chair or throne with a red cloth covering the backside and a giant red pillow on it for comfort. Brian almost flipped around as dozens of formal looking butlers in elegant black tuxedos whizzed past him to lay down piles of silverware and dishes across the long table for each individual person.
"Let's go Brian; she's literally going to be here any minute!" Lori egged on. She dragged Brian over to an empty chair as she took a seat next to him. Thankfully for him, the people around him were the other Loud siblings, and even their parents sat with them. This was actually the first time Brian saw the two in full without having to hide anywhere, so he felt best to introduce himself. Before he could do it though, more red flags erupted in his head. Everyone seemed eerily content with happy faces and joyous attitudes, even Lucy across from him had the expression. Plus there was that gigantic chair in the back, for it to be there something had to be coming and Brian didn't like it.
A voice from down the table rang through his ears.
"She's here! The protector has appeared!"
The people all around him smiled as they looked towards the giant chair. Brian didn't get what it meant until he felt quakes across the ground. Brian started to get worried about what might appear to get everyone this riled up, and after a few more quakes the answer appeared. Upon seeing who, Brian knew he wasn't in the Royal Woods he thought it was, for there was no way that person could have changed that much in one night, yet alone what looked like over two hundred feet.
The "protector" took a seat in her chair and looked at all of the tiny people near her feet.
"Ahhhhh, it's nice to see all of you so happy. It feels great to know that everyone is safe." The giantess Ronnie Ann said to the crowds. The people cheered as Brian had to cover his ears from the immense noise.
"Now, now, as awesome as I am, I can't help but appreciate your support. You keep me motivated to keep monsters off our turf!" Ronnie Ann announced. "Don't worry though, I got your food covered for today, I just need your gifts of appreciation. Can't break the routine now can we?"
Brian's heart sank. Not only was he in some twisted place but now he was required to give something to the giantess. The problem though was that he had almost nothing on him since the tear sucked him in here. He wasn't sure what would happen if he didn't have anything and he DIDN'T want to find out.
As the lines formed, with the Loud family forcing Brian into one, the people offered their appreciation gifts from drawers, kitchen utensils, and even parts to an automobile for some cases. However, despite most of the offerings being of no use to her, Ronnie Ann wasn't really picky and seemed to be playing it cool. It was like she didn't mind what they were, but just happy that the people were showing that they still trusted her. The people didn't even look terrified to offer things up, but Brian wasn't completely buying it.
After some time, the inevitable came. Brian was now front of the line with all eyes on him, so he walked up to Ronnie Ann's huge feet feeling more nervous than ever.
"Well, you got something?" Ronnie Ann asked looking slightly disinterested. Brian shook as the crowd around he started to express worry, as if he was the one person who didn't have something prepared. He needed to think of something and fast. His shirt? No way could she fit in that. Pants? Same thing. Darn, he really was getting a case of stage fright.
Wait, that might just be his saving grace. He knew hanging around Luan for a long period would pay off at one point, and it was now or never.
"Ummmm, well…I heard news today that, ummmmm, a man swallowed whole by a whale, errrrr, escaped today by running to the very end, uhhhhhhh, until he was POOPED OUT!"
While the joke did sound very corny, the dominos easily collapsed as Ronnie Ann couldn't help but laugh which predictably caused the people around Brian to fall down laughing as well. Brian breathed a sigh of relief knowing he just dodged a bullet on that one.
Ronnie Ann wiped the small tears from her eyes as she looked down at the boy with a big smile.
"Heheheh, that was a good one, I'll have to make a note of that for later." She said. "What's your name little guy?"
This made the onlookers express surprise and shock all over their faces, as if they never seen this sort of reaction from Ronnie Ann before.
"Errrr, its Brian…" Brian replied. The girl leaned over and squinted her eyes to get a closer look at him, making Brian shudder a bit. Curiosity was clearly getting to her, for she looked over to the people watching and said:
"I'm going to put the rest of the gifts on hold for now; something just came up and caught my interest. Sorry everyone!"
The crowds and lines of people understood immediately as they quickly dispersed back to their seats around the long table. As for Brian, he didn't know what this version of Ronnie Ann was interested in him for, but he did stay still for her as she positioned her right hand under him, scooping him up and making him eye level with her.
She wasted no time with the questions.
"Alright, who exactly are you? I'm pretty sure I never heard of that joke before, especially coming from a figment."
"Ummmm, I just said my name is Brian." Brian responded with a pinch of nervousness. "Also, what do you mean by figment?"
Ronnie Ann rolled her eyes.
"Isn't that what everyone calls anything that gets made in a dream? I'm pretty sure I imagined you from the video chat earlier, although I'm not sure if that was the correct figure for you. Oh well, it's good enough."
Dream? Did this Ronnie Ann say it was all a dream? Brian started to slowly but surely put the pieces together, and when he did awestruck suddenly came. There was no way a tear could bring him to somewhere like this, places that are practically nonexistent and could only be conjured up by…
…but it appeared during the nighttime when it's most likely to happen.
"Hey, you okay there? You're not looking too well."
Brian felt sick to his stomach. Reality was no longer a factor, anything was possible. The tears that kept appearing seemed to no longer care about logic, for if they were able to bring stuff to places like this, he dreaded the day when something this crazy would happen again. Everything crammed into his brain like a day before an exam and he was getting very dizzy.
"Errrrgh, ugghhhhh…" Brian sputtered. "There's no way…no way this is happening to me! I can't be stuck in this girl's dreams, I have to find my way out of here and-"
His babbling was stopped by Ronnie Ann slapping him across the face with one of her fingers.
"Calm down there drama queen, I can't help you out you keep saying nonsense." Ronnie Ann said. "Now what exactly is going on?"
Brian forced himself to calm down as much as he could, and while it wasn't much, it was enough to stop blabbering about.
"Ummmmm…" Brian started. "Well…you said this is your dream right? You know you're asleep?"
"Yes, I know I'm out cold and dreaming right now." Ronnie Ann replied. "I get these dreams a lot, especially this one. Why are you asking me this? You are a figment of this dream so you should already know this!"
Brian drummed his fingers together in nervousness.
"Well…I'm…not actually a part of it."
"Oh really?" Ronnie Ann asked. "Then how did you get here in the first place?"
"One of those tears I told you about during our video chat opened up before I could fall asleep. I'm not exactly sure why it brought me here of all places, but I wasn't expecting this sort of outcome!"
Ronnie Ann looked at Brian with a certain sting that caused the boy to shiver. She still wasn't quite sure if he was fibbing or not, she needed one final confirmation.
"Tell me one more joke that I don't know about. If what you say is true, you should already have one by now."
Brian didn't want to deny the giantess if it meant she would believe him. It didn't take long for him to come up with another joke he heard Luan say a few times.
"Well, okay." Brian said. "Ummm, research shows that stairs should never be trusted because they are always UP to something!"
Brian could see Ronnie Ann hiding her laughter, even letting out a few giggles now and then. He knew she really enjoyed that one.
"Heheheh, that was a good one." She said. "To think someone like you could barge in here and-"
She suddenly came to the realization that Brian was trying to explain all along. Her eyes went wide as she looked down at the boy in her hand with excitement.
"Oh my gosh, it really is you! I really am seeing you in person, even if I'm not my physical self, and actually holding you! Dream or not, this is so cool and amazing!"
"I'm kind of having trouble believing this myself." Brian responded. "Besides, I need to find a way back before the night ends. I don't want to find out what happens when you wake up and I'm still in here."
"Come on Brian, what's the rush? You're in my dream, so I can make basically anything happen! Besides, you just got here! You can't leave so soon and not at least have your time with me!"
Brian wasn't so sure. Time was of the essence before the sun rises and he didn't want to know what will happen if he was still in here by then. However, he didn't want to feel like a jerk and leave without giving Ronnie Ann some time with him, even if it wasn't actually real. He sighed as he came up with a decision.
"Okay, I guess I could stay for a bit since you want me to."
"Thanks so much Brian!" Ronnie Ann replied. "Trust me; you are going to feel great. This dream just got way more interesting."
Ronnie Ann wasted no time with her time with Brian. She first had him seated with the thousands of people at the table before the butlers came out with the food. He expected the food to be nonexistent, since this was a dream after all, but surprisingly they were completely solid and felt like the real deal. There were a few misconceptions with some of the food that was presented, but Ronnie Ann explained that because she didn't have it that often she wasn't completely solid with remembering those features. Either way, Brian had his fair share along with the "figments" of people around him. He found them to be a bit creepy but understandable. They were conjured up from Ronnie Ann's subconscious after all and not the real thing.
Once Brian felt like he had enough the people around him finished as well and expressed their thanks to their great protector.
"Thank you everyone, I couldn't have wished for greater followers!" Ronnie Ann said. "Would the follower named Brian come up to me for a minute?"
Brian slowly got out of his chair, belly bulging out slightly, and walked up to the giantess's feet. He looked very satisfied.
"Wow, you look like you had a good meal there." Ronnie Ann said.
"Don't get me started." Brian said. "Did you have to imagine all of the foods that make me…big boned?"
Ronnie Ann giggled under her breath.
"Hey, you have to admit that they are very tasty." Ronnie Ann said. "Okay, I already have everything planned out. First, I want to-"
"HELP!"
Brian was shoved out of the way as a miscellaneous woman rushed up to Ronnie Ann's feet. The giantess rolled her eyes as she listened out on what the woman had to say.
"Ugh, what is it now?" Ronnie Ann asked.
"The…the…the Molossus has appeared to destroy everything!" the woman exclaimed while looking very flustered. "I already lost my radio and stereo to that thing, please save us great protector!"
Rumbling began to occur through the streets soon after. Suddenly feeling danger afoot, the people and butlers around the area fled in every direction, including the woman. The only ones that weren't running away were the giantess Ronnie Ann, and Brian down by her feet.
"Whawhawhawhawhaaaaaat'shaaaaaaapppppeeeennniiinnnggg?" Brian stuttered out through the rumblings.
"You want to know why I am known as the protector here?" Ronnie Ann said. "You're about to find out."
Suddenly, the ground behind Brian burst open as the creature made its appearance. True to its name, it was a giant hairy mole, about the same size as the giantess Ronnie Ann, with a big whiskered nose and tough padded feet. Its two giant claws were curved and hollow like shovels and its mouth was big and jagged. The only thing that wasn't big on it was the two dots above its nose, which appeared to be the creature's eyes.
The Molossus roared loudly as it used its claws to knock over a nearby construction site and woodwork shop. Brian tried to keep his footing, but soon found himself bound inside a protective bubble. It floated high to a safe part of the sky as Ronnie Ann looked at him from below.
"Can't let you get caught in the crossfire little guy." Ronnie Ann said. "This shouldn't take long."
Brian was unsure with that statement, but he watched closely as Ronnie Ann approached the Molossus anyway. The Molossus started to waddle away to some other part of the town before Ronnie Ann cracked her knuckles and leaped straight on the monster. She grappled its fur tightly as the Molossus tried to shake her off. Ronnie Ann kicked its back a few times before she backed off and pulled a baseball bat out of thin air. She whacked the Molossus with it straight in the buttocks as the monster went sailing through the air into some skyscrapers. Brian wasn't surprised that she was able to get objects in an instant, for this was her dream after all.
The Molossus shook itself off before drilling underground in another direction. Ronnie Ann cocked an eyebrow in slight confusion before the Molossus came out and destroyed a bunch of tow trucks and a few cement trucks. Ronnie Ann didn't want to waste any more time as the baseball bat vanished with a long rope in its stead. She gripped the rope tightly before running up and tying the Molossus by the neck. The Molossus flailed about as Ronnie Ann held her end of the rope like holding a leash, planting her feet firmly into the ground so she wouldn't get pulled away.
"Urrrrrgh, what is with this one today?!" Ronnie Ann exclaimed. "It doesn't usually come out until night!"
Now it was Brian that was confused. If what Ronnie Ann said was true, then why did the monster come out in broad daylight? If it was a nocturnal creature it should be asleep at this point…
It immediately came to him. It completely ignoring Ronnie Ann, the specific things it destroyed, not looking like it wanted to fight…
"Ronnie Ann, I think I know what's going on!" Brian shouted.
"I'm kind of doing something now Brian!" Ronnie Ann replied.
"Imagine some soundproof earmuffs and put it over its ears!"
"How would that solve anything?!"
"Trust me, just do it!"
Ronnie Ann wasn't too sure on what Brian had in mind, but she was struggling with the Molossus and any sort of idea would be good at this point. Taking Brian's advice, Ronnie Ann imagined up some soundproof earmuffs and held them in her other hand. In one swift motion, she let go of the rope and pounced right on the struggling Molossus. The monster roared before Ronnie Ann wedged the earmuffs over its head.
The results instantly became apparent as the Molossus suddenly slowed down before coming to a stop, almost like an abrupt shock. Ronnie Ann kept her distance as the Molossus turned around with a big goofy smile. It slowly walked up to her before giving Ronnie Ann a big happy lick across the face.
"Eeeew! Okay there big guy, you're welcome!" Ronnie Ann said. The Molossus' tail thumped up and down for a bit before the Molossus itself burrowed underground and left the area in peace.
Once the threat was neutralized, all of the little people came out of hiding and crowded themselves around Ronnie Ann's feet giving their praises. As they did so, Brian's bubble came down from the sky and popped right over the giantess's shoulder where he safely landed.
"Yay, that's our protector!"
"We love you great protector!"
"I want to grow up to be just like you!"
Brian couldn't help but smile along with Ronnie Ann. This dream was a great way to escape reality and listen to positive notes. He now understood why this was the most common dream for her, for this was a great alternative every night since she wasn't in the same state as Lincoln anymore. He wished his dreams could have been as good as this instead of constant nightmares.
"See Brian, this is why I'm the great protector." Ronnie Ann said.
"I can easily see that." Brian replied. "I can also see why Lincoln has you as a best friend."
"Hey, you're my friend too you know." Ronnie Ann said. Brian perked up upon hearing that.
"Really? We've only just met and I still don't know everything about you!"
"Well you did just put up a good first impression." Ronnie Ann said. "I hope whatever is going on with you gets cured. Heh, then I will finally get to see you at normal size."
"Thanks." Brian replied. He was so happy to get recognized as a friend that he failed to notice the rushing wind behind him at first. When the force got stronger, Brian looked behind him and saw that another tear just opened up. It was his ticket back to reality.
"Ummmm, I'm sorry about this Ronnie Ann, but I can't stay here any longer." Brian replied. Ronnie Ann turned her head towards him and saw the tear trying to suck him into it, which she didn't exactly like seeing.
"Oh man, really? I didn't even get to the stuff I had planned!" Ronnie Ann said. "Can't you just ignore that for once and stay here a bit longer?"
"I really can't." Brian answered. "I don't want to be in here when you wake up, for I'm pretty sure I'll fade from existence like this dream. Besides, all dreams must come to an end at some point, but maybe you will get lucky later and another tear will bring me into another one of your dreams."
"That would be sick!" Ronnie Ann said. She frowned before looking at Brian then over to the tear, switching back and forth for a bit before coming to a decision.
"I…guess you're right. I don't think I could forgive myself if you vanished from existence, and I don't think Lincoln and his sisters would like that either. Just make sure you can find a way back here so I can do more stuff with you, okay?"
"Duly noted." Brian answered with a nod. The suction of the tear started to get intense until it quickly swept Brian off his feet. He caught a glimpse of the giantess Ronnie Ann and the tiny people around her waving goodbye before the tear enveloped his vision.
"Ow! Talk about a rude awakening!"
Brian landed with a smack as the tear disappeared above him. Once his vision cleared he saw that he was back safely in the Loud house, but unfortunately his regular size didn't carry over. He felt pretty sad to immediately go back to being half an inch tall, he was going to have to get back to looking at others' gigantic feet instead of face to face. Just more reminders that he wasn't quite cured of his condition just yet.
The ground under him rumbled as he looked down to see where he landed. Once he saw what it was he felt pretty embarrassed as a giant hand picked him up from the back.
"You do realize that I don't need a wakeup call, I can keep track of time myself." Lisa said as she yawned and rubbed her eyes with her other hand. "What are you so excited about?"
"Oh, well, it kind of wasn't an accident." Brian explained. "I'll explain once everyone is accounted for."
"Another tear incident?" Lisa asked. Brian nodded his head as Lisa slowly got out of bed and put him on it to clean her glasses. Seeing the sunlight through the bedroom window told Brian that it just hit morning, meaning he left Ronnie Ann's dream just in the nick of time. He was going to tell the others about it at a better time when they weren't just getting ready for the day.
It didn't take long before everyone was forcibly woken up.
"AHHHHH, DON'T TAKE ME!"
As if on a whim, all of the Loud siblings, with Lisa carrying Brian, bolted awake and made a beeline towards the source of the noise, which came from Lori's and Leni's room. What they saw was a very freaked out and worried looking Leni, sitting straight up eyes wide open. She was breathing incredibly fast and was twitching all over. Lori sat up in her own bed on the other side just as confused as the others were.
"Woah Leni, what happened here?" Lincoln asked. She looked at him with her terrified eyes.
"A really…really…awkward nightmare, so many of those things…oh so many…"
"Take it from the top sis." Lori said. Leni didn't look like she was in the mood to talk. Whatever nightmare she had must have been pretty terrifying to make her into a nervous wreck. However, just as it was thought that she wouldn't explain, she spoke.
"Okay, okay, here's how it went. Well, I was having the greatest day ever as 'Queen of the Mall' and I got to try on all sorts of clothes and accessories for free! It was totes great and everyone there loved me, and then… well, these rainbow thingys popped up and started dropping off these blue humpy guys!"
Brian cringed from Lisa's hand. Thanks to his experience of being sucked into Ronnie Ann's dream, he knew the "rainbow thingys" Leni was talking about were none other than more tears opening up. Turns out Leni was another victim of the tears dumping things into dreams, but he had no idea what were the "blue humpy guys" she was talking about.
"They kept saying that their names were 'Tyrone' or something and started rushing at me! I tried to fight them off of my clothes, and while all of them can easily fall apart from a few simple touches, there were too many of them. Even with no arms they managed to tie me up and started to take me to…THE OUTDATED SECTION!"
She put her face into her hands as she began to cry. Her sisters and brother closed in around her for comfort, for even if it wasn't that big of a deal to them, it was to Leni and she was scared out of her mind.
"It's okay Leni, it's all over. We're here for you." Lori said.
"Yeah, no icky monsters come near you with us around!" Lana chimed in.
"Of course they go screaming when I come to the rescue!" Lynn also chimed in. The other Louds gave their condolences as well, causing Leni to wipe off her face and smile happily.
"Awwww, thanks you guys! It's nice to know that I always have all of you to look out for me."
"Well apparently you weren't the only one." Lisa spoke up. Brian was caught by surprise as Lisa looked down upon him.
"Wait, you want me to explain what happened now?!" Brian asked in disbelief.
"Well everyone is already accounted for like you wanted." Lisa replied. Hearing this, the other Loud sibling also looked to the tiny boy with intrigue. Just because he wasn't related to them doesn't mean his troubles should be ignored, and with the crazy stuff that's been happening since he appeared it was bound to be interesting. Besides, it was nearly impossible to keep secrets to yourself in this house.
Brian sighed.
"Well okay, I'll talk about what happened to me last night. Yes, Leni wasn't the only one that suffered something with these tears that keep popping up, and I'm sure Lincoln would get a kick out of what I'm about to say."
"Ohhhhhhkay?" Lincoln replied in confusion. With that said, Brian began talking about his weird experience since the tear sucked him in last night to all of the Loud siblings. He knew Lisa would appreciate it the most to help with research, and maybe the others would also help him in the future.
…although Lincoln was suddenly catapulted outside into a pool of pink dyed water early on thanks to a loose floorboard, causing him to become the color pink all over. Luan stuck her head out of the window soon after to see her very disgruntled brother.
"That's for yesterday Pinkoln! Hahahahah, get it?!"
