Cherry Tomato Adventure

by birby6

After an unfortunate altercation against Shadap at the Soytellite, DeMille, Sofubi, and Relleck all find themselves at the size of ants. Luckily, Alesa managed to not suffer shrinkage, but now at a fraction of their height they have to track down a mythical garden for a special vegetable to grow back...

Author's Note: This story is based on the fan translation of Tomato Adventure.

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The five watched as the UFO hovered and took off into the stars after yet another encounter with Brikky and Grikky. Their next destination floated in the black void after all, and the Super Kid there desired a very damaging scenario if his device ever fired upon the planet. From the many wacky places they've gone to already, space seemed like somewhere a villain would go to for a final confrontation, not a subordinate. Even so, the Ketchup Kingdom never deserved to suffer especially with King Abira's plans over the horizon where DeMille's captured girlfriend Pasaran was being used to power his super weapon. They've dealt with enough weirdos and insanity since their journey started, and one less would ease a lot of headaches.

DeMille lead the group of misfits and took the situation more personally than the others. With a white and blue cap which displayed two long flap akin to rabbit ears, blue eyes and shirt, and two large white and blue sneakers he surprisingly fit in with the residents around him. Living in a run down town in the Ketchup Kingdom called "The Spillage" where everyone who hates tomatoes, called "Droppers", ends up, he likewise fell into the same boat of hating the fruit and had a girlfriend named Pasaran who he hung out with. Unfortunately, after an altercation between two buffoons named Brikky and Grikky, who worked with the Ketchup Kingdom's ruler King Abira, she ended up kidnapped and locked away into Gimmick Palace. Now DeMille needed to hunt down the six Super Kids so he could break into the place and rescue her before Abira uses her to power the Super Kara-Cooker. One blast and the weapon would turn everyone into toys and change the entire kingdom into the king's eternal playground. After he dealt with five of the Super Kids, along with the help from his other three companions, he tracked down the next one, Shadap, in a space station called the Soytellite. He went through a couple more incidents in a bustling metropolis called Soy City, including tracking down a renowned thief, but once the dust settled he finally pulled through and finally got the space station in his sights. Even though he never considered himself a hero at first, after he dealt with so much in his pursuit for rescuing Pasaran he felt good about himself and his friendships along the way.

Alesa became the first to join DeMille after he inadvertently destroyed her giant tomato robot. She shares a similar appearance to him, although she differed quite a bit. Her two large jagged ears stuck out on opposite sides while her orange eyes caught the attention of everyone she came across. Her hair matched her eyes in color as bright orange, and even though it came up short it also curled up into two small buns. As for attire, she preferred a white dress with an orange trim near the bottom to help differentiate her adoration for the color orange. One of her most eye catching choices came in the form of her long white platform boots with thick orange heels which not many commonly wore around the Ketchup Kingdom. While she looked the part of a friendly acquaintance, in reality she went the distance for none other than King Abira and would do next to anything for a chance to meet him. She even became jealous when she heard about how he wanted to suck Pasaran dry when she deserved the "luxury" more than anyone else. Even though she despised DeMille for his antics in destroying her tomato robot, which she created to impress Abira, once she learned about his desire to also get to him she wasted no to become friends. Deep down though, she liked the extra company and even though she acted rash when it would come to the fateful meet up with her idol she still considered the ones around her close.

Sofubi happily became close friends with DeMille and Alesa after they got him unstuck from a Bananaconda in his hometown Oystown. As a thick round green frog with a black bowler hat with blue trim, a fancy black tuxedo, and a blue bow and undershirt he fit in with the residents around him. Oystown became famous as the one place in the Ketchup Kingdom where it is customary to be incredibly overweight, so naturally Sofubi fell into the same boat. In fact, he relished in it at first and even became a top clothes designer in the process. After he designed fat suits for DeMille and Alesa so they could get into Oystown's Lardosseum, he soon tagged along after them after he realized he needed to slim down. As he traveled along as the next member of their group, he hoped that all of the running around will get him to lose weight and impress his father in the process. He often took a lot of punishment in battle, but due to his burliness he often shrugged off damage and retaliated in devastating blowback numbers. It also came at a cost since he often fell behind once everyone else acted, but he still gave it his all regardless. Despite his insistence to lose weight as he journeyed with the others, he still had a sweet tooth and often went crazy when he saw something delectable over the horizon, especially chocolate. He may have a very chubby and beefy exterior, but once he got up and running he put in work for all of his friends.

Rellek served as the most recent member and joined not too long ago. Even with the short duration though, he actually followed DeMille since he first learned about the seven Super Kids. He never trailed him on foot either, because as a mole he performed all of his traveling duties underground. While normal for a mole of his stature to have two beady black eyes, it also came with two long claws he used to dig through dirt and hazardous terrain. His choice of wear fell to adaptable black tactical clothes which seeped around his feet for the best movement options underground and a black helmet with a visor over the front in case of sight issues. As much as he preferred to not wear the helmet at all times, as a journalist for the Daily Mole he pretty much had no choice since he needed all of the best scoops. He even garnered the nickname "Agent 007" for his endeavors by his boss Mackby, another type of Mole. His skills proved so valuable that he even gained intel on what King Abira and his two goons were doing to Pasaran in the form of video files which he provided to DeMille as he traveled throughout the Ketchup Kingdom. With so much under his belt, it came as no surprise once he heard Mackby instruct him to accompany the other three which he did with no hesitation required. He learned all about the others as he followed them around underground for the next big scoop after all, and in that time he learned to respect them dearly. His blistering speed already helped the group out when it came to tracking down the elusive echidna lookalike thief Berri, so naturally he also learned that they needed him more than they thought. When it came to dirty underground work for the sake of his friends, Rellek became their best bet…and he adored such a position.

As Mackby handled the controls as their UFO moved toward the space station in the distance, Alesa gazed through one of the open windows while her eyes sparkled.

"Wow! We're in outer space!" Alesa exclaimed rather joyously. "There's just so many stars up here! I wonder if I can give them a little touch!"

Once she placed her hands on the window Rellek lightly freaked out.

"Hey now! Don't open that window!"

Alesa shot Rellek a flat look before she shook her head lightly.

From there Mackby found a docking station close near the Soytellite for a safe landing. He pressed a few buttons to slow their descent before he latched the UFO safely onto the station. Soon after he opened the hatch where the others saw a long hallway which lead to the center of the whole place. DeMille and the others knew what to do and made their way into the enclosures of the elusive space station. The deserved such a relaxing landing especially after all of the total hassles they went through.

Mackby looked toward the quartet one last time as he stayed behind on the UFO.

"Well, we have arrived at the Soytellite! Super Kid Shadap should be in here somewhere! Go get him! Good luck!"

Mackby shut the hatch soon after which left the group to take on the respective Super Kid. They made their way down the long hallway and admired the long window across the area which displayed the aforementioned laser aimed directly at the planet. As impressive of a device Shadap built, if they dawdled too long the entire planet would suffer an intense shrinkage. They wouldn't allow such a dastardly scheme to happen uninterrupted, and they still had King Abira to encounter in the future. While it garnered some intrigue, the consequences remained too high to ignore. Shadap became next on the chopping block.

They opened a couple of large gold eggs near the next doorway for some extra items before DeMille pushed it open. Again a long large window stretched across the entire hallway which provided a different viewing angle to the long Mini Cooker and the planet's large moon set directly in front of it. Like the trip to the Soytellite, Alesa got up close to the window and excitingly hopped up and down while she gazed at it.

"You can see the moon real close up from here. It's pretty…"

"Just up ahead is where Shadap'll be, inside the mini cooker!" Rellek exclaimed. "Are you all set?"

DeMille and Sofubi nodded.

"As good as ever!" DeMille answered.

"Same here!" Sofubi responded.

They stayed silent for a few seconds to let Alesa get her response in, but they heard nothing but silence from the girl. In slight bewilderment, they glanced over and saw her still plastered up against the glass while she stared at the moon. DeMille held back a roll of the eyes but disbelief soon turned into surprise when she tried to pull herself away but then instantly went forward again. They heard a few mumbles but nothing too crazy at first. From the looks of it, she really got up close and personal while the glass refused to let go of its new affection.

"Uhhhhh, Alesa? You okay?" DeMille asked.

From there the rambunctious girl finally responded to the confusion between repeated pulls.

"What does it look like? OF COURSE NOT! This glass really doesn't want to let go of me anytime soon!"

She tugged as hard as she could, but eventually the pain became too much and she reeled forward again. While the others refused to test the waters themselves, Sofubi got close and gave the stretched glass a few good sniffs.

"Yup, I recognize that scent. Someone plastered the windows with Caramel Cream Wax & Scent."

Rellek perked up more than usual.

"The cleaning spray said to wipe all of the incessant grime and filth away…with a satisfying sweet tooth?"

"Straight from the back aisles next to Scented Vanilla Fragrance and Passionate Strawberry Surprise." Sofubi replied while he nodded. "Shadap must really have a bad taste in cleanliness."

"Can you save the banter and GET ME LOOSE ALREADY?!" Alesa exclaimed.

She didn't have to reiterate the same point any further as the other three got the message. All of them grabbed Alesa by the backside and waited a few seconds before they heaved backward. As they tried to their hardest to get her away from the glass, Sofubi failed the mention the rather infamous trait of the particular spray on the market. Even though its popularity remained dubious among the few who actually cared about their cleaning utensils, especially in a place called the Ketchup Kingdom of all places, it often had a very nasty side effect of sticking anything on its surface like the strongest of flypaper or birdlime. It didn't help that it's catchy commercial combined with the phrase "It'll stick to ya!" left many with red tomatoes across their faces because the scented caramel caught more attention than many thought. Some rather unscrupulous fellows even used the spray across their faces in an attempt to "exchange sugar" between another which more than not lead to throbbing hands stuck to their faces instead. Suffice to say, it existed in the back sections of stores for a reason and Alesa found out the hard way.

Once the other three heard Alesa yelp a few times they let go so they wouldn't hurt her even more.

"Well…that didn't work." DeMille said.

"To think Shadap's last defense relied not on brute force…but some window cleaner." Rellek said before he sighed.

"Sounds rather stupid the more I think about it." Sofubi stated.

"Ohhhhhh…" Alesa said as her irritation levels grew. "Just…just go inside without me for now! I'll figure this out myself so I won't drag you dolts behind, okay?"

Her response sent light astonishment across the other three. They typically never left a friend like her behind, so for them it sounded almost criminal to abandon her so quickly. The fact she never ended up captured or tortured also added to it because, like Sofubi stated, getting stuck to a window sounded like a completely minute situation to completely go against what they acted on previously. She made a point though as the more they tried to get her unstuck the more they wasted on potentially saving the planet from the Mini Cooker's shrinking capabilities. They weighed their options, but in the end only one came out on top.

"If you really want to…" DeMille said as he twiddled his thumbs.

"JUST GET SHADAP ALREADY!" Alesa exclaimed.

She jolted the others up which flew their feet into a frenzy before they zoomed off in the other direction where a large door lead to inside the huge device. They didn't want to stick around when Alesa became angry, especially when it came to her desire to meet King Abira. She made it perfectly clear that she would do whatever it took to contact the crazy tomato outfitted baby, and if anyone stood in her way…they wouldn't hear the end of it. She already felt incredibly peeved when DeMille destroyed her tomato mech made specifically for her idol, so they feared just how far she would go if the situation escalated. Suffice to say, they wanted no part of it.

Once the door flew open and the others stepped inside they realized the spacious inside of the Mini Cooker matched its gigantic appearance on the outside. Nothing but a mechanical dark long shaft which stretched on for miles existed before as they stood on the only balcony near the middle. Only some large square lights lit up portions of the area around them which left everything difficult to see at times. It left them wondering where the device managed to have an energy source of some kind to power it, although they only thought about it briefly. As they scanned around the commodious shaft no such signs pointed them to any evidence of Shadap anywhere. The station's pathway ended at the balcony after all and no such Super Kid in sight. As impressive of a mechanical structure as the Mini Cooker set in the middle of space, it lacked its creator at the helm from what the others noticed.

Eventually though, after a few seconds a faint dot showed up very far off in the distance of the shaft. DeMille and the others barely managed to get a few seconds before they heard a loud shout.

"Heeeeeeeey! Can you seeeee me?"

DeMille hopped up and down before he shouted back.

"Who are you?"

"Ga-haha-ha-ha!" the dot in the distance cackled. "I am the fifth Super Kid, Shadap! I've been most amused by your exploits!"

DeMille almost exhausted himself shouting from the sheer distance between him and the speck, so he yelled a certain request.

"You're too far away! Come a little closer!"

The lights instantly came on and revealed the entire area in full glory as the three witnessed a figure suddenly zoom up. In the blink of an eye, the one they so desired to come into contact with finally revealed himself. As someone who naturally created the entire Mini Cooker, likewise he displayed some rather mechanized traits as he flew in the air nearby. His blue head rounded into a shape of a raindrop while his bright yellow eyes shined brilliantly. His thin tubular arms showed two large gleaming plus and minus signs which often changed into the opposite shape like a dubious math question. His circular gray and black abdomen maintained some type of blueish belt around it as his long circular legs straight from a blue bomber dangled in the air as he flew. The group made note of a weird white tipped coupling shaped like some sort of ray gun attached near the bottom. It displayed as if he had a tail aimed directly at them, and already they wanted to not remain on the receiving end of it. After all of the other crazy appearances of the previous Super Kids, they placed him on the tamer side which helped explain just how absurd the previous ones appeared.

They finally found Shadap and his purely mechanical body.

"To think you've made it this far! It REALLY grinds my gears!" Shadap exclaimed as he clenched his teeth and fumed. "Let me show you just how terrifying I am!"

From there, Shadap flew to the side so he could show DeMille, Sofubi, and Rellek further into the shaft behind him. His disgruntled frown flipped upside down as he changed his right hand back to normal and threw it upward.

"Behold! The prototype mini cooker!" Shadap exclaimed before he vigorously stated the inevitable words. "SWITCH ON!"

At that point, a light at the very end of the shaft shined brightly as the other three watched in horror as the dangerous machine slowly whirred to life. From the outside, the tip of the laser lit up as its aim never shifted from its initial position at the moon. Without missing a single beat after a few extra seconds to kick into gear, the massive device fired a devastating beam that soared straight at it until it struck its target in nanoseconds. The moon shook and shuddered until the effects kicked it which caused it to contract very quickly. It became smaller and smaller until it existed at a mere fraction of its original size in the emptiness of space. The absolute power behind such an impact against it even left Mackby, who stayed behind on the UFO, watching in awe as the once titanic moon changed into the smallest of asteroids. With such a powerful machine in the hands of a dangerous foe, it required complete decimation almost immediately or they risked the consequences.

DeMille, Sofubi, and Rellek stood in complete shock while Shadap laughed crazily and rolled in the air.

"Hahahaha! Whadda ya think? THAT'S the power of the mini cooker!" Shadap said after he calmed down some. "And that's just the prototype! Once it is truly complete, this entire country will be reduced to ants in the blink of an eye! Hahaha!"

He then cheerily clapped his hands into plus and minus signs before the area around the group lit up into bright lights. Before they even knew what hit them, eventually all of them started to glow a faint white light. Even Shadap began to glow a bit as he knocked some sense into them. Their skins tingled while their stomachs churned like they caught something. Their heads suddenly lost a few pounds as they suffered some type of dizzy spell, minus the one to flew and laughed in their faces. They never noticed the large puffs of smoke until they clouded their visions and left them stumbling in an attempt to stand straight. The moment the entire process started though, all of the signs instantly ceased. Such a weird set of circumstances lead to some incredibly off red flags they wanted to forget.

Once the dust settled though, they almost freaked out. They have never seen the balcony extend for millions of miles the moment they walked inside and the railing seemed to have reached the high heavens of the mechanical shaft above. Some still needed a couple of seconds to come to, but once the rest of their senses stabilized they nearly had a heart attack. They've never experienced such a drastic perspective change in their lives, and yet Shadap provided the first for all of them.

They've shrunk to the exact size Shadap informed them about.

While dumbfounded as to how he pulled such a feat off without the laser, none of it mattered as they scrambled to figure out how to reverse it. Before long, they witnessed another surprise in the fact that Shadap actually shrunk himself down as well which appeared counter intuitive to his goal of destroying them. His miniaturized self hovered down while he snarkily smiled at them like he planned the entire thing the whole time. The three had it coming for them.

"No way! You're not turning us all into ants just like that!" DeMille exclaimed as he tried to ignore the obvious size differences around him.

"Gahahahaha!" Shadap exclaimed as he hopped up and enjoyed their misery. "Is your plan to defeat me and take my Toy Part? IMPOSSIBLE! IMMMMPOSSIBLE! I'm going to CRUSH you! Now, why don't you be like good boys and girls, and go night-night!"

The battle started.

Shadap started by changing one of his hands into a plus sign and the other a minus before he took off into the air. He fired numerous beams and crescents from them and his coupling which left the other three running for the hill. Rellek loaded his ShuriGun while DeMille brought out his Gear-Yo as the Super Kid hovered down to the ground for a quick second. The mole unloaded rounds of shurikens which Shadap blocked with his hands but caused them to change into the opposite sign in the process. DeMille attempted to strike while he stayed distracted but also found him Gimmick on the other end of his minus shaped hand. From there both of Shadap's hands became plus signs which really amped him up as he glared intensely like a madman at the three.

"Oh, you just made a huge mistake…" Shadap stated. "When I get fully charged from these bad boys, well, I feel obligated to DROP SOME LIGHTNING!"

Shadap clashed his hands together as they crackled static before he brought them forward and shot gargantuan bolts right at the three. He left them scattering for their lives as he playfully laughed and shot more. Sofubi almost fell off of the massive balcony from all of his running around, which surely left him a few pounds less, and he bonked his head against the railing before he fired up his Cyclooka. As Shadap put his focus on DeMille and Rellek, he left Sofubi alone temporarily which provided an opening. Once he got on the seat of his Gimmick his pedaled like he meant it until a spark flew out from the barrel and right at the Super Kid. The shot blasted right into one of the plus shaped hands and changed it back into a minus which instantly slowed Shadap down. At least the frog managed to slow him down a bit.

"Awwww, you drained me!" Shadap disappointingly said.

Thanks to Sofubi, DeMille took another shot with his Gear-Yo. He aimed directly at the other plus shaped hand and launched his Gimmick forward. It smacked right into it and changed the sign into a minus which slowed Shadap down even further. The mechanized kid's arms went limp and hung down like dead fish which Rellek took advantage of. He switched over to his Firehog Gimmick and lit the bad boy up which sent the animal straight for the vulnerable coupling. One it found its mark the lit hedgehog exploded and sent Shadap reeled backward. He tumbled and landed flat before he shook himself off and hovered again. Rellek clearly hit a weak spot.

"Owwwww…not bad!" Shadap said while he winced a few times. "And now…it won't be like before!"

One of his hands changed back into a plus sign as another set of lasers rained from above. Sofubi countered with his Bouncer Gimmick which sent a ray of sunlight from above that bounced off of his frog shaped mirror as a laser just about hit him. Eventually, Shadap had enough and brought a sharp crescent shock right upon the frog's noggin which careened him straight into the railing once again. He left a booming impact against it as he fell unconscious soon after. With one of their teammates down for the count, DeMille went for his Chomper Gimmick in retaliation. The long grabber toy shaped like a crocodile extended with its jaws open and chomped right on Shadap's plus shaped hand, but in a twist it not only changed it into a minus sign but the opposite hand into a plus shape. He made his point that he switched things up a bit so they wouldn't get a cheap shot and they paid for it.

He pushed DeMille and Rellek back and left both of them on their knees. They've taken quite a beating, but they still stood up even though they winced. Shadap snickered as he prepared for another barrage of shocks and lasers, but before he could some rather loud quakes shook everyone off of their feet. DeMille and Rellek tumbled backward while Sofubi felt his head bang again the railing yet again. The frog saw small chickens above his head as they circled around despite his incapacitated status.

"Whoa!" DeMille exclaimed as he tried to bolt himself down to no avail.

"Darn it! HOLD STILL!" Shadap retorted. "I won't fall for another trick of yours!"

"We…didn't plan this!" Rellek responded while he dug his claw into the metal.

Everyone had not idea what sort of situation they found themselves in now, but they only required a few more seconds to figure it out. From the door they used to get into the Mini Cooker, one more person came in and she appeared not the most enthused. Because they currently fought Shadap the fact that they missed their fourth party member completely eluded them until she finally showed her presence with large red tomatoes over her face from the incident earlier. Apparently she finally pried herself loose, although with a few repercussions across her head, but she made clear another fact from her appearance. While everyone else suffered shrinkage, the one who previously had her face stuck to a window completely missed the opportunity. All of the facts lined up into one ultimate conclusion.

Alesa became the biggest girl in existence.

She never realized it at the time, but the perspective changes painted quite a picture. Her head alone matched the planet while her eyes contained two moons around the stratosphere. Even though she never desired to have the longest of hair, from what DeMille and the others saw from the ground she inadvertently displayed such a feat to the point where entire continents could call such a place home. Her arms and legs extended across entire asteroid fields as her body kept entire solar systems. The ones situated in the palms of her hands suffered the most damage from her frisky fingers of the deity, and whoever ticked her off suffered the greatest of wraths from her planetary white tall platform boots. It may not have sounded like much, but from such a simple miniaturization their friend suddenly changed into a titan on par with the emptiness of space. While all of them maintained a rather short age due to most of the Ketchup Kingdom consisting of kids, Alesa definitely stood out as the biggest kid in the kingdom…and possibly reality.

Everyone tiny on the balcony watched as the humongous Alesa made her few few steps into the shaft, which shook them immensely from her taller than life platform shoes.

"Ugh, it required a lot of work but I finally pulled myself off of that stupid window! It still hurts, but if someone could update me-"

The giant girl put her senses back into gear and realized the absence of basically everyone in the empty shaft. She stood confused for a moment and scanned the area.

"Hey, DeMille? Sofubi? Rellek? You guys here?"

The others, minus Shadap, attempted to shout to grab her attention, but the fact she continued to walk forward indicated she never heard them. Her tall boots sent the largest of quakes in their direction as she got closer which forced Sofubi to hold on for dear life so he wouldn't fall off from the balcony. Her steps boomed and sent everyone airborne like the largest trampoline with a hard landing until the purest orange arrived on scene. They knew too well that they've come across the bottoms of Alesa's boots as she lifted them up into the air which cast a shadow over them except for Sofubi near the railing. DeMille and Rellek only had moments to scram before Alesa could crush them and the escaped by the skin of their teeth as the huge orange wall left an impact so destructive that it sent shock waves across the ground. The two twirled around and fell on their behinds all dizzy from Alesa's steps, although Shadap just zoomed away like nothing. For just walking into the room she left her friends and enemy on the brink of their ends as they tried to grab her attention.

Such a drastic shift in happenings angered Shadap as he eyed down DeMille.

"You had an EXTRA here the whole time?! NOOOOOT FAAAAAIR!"

"Well, maybe you shouldn't have miniaturized all of us INCLUDING YOURSELF!" DeMille retorted.

Shadap never changed his mood while he shook his head.

"I'M NOT LISTENIIIIIIIIING! No cheating on my turf! I'll just shrink her too!"

After he let loose some of his anger, Shadap turned around and aimed his plus and minus shaped hands upward at Alesa's oblivious face. However, he spent so much time focusing upward he never noticed the giant's girl huge boot swivel sideways until the orange wall hit him face first. The impact catapulted him backward which caused him to twirl endlessly in the air until he hit a huge steel pole in the railing. His body sparked and his coupling shattered as he fell to the ground in a heap, but he still had some battery life left in him. He wanted to add another ant to his shrunken collection, but instead gained a battered shower of static.

"If you guys completely ditched me I'll find and bury you so deep that even Abira would cringe!" Alesa's loud booming voice said.

To make her point, she then lifted up one of her long platform boots and angrily stomped down hard on the balcony. To anyone normal sized it likely never meant anything, but at the size of ants it basically matched a magnitude 10 on the Richter Scale. She sent everyone clear into the air with massive headaches from the loud boom, and Sofubi even cleanly hit the top part of the railing then back down for even more bruises. Rellek and Shadap landed on their heads which provided even more migraines while DeMille lost all of his weight until he smacked onto something hard but cushy. He shook his dizziness off before he readjusted his vision back to reality, but once he saw where he landed he shuddered greatly. Everyone suffered from such a strong stomp.

…except for DeMille who landed on the top of one of Alesa's gigantic long platform boots.

The young bunny kid gulped as he felt Alesa shift her boots again which almost swayed him right off. He held on for dear life as Alesa's patience over their absence wore thin. He knew he needed to get her attention now or never, as he couldn't survive any longer against her antics unless she knew what happened. He placed all of his bets into the pot as he gazed up at her looming body and prepared to shout one more time. He needed Alesa's attention over everything else at the moment.

"ALESA!" DeMille shouted from below.

At first she appeared unresponsive, but as the seconds rolled by he saw her gigantic face perk up a little.

"Huh? Did…I just hear something?"

Her confused expression turned left and right in an attempt to find the source before she tall boots moved with her. DeMille held on for dear life as he shouted again.

"ALESA! I'M DOWN HERE!"

His final shouted finally did the trick as he watched his ginormous friend set her face at a downward angle. Her unaware huge orange eyes stared down at the ground for a few seconds until she saw the speck on her boot.

"Yuck, a bug!"

She bent over in an attempt to flick it off of her boot but then DeMille shouted again.

"NO, IT'S ME DEMILLE! I'M INCREDIBLY TINY!"

After his next exclamation, Alesa instantly paused. Her eyes widened for a moment before she bent over a little bit more for better visuals on the dot. She squinted her eyes as DeMille waved his hands to draw as much attention to him as possible. He continued for a few more seconds until he finally heard the words he wanted.

"No way…DEMILLE?!"

The sight of a miniaturized friend recoiled her back which automatically kicked DeMille off of her boot. Her steps backwards sent more deafening booms across the ground, but for the most part she never injured anyone. The tiny kid landed harmlessly while the others, minus Shadap, breathed a sigh of relief. They finally had Alesa on their side once more, albeit while incredibly huge, although it didn't fully solve their current problem. They still maintained sizes akin to the smallest of ants and needed a way to get their normal sizes back.

Once the shock factor wore off she carefully walked back up to the speck on the ground, which caused even more quakes than before, until DeMille saw nothing but the endless orange wall of one of her platform shoes' bottoms. The upper skies became completely covered in nothing but Alesa's curious face as she bent over for a closer look.

"DeMille?! Am I really seeing you right?!"

Her loud voice nearly blew his ears out, but she stayed relatively unharmed on the spot.

"Yes, I'm…really this tiny!" DeMille responded. "Shadap shrunk all of us!"

At that point two more specks slowly walked up in the form of Rellek and Sofubi, who took a beating from the fight earlier. Sofubi ended up so damaged that Rellek dragged him across the ground, which wasn't easy due to his incredible weight, until they finally made it over to where they saw DeMille. Rellek sputtered and coughed a bit as Sofubi barely stayed conscious across the ground.

"I don't think…we can take any more." Rellek said. "I doesn't help that I…had to carry this tub of lard…over here."

Sofubi likely would have said something in retaliation, but he stayed relatively silent and just held his head in pain.

"Well, I'll make sure she joins ALL of you!"

As if they just scratched a broken record, one more speck in all of of his battered and bruised glory flew up to the others and held his plus and minus signs before them at point blank range. He still acted like he still had the upper hand despite the situation he started. As the others looked at him with flat expressions, DeMille couldn't help but stare at him from the blatant stupidity on display.

"You seriously want to keep going after you screwed up?"

"Screwed up? Nahnahnahnahnahnah!" Shadap exclaimed. "No such setbacks exist when it comes to me and my Mini Cooker! I'll just shrink her next and you'll become one SMALL MISERABLE FAMILY! Kiss that huge size-"

Before anyone knew what hit them, the other tiny three heard the Super Kid yelp before nothing but pure orange took up all of their sight. Soon after came one loud bang from after which caused them to turn where they noticed the beaten mechanized kid embedded into one of the steel rods of the surrounding railing. They backed a few steps and then looked up to see Alesa's cocky smile as she gazed down at the dots by her tall boots.

"I got this."

The other three pretty much understood instantly if their drastic size differences told them anything. Besides, they needed a few moments to heal after they exchanged blows left and right between them and the Super Kid. As such, they waited out on the sidelines while the gargantuan form of their friend Alesa walked over, which sent more strong quakes against the ground, until she stood over the completely minuscule Shadap with her hands on her hips. Her shadow left the mechanized kid almost completely in darkness, and if he still had a bit of strength left in him he likely would have flown off before she arrived. Now Alesa had a tiny Shadap all to herself while she held all of the cards. She waited to have a moment like this for a long time, and even though it never held a candle to meeting King Abira total dominance over a bad guy listed around the top five mark.

Shadap tried to get up, but Alesa kicked him pretty hard to the point where it pained him to move. Before long, he suddenly found a stretching dark orange sky above him as the giant girl stuck a heel into the ground and lifted the front of her boot right over him. The bottom of her boot covered so much he couldn't see her massive body above it.

"Such an inconsiderate bug. You know what I do to gross bugs around here?"

He never managed to answer as he completely disappeared in the sea of orange. DeMille and the others felt their hearts skip a beat as Alesa completely squished Shadap under her boot. If the series of events went in another direction they could have swapped places with the Super Kid instead. Rellek cringed more than the others and even looked away just to get the image out of his head. Just because they finally conquered the penultimate of the bunch didn't mean the methods used seemed a bit too excessive. Alesa may have enjoyed it, but not for the other.

She went for a few more moments to grind her boot a few time in the same spot before she finally lifted it, where the crushed remains of Shadap set as if a bulldozer just ran over him. He sparked and shook, but he still managed to get a few parting words out.

"Ga…haha… I'm the one going…night-night?"

His wrecked heap shook and beeped until it couldn't take anymore and combusted. Instead of leaving nothing behind though something else lye in wait once the smoke cleared. DeMille became curious and ran up for a closer look, and once he figured out what he smiled. While a bit dusty and dented in a couple of spots, it still remained in a good enough shape. After the other Super Kids went down it seemed standard for the specific outcome to occur once again. As such, she snagged it and added it to his special inventory.

They've found the next Toy Part to get into Gimmick Palace; the Robot Body.

Unfortunately, the group never had the chance to celebrate their victory as they heard a blaring siren overhead which forced them to cover their ears. From there a very loud announcement came up soon after.

"SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE ACTIVATED! SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE ACTIVATED! EVACUATE! EVACUATE!"

Rellek perked up a little as he held his ears.

"Oh! Mackby must have activated the self-destruct device! Let's get outta here, fast!"

"You don't need to tell me twice!" Alesa exclaimed. "Here, I'll get us out in a flash!"

The tiny ones watched as the gigantic Alesa fell to her knees and reached down to grab all of them. She made extra sure she wrapped everyone up into her fingers before she got back on her feet. DeMille's, Sofubi's, and Rellek's heads stuck out from the top of Alesa's fist as they barely heard each other over the sirens. With everyone else safely in her hand, Alesa made a beeline toward the door out of the Mini Cooker's shaft. She zipped down the hallway, while making extra sure she never came close to the sticky windows, and eventually made it back to the first hallway where Mackby parked the UFO. Despite wearing platform shoes, Alesa made great time and zoomed straight into it which almost made her lose her grip on the other three. She arrived back with everyone else in tow.

Mackby looked at her for a few seconds as if he expected the others to have fled with her, but once she opened her hand and revealed the shrunken trio he got the message immediately. He shut the front door and piloted the vehicle backward before he took off. The entire Soytellite suffered numerous explosions as they escaped until various parts broke and crumbled off. The Mini Cooker even suffered total destruction as it broke off and combusted in an instant. Before long the entire space station burst into a fireball then vanished without a trace. The completely eradicated Shadap's legacy.

…but not without a shrunken price.

Alesa kept DeMille, Sofubi, and Rellek in her open palm as Mackby glanced down at them and rubbed the back of his head.

"Chief!" Rellek said. "It's just about time for me to head home!"

Mackby set the UFO on autopilot for the moment before he replied back.

"Hm? But you still haven't gotten the scoop on Gimmick Palace yet…"

Rellek crossed his arms and huffed.

"Tch… You're ordering me to stick around until the very end of this adventure?"

"Indeed." Mackby answered. "And by the way, a present from yours truly."

Mackby backed up and turned around for a second as he ran through his pockets. Once he found what he wanted he brought it out and handed it over to Alesa who still had her size to take it. While just a typical disc on the surface, DeMille and the other knew better after their other run ins with previous Super Kids. Because the Daily Mole had intel basically everywhere in the Ketchup Kingdom, it also meant they kept surveillance too…including Gimmick Palace. While they couldn't interfere directly, they managed to record multiple sessions of DeMille's girlfriend Pasaran imprisoned by Abira as they sucked her dry of various traits. Their methods varied, but the particular one Mackby provided displayed Pasaran drained of her excitement by "erasing the save file". No matter what they did though, it only empowered DeMille more to rescue her from King Abira's clutches. He couldn't torture someone like her and get away with it.

"Okay, we've gone through the Super Kid stuff for now and recovered the next Toy Part, but we have to address the mustard filled elephant in the room." Alesa stated.

"Yeah, you know, like HOW WE BASICALLY SIZED DOWN TO ANTS!" DeMille exclaimed from Alesa's hand. "We can't finish our adventure like this!"

"Mmmmmph…I lost so much…weight…"

DeMille and Rellek turned around where they saw Sofubi still on his back after he suffered near fatal damage from the battle beforehand. They've tangled themselves up so much with their Super Kid and miniaturization issues that they completely forgot about how much the fat frog endured for the team. To help rejuvenate him back into shape, Rellek walked across Alesa's hand with a cup of Gold Gel. As one of the best healing items in the kingdom, he knew ingesting just one brought anyone back into fighting shape. Once he got up to Sofubi he tilted his head up and shoved the sweet treat down his throat. While it needed a couple of seconds, the frog jolted up and instantly found himself back on his feet like nothing happened. His eyes flew open and his whole body felt a surge of restoration. With just one healing item, they brought Sofubi back to fighting fit.

"Whoa! Just what I needed!" Sofubi exclaimed. "I could have used that ages ago!"

"Well, we have more pressing matters if you couldn't tell." Rellek said and he pointed at DeMille…then the giant Alesa holding them.

"Okay, okay! No need to rub in the cream filling!" Sofubi responded. "At least while small I don't weigh like a small whale!"

"Well, we need to reverse this process anyway." DeMille responded.

Before long, the miniaturized bunny boy immediately found the giant face of his friend Alesa as she gazed endlessly at him with her planetoid eyes. She remained relatively silent as DeMille shuddered from the gigantic presence her, especially since he stood in her hand while she held him. At her size she basically called all of the shots and could do whatever she wanted with him like some sort of tiny toy. Even though the likiness stayed relatively minor in DeMille's head, he knew she always had the possibility to have her fun with him and the other two if she wanted. He wanted her to consider him as a friend and not as an object. Alesa knew better than to devolve herself into a power crazed maniac, although that one percent still lingered in the back of her head.

Even so, he never expected her to ever reach the skies like a titan.

"Alesa? You, uhhhhhh, need something?" DeMille asked slightly nervously.

Alesa brought her huge head back a little.

"Oh, ummmm, sorry. Just a bit…curious and all that. I have to admit though…you look rather cute all tiny within my hand!"

DeMille's back went stiff as his face lit up like a red tomato despite his typical dislike of the fruit. Sofubi and Rellek caught on quickly and stood on the sideline with the smuggest expressions straight out of an old cartoon. They even lifted their eyebrows a few times which caused DeMille to turn away from them.

"Well, errrrrrr, I…"

DeMille could get his words out as he resorted to covering his face just to hide the surfaced emotion painted on it. Such a reaction actually caused Alesa to giggle a little.

"Aww, does the tiny DeMille find me adorable as well all huge like this?" Alesa playfully said as she snarkily smiled. "Maybe I'm just as cute…as Pasaran?"

DeMille's face pretty much changed entirely into a tomato at that point. While he thought Alesa had an attractive charm, the fact her appearance completely blew up all across his vision amplified her features ten fold. He almost couldn't take it, and yet he already set all of his feelings aside for his true girlfriend, Pasaran. However, the moment the thought occurred to him it stayed stuck in his head. If Alesa's gargantuan size since he shrunk magnified her adorableness to where it literally took up everything his saw, he dreaded how a giant Pasaran would appear to him. Just the sight of her would leave him hospitalized for months, and even King Abira knew of her adorableness or else he likely wouldn't have kidnapped her in the first place. If a giant Alesa already left him wishing he loved tomatoes in the first place, a titanic Pasaran left him as a lover of the fruit for the rest of his life.

DeMille couldn't bring it to himself to lift his head up. The constant barrage of words forced him to retreat, but Alesa wouldn't let it stop. To tease him even further, she lightly poked him all across his tiny body with one of her huge fingers which tightened him up even more.

"Come on DeMille, for you can't ignore me forever while that tiny!"

Like before, he refused to lift his tomato plastered face. Rellek and Sofubi lightly snickered as Alesa poked him one more time. After she had her tiny fun, she used her finger again to gently move DeMille's stricken face back up where he got a full view of her huge face. He just about wanted to dig his face back down, but he never had the time to as he found himself at the other end of one strong flick straight across his body. Such a swift action caught the others by surprise as DeMille fell back while Sofubi and Rellek stood in shock. She packed less of a punch than usual likely so he wouldn't fly off of her hand, but it didn't soothe the large red mark across his body. She went from cherry cherub to gherkin demon at the flick of a switch and played him perfectly like a shamisen with licorice for strings.

Alesa's sweet demeanor also dipped sour a little if her light frown never gave it away.

"Don't trash my tomato robot for Abira again."

She made herself clear as to why she acted the way she did. While a bit sore from the smack, DeMille's tomato soothed into a white radish one he realized what happened. Sofubi and Rellek bawled into laughter once Alesa finished with him to the point where they fell over. Sofubi eventually found himself on his back and couldn't get back up, but it never stopped his laughing fit. DeMille just watched in slight disbelief that his friends turned on him in such an insulting manner, although not offensively harmful. He wanted to see how they felt when under the exact same conditions and once they realized the awkwardness of the situation it would wipe the smiles off of their faces. DeMille never laughed, but the other two divulged into complete hysteria right at him.

The tables turned though once Alesa took notice and glared in their direction with her gigantic orange eyes.

"Don't make me act like I'm holding ants and nothing else."

In just one sentence, both Sofubi and Rellek paused. They froze on the spot while their eyes went blank. They looked at each other for a few seconds until they got the message and stood up as if nothing happened…if Sofubi could pull himself up. Because of his round chubby scope Rellek went behind him and pushed him back onto his feet. For DeMille, while satisfied that they got a taste of their own medicine it didn't help that they still remained as dots compared to Alesa. They had their fun, but they needed to get back on track.

Before DeMille could thank her for the backup, she immediately diverted her huge attention back to himself and stated:

"I just want to get to Abira and shower him with praise as soon as possible."

She made her point clear once again for the ten millionth time, and while it would have hurt his feelings if he never knew better such a facade only performed so well over time. Deep down she liked to hang around the others because if she wanted Abira so badly she could have left at any point. While she may express herself in a harsh tone at time, she did so because she cared. Her intentions stood out as obvious, but even she might surprise herself down the road. It made Alesa relatable in more ways than one.

"Well…we have that out of the way." DeMille said. "Now about getting us back to normal size…"

"Already on it."

Such a response never came from any of the four, but Rellek's boss who remained relatively silent until then. He had his attention on one of the UFO's monitors as various images whizzed across the screen. Some detailed important locations around the Ketchup Kingdom while others displayed important beings in the kingdom, but every since one seemed to have frustrated Macby even more. He shook his and sighed as he ran his hands over the keyboard yet his mood never changed. Something about what he saw irked him.

"Uhhhh, you okay chief?" Rellek asked.

"Not the greatest." Mackby answered. "I broke into the console's mainframe and ran through the entire database of what the Daily Mole gathered over the years. Even over countless CDs and newspapers of what we've gathered, I saw nothing about a potential reversal for a shrinkage."

"Couldn't you just, like…create a machine to reverse the process?" Sofubi asked. "I mean, if Shadap could make a shrinking device surely you could-"

"If I had the technical know how I would have done so ages ago." Mackby interjected. "Something of that scale requires far more than a genius mind, even considering someone like the Hanzo brothers. Shadap really gathered a lot to create that Mini Cooker, and I don't think we have the amounts of materials to create something of that magnitude."

"Maybe we should finish what we started a while back then."

Mackby's back immediately went straight. Everyone else brought their attention over to the source, where they saw one of the Daily Mole's top agents in Alesa's hand near the others. He completely caught Mackby off guard, and even the others for the matter, as they remained clueless about what he meant.

"Excuse me?" Mackby said as he eyed the speck of Rellek. "Care to explain a bit further?"

"Remember the one story at the beginning of our career?"

Mackby paused for a bit as the wheels in his head spun around like cogs. The others watched him as he stepped back silently until his pondering changed into understanding. His disdain slowly faded as he connected the dots and nodded his head to himself. He pointed at Relleck while he aimed his sight to the side.

"No way. I…I can't believe it. How could I have forgotten… With what we have now…it might work! Yes, of course!"

He raced back to the monitor and shoved discs into the tray which brought up more windows the others couldn't understand. Rellek crossed his arms happily while the others watched in confusion.

"Umm, am I missing something here?" Alesa asked.

Mackby spent a few more minutes on the monitor before he shut it down. He lightly sighed a bit before he addressed the situation, but his mood never dropped.

"As I expected, we have only a couple of snippets but nothing concrete. That figures due to when we tackled the subject."

"Yeah, when we lacked basically everything we have now." Rellek responded as he rolled his eyes.

"Can one of you please explain what you have in mind before we get even more confused?" DeMille asked.

Mackby glared at the speck of DeMille in Alesa's hand again.

"Oh, my apologies. We just may have rediscovered something which could completely restore you back to normal."

The other three completely perked up once they heard the magic words. After what seemed like a hopeless endeavor, something unexpected completely stole the show for the better.

"Really? You found a way to get our sizes back?" Sofubi asked as his eyes opened wide. "How?"

Both Mackby and Rellek faced the other three with smiles while the other waited in anticipation. Before long, both uttered the answer at the same time.

"Sweetpea Garden."

Such a statement completely zipped over the other threes' heads. Such a weird sounding place where one may easily plant vegetables became the answer they looked for which came straight out of left field. At least it sounded tolerant and not dangerous, for words like "fiery", "fatal", and even something like "toxic" may completely stir the tides another direction. After their trek through a spooky mountain where loose organs became the norm they needed something calm for a change. Such a name indicated something not so terrible, and yet they couldn't judge so quickly.

"Sweet what?" Alesa asked.

"Sweetpea Garden." Rellek stated again. "A place shrouded in mystery but said to house strange veggies of various effects."

"And their most prized possession may serve as the key to your problem." Mackby explained. "Back when the Daily Mole just started up we took on a story that started with a bunch of rumors. They talked about a garden somewhere in PokyPine Wood where the most extravagant veggies grew which had special abilities. While a few special agents went out for more information and potential discoveries, including Rellek, they found…basically nothing."

"…except strict back pain after I wandered into a sticky marsh." Rellek added. "I sort of…inadvertently wandered off the beaten path from misguided directions."

"Well, you just joined the agency at the time." Mackby responded. "You kept quite a temper back then until you made that mistake. I'm surprised you managed to get out on you own with all of those white squishy floating squares in your way."

"Yeah, they saved my bacon and I calmed down afterward." Rellek stated. "I guess you can say that marsh mellowed me out."

DeMille and Alesa rolled their eyes and groaned while Sofubi salivated.

"Anyways, one of their most coveted vegetables just so happens to expand one's size to gigantic heights, and they almost never let anyone taste it for their own safety. Not just anyone can walk up and grab a bite of it. Of course, nobody knows if such a place even exists and while we failed to find it on our first attempt with our upgrades to technology now we may actually have a chance. While a long shot, we don't exactly have any other leads to go off of. If you find that garden though, well, you just stumbled upon your way back to normal size."

Hearing such a possibility became music to the tiny three's ears. They've gone through several places already, so another one seemed like a walk in the park. However, because nobody had ever seen such a place yet it could have never existed. They lacked any other option though, but if the Daily Mole really evolved over time to where their tracking skills maintained such high levels their chances stayed higher than if they went for it back in the day. Rellek's abilities also honed in to perfection to the point where he knew most of the Ketchup Kingdom like the back of his hand, so while he lost most of his size he still knew how to sneak into places uninvited. If such a mythical place existed they just found their ticket to getting their sizes back.

"So…we find this Sweetpea Garden place and eat a portion of that special vegetable to grow back to normal?" DeMille asked.

"That's the plan." Mackby answered. "It's been so long ago since that attempt I've almost completely forgotten about it until Rellek reminded me. Thanks, cadet."

"No problem, chief!" Rellek replied while he mildly saluted.

"I'll provide you with some of our new gadgets that should help." Mackby said. "We didn't have them back then, so they would really increase your chances to tracking the place down now. I wish I could accompany all of you, but I have the Daily Mole to watch over."

With that, everything became clear. Even though only Alesa escaped with her size intact, the four needed to find the hidden garden and chomp on the one vegetable there to restore themselves to normal height. Because of such a setback, their quest to defeat the Super Kids for their Toy Parts to rescue Pasaran required a temporary standby until they reversed their shrinkage. They've gone through many situations and locations before, so another visit to a weird place in the Ketchup Kingdom became standard at that point. Whatever waited for their arrival they just had to deal with it and hope for the best. The sooner they got their sizes back the faster they could get back to their main quest in rescuing Pasaran.

Time to break some myths and find the mystic garden.

Mackby flew the UFO closer to land and prepared to dock.

"Well then… See you around! Defeat the next Super Kid, and then it's off to Gimmick Palace…once you grow back to normal!"

Rellek disappointingly fell forward onto Alesa's hand since he had to stick around the others for a bit longer.

"Gah…"

---

DeMille knew where to backtrack so the group could get into PokyPine Wood for their next excursion. Alesa kept the three tiny ones on her shoulder while she attempted to work with the devices Mackby provided. The stillness in the air and world around them left the place rather quiet, which made it the perfect place to play. DeMille even remembered the times he and Pasaran used to hide behind the trees and claim they upset the "Spirit of the Woods" in an attempt to scare the other. In the end though they laughed it up and ran off to play something else. While the Toy Ruin set a short distance from the woods, they never strayed too far into it until the moment Pasaran got kidnapped. However, in all of his years playing in PokyPine Wood he never expected somewhere totally secretive to have existed right under the greens of the trees the entire time. Until Rellek and Mackby dropped the bombshell he only thought of the area as a quiet place to hang out, so to have completely missed such a rumor completely astonished him. All of his time spent in the slums of The Spillage may have left many common details out of his head, but now he needed to find the place more than ever. PokyPine Wood may have stood out as still, but for a different reason altogether.

Alesa continuously fidgeted with the controls while her hands shook as she turned a few knobs over and over.

"Ugh! Would it have ended him to have also given us an instruction manual?! I could have simplified all of this in my sleep!"

"Well, you seem to have…some idea about how it works." Sofubi replied.

Alesa instantly turned her gigantic frustrated expression over to the dots on her shoulder.

"I'd like to see you work this and not snap a nerve!"

Sofubi curled up and shuddered.

"I don't exactly have, uhhhhh, the technological…expertise."

"None of us really do except for Alesa." Rellek responded. "I'm still learning about the devices the chief has kept behind his back all of these years!"

"Just…let me figure this out before I blow another gasket." Alesa stated as she rubbed the sides of her head. "If anything I may have stumbled close to the spot."

She continued walking over similar paths for a couple of minutes and tried to work anything across the remote for any extra help. The large light bulb on top flickered crazily a few times but it typically resulted in nothing by a stray enemy close by. Because all of them lacked the size to battle they needed to avoid encounters more than ever, and Alesa performed her best to make sure it never happened. Her time mostly remained on the remote Mackby provided that supposedly had something to help track the mysterious garden down, which Alesa couldn't figure out. No matter how many buttons she pressed or dials she turned nothing apparent occurred to crack the case wide open. DeMille and the other tiny ones stayed relatively silent so they wouldn't find themselves on the receiving end of a giant frustrated Alesa. They saw what she did to Shadap with her tall platform boots and they wanted to not suffer the same fate. Alesa had the entire situation on her shoulders…and the shrunken three.

After thirty minutes or so Alesa finally took a break. She sat on a small hill about her height and set the remote next to her as she rubbed her forehead from the constant headaches.

"Come on! I've found next to ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!"

"Well, nobody has actually found the place before." DeMille said. "They don't exactly place neon signs above places that want to stay out of the public eye."

"Trust us when I say we wish we could help." Sofubi added. "I want to find this place as much as any other desperate person!"

"I'm mostly here because my chief told me to tag along, soooooooo…" Rellek stated before he guiltily looked up and rolled his eyes.

"Wow. Way to kill the mood there, Rellek." DeMille flatly said.

"Hey, I'm just stating the facts here!" Rellek responded.

"Can all of you down there just shut up and turn off that incessant beeping before raspberry jam pours out from my ears?!" Alesa's voice boomed overhead.

After her slight outburst the others granted her wish. All of them went quiet to ease the pain of Alesa's efforts, but it only partially solved her headaches. Another loud sound came from below and once everyone looked down they realized they heard the special device Mackby gave them as it went crazy. The light bulb flickered erratically while the remote blared out like it detected an upcoming apocalypse. It even shook and clanged in every single as if it wanted to garner as much attention as possible. At times it even hurt to even glance toward it because of the bright lights which it never did before it went berserk. Whatever happened, the device also got its wish.

"GEEZ! DID MACKBY PROVIDE A DEFECTIVE GADGET OR SOMETHING?!" DeMille exclaimed as he covered his eyes and ears.

"WHHHHHAAAAT?! DID YOU JUST SAY SOMETHING?!" Sofubi shouted over the loud sirens.

"I CAN BARELY HEAR MYSELF THINK!" Alesa yelled. "SOMEONE SHUT THAT STUPID THING OFF!"

It quickly granted Alesa's second desire. As if on command, the whole remote combusted on the spot in a small explosion as various sprockets and screws went airborne before they landed in the wreckage. While it injured nobody, it at least ceased all of the loud noises that gave everyone huge migraines. Nobody knew what to say at first, but they saw what happened as clear as day. They just lost their one ticket to finding the secret garden.

Everyone just stood baffled at what just occurred.

"Well…that happened." Rellek stated.

"I don't need to eat dozens of carrots for better vision to see that." DeMille said.

"I sort of prefer large donuts myself." Sofubi said.

"Well, ain't that great." Alesa crossly said. "Your boss has some faulty equipment there, Rellek."

"Nonsense! The chief always thinks one step ahead!" Rellek responded.

"Then explain why it went haywire like you triggered something." Alesa said.

The others continued their bantering while DeMille kept his eyes on the ruined wreckage of the device. He never thought too much about it until it literally blew up right in front of their faces. Surely Mackby gave them something that functioned contrary to a complete dud. If he told the truth and gave them something that worked than it made no sense for it to go berserk then explode unless it performed its intended function. Something didn't quite sit well as DeMille scanned over the spot as if some clues existed and waited for discovery.

The shrunken bunny type kid tilted his head in confusion before his crystal clear vision spotted something strange. It barely stuck out from the ruined gears, blades of grass, and viewing angle which left DeMille questioning for a few seconds as to whether or not he imagined it. However, the more he stared at it the more he realized he found something. From a very concentrated opening about the size of his shrunken fist some faint hollow black stayed hidden not from the destroyed remote. He kept some details up in the air though until he could go in for a closer inspection.

"Hey, Alesa?"

The other three paused for a few moments once they heard DeMille speak. They then faced him as Alesa cocked a gigantic eyebrow.

"Yes, DeMille? Got something on your mind?" Alesa asked.

"Can you place us down near that particular spot by the wreckage?"

The tomato hating kid pointed down at the spot as Alesa followed his tiny finger to where he indicated.

"Ohhhhhh…kay?" Alesa bewilderingly answered.

The shrunken three watched as one of the giant girl's huge hands set right next to her shoulder for the others to hop on. They precariously made their way on top of her fingers before she slowly lowered them down toward the ground. Once she set it flat the moment it touched dirt the tiny ones got off while DeMille headed the pack. They managed to get a closer look at the ruined spot where the remote detonated, which appeared as if someone dropped a nuclear warhead since next to nothing remained other than some charred grass. The grass itself also made the whole area around them like the thickest jungle in a kingdom where one didn't exist, although the still saw the titanic presence of Alesa overhead. If PokyPine Wood painted a calm charming play area, down under the wild ones claimed the place as home.

The three walked a bit further until the weird spot became impossible to miss. From how small it appeared it almost seemed like a miracle for DeMille to have noticed something of its caliber. Right on the side of the small hill Alesa sat on a concave gap just big enough for the three to squeeze through set behind entire clumps of large grass. The three tiny ones glanced at each other like they wanted to have a penny for their thoughts while the massive girl of the group placed her tall boots on the ground, which sent a strong tremor across the ground, and got on her knees for better visuals. They saw nothing but pure darkness the deeper it went, which gave goosebumps to some of the more timid members. If the remote went crazy because it finally found something abnormal, DeMille and the others may have struck gold.

They immediately conversed on the most pressing matter.

"So…Sofubi goes in first then." DeMille stated.

Sofubi jolted upwards and trembled uncontrollably while beads of sweat poured all over him.

"Whawhawha-WHY ME?! I'm definitely not, uhhhhhhhhh, fit for tight spaces!"

"Well, you have the extra padding, errrrrrrrrr, in case something jumps out!" Rellek answered in quick succession.

Alesa's huge orange eyes stared at the three in disbelief.

"Seriously, you tiny three? We've gone through much worse and can't progress…because all of you have nyctophobia? Mount S'creme had more guts than this!"

DeMille chimed in.

"Well, it also had loose eyeballs, endo skeletons, brain spiders-"

Sofubi instantly shot a glance up at Alesa's gigantic face overhead which shut DeMille up.

"Congratulations, for now I DEFINITELY don't want to go spelunking in that hole!"

"Well, if that remote clearly detected something with only a hole here then clearly-"

DeMille valiantly held up one of his arms in the air and took a rather courageous stance while a bright shine lit up behind him. The others looked at him in awe as they waited for his final words.

"-we should come back later!"

As if on command, the tiny dot of DeMille zoomed off to the right as fast as he could, but due to his shrunken size he never managed to get far until one of Alesa's huge hands blocked his path. He ran right into it and rebounded back onto the ground as the giant girl stared down at him while slightly disappointed.

"Oh, no you don't! If I have to pull my weight as the only normal sized one, you have to perform your part as an ant! If that remote clearly went crazy for that hole, then get in there already!"

She pushed DeMille back with the others who still attempted to come to a final conclusion. Alesa started to get irritated that they still haven't figured everything out, but because she enjoyed standing as the big one for once she held off for a little while longer.

"Okay, okay! Fine!" DeMille responded. "I'm still a bit queasy though."

"I'm sure ALL of us feel the same way." Sofubi replied. "Of course we've sort of reached an impasse."

"In that case, I say we handle this like the grown ups." Rellek stated.

Everyone else glanced at the mole kid for a second.

"You mean…?" DeMille asked.

"Yes, that." Rellek answered. "Looks like you have the same idea."

"Same here." Sofubi added.

"Well then." DeMille said as he puffed up his chest. "I'm ready."

"So am I." Rellek stated as he buried his feet in the ground. "Let's settle this like men."

Sofubi stiffened his back as much as his fat body could take. All three boys glared intensely at each other as they walked up close. They imagined each other with bright red eyes as fire and flames burned behind their intensive desire to go after the others. Alesa just watched overhead and rolled her eyes at the display between the dots on the ground. She wanted no part in what idea the three had come up with, especially since she most likely had the best chances due to her size advantage. DeMille pounded his knuckles together while Rellek growled and kicked some dirt behind him. Nobody wanted to go back a loser, and yet they needed one to take one for the team. Sofubi snorted fumes and held his large belly out as the other two eyed him down like a predator. Whoever came out on top called all of the rules, and nobody wanted to head into the hole first.

The three boys brought up their meanest face imaginable as all of them held their hands out forward. They prepared to get the first shots in, and all of them knew what to go for next. They reeled themselves back…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…then flailed their hands toward the others.

They sissily exchanged very weak slaps while they kept their faces away like something pungent stood before them. Alesa slapped her forehead and covered her face as the boys performed such petty actions just to settle a score for a dilemma. At least some of them managed to connect a few good slaps, but for the most part they acted more like toddlers than adults. At their age ranges the obviousness dripped across their faces to the point where one could have concluded on their idea from the start. Abira likely thought better than the shrunken three.

Such a display only irritated Alesa even more.

"For the love of…JUST GET IN THERE!"

Without missing a beat, the giant kid of Alesa brought one of her huge hands down and brought a finger back before she flicked all three inside the hole. They went flying through the darkness until they hit a ceiling of some sort and came to a halt across the ground. As if irony loved to mess with him, Sofubi ended further up over the other two which meant he lead the pack as tiny flying tomatoes hovered over his head. The three sat dazed and shaken up as they got on their feet, but the force of Alesa's flick left them pretty deep inside the hole to the point where no light remained. They only had their voices and sense of touch to figure out where they found themselves, and even then they knew something may exist at the end. After they procrastinated for so long, Alesa finally forced them forward into the darkness of the hole.

"Aww, I think I feel a red spot on my behind!" Sofubi's voice echoed throughout the cave.

"You'll get over it. At least we finally made it in here." DeMille's voice said. "Anyone have a light?"

"You seriously expect one of us to have anything useful at this size?" Rellek's voice uttered in disbelief.

"Hey, I'm just asking!" DeMille's voice stated.

"I guess we only have one option then." Rellek's voice said. "At least from the echoes I know I'm not in front."

"Even so, we have to get to the end of this cave." DeMille's voice replied.

A couple of footsteps followed soon after, only to get replaced by one loud bump.

"Ow! You jelly jabbed me in the kidneys!"

"Sorry Sofubi! We can't see anything in here!" DeMille's voice responded.

"Maybe keep those sharp cleats to yourself then!" Sofubi's voice said.

"I…don't wear those." DeMille's voice answered. "I must have hit you a bit too hard."

A few seconds later some more footsteps ran through the cave before another bump.

"Hey! Keep those claws out of my back!"

"Well, I need something to help feel in front of me!" Rellek's voice answered.

"Does anyone feel some type of…slope?" Sofubi's voice asked.

Silence.

"I mean, you lead the pack so…you'll likely feel things before-"

Loud smacks echoed throughout the cave immediately before Rellek finished. Because everything still remained pitch black the air stayed still for a few seconds before even louder bumps and smacks sounded out everywhere. After a few brief moments DeMille's, Sofubi's, and Rellek voices all groaned followed by some rustling sounds.

"Owwwwww…"

"That smarts…"

"Gahhhhh…"

Silence.

"Who in the right mind has stairs in a place like this?!" DeMille's voice exclaimed.

"In fairness, we could have stumbled over…something else." Rellek voice said before he lightly groaned again.

"Please…don't remind me." Sofubi's voice said before he coughed. "Can someone get their legs off of my face?"

"I can't really feel them right now." DeMille's voice answered. "I think I may have ruptured a kidney."

"Well, that just sounds GREAT." Rellek's voice sarcastically responded.

"Maybe if I just move a lit-AAAAAAH!"

The three voices of the boys screamed over and over as more loud bumps echoed everywhere in the darkness. All of them had no idea what they've got themselves into but it hurt all over. They collapsed and smacked into many things they lacked the visuals for, and for once they felt glad that Alesa never followed them. Even though she wouldn't fit inside anyway, having a giant tumbling girl over their tiny bodies seemed like the last thing they wanted to see above their heads as they fell. The poor lads had almost every part of their bodies struck in some ways as they toppled over each other in the dark.

As if they needed even more injuries after their beating from Shadap.

After many minutes of multiple impacts, yelps, and complaints from the three they eventually saw some light at the end of the tunnel. As if reality wanted to give them one final punch, once they fell out they landed in some really soggy dirt…face first. They stayed embedded in the ground for a few moments as they attempted to push themselves free, although Sofubi had the hardest time due to his round thick body. DeMille coughed out some dirt as he brushed his face of dirt while Rellek instantly got himself loose because he dealt with dirt on a daily basis. They could have found themselves in a worse setting, but it never happened.

"Not…the best landing…" DeMille said as he wiped dirt from his eyes. "Anyone get the number of how many parts I bruised?"

"I think we have a bigger issue to attend to…" Rellek said.

DeMille shook himself off as the rest of his senses kicked in. He trembled a little once he got to his feet, and once he saw that Rellek also stood in tip top shape he finally realized what he meant. Sofubi still stayed stuck with his head in the dirt and squirmed to pull himself free but his problems went unnoticed as the others realized the set of circumstances around them.

The first of them dealt with the ones who stood around and stared at them bewilderingly. The Ketchup Kingdom kept no shortages of weird and strange creatures, and the ones before them blended right in as if they always called the place home. They shared similar appearances and shapes to DeMille, Pasaran, and everyone else who lived at The Spillage, although some of their features differed quite a bit. For one, most of their hair often maintained a rather "leafy" color even though they probably only displayed like them while their choices of attire often mixed between red and green in color. Footwear never deviated from the common types like sneakers or woman's shoes, although the group noticed one girl have some tall green and red platform shoes similar to Alesa's. Their faces indicated similar age ranges to what The Spillage usually offered despite slightly different heights on a couple of individuals, and their various eye colors extended across multiple palettes also similar to what DeMille became used to. Their color choices left the three boys thinking about vegetables more than any other time, and the ones who appeared with purple and white colored attires left various beets and radishes in their heads. It seemed as if someone like DeMille or Alesa connected more with the mysterious race than any other species, which left a lot of relatable topics to possibly discuss if given the chance. They stood at around their tiny heights as well. At the very least they appeared not hostile in the slightest, similar to most species in the Ketchup Kingdom, so the group's levels of worry failed to reach extreme heights. They kept caution just in case, but as long as they never performed anything rash they would likely stay on their good sides. For a race they've never seen before, someone like DeMille could almost relate to them in certain senses.

While the beings may have provided some points about their new location, everything behind them pretty much spelled it out in big bold letters. Nothing but sprawling endless rows of brown dirt set over the horizon while hundreds of large vibrant plants and vegetables remained stiff in various lines between large paths of dirt. The facts most displayed doors and windows signaled to the group that they saw houses and not something edible, although they appeared like one could take a large bite and not know the difference. From carrots, radishes, beets, peppers, to even the obvious tomato almost every single vegetable they thought of, despite some like the tomato being classified as a fruit, stood out as some sort of weird hollowed out building the locals went in and out of. Some even displayed large signs nearby which the group couldn't read from the particular angle but understood that someone put them there for a reason. The dirt rows between each veggie also stayed as a flat plain for better traversal contrary to the standards set by growing them. While a few small hills existed in the area, they mostly remained on the outside likely as another better traversal measure. The whole land seemed to have stretched on forever, although because the three boys shrunk it left some obvious perspective changes, as the bright sun shined upon it despite its existance in PokyPine Wood. The three at least saw some very large hills and trees in the distance that seemed to have fenced in the entire place where not a single hole set for sneak peeks. It appeared as if it checked off everything on the list so nobody would ever learn that such a place stayed in potential secrecy away from common society. It may have given off the generalization of average crop lands with the occasional standout vegetable in the distance, but the boys knew better. They placed all of their hard boiled eggs in one basket and hinged on the sightings for the precipice of their questions.

The ones around them whispered to each other silently while the others bundled together after their fall couldn't believe what they saw.

"Did…did someone hit my cranium too hard?" Sofubi asked the other two. "I feel like I ingested too much grease!"

"No, no, I'm seeing everything too!" DeMille responded. "Someone hit me to make sure-"

Before long, Rellek provided DeMille with one large smack across the face which shot the dreariness out of him.

"HEY! I didn't finish!"

"Well, you had that particular 'smack me to make sure I'm not dreaming' expression across your face. You're welcome!" Rellek replied.

Some of the onlookers around them walked up to the three for a closer look while they muttered something under their breath. DeMille and the others had no idea how to act because if they played their cards wrong they could end up in a worse situation.

"Uhhhhhhh, well…" DeMille shuttered before he waved one of his hands tepidly. "Hello…all of you people. We don't mean, ummmm, any harm!"

Some of the crowd around them backed up by a couple of steps as their eyes opened a bit more. They whispered something to the others nearby before one who seemed like a young girl with short "lettuce hair" finally broke the ice.

"Tomatoma, you speak coherently?"

"Err, umm, yes?" Sofubi replied while clueless about how to act.

The girl glanced back to the others behind her as what appeared as a young short "lettuce haired" boy walked up next.

"Ah, friendly outside worlders, tomatomato! How intermatoesting, tomato!"

The caution which the onlookers displayed beforehand appeared to have slowly faded as more of them went on up to the three and continuously gazed at them with deep intrigue. To the three boys, they provided a rather lukewarm display of personal space which gave the three slight nervousness.

"Yeah, uhhhhh, you speak rather uniquely, I hear!" Rellek stated as a comical sweat drop appeared on his forehead. "We sort of…stumbled here from the outside."

"What…he said!" DeMille added. "May I ask…if we came across a place called…Sweetpea Garden?"

DeMille's statement raised some eyebrows of the crowd before a few exchanged glances and muttered something between each other the three couldn't hear. Before long, one attempted to speak up but before they could do so someone shouted from the back.

"Excuse me, ketchappu! I need to, mato, see all of the hubbub! Pardon, toma, me!"

A few of the people in front of them parted once they heard the voice in the back as if they knew who arrived. DeMille, Sofubi, and Rellek glanced briefly at each other before they witnessed a figure push herself through the crowd and audible huffed in the process. The three brushed themselves off of excess dirt just in case as the particular person finally appeared from the crowd, and they instantly had their eyes on them. It came as no surprise they became the talk of the town even though they just arrived, so naturally any bystander wanted their piece of eye candy over them.

The new one who showed up instantly caught the eyes of the three boys. They should have expected to see a girl around their ages from her exclamation earlier, but her appearance hooked them instantly. Like everyone else around them she appeared relatively similar in shape to DeMille, Alesa, and even Pasaran while she kept her hands sheepishly behind her back. She overall seemed to have light green as a particular favorite since her eyes and hair maintained such a color, although her hair also displayed streaks of white akin to sweet lettuce. Also similar to the specific characters, her skin tone displayed a very faint green hue almost impossible to see but still existed. Her ears showed a few jagged lines like DeMille and Alesa although her choice of clothes stood out as unique. Her dress likewise kept the same light green color of her eyes and hair while a faint while stripe went downward at an angle from her right shoulder to the dress's bottom right. Around her feet she wore tall round light green boots with streaks of white on the tops and some light treads on the bottoms akin to hiking boots. The three boys almost missed it at first, but atop her head she kept on a tiny beret which seemed to have appeared like a fluffy top of a green pepper. Even the small stub on top resembled the stem of such a delicacy which the boys found cute. While her knees stayed crossed and her arms remained behind her back while she looked at them, from her appearance she seemed like a nice girl albeit a bit shy. She easily blended in with them even though they just met, although her distinct features helped set an example for anyone who wanted to become friends.

The girl leaned forward for a closer look at the three.

"How…weird looking, mato. Did you actually come here from the outside, ketchappu?"

"Well…yeah." DeMille answered. "We sort of bruised ourselves on the way though."

The girl happily giggled which pulled at the boy's heart strings.

"Heeheehee, you can blame our, tomatotomato, lack of construction skills for that. We still haven't, matotoma, fixed that because of our secrecy, tomatoma."

Rellek suddenly shot his head straight up.

"Wait, secrecy? Does that mean…?"

The girl in front of them put in an adorable smile while she lightly nodded. Before she could answer Rellek though, everyone within the vicinity felt large strong quakes against the dirt which made everyone's backs stiff. Of course the three boys understood such a feeling too well as only one other person they knew sent tremors wherever she walked in a slightly klutzy manner. Some of the onlookers started to panic a bit as some of the large hills that encompassed the entire area shook as leaves fell around the outer edges. After what the tiny boys went through it seemed their final giant friend went through the easy route even though they never knew such an option existed. They remained on guard for safety purposes, but they kept some leniency while the others remained on high alert.

Once they saw the huge red walls of the bottom of her platform shoes they knew she arrived.

"Ugh! I think part of my hair snared some branches on the way here! I better have-"

The giant girl of the four friends suddenly stopped mid sentence when she glanced down and saw the landscape below. Once DeMille, Sofubi, and Rellek saw her bright orange eyes aim their way they figured she noticed them and the group of other specks by her boots. While it sounded commonplace to head for the hills and attempt to forget everything they saw behind them, when it came to the others who inhabited throughout the strange land they surprisingly stayed put. They never averted their gazes at the colossal figure who just set foot on their soil and watched in awe at her presence. They already provided signs that they thought differently than other species, so another fact for the book only helped reinforce the notion.

"Wow! This place appears…positively stunning! I can't believe I missed such a place in this kingdom!"

"We sort of figured that out ourselves after we earned our bruises on the way." Sofubi answered.

"Ah, I see you three made it too!" Alesa replied.

"How did you get here? I thought only that tiny hole lead to here!" Rellek said.

Alesa placed her hands on her hips.

"I just pushed through some of the toughest hills and trees since I estimated the direction where that hole might have lead to. Not the easiest task in the world, but nothing I can't handle."

"That… makes sense, I guess." DeMille responded.

He wondered if such a method may have lead to others discovering such a secret location on their own. Surely, anyone could have completely ignored the hole and pushed straight through into such a mystical place. Then he remembered which kingdom he lived in and the insanity the citizens displayed on a daily basis. Such normalcy to hone themselves to figuring the idea out didn't exist for a large portion of the Ketchup Kingdom's inhabitants, so it came as no surprise that such a mythical area remained untouched for so long. Alesa just had enough sanity in her to create her own path instead of the normal method.

Before long though, the large crowds of people swarmed around Alesa's huge platform boots with widened eyes. Alesa herself never moved so she wouldn't accidentally crush anyone, but she became rather curious about what she saw.

"So…huge, tomatoma…" a young boy said as he poked the red bottom of a boot.

"I never imagined someone so, ketchappu, big!" a young girl said as she plastered her face into the red.

"Uhhhhh, am I…missing something here?" Alesa asked confusingly as all of the dots surrounded her boots. "I'm the normal sized one compared to all of you specks."

"Ohhhhhhh, fascinating, ketchappu!" the girl with the lettuce hair said as her eyes gleamed. "Looks like we have another, tomatomatomato, visitor…but massive!"

"Well, uhhhhh…" Rellek said. "We sort of came here…because of that."

The crowds of other people paused for a second as they brought their attention over to the three shrunken boys.

"Hey, don't put your attention over to them! I sort of liked the fact that my gigantic size garnered intrigue from dots I can barely see!"

Sofubi's expression went flat.

"You stand out over everyone else with your height. How can anyone NOT ignore you?"

Alesa lightly frowned but got the hint and stayed put as some others not from the crowds kept their eyes on her endlessly high platform shoes nearby. At least some understood what she wanted.

"Why have you come here then, matotoma?" the light lettuce haired girl asked as she lightly tilted her head.

"Well, you see, the three of us sort of…shrunk to your size if you couldn't tell." DeMille explained. "We heard a place called Sweetpea Garden may have a veggie here that could grow us back."

"By the looks of it, we may have actually arrived at the correct destination too." Rellek added. "So if you can provide us with it we'll leave before we upset you too much."

The tiny people around the four stared at each other for a few seconds before they huddled up. Even the cute girl with the green pepper beret and adorable voice joined in as all of the crowd muttered among themselves. DeMille and the others stood on the sidelines bewildered at the display since they had no idea what topics they kept to themselves. Alesa wanted more attention and yet even her huge size never deterred the crowd's secrecy. The four had their guesses, but it everything went south they may never see Alesa eye to eye ever again. After all of the intrigue and interest in everything about them it seemed like the last possible option but they never left it out. Everything relied on their cooperation, and the four could only wait for their answer.

After about ten minutes of nothing but silent conversations from the crowd they eventually dispersed. Alesa stayed still just in case, especially with her tall boots on campus, as the same girl with the green pepper beret approached the shrunken boys and endearingly smiled. She teetered back and forth on her boots while her arms stayed behind her back which helped amplify her charm to the three.

"You talk about rare veggies, ketchappu? Looking for a specific, tomato, one?"

"We sort of already stated that." Alesa said from her colossal being overhead.

"Ah, yes, matotomato." the girl with the green pepper beret answered. "Pardon my manners, chappu, but we should probably discuss this more, tomatomato, in private. If you would let me guide you, ketchappu…"

They likely brought up a sensitive topic which required a more subtle place for further discussions. Even so, they had nothing else to go off of and the inhabitants appeared more curious and intrigued over their arrival instead of hostile. If they wanted to prematurely end them they likely would have done so the moment the three shrunken boys arrived. If the certain girl wanted more privacy for further discussion of the topic, it appeared like a reasonable request.

"Well, as long as it speeds up the process of reversing our size…" DeMille said.

Sofubi and Rellek nodded in agreement while the giant Alesa gave a thumbs up which made the girl with the green pepper beret very giddy. She lightly hopped and clapped a few times at their answer.

"Tomatomatomato, ketchappu! Thanks for understanding, mato! I'll show you around, tomaketchappu, until we get to the spot!"

The group watched as the girl then suddenly halted for a split second then slapped her forehead.

"Oh shoot, tomatomatomato! I forgot about, tomatotoma, all of the introductions! How silly, chappu, of me!"

From there the girl went silent and placed her arms behind her back before she stood stiff. Her friendly smile provided a very relatable first impression as the boys and giant girl witnessed her perform one of the cleanest Japanese bows as her lettuce hair swayed downward through the light breeze.

"Welcome to Sweetpea Garden, tomato. I'm Moriki, ketchappu, the supervisor of this enigmatic place. Our secrecy makes visitors a rare sight here, mato."

They finally heard those magical two words even though they pretty much figured out that they arrived at the correct location from the sights alone. As much as they wanted to find the rare veggie to change their sizes back, especially because they still had the quest to rescue Pasaran in the background, they didn't want to pass up the opportunity to actually experience the mythical garden where very few, if not none, from the outside ever set foot onto its sacred soil. Rellek in particular already had some reporter gear on standby because he still had a job under the Daily Mole and wanted the next big scoop over the other subordinates. He managed to have the biggest story of the century and desired to not waste a single second not gathering as much information as his grubby hands could feasibly get. The others also had their interests, but not as deep as Rellek's intentions. Denying the girl with the green pepper beret, who introduced herself as Moriki, seemed like the worse option and they wanted to stay on the inhabitants' good side.

They also introduced themselves nonetheless.

"I'm DeMille." DeMille responded as he also bowed to her.

"Call me Sofubi!"

"I go by Rellek!"

"And I'm Alesa. I'll likely be the talk of the town because of my, you know…"

Moriki lightly chuckled and waved a hand to the group.

"Nice to meet all of you, chappu! I don't want delay, matotoma, any further! Let me, tomato, show you around! If you couldn't tell, tomatoma, I'm very excited!"

The lettuce haired girl turned around and pointed forward before she headed off down the crowded row ahead of her. The three tiny boys glanced at each other one more time before they started to follow her. Alesa would have also done so, albeit at a slower pace so she wouldn't crush anyone, but even after the air cleared up multiple crowds of tiny people swarmed around her boots as deep curiosity drew them forward. They performed next to everything against the red walls of the bottoms of Alesa's tall platform boots from touching, smothering, plastering, to even embracing in an attempt to unravel the mysteries behind her giant presence.

"So big and sturdy, mato. Can you lift entire planets, ketchap?"

"How come your shoes, tomatoma, expand so greatly? Mine, matomato, can't do it!"

"Tell me how to, chappu, grow to become big and strong, putoma, like you! You look so, ketchap, pretty and cute all gigantic like that!"

Alesa chuckled a little from how much praise came her way. She desired a similar reaction when she finally had the chance to meet King Abira, but in the mean time it amused her to see her gigantic size come into play for the greatest of attentions.

"Well…it helps amplify my cuteness a thousand fold. I appreciate all of the tiny love down there!"

"Hey, you coming Alesa?"

The distinct voice jarred her over to the source where she saw DeMille and the others nearby as they looked up at her gigantic form. They would have done something to disperse the crowds, but Moriki had it handled.

"Alright everyone, tomatomato! Leave the giant one alone, chappu, for now until we finish discussing some, tomatoma, private matters!"

The inhabitants around her giant boots groaned disappointingly before they split into different groups around the place. Immediately, Alesa frowned and stared down the four specks in her typical spunky demeanor.

"Come on! You couldn't have given me a few more minutes to enjoy this?!"

"If we didn't have more urgent matters." Rellek answered.

"Says the guy holding a tape recorder behind his back." Sofubi stated.

Everyone pretty much saw his facade from the get go as he didn't even attempt to greatly hide the device behind him. Because they knew Rellek had a profession as a reporter for the Daily Mole it surprised none of the other three to see him act a bit out of character. He managed to come across the long rumored garden after all, and he saw a future promotion with his name on it. While they met up not too long ago, the group pretty much learned how the mole kid functioned to a certain extent. He will get a leg up over his colleagues once the opportunity arose.

Rellek tepidly chuckled as some comical sweat dripped down his face before DeMille broke the ice.

"Let's…just get going before it gets even more awkward."

The others couldn't agree more on that particular front. Moriki giddily lead the pack and ran down the row before them as the others followed. Alesa kept a more sluggish pace for the safety of every single dot across the dirt. After many introductions and details across the table, DeMille and the other three finally got the chance to witness everything the secret garden had to offer. They left not a moment too soon either, for Moriki paced around until she finally received the final confirmation she wanted to hear. Sweatpea Garden awaited.

Despite surface level observations toward nothing but a giant garden, the more the four glanced around the more they discovered under the hood. They found the distinct item shop in the shape of a turnip which housed some pretty rare items for purchase. DeMille spent a few hundred Topar on some healing items and better equipment, including pieces he never saw before. It sounded almost counter intuitive to have such a shop in a place where nobody visited, but it made their arrival more special. Alesa needed to put herself on the ground and peek through the window just to see the activity inside, which spooked Sofubi at one point where he noticed her huge orange eyes through the glass. It also surprised the group once they saw some of the occupants with large big eyed worms nearby which Moriki explained help provide transport and materials when they grow their vegetables. It grossed DeMille and Sofubi a bit, but Rellek wasted no opportunities to get as many words from the locals as possible. He even hounded down a couple of stragglers who refused to say anything until they finally cracked., which further added to his ongoing report. Gold stars formed in his eyes as he raced into the garden's hotel, which surprised no one as they saw it in the shape of a tomato, and only until Alesa dragged him out with one of her huge hands did he finally settle down a bit. She caused much destruction inside as she prodded the entire establishment with her massive fingers until she finally pinched Rellek, but because DeMille would have checked in for the night anyway he volunteered to help tidy the place. At the moment he still had to follow Moriki, but when the moon took over he solemnly promised to fix everything. Even in just one quick tour they saw many sights and experienced standout moments, and even though they wanted to see more they had more urgent businesses to handle. Sweetpea Garden earned the moniker of "mythical" from its sights alone, although they never saw any of the special veggies yet.

Eventually, after Alesa accidentally knocked over a few houses with her tall platform boots, they reached a particular house in the shape of a red pepper. While they didn't know if they saw a real hollowed out vegetable for use as a house or a structure shaped like one, after the others sights around the garden it blended in pretty nicely. Moriki squealed lightly before she clapped and faced the others behind her.

"Eeeeeeeee! We reached my house, ketcha! Allow me, matomato!"

The eager lettuce haired girl ran up to the front door before she motioned for the others to follow. The shrunken boys did so, but Alesa and her giant size stayed back because she obviously wouldn't fit. She instead walked to an open spot on the side and set herself on her belly so she could at least watch through one of the windows. From there, Moriki unlocked the front door and opened it before she headed inside.

"This doesn't mean I'm excluded from the conversation." Alesa stated. "While I'm gigantic compared to everything else here, you still need my support."

"Of course, Alesa. We knew that from the start." DeMille answered while he slightly smiled.

He prepared to get his first few steps in, but before he could do so he received one strong flick from one of Alesa humongous digits which careened him inside like a rocket. Sofubi and Rellek stood stunned for a few seconds until the gigantic girl addressed her action.

"He still owes me the perfect present for Abira."

At that point the two other boys headed inside before they struck another one of Alesa's nerves.

Once in the establishment, they realized how spacious the inside appeared compared to the outside. Numerous windows dotted around the red walls while one of them displayed one of Alesa's huge orange eyes. A large orange fluffy couch set near the center which appeared like one could knock themselves out for a full twenty four hours and remain asleep the entire time. Sofubi wanted to test it out as soon as possible but stopped himself because of good manners. The couch kept an angle toward a large monitor shaped like a raspberry in one of the corners, likely a TV, while the sun shined from the windows around it. A large opening on the side revealed some kind of long wood table with proper chairs around it where yet another large window revealed a sunny outside. Another room appeared behind the table where they made out another fluffy couch and a second room on the side which they couldn't figure out from their viewing angle. As far the first room where they arrived though, it also contained a stairway which lead to somewhere upstairs, but they didn't want to snoop too much and left it at that. At least from the appearance on the outside no excess red pepper juice leaked anywhere to set anyone's tongue on fire. For a society which offered so many unique traits, the house they went in sure fit in like a glove. Some of them wouldn't mind to live in such a house, although they needed to keep in mind to not accidentally like the spicy walls at any point.

Out of all the fancy visuals though, everyone had their eyes on DeMille who had his head stuck in the back wall.

Moriki confusingly watch the boy squirm as Sofubi and Rellek rushed on over. Alesa could only watch from outside with her huge orange eyes.

"Does everyone where you come from, mato, always act like this, toma?" Moriki asked.

"Well…it sort of blends in." Sofubi replied.

They heard DeMille muffle through the wall but couldn't determine any specifics, so both Sofubi and Rellek grabbed his legs and heaved. Alesa giggled from the outside as the two pulled with all of their might, and after a few seconds they finally tugged him free. However, celebrations became short lived as DeMille shot up with red juices all over his face and his legs turned into a frenzied blue. He showed bloodshot eyes as the others heard some sizzling before his head burst into flames.

"I NEED MILK! GIVE ME SOME MILK! I'M BURNING!"

Moriki's obliviousness displayed again.

"Milwhat, ketcha? I've never heard of such a thing, tomato."

From there, DeMille shrieked and ran off into the back room and over to the left. Soon after they heard him yelp a few times before a loud splash followed. Clouds of steam wafted out followed by sounds of pleasure which befuddled everyone else until everything stopped. After a couple of seconds, DeMille finally emerged as he took some long deep breaths although his face still kept some red in a couple of spots. Whatever happened back there, it forced a lot out of him.

He panted before he looked back up at the others.

"We just HAD to go into a red pepper, didn't we?"

"I've never had any issues, chappu." Moriki replied. "We tolerate such heat, mato. I've lived here my whole, toket, life!"

"So, where exactly did you drench yourself?" Sofubi asked DeMille.

"A room near the back." DeMille answered. "I dunked my head in the first wet bowl I saw."

"Oh, that room, mato?" Moriki said. "I reserve that spot for a bathroom, tomato."

Everyone else just stared at DeMille like they just saw a ghost. The young bunny boy felt his heart skip a beat as his body tensed up. Before long Sofubi and Rellek took a few steps back away from him.

DeMille needed to wash his hands at some point.

"So, you live here?" Rellek asked in an attempt to hastily change the subject. "Don't you worry about charring yourself to bits?"

"Not really, toma." Moriki responded. "At least I didn't choose to live in a ghost pepper, chappu."

"Oh, yeah. DeMille would have NEVER lived through one of those, heheheh." Alesa large voice bellowed throughout the house.

DeMille shot Alesa's huge orange eye out the window a nasty glare which didn't faze her in the slightest. The group had a brief moment to themselves before Moriki suddenly zipped off for a few seconds. The moment she came back the three boys found their faces slathered in some blue stickiness before they could react. Moriki smiled as the times caught up to them.

"Blech! What the?!" Rellek exclaimed as he tried to wipe his face.

From there, Moriki plastered them again with something sticky and blue which gave Alesa some giggles.

"Hey!" DeMille said as his face got covered again. "What the heck, Moriki?!"

Moriki's expression dipped a little.

"What? We always spread blueberry jelly across visitors' faces when they come to your house! It's to give warm welcomes!"

Sofubi licked the sticky syrup off of his face and smiled.

"Mmmmmm! It even has a pinch of raspberry for the extra flavor!"

"Of course YOU would like it." Rellek stated as he tried to wipe the goo off of his face.

At that point, Moriki zoomed over to the one window where Alesa peeked inside from. The giant one understood what she had in mind and brought her face up just before the overeager lettuce girl threw blue jam in her direction. Even though it barely left anything on her face, she found it better than having anything in her eye. Alesa lightly waved down at the tiny speck of a girl before she waved back and went back to the others. Just because she towered over everyone didn't mean she deserved any exclusions from anything.

As the boys wiped the rest of the jam off, Moriki frowned a little.

"You don't like it, ketcha?"

"Oh, no! Not at all!" DeMille answered. "We just…haven't experienced customs like yours before."

"We've went through a lot before we arrived here, so this just adds to the long list." Sofubi added.

"Ohhhhhhhh, toma. I understand, mato." Moriki responded. "Well, I've never seen anyone like all of you before, chappu. You speak really weird, tomatoma, and have funny accents too, matomato!"

"I guess we can relate in more ways than one." Alesa said as her voice boomed throughout the house.

Moriki giggled for a few moments before a realization hit.

"Oh, I almost forgot about the reason you came, matoto! Let's talk over the table, ketcha."

After many delays, they finally got everything on track to discuss the rare veggies the garden grew. DeMille and the others understood and walked over while Alesa stood back up and walked around the house, which sent loud strong booms across the ground, before she placed herself near a better window to peek through. The boys took their seats as Moriki put her jar of blueberry jelly, which just so happened to have a shape of a particular flabby blob creature, into the kitchen close by, sat across from them, then clasped her hands together.

"So, you want to snack on our famous vegetables, tomatoma?"

"Well, uh, just one." DeMille answered. "We need the one that can restore our sizes back."

"Yeah, what he said." Sofubi added. "We can't exactly have a party of four with one of us clearly as the biggest one."

"Excuse me?" Alesa's booming voice said from outside. "I'm pulling all of the weight while you ants don't do anything!"

"So, you can't go out all tiny like us, chappu?" Moriki asked. "I don't quite understand, tomato, the entire issue."

"Trust us. You may have never set foot out of this place but we speak the truth." Rellek replied.

Moriki took a couple of deep breaths and closed her eyes for a moment before she spoke back up.

"You really want to chomp, toket, on the veggie which causes anyone to grow, mato?"

The three boys nodded while the giant orange eyes of Alesa blinked as if she agreed with them. The air around them became a bit more tense after that moment, but they remained briefly silent. After a few more seconds, Moriki spoke up again.

"Okay, toma. As much as I want to grant your request, mato, we deal with our vegetables very seriously, ketcha. We don't just hand them out freely, chappu."

"What do we have to do so you can trust us? We don't mean any harm!" DeMille said in slight desperation.

Moriki stared seriously at all four of them, Alesa's giant orange eye included, then brought up three fingers.

"Three tests, chappu. We don't typically resort to them, matomato, but if you really want a bite then we have, matoket, no choice with outsiders. Finish them and then we'll talk, ketchappu."

She went from sweet to spicy in a millisecond since the group suddenly trekked into serious territory. The people of Sweetpea Garden clearly took their special vegetable growing seriously, and DeMille plus the other three heard it straight from the horse's mouth. They've gone through so much already that whatever Moriki had in mind sounded standard compared to the craziness beforehand. Besides, friendly characters rarely gave out free items in video games unless the heroes solve some type of trouble. Unless one had a cheating device on hand one required something in return for the other to reap in the rewards. Too bad rather unknown Japanese games rarely received cheat support, so DeMille and the others needed to follow the rules.

"Uhhhhh, tests?" Rellek asked. "What kind of tests?"

"Oh, just the kind to, tomatoma, get us to trust you." Moriki answered. "After what you did to get here, ketcha, you should have no problem with them. Besides, we get to have you here for longer and I can't, chappu, get enough of seeing actual outsiders! Eeeeeee!"

"Well…we've gone through worse." Alesa's voice boomed. "If it gets the three dots back to normal I don't see the trouble."

Everyone had their eyes on DeMille since he started the ragtag group in the first place which meant he called the shots. Moriki's giddiness went through the roof as her adorable green eyes stared right into his being which tickled his heart strings. He had to admit that while she maintained a rather cute appearance and personality, he already reserved his compassion for Pasaran even though he refused to say it to her. Her intentions seemed simple enough, but everything else including the tests remained vague. Even so, he needed the vegetable to grow back to normal along with Sofubi and Rellek, so he pretty much made up his mind from the get go. Time to accept.

"As long as we can get what we came for, then I'm up for it."

"Good, toma! I knew you wouldn't back down, mato!" Moriki replied. "You'll begin the first test at the restaurant, ketcha, near one of the garden's corners. I'll show you the way, totoma."

"Wait, we start right now?" Sofubi asked. "Can I have some time to think first?"

"Sofubi, she just said it takes place at a restaurant." Alesa's booming voice said. "This fits right up your cream filled alley!"

"I know that!" Sofubi answered. "Just…give me some time to catch up here!"

At that point, Rellek went up to Sofubi and clasped the chubby frog's cheeks.

"FOOD. RESTAURANT. YOU LIKE FOOD. GET IT?"

"Uhhhhhh…okay?" Sofubi answered.

The mole kid released his grip on Sofubi as everyone inside the house felt resonating booms of Alesa's tall boots across the ground. She withdrew her giant orange eye from the window as she headed off somewhere else.

"Speaking of which…since I doubt the place has food for my normal height compared to your tiny sizes…"

Everyone still inside Moriki's home raced out the front door to see what Alesa had in mind. They watched as she set her eyes on a few embedded vegetables in the ground, but one stood out over the others. She never had it in her to willingly want a daikon radish, but out of everything else in the vicinity it became her best bet. She reached down and grabbed its leaves, but as she tugged Moriki yelled out.

"No, no, no, matomato! You've, toma, grabbed a-"

She acted a bit too late as Alesa fully pulled the radish clean out of the ground. At that point the giant one noticed a window and open door near the front which instantly gave her everything she needed to know. The tiny garden inhabitant near the door stared at Alesa while the huge one herself locked eyes with them. The two stayed silent as if they waited for the other to act first.

…but in the end both of them screamed at the same time.

From there Alesa instantly let go of the radish and let it fall back into the hole where she plucked it from. Lots of crashing sounds came from the daikon radish house as many objects inside likely shattered or collapsed on impact. The tiny inhabitant waltzed dizzily out of the house before it fell onto its front right before her tall huge platform boots. Nearby spectators immediately backed off and over to a less hectic area while Alesa slowly turned back to the tiny four with her hands near her face.

"I'm strictly off the daikon radish diet from now on."

---

Moriki lead the four over to the corner of the garden where the most tasteful restaurant set in the mystical place. While on the outside it appeared an ordinary watermelon with a fancy "Salad Bar" sign near the front, on the inside it showed its namesake. The front desk encapsulated its own unique area where multiple shirts, merchandise, to even what seemed like an ATM existed like a souvenir shop of sorts. Two archways on both the left and right end lead to other parts of the large place while the caterer up front handled orders. The left opened up to a small pub like area with clean bars and tables for the avid visitors, which already housed some of the more popular crowds. They left many salivating over the fancy lemons which the owner appeared to have used for materials toward the bar, tables, and chairs. Some sort of picture booth stayed near one of the walls but due to the large cobweb over the entrance it likely saw its last customer ages ago. In fact, some type of large spider cradled itself near the top which also steered anyone away yet nobody appeared to do anything about. On the right of the front entrance a larger yet more populated room displayed more typical sights of a standard restaurant. Multiple tables and benches littered the ground while pillars made of pink watermelon insides stuck from the ground to the ceiling in numerous spots. While obvious that nobody should take a bit out of one, they possibly never actually held the room up and only existed for decoration. The employees even sculpted the chairs and benches out of tiny limes for extra fanciness although blatantly not for consumption. Near the back of each room one easily saw two doors which housed the typical restrooms, where hopefully the four never needed to use at any point. The whole restaurant wouldn't look out of place in somewhere like Oystown, and yet the four couldn't take their eyes off of all of the splendor.

As the group approached the front desk, Moriki locked eyes with the employee who stood stiff for a split second before he approached the others.

"We already reserved a table for you, ketcha. Follow me, toma."

With that he headed off to the left side which housed the bar looking area which enticed the other four to follow. A few patrons at their tables stared at them on the way but otherwise interest in them remained rather sparse. They approached the booth where the large cobweb and spider set which gave the three boys goosebumps. The huge bug glared at them with its compound eyes yet refused to move from its spot despite their close vicinity. A few step in and they already garnered some unwanted attention.

Sofubi shuddered uncontrollably as the spider incessantly never diverted its eyes away from him, but Moriki addressed it rather quickly.

"Ignore Bubba there, mato. We stopped using the booth for a few months, chappu, and in that time frame he spun a web and claimed it for himself. As long as you don't get too close he'll ignore you, toket."

Sofubi glanced at the spider one more time as it blankly stared straight into the frog's being. He swore he heard some corny laughter in the back of his head before Bubba hissed and sent him scurrying away. He got the message and needed no further reiterations to understand.

No wonder most of the tables had a decent distance away from the booth.

After a few more tables down, the restaurant employee finally brought them over to their reserved table. While not the longest, it had enough space for all of them as they took their seats. Sofubi held back on eating his chair and parts of the table as all three boys sat on one side while Moriki sat on the other. Because their table set near a wall with a large window, Alesa used it to gaze upon the others like last time with one of her large orange eyes. The employee then ran back, likely to get a waiter for them, which left the others to themselves. The initial preparations appeared in place for whatever the inhabitants of Sweetpea Garden planned for them.

DeMille glanced around the room once again before he got back to Moriki.

"This sure looks…fancy and dainty. I can see why many would consider this place the garden's treasure."

"You don't know the, matoto, half of it." Moriki replied. "They make some of the best dishes, ketchap, ever to grace your taste buds, tomato. Have you heard of the Melon Swiss 'n' Cream, ketchappu?"

DeMille and Rellek shook their heads which caused Moriki to gasp.

"You've never heard of it, toma? You HAVE to try it, mato, before you leave because it tastes AMAZING, ketchap."

"Well, we never knew this place existed beforehand until we suddenly found ourselves here." Rellek answered.

Some light slobbering saliva dropped across DeMille's shoulder which caused the rabbit kid to turn to her left. His mood died a little inside once he noticed Sofubi as he shoved the entire top of his chair inside his mouth and refused to let go. Once DeMille tapped him lightly on the shoulder he suddenly noticed the others staring at him.

"Whathhh?" Sofubi said with his mouth all full. "Ithhhh thasthhhhh thhhhhood!"

"Say it, don't spray it." Rellek remarked.

At that point, Sofubi released his hold on the lemon chair and tried to pass it off as nothing important.

"I couldn't help myself. Looking at it feels like someone dangling a giant donut in front of me! How can I NOT ignore such a delicacy?"

"Riiiiiight. You and your endless gut never get satisfied." Alesa's loud voice boomed as she rolled her eyes. Because only a small portion of herself displayed out the window, nobody noticed her relatively rude gesture.

Before long, their waiter finally showed up nearby. She glanced at Moriki who stared back before she subtly motioned to the back of the restaurant. The waiter nodded soon after and headed off before Moriki began her short explanation of what will follow.

"Okay, chappu, we've just about prepared the first test. You'll start shortly, matotoma."

"And what might you and your kind have in mind?" Sofubi asked.

"Glad you asked, ketchappu." Moriki said. "With someone of your tastes, matoket, you should do well when the dishes come out."

"Dishes?" Alesa's booming voice asked. "What dishes?"

"Dishes you'll eat, tomato!" Moriki responded. "The cooks here whipped up a few creations, matomato, with some relatively scarce and rare ingredients straight from the garden, chappu. They'll bestow you three specific foods, ketchap, which you must finish after which I'll give each of you a, tomato, question about it. Answer to the best of your ability, tomatoma, and if you do well you'll pass the first test. Understand, mato?"

It dawned on them about the conspicuousness behind the choice of venue along with the task given to them. Because of their end goal, for their first test to rely on something food related they should have seen it coming miles away. Of course because they lived in a land called the Ketchup Kingdom basically everything maintained something food related with places more obvious than others. Sofubi became their best bet after everything they learned about him, and while DeMille could stomach most foods if they contained tomatoes he'd pass them up instantly. Still, Moriki set the stage for a tasteful first test, and they needed a passing grade to move on.

Sofubi clapped his hands and grabbed a fork and knife as if on instinct.

"We have to taste food? YES, PLEASE! When do we start? I'm ready!"

"Why am I not surprised?" Alesa thought as she shook her massive head.

"I…think we understand perfectly." DeMille answered rather shakily from Sofubi's display.

"I'm not much of a speed eater myself, so I might go a little light at first." Rellek stated.

"Good, matoket! Nice to hear, chappu!" Moriki responded as she adorably smiled. "Make sure to take in everything well, tomato, and answer correctly. Here comes the first batch now, matomato!"

Once she finished, a couple of waiter walked up with large trays in their hands. They mumbled some "matos", "ketchaps", and "matokets" as they placed a couple of identical dishes on the table which already left Sofubi pouring waterfalls of drool out of his mouth. One dish even went over to the window presumably for Alesa, although at her size she likely required some extra tinier hands to help get the food out. Luckily for her, Moriki moved herself closer to the window and lightly opened it up which the waiters didn't seem to mind. Once they placed down everything correctly they quietly left the others to their own agendas, although only one became their primary focus at the moment. Time for their first plate to eat.

Almost instantly DeMille wanted to bow out. While on the surface level he never minded the ever common spaghetti and meatballs, but he definitely had issues when it came to the ordinary toppings. He knew all too well that the food's typical sauce had tomatoes mixed in, and just the mere thought churned his stomach inside out. The shredded cheese on top at least provided some type of ingredient he actually enjoyed, but for the most part he really wanted to not eat it. Sofubi on the other hands made short work of his plate, which became the only object he ever cleaned, while Rellek took his time. Moriki handed an open plate outside for Alesa which she took with no issues, so DeMille ended up as the only one who detested his dish. Even so, the others performed their own speed runs and left the bunny kid in the dust, so either he picked up the pace or never passed the first test. He breathed in deeply a few times before he twirled his forked and gathered a wad of spaghetti around the tines. The sauce dripped down as if it taunted him to go for it, and the mere sight of it heavily enticed his stomach to stay clear away. He literally saw all of the warning signs and even though he desperately wanted to follow them they made the situation ten times worse. Moriki watched from across the table and he clearly wanted to not let her down, but he really wished they laid off the tomatoes in the sauce. First plate in and everyone dealt with theirs effortlessly…except for DeMille.

He trembled precariously as he brought the wad of spaghetti close to his open mouth before he pushed it back a little. Eventually though he brought it forward again and barely touched it with his tongue. He instantly reeled it back before he had enough and just shoved the wad inside. His mouth tried to open and spit it out but he used the rest of his willpower to finally swallow it in full. Even his stomach attempted to expel it from his body which required even more force until it settled down. Drops of sweat dripped from his forehead before he realized he only ingested a single portion. He watched the others eat their fill while he barely made a dent in his left some misery in him. If he never detested tomatoes he would easily join them and eat the dish like a champ, but in the end he completely stuck out like a large splinter.

Once she let the others eat their dishes, Moriki brought up the next part of the test.

"I see most of you enjoyed, toma, your first plate, so now I'll give the first question, mato. What extra ingredient, ketchap, was placed in the sauce for the flavor, chappu?"

She wouldn't have her answer come from DeMille. He focused so hard on eating the one part he never paid attention to any other potential detail. Alesa used one of her huge fingers to put her plate through the window and back onto the table.

"An extra ingredient existed in the sauce? I didn't taste anything different!" the giant girl's loud voice said.

"You took the words right out of my mouth." Rellek stated. "Just tasted like regular ol' spaghetti for me too."

Unsurprisingly, Sofubi came to the rescue after he licked his chops happily.

"Ooh, ooh! I definitely tasted a light pinch of barbecue sauce on the surface!"

Moriki giggled and chuckled once she heard his answer.

"All interesting answers, chappu. I'll make note of that for later, tomato."

Before anyone knew what hit them, Sofubi instantly snatched DeMille's plate and downed it all in one go. He never even flinched for a second and just wolfed it down like a maniac, which caused everyone at the table to look at him weirdly. He lightly burped under his breath before he took a nearby napkin and wiped the side of his head tepidly.

"Heheheh, sorry. I acted before I could possibly ask for seconds."

As much as DeMille wanted to chastise him for such a rash decision, underneath he felt grateful for Sofubi's interest in eating. With his plate out of the way he never needed to finish it as Sofubi cleaned the whole thing like nothing. As long as the rest of what the restaurant had planned for them didn't contain his most hated ingredient than he wouldn't have any further problems. Of course throwing curve balls seemed like the norm for the Ketchup Kingdom, so DeMille just hoped for the best while he waited for the next course. He got potentially the most troublesome out of the way, so the rest should go by much easier.

As if on cue, the waiters came by with large trays on their shoulders while they picked up all of the finished plates. Soon after they dropped off the supposed second set for the group to eat before they rushed off to the kitchen to clean the kitchenware. Like last time, Moriki brought an extra plate out the window for Alesa who snatched it with one of her fingers. DeMille instantly felt the downpours of relief the moment his eyes painted the image of the food before him. Nothing but a typical salad drenched in ranch, string cheese, and a few croutons remained cozy in a bowl ready for consumption. He appreciated the choice of lettuce as some maintained a purple color over the regular green often associated with the ingredient. Unlike the spaghetti he never hesitated and immediately dug in as the others followed soon after. The cheese mixed with the ranch dressing tickled his taste buds fancy as the familiar crunch of the croutons added the rigidness he liked on occasion. Sofubi already finished his by the time most of the others only went for their second bite, although Alesa could have finished hers around the same time because of the minuscule amount compared to her size. Due to her height any further details other than a single color became difficult, although anyone who looked at her the wrong way never saw the light of day ever again. Even so, DeMille actually ate at a decent pace while Rellek followed in the same fashion. They never fancied themselves aficionados in salads, but they at least enjoyed enough to eat them when needed. Out of the four of them, Rellek appeared the most likely canidate to liking them due to his existence as a mole kid, although they could have just thought of it as some sort of stereotype. The four performed better over their first dish, especially because DeMille could actually stomach it.

"Everyone likes that dish too, I see, matomato." Moriki stated. "Now I'll ask the next question, tomatoma. Do you think my hair had anything to do with it, chappu?"

The adorable garden girl brought her green hair forward and lightly stroked it before everyone. They required a couple of moments for the wires to connect, but once they saw the spark they instantly halted their chewing. The group looked down at their bowls then over to her hair, and after a few seconds some of them started to dry heave. Moriki never let them go too that far though as she interjected before it got any worse.

"Tomatoketchappu! Easy there, for I'm joking, mato! Did you really think the cooks, tomatoma, would have used MY HAIR for their dishes, toketchap? They would have gone jobless for such a crime, tomato!"

The lettuce haired girl laughed a few times as tension eased into more tolerable territory. They had to admit that she fooled them silly and actually made them think they had her hair in their mouths. With such a thought out of the way, they took their time and finished off their salads with so stress left behind. For someone who lived in a mystic garden her entire life she knew how to tell a good joke to the point it messed with them for a while. The four may have eaten salad, but at least they never actually chewed on something unintentional.

With two dishes down, only one remained. The waiters likewise came by and picked up the finished ones while they placed down the final piece to the whole first test. If the first provided the main course and the second as an appetizer, the third ended up as dessert. Out of all the sugar coated delicacies to provide for their final food at the restaurant, they found it not too surprising to see massive scoops of ice cream laid out in perfect synchronization as if it begged to go into their mouths. Sofubi had a bucket under him that constantly filled with drool as he couldn't take the intense pressure. From tiny chocolate chips, cookie bits, and a pinch of pecan all placed across a surface of white, they could have easily mistaken such a delight from a place like Oystown. After a few seconds, the frog had enough and mowed down his bowl like a maniac which sent bits and pieces everywhere around him. The others chose to mostly ignore him and ate at their own paces in an attempt to not stick out as much. They loved ice cream as much as the next person, but they never stooped too low and kept some manners unlike Sofubi.

DeMille went for a couple of scoops as he watched Moriki hand Alesa her bowl out the window and onto one of her huge fingers. He caught a few glimpses as she sat back down and enjoyed her speck of an ice cream dessert. For someone who never suffered any shrinkage it seemed a bit strange to see her undergo the same tests they had, although she showed how she also wanted them to grow back to normal size. She would have likely gave up her earned piece for them if she passed, which helped cement her status as a close friend ever since they met. As such she finished her confectionery rather quickly compared to the other three, although DeMille briefly received a glimpse of her wide open mouth as she licked her chops. Something about such a minor action left some light dread in the back of his mind. Him, Sofubi, and Rellek all suffered an intensive shrinkage to where many small openings became possible…including someone's mouth. He knew Alesa would never resort to any form of harsh punishment, and yet he could easily find himself on the other end of her ice cream under other circumstances. While he may have witnessed similar visuals in Mt. Screme where intestinal horrors became the norm, at least there he never went spelunking inside someone's actual body. The fact his size meant anyone, friend or foe, could just snatch and swallow him whole left him horrified even more so than anything in Tartar Valley. Alesa's awareness didn't even require knowledge of his existence to ingest him along with what she had in her hands. His giant friend had her motives, and he hoped one of them never included him on the menu.

"Uh, DeMille? You okay there?"

DeMille's back stiffened before he shook himself awake and realized who spoke. He turned his attention from the giant Alesa outside to Rellek who looked at him in slight confusion. He ate about half of his ice cream dessert while the bunny boy barely touched his.

"Oh, uhhhh, yeah. I'm fine." DeMille answered. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, you kept your eyes on Alesa for several minutes while your face went pale. Your dessert will melt at this rate."

"Oh, right!" DeMille replied. "I just…need some extra toppings for my liking."

Rellek sat nearby not too convinced while Sofubi had his own issue…since his entire head remained encased in an ice cube. When eating something frosty straight from the back fridge slowing down probably stayed near the most urgent of rules which the fat frog completely avoided. He pulled and pushed in an attempt to get the square of freezing cold off as DeMille spoke to Moriki as if Sofubi's problem didn't exist.

"Hey, Moriki?"

The special green girl brought her attention out of the craziness before her and over specifically to DeMille.

"Yes, ketcha?"

"I'm not sure if this breaks the rules of the test…but can I get some caramel syrup for my ice cream?"

For once, Moriki actually raised her eyebrows and honed more focus on him. He swore he heard her lightly gasp under her breath.

"Wow, toma…" Moriki replied while slightly surprised. "You really asked for, matomato, that? I haven't heard someone request caramel, toket, in ages! You still surprise me when I least expect it, tomato!"

"So, this place doesn't have it?"

"Oh, we do, chappu. I'll just ring up a waiter for you, ketchappu."

At that moment, Moriki glanced to her side and snapped her fingers a few times before one of the waiters came by. They exchanged a few "tomas" "matomatos" "tokets" and "ketchappus" before the waiter understood and headed off. After about a minute or two, he arrived with a bottle colored light brown and placed it right before DeMille. While a bit dusty, it still appeared perfectly usable. From there, Moriki exchanged a few more "tomatomas" with the waiter before he nodded and headed off to another table. It appeared as if it didn't affect the test in any way, so DeMille wasted no time as he popped the top open.

Unfortunately, it caught the attention of one eight legged patron close by.

As DeMille covered his dessert in sticky delight, Bubba the giant spider nabbed its faint scent which stirred its attention over to the side. In the years since he moved in and claimed the photo booth as his territory, nobody ever ordered anything caramel coated as more popular items hit customers' taste buds. It turned out as a blessing in disguise though, for it satisfied the sweet tooth of the distinct eight legged bug. He never tasted his favorite treat since, but the moment the long forgotten smell hit his senses he acted almost immediately. He didn't want to miss the opportunity of a lifetime, so for the first time in years he actually scooted off of his photo booth territory and crawled silently across the wall until he plastered his hairy legs on the wall right above the unlucky group. From there drops of venom drooled from his fangs as he crawled closer, which caught the attention of Moriki the moment he grinned behind DeMille's back. Her pupils nearly disappeared as her face went went before she hastily backed up which the others noticed immediately. Soon after Sofubi and Rellek mirrored her expression once they glanced behind DeMille while Alesa's massive eye moved back as if on instinct. The sweet aroma of caramel drove the spider forward until it literally breathed down DeMille's back.

Unlike everyone else though, DeMille's expression went flat as he heard the strange noises.

"I have the spider behind me, don't I?" DeMille blankly stated.

Chaos ensued. Bubba lunged forward over DeMille's head until it literally had his entire head stuck in the boy's bowl. Their table went flying as other patronas saw the insanity and lost their minds. They ran for the nearest exits as even the chefs and waiters followed behind them as if someone saw a forecast about how a meteor would impact and destroy humanity. Sofubi and Rellek went into the ceiling as the spider's legs tossed them aside while Moriki remained pinned into his chair. Bubba ate through the caramel covered ice cream like a pig while DeMille stayed pressed into its abdomen. The other two boys fell back onto the floor which shattered the ice cube over Sofubi's head before they ran on over for support. The spider seemed to have not learned the lesson the frog displayed earlier, as it ate the ice cream so quickly that the inevitable happened. A large frigid cube formed right over Bubba's head which staggered it as it tried to pull free which provided Sofubi and Rellek the perfect opportunity. They rushed on up as the spider turned its abdomen to them before Sofubi peeled DeMille off and Rellek vigorously kicked Bubba straight through the open window. He landed outside with a thud before Alesa shrieked and smacked the spider away to kingdom come.

The caramel making company needed to put a "caution" label on their products from now on.

After the ensued craziness, DeMille slowly got back on his feet while Moriki did the same. Alesa's huge orange eye returned to the window soon after.

"Geez, even a miniaturization couldn't ward off the insane situations! Everyone okay in there?"

Sofubi coughed a few times as everyone else surveyed the damage done.

"I'm fine…for the most part." the frog kid replied.

"At least…we got out in one piece." DeMille said through a couple of deep breaths. "I never knew Rellek…had such a powerful kick in him."

"When push goes to shove working at the Daily Mole, sometimes you need to get down and dirty for the perfect details." Rellek stated.

"So…impressive, mato." Moriki said after she lightly panted. "Does everyone on the outside have such power, tomatoma?"

"Uhhhhhh, sort of." DeMille answered. "Not everyone though."

"Duly noted, ketcha." Moriki responded. "We'll have to round up everyone else, matomato, to clean this place up."

"I guess that means we failed the first test then?" Sofubi asked. "I mean, we caused a ruckus in here. Plus you didn't give us your final question."

Surprisingly, Moriki just smiled and lightly shook her head.

"Nope, you passed, ketchappu!"

The other four couldn't believe their ears. They potentially destroyed so much in the restaurant to the point where they drove everyone out, and yet they still accomplished the criteria to continue. With so much that went wrong it left them baffled as to what they DIDN'T do to screw up their chances. If they kept certain standards they never talked about the four likely wouldn't have known about them in time, and yet it appeared none of it mattered. None of them chose to question it further, for in the end they still passed somehow. First test down, two more to go.

"But…but look at what happened here!" Alesa's booming voice said. "Don't tell me you planned for the destruction the entire time!"

"Oh no, tomato. Not at all, toket." Moriki replied back. "However, if I told all of you how we grade your performances, matotoma, then how will I know you won't cheat, chappu?"

"She…has a point." Sofubi stated.

"Okay, fine. As long as we passed, I don't want to bite the hand that feeds me." DeMille said. "Will we have to clean all of this up?"

"You could, toma, but we have the second test waiting, mato." Moriki responded.

"Already?" Rellek said as he crossed his arms. "No breaks then, huh?"

"I mean, only if you don't want to munch, ketchap, on our special veggie as soon as possible, matotoma." Moriki answered.

The four understood and shook themselves off of excess foods and sauces, except for the gigantic Alesa, from the scuffle as the photo booth in the back shook a little. Before long a rather comical appearing skeleton popped out of it with a big grin on its face.

"Yes, I'm finally free from that wretched arachnid! So long, suckers!"

It prepared to run off out of the place before it collapsed into a pile of bones as its head rolled off under a table.

"Darn it!"

---

Jaws hit the floor once Moriki lead them to their next destination. Even Alesa never saw it coming and she saw nearly the entire garden from her normal height. Since the start the four pretty much understood that nature became one of Sweetpea Garden's primary inspirations for its setting, so when the complete contrary showed up it astounded all of them. For a place where the inhabitants never set foot into an industrial landscape they managed to recreate the setting down as if one peeked through a telescope of some kind. Long skyscraper like buildings and crowded streets ran their course throughout the area as cars parked along the sides of the roads. Even lit street lights and manhole covers provided extra authenticity although not to the same degree and populace like Soy City. Closer inspection revealed some types of cardboard and creation materials at play, but from afar they saw no such differences. All of them stood baffled at how accurate of a representation of a populated city they saw before them, especially from ones who understood nothing about them. For tiny beings who grew mystic vegetables of various abilities, they reflected a completely unknown concept into a foreign masterpiece of craftsmanship and elbow grease.

As if on command, Sofubi fell onto his back in a cheesy way.

"Oh, my chest! It can't take such splendor up close…and tons of grease!"

"Get up Sofubi, for you're not going anywhere." Rellek replied as he pulled the fat frog back up.

"At least let me have a moment to shine!" Sofubi responded.

He went on deaf ears quickly as the others added their two cents.

"Whoa! Did I just stumble somewhere else completely?!" DeMille said.

"No, tomato. Just on the outskirts of the garden, matomato." Moriki answered.

"But…but how?!" Alesa stated from above. "Even I couldn't see this part of the garden from up here!"

"Oh, we never got around to take it down yet, toma." Moriki explained. "One crazy resident here, ketcha, wanted to make a movie using a large set, toket, and even though he finished the set…nobody wanted to actually act in it, tomatoma. We never saw him again, tomato, and while we made some progress tearing this down, matomato, we still have a long way to go, chappu."

"Geez. All of this for a movie?" Rellek said. "Talk about a waste of time and resources."

"I mean, it does really look like a large city from down here. I have to admit that I'm sort of impressed." DeMille stated as he scanned the buildings.

"Eh, I just see a model city from up here." Alesa's booming voice said. "Why did you bring us out here exactly?"

"Because the next test takes place here, ketchappu!"

The other four gazed at her like she went crazy.

"I think I shoved bananas into my ears for a second, because I thought I heard you say that the next test takes place here." Sofubi stated.

"It does, chappu!" Moriki answered. "You'll fill in for the actors of the lost movie!"

From there the others felt like they also had bananas in their ears.

"How so?" DeMille asked. "What movie did the crazy guy have in mind?"

"Why, nothing more than a classic giant monster movie, tomato!" Moriki stated. "I'll provide context for the scenes, matotoma, and then all of you act them out, ketcha! I already have the equipment set up, tomatoma!"

The moment she finished, one of the locals of the garden zipped up to the lettuce haired girl with a professional appearing camera and director's chair in front of it. Moriki took it from there as the inhabitant uttered a few "matos" and "tomas" before it ran off.

"Muhmuhmuh…monster movie?" Sofubi worriedly said as he stuttered and trembled. "Bubububu…but I'm not fit for this!"

"GIANT monster movie, toma. Two completely separate genres, mato." Moriki corrected.

Of course the four could never get off that easily. From the statements alone, they knew the general scenes whenever a movie involved giant monster and the roles around them. Someone of massive size already had her tall platform boots on set as the others barely saw the tops of their red bottoms. No such casting improv needed, which left only the director to call the shots. They assumed as long as they performed well then they passed, although specific requirements still eluded them. None of them considered themselves movie stars, but for the sake of accomplishing their goal they needed to channel their inner actor.

Alesa shuffled her two long boots which almost sent the others to the ground as she leaned down to see the specks with her planet sized face.

"I guess I'm not playing a panicked citizen anytime soon?"

Despite Alesa's looming head and titanic stature, Moriki remained as chipper as ever.

"Obviously not, matomato. As the biggest one here, tomatoma, you'll play as the giant monster, ketchappu."

"Figures." Alesa answered as she blatantly rolled her huge orange eyes.

"Waitwaitwait! Don't we at least get costumes, outfits, or…ANYTHING before we go?" DeMille asked in slight anxiety.

"I'm definitely…keeping my designing skills out of this." Sofubi muttered while he twiddled his thumbs.

"Naaaahhhhhhhh, chappu!" Moriki responded. "We don't have time, tomato! You want to eat the special veggie as soon as possible, right matomato?"

"…she has a point." Rellek said.

"You three go hide in the set, toma, while Alesa here stands back, chappu."

"Huh? Why?" Alesa said to the speck by her boots.

"Because all of you will perform the big introductory scene, ketchappu!" Moriki answered. "Pull this one scene off, matotoma, and you'll pass the next test!"

They really only needed to hear her last sentence to understand the stakes at play. Moriki turned her attention over to the three tiny boys and provided a signal for them to run into the set. As unnerved as it felt to know what scene the lettuce haired girl had in mind, they still ran off into the streets in separate directions. As the chubbiest one of the bunch, Sofubi lagged behind and tumbled at one point on a hard turn until he hit a lamppost which made him dizzy for a few seconds. After several minutes, the three stayed in completely different quadrants which gave them time to marvel at just how well of a replica city they stood in. The one insane guy really performed a crystal clear job to make sure everything appeared authentic even down to the minor details like cracks in the sidewalk. DeMille high tailed it inside a coffee shop, Sofubi accidentally tripped into an open manhole, and Rellek remained hidden under a parked car. With the hiders in place, only one single part remained.

"Channel your inner giant monster, tomato! We need as much destruction as possible, ketcha!"

"Really?" Alesa's booming voice asked. "You want me to destroy this delicate set?"

"Not all of it, chappu." Moriki responded from near her huge boots. "I need enough for the visual flair, matotoma, but not too much so it wouldn't take forever to rebuild, toket. Just because that one person left the set behind, matomato, doesn't mean we can still use it for later, tomatoma."

"That…actually sounds rather smart, not gonna lie." Alesa answered. "Tell me when to start."

"Got it, toma!" Moriki answered as she moved her chair and camera back.

With the final piece of advice in her head, Alesa slowly edged to the outer portions of the big city set. Even the few steps she took sent tremors across the premises which almost sent Moriki's delicate camera to the ground. At that point everything set in the perfect spot, and only Moriki could finally call for its start.

The entire area stood silent for a few moments as the lettuce haired girl sat in her chair before she booted the camera up and exclaimed the magic words.

"Aaaaaaand…ACTION, TOMATO!"

Alesa yelled out a corny yet somewhat authentic roar as she powerfully stepped into the makeshifts streets and left craters in her wake. The boys also heard Moriki's words and remained stationary as their gigantic friend acted like a kaiju for the camera. Buildings collapsed as she swung her arms around and cars flew over the horizon after multiple strong kicks. The large red walls of Alesa's tall boot bottoms took up their entire visions as she lay waste to the world below her. For someone who started acting for the first time she performed excellently as shrapnel and cement soared into the air as bricks and woods fell onto the ruined streets. She even caused some sweat to pour from their brows as if she wanted their innards spread across her tongue like she ate tiny ones for breakfast. From corner to corner, the giant monster of a girl named Alesa brought ruin to specific quadrants of the city since Moriki wanted to have some still intact by the end. The first few shots became a gold mine of content and everyone pitched in to make something truly spectacular.

Rellek felt the deafening shakes the closer Alesa's titanic boots stomped toward him. He ducked near the driver's seat as building materials flew by the windows. The more he witnessed the carnage the more he thought Alesa may have completely lost her mind in the role. He wanted to open the door and book it but then he risked giving up his hiding spot which he intended to not do. His head almost hit the ceiling as stronger stomps brought magnitude 10s across the ground. Eventually he mustered enough to peek out the side window only to see an endless red wall of one of Alesa's tall platform boots which sent numerous chills across his skin. He had to give it to DeMille and Sofubi for their spots since she clearly missed them so far, but the fact that he chose possibly the worst spot left him the unluckiest one of the three. From there he wished he just dug into the ground and waited until everything died down, although he never fancied himself good at burrowing through cement. For someone who went around everywhere underground for the Daily Mole, he found it quite ironic that he became the first on Alesa's hit list.

Eventually though, after a couple minutes of earth shattering booms as if someone set off a million bombs the sounds stopped. Rellek had a moment to himself as his mind tried to calculate what happened, but before he could peek through the window again gravity instantly shifted. If he went blind and someone said that he just went up in another UFO he likely would have believed it. His body remained flat against the seat from the pressure until inertia kicked in and careened him into the car's ceiling again. He left a Rellek shaped indent as he fell back down and coughed, but when he finally came to he saw the biggest orange eye in existence stare directly at him.

"You can't escape from me, tiny!"

"Oh, uhhhhhhh…" Rellek stuttered. "Come on, Alesa. Don't get too…carried away now…"

"Carried away?" Alesa's loud voice boomed through the car. "I'm having the time of my life! Look at you all itty bitty like an inconsequential ant! I'm the biggest girl in the entire Ketchup Kingdom and I can do anything…like THIS!"

His ears picked up the first signs from above. What started as a small dent soon expanded until the ceiling actively sought Rellek's body. It went further down until he found himself pinned to the seat and unable to move much. The glistening orange of Alesa's massive eye made sure she witnessed all of the turmoils Rellek experienced inside the wrecked car as she brought a finger down harder across the top. Rellek yelled for a miracle but it never happened as Alesa had her way with him like a toy in her grasp. She made herself clear that she enjoyed her time as the biggest of the four and the mole kid suffered for it.

"CUT, MATOMATO!"

At that point the pressure across the ceiling of the car went away which finally provided Rellek with some form of movement out of his spot. He managed to catch a glimpse out the window while Alesa turned her huge head toward the source of the voice. Low and behold, they saw the garden girl with the green pepper beret on the roof of a nearby intact skyscraper prop as she held the movie camera in front of her.

"Uhhhhh, yes Moriki?" Alesa asked.

"Geez, I almost PERISHED from that stunt!" Rellek exclaimed as sweet relief left him.

"You did a really good job, toma, but I have to agree with Rellek that you sort of got TOO in character, mato." Moriki replied. "Tone it down maybe a little bit, tomato!"

Alesa rolled her eyes.

"And here I thought you want me to go full giant monster mode."

"I do, matomato, but not to the degree where it may end someone, ketchap." Moriki responded. "Also, I need you to do, chappu, something too, Rellek."

Rellek perked up and looked down at Moriki on the roof.

"Yes?" Rellek asked.

"I want you to narrowly escape your demise, tomatoma. Maybe force open the side door, matotoma, and jump to a building close by before Alesa destroys the car, toket. We got to have some action here and there, mato!"

"I'll…try." Rellek answered.

Out of everything he heard so far, Rellek picked one out specifically for the turning point. Hundreds of pounds lifted off of his shoulders once he learned that Alesa only acted out everything and went a bit overboard with her actions. With the truth revealed, he saw the safety net underneath and understood how he needed to act for the next part. He would still bring out his panic, but now in the back of his head he knew Alesa still had his back just in case. Everyone performed for the sake of pure showbiz.

Moriki backed up a bit on the roof before she aimed the camera up and shouted the magic words.

"Aaaaand…ACTION, MATO!"

Alesa didn't hesitate and went immediately back to crushing the car's ceiling with her finger. Rellek already readjusted himself so he would end up pinned like before, and he waited for his chance to jump. As Alesa crushed the car she subtly whisked the vehicle to the side until she dangled it near a building. From there, Rellek saw his chance. As the giant girl completely decimated the car with only two fingers, the mole kid kicked open the side door and leapt straight from it. In a moment of pure awesome and amazement, time slowed to a crawl in one of the most extravagant moments straight from the next big blockbuster. He landed onto the top and rolled a bit until he halted himself and ran for cover. He hoped Moriki got a good shot and that it earned brownie points toward the test, but for now he'll let Alesa take center stage with her gigantic presence. Director Moriki cast her in the lead role of giant monster after all.

Alesa tossed the car to the pavement below where it combusted while she comically roared like a kaiju.

"RAAAAAWWWWWR! I CAN HANDLE MORE SMALL FRIES LIKE NOTHING!"

Her tall platform boots sent buildings into ruin from a single kick while she swung her hips and tapped large skyscrapers into oblivion. Her deafening booms and quakes from each strong step bulldozed everything unfortunate enough to come into contact with her boots. She destroyed everything that disappeared under their red bottoms including cars, lampposts, to even a couple of buses. She never professionally acted, but she pulled off a decent job as the titular giant monster girl on a rampage. Time to wreck even more for the cameras.

Out of the remaining two boys, DeMille chose a worse spot. With Alesa on a wrecking rampage, it only became a matter of time until she eventually came across his building. While a coffee shop seemed innocent enough, giant monster never cared for the minor details and only saw a large "DESTROY ME" sign plastered on it. He shivered and shuddered from the wreckage he heard outside, but he at least heard how Alesa only acted for the shoot and not because she really wanted to end them. He came across Alesa first after all, so he knew she wouldn't go too harshly on him. It wouldn't hurt though for all of them to get acting lessons later down the road.

"Just wait until your cue. Just wait until your cue." DeMille thought as Alesa's booming steps rang through his ears.

Another sound slowly passed his hearing throughout Alesa's giant boots booming everywhere. Because of their sheer volume he required a few more minutes until he finally realized something else. His heart slowed to a crawl as some slow breathing came from next to him, and once he turned to the side he prepared to scream.

…only to see a smiling Moriki with the camera next to her.

"Hey! I'm trying to hide here!" DeMille said.

"And I need some good perspective shots, matomato." Moriki said. "Just pretend I'm not here, ketchappu."

He found such a task difficult due to the camera literally up in his face. Even after Moriki backed up she still kept the lens aimed right at him. Both sides wouldn't have to wait long for action though, as it bashed right through the front windows and shattered glass, the prop kind, everywhere in the room. Moriki squealed with delight as she backed up even more into a corner as she captured the moments on film. As for DeMille, it sent him back against a wall as he saw Alesa's massive hand take up almost the entire space inside.

"Come out, tiny specks! I'll have you for breakfast!" Alesa exclaimed.

Her gargantuan digits prodded the premises for any sign of stragglers. Moriki may have some safety, but DeMille found himself in the line of fire. Her fingers came within inches of his squishy body as he looked for an opening. While he found one shortly after, it required avoiding Alesa's hand as it laid ruin to everything inside the makeshift coffee shop. At that point, he made a break for it as Alesa's thumb almost grazed the top of his head. Her huge hand slammed down which briefly made him airborne as she nearly pinned him against her palm, but DeMille still set his sights on the way out. After another close encounter, he leapt through the slight sliver of the outside and tumbled onto the pavement. While not seriously injured, he only performed step one in getting away from the giant girl.

Alesa wouldn't let him have a moment to breathe.

"I don't think so!"

DeMille gained a decent lead on her before he witnessed the shadow of one of her boots over him. He barely avoided her strong stomp as her platform boot impacted the spot where he once stood which sent solid concrete everywhere. She attempted another stomp as DeMille rounded a corner, but he got away again as the red wall of her boot bottom stomped behind him. From there, she upped the ante and brought out out something she had on hand perfect for the occasion as the speck of a boy scurried down the streets. She would not let him get the best of her.

DeMille took refuge behind a skyscraper and wiped some sweat off of his brow. He knew they acted for the sake of the test, but when someone ended up lost in their notes it became easy to get carried away. He had no idea if Alesa stooped to that level yet, but it wouldn't surprise him. He wondered where Sofubi wandered off to since he also remained uncaught, but he cut the thought short. As long as Moriki obtained the shots needed their chances to pass the test increased.

"Just hold it in for a little while longer…" DeMille thought as he caught his breath.

As if reality wanted to dunk on him, another large shadow showed up over his shrunken body. If anything Alesa had one of her boots above him for another attempt to turn him into a flat pancake, but once he glanced up he realized the reality of the situation. The sight alone sapped color away from his face before he bolted just as the rabbit shaped shoes completely destroyed the skyscraper next to him. She actually brought out the particular Gimmick for him and him alone, and if it dealt good damage on regular enemies it pretty much acted like a one hit knockout for shrunken boys. Alesa brought out the big guns…or big rabbit shoes.

She sent him flying the moment she meteor struck the ground. Building sailed through the air and entire districts disappeared off of the map. DeMille skidded across the sidewalk on his behind to the point where he remained clueless if it burned off or not. At that point he may as well just lost it, but thankfully he found his backside intact. No need to find a donor anywhere for a possible butt transplant.

He felt grateful that doctors wouldn't have to report on "no end in sight".

"Stay still so I can DEMOLISH you!" Alesa exclaimed as her RabiShoes acted up again.

DeMille only had moments to react when Alesa took to the skies again. Every time she landed it felt like he became caught in the cataclysmic event that ended the dinosaurs and he barely stayed ahead of it. Precaution never went through Alesa's head as she detonated multiple atomic bombs and DeMille lacked any sort of fallout shelter for such a catastrophe. He also needed to avoid everything sent into the air since she also destroyed set pieces every time she impacted the ground much to the boy's dismay. She left him with next to no wiggle room as he literally had the apocalypse behind him, so naturally he hit the "Run" option over and over. He missed out on experience points, but nobody could defeat a gigantic monster like her anyway. Alesa had her fun while the contrary fell onto DeMille.

Sofubi probably went through the calmest of the three boys. After he tumbled into the makeshift city's sewer system he pretty much stayed there the entire time while pandemonium occurred above him. He heard all of the thunderous booms of Alesa's steps and while the above ground cracked a little it never completely collapsed. He slowly traversed the dark passageways and held his nose tight from the stinky smells, but at least he never dealt with the others on the surface. He lacked the physique of someone in shape anyway and wouldn't get too far, which he intended to fix when he joined DeMille back in Oystown. He may have fallen underground by mistake, but he avoided everything above in the process.

"I won't last a second up there." Sofubi said to himself. "I'm not much of a movie actor anyway."

As he walked down the paths of pure darkness, where he bonked his head a few times, he heard the loud booms of Alesa's stomps suddenly increase in volume. He began to walk backward and head back where he came from as the warning signs blared in his head. Unfortunately, he never managed to get too far until the happenings came to him but not in the way he expected. Efore he could traverse even farther along, Alesa's huge RabiShoes appeared right before him as they chunked a huge hole in their wake. Bricks, concrete, water, and the fancy fat frog flew everywhere as her impact became so strong it partially submerged her into the sewer line. On the surface, DeMille careened off to the side from the sheer power of her stomp until he found himself on the roof of a smaller building. Like before, he sustained no major injuries, but he never took into account the green chubby missile as it fell toward him. Knowing who would have that sort of shape, DeMelle held out his arms and put his legs to work in an attempt to catch the chunky frog. Once he firmly secured the spot well he planted his feet down…then found himself embedded into the roof. Sofubi's weight had more of a punch than he anticipated, so when he eventually landed the bunny boy never stood a chance. He handled worse, but they never eased the pain he suffered with each incident. Alesa made sure Sofubi got his time in the spotlight…and across DeMille's body.

"…of course…" DeMille muttered from under the fat frog.

"Oh, uhhhh, sorry DeMille!" Sofubi said as he pulled himself off of his friend.

"AND CUT, TOMATOMA! THAT'S A, MATOTOMA, WRAP!"

Everyone stopped once they heard Moriki's final call. From where the heard her voice, she appeared atop one of the nearby skyscrapers still intact. She joyously jumped as her gleaming smile brightened their spirits. She had the camera aimed right at the action before she turned it off. DeMille and Sofubi exhaled deeply as Alesa put her RabiShoes away and brought herself out of the hole she left behind.

"Aww, I just managed to get into character!" Alesa said.

"No need for any more recording, ketcha! You performed superbly, mato!"

Alesa's light frown faded as she leaned down to the skyscraper where Moriki stationed herself.

"Nice to hear complements from a tiny like you."

"Well, you acted out the star role perfectly, mato, and I can't deny it, toket!" Moriki answered.

As DeMille and Sofubi got down from the building where they landed, Rellek also showed up from behind a nearby building. The moment everyone saw him they uttered screams. Mole kids definitely never wore sharp nail through their heads, and from the he walked in it stuck in there pretty deep. He muttered something inaudible as DeMille ran up to survey how bad the damage appeared.

"RELLEK! BY KETCHUP, MAYO, AND MUSTARD, WHAT HAPPENED?!"

The mole kid actually managed to answer…by dropping the nail from behind his head.

"I guess you can say I…NAILED it!"

He quickly received numerous blank expressions his way. Alesa even flicked him upside the head with one of her huge fingers which sent him backwards.

"What? Can't any of you take a joke?"

"When it doesn't involve life or death, then yes." DeMille flatly answered.

Rellek snorted and crossed his arms as Moriki spoke next.

"I'll get the others to clean up the mess, tomato, but I'm also happy to say all of you passed the second test!"

The other four perked up considerably and set all of their sights on Moriki.

"Oh, wow! Really?" Alesa asked with her hands on her cheeks.

"All of you acted top notch, matotoma!" Moriki responded. "As much as I want to continue, ketcha, I understand the urgency of your restorations, toma."

"Great!" DeMille said. "So give us the next test then!"

Moriki's mood dipped a little before she lightly shook her head.

"I would love to, chappu, but we don't exactly have everything ready, toket. We very rarely have anyone make it this far, matomato, and we can't slack off on any of the details, tomatoma. Give us a bit of time to set everything up, ketchappu, and when the time comes we'll have you tackle the final difficult test. My apologies, matotoma."

The fact she held off on letting them progress immediately to the finale left indications they couldn't forget. If they passed the first two back to back and the last one required some prep work it likely maintained a level of difficulty unheard of compared to what they already went through. Alesa's huge size may become their last line of defense, but they won't know for sure until Moriki and the other garden inhabitants finish everything. While they've dealt with various difficulties before, the enigma left a nervousness behind for the four. They needed to pass it more than anything, but the warning signs left a lot to think about. They may just have the hardest challenge of their lives planned for their shrunken selves…plus colossal girl.

"Oh, uhhhh, we…understand." Sofubi answered with some uncertainty in his tone.

The other three appeared to agree and nodded toward Moriki.

"Good, matomato! I'll have rooms booked for you, chappu, at the hotel until then, toma. Just hold tight for a bit, mato."

"Wait, what about me?" Alesa asked as she placed her hands on her hips. "I'm clearly too big for a dingy hotel at your size!"

"Oh, we have a wide open space out back for you, tomato. We've cleared the area of dirt for the best comfort possible, matomato!"

Alesa frowned, but she couldn't deny the honesty in her voice. Even though she wondered how they already reserved a space for her massive body, she wanted to not bite the hand that fed her. She enjoyed her time as the garden's titan to the point where she allowed herself to sleep on bare ground due to space issues. Her gigantic self would rest outside while the others slept in the tiny hotel.

Everyone agreed on Moriki's terms.

---

As everyone tuned out for the night, DeMille, Sofubi, and Rellek all headed to the hotel while Alesa walked to her respective spot outside. She sent shock waves with each step of her tall platform boots as the three shrunken boys went inside the garden's tomato hotel. From the last time they saw it only a few select ruined spots remained which the owner already took note of, and once DeMille arrived he agreed to fix them. He willingly said he would earlier and the spots appeared not too damaged, so he took a few minutes off to help. Sofubi and Rellek also assisted, but not before all three of the boys found their faces splattered with blueberry jelly. Once they finished, the owner thanked them before he guided them to the three available rooms Moriki told them about. No Topar became necessary although the owner stated any future nights required further payments. Even so, DeMille stayed in many hotels during his journey for the HP refills before, so he became rather accustomed to such circumstances. He already carried all of his items and Gimmicks on hand so he required no further storage units. As he gave Sofubi and Rellek solemn "good nights" he wandered into his own private hotel room. After everything he went through to get there, he needed all of the rest he could get.

One look inside and the room appeared pretty standard to the other hotels he visited around the Ketchup Kingdom. While not the most spacious, the fluffy tomato shaped bed caught his interest for the complete snug blankets on the surface. A few minutes under the covers and then anyone would get conked out after only a few minutes. The carpeting felt decent and the warm colors of red, orange, and yellow helped alleviate the fact that better flooring existed. The one cabinet across from the bed also maintained such a round red shape which fit the theme of the room and even held racks for excess clothes for those interested. The shelves underneath likewise also went empty for visitors, but since DeMille already kept a personal stash on hand at all times he never needed to use them. He found it more surprising to see an actual bathroom nearby, also themed after tomatoes, which many hotels around the kingdom lacked for some reason. It gave off a rather "luxury" feel and made him rather special to actually stay in such conditions. A small desk with a tomato lamp on top set right next to the bed whenever he wanted to finally call it a day, and at the current hour he would likely use it very soon. He noticed a small "thank you" brochure on the desk too which advertised the hotel and its various perks, but as he ran low on steam he only skimmed over the front before he fell on the bed. Despite his dislike for tomatoes, he admitted that Sweepea Garden's hotel stayed as one of the best the Ketchup Kingdom had to offer.

It became quite a shame then that most never knew such an establishment existed.

Once DeMille settled himself under the comfy covers, his put his mind to rest and fell asleep after a couple of minutes. He knocked himself out before he found himself in dreamland. Thick pink mist shrouded the world and left him wandering for countless minutes, but somewhere within the murky depths a faint cry echoed which drove him forward. Somehow it sounded familiar and tickled his chest. His other senses stayed stuffed as the world around him rang a hollow emptiness, yet the distant noise held his attention. He lacked the knowledge of where Alesa, Sofubi, and Rellek headed off to, so only he wandered over the edges of the planet throughout the hazy wasteland. Nowhere left to go but forward, and he would find what he wanted.

"DeMille?"

His ears twitched as he lightened up and widened his eyes. He disregarded the pink fog and ran like he really meant it.

"DeMille? Where are you?"

He wanted to see the finish line more than ever. Pure joy plastered itself all across his face. He completely forgot about the other three as his heart beat through his chest.

"OH, DEMILLE?"

He could tell he only required a few more yards. Tears formed in his eyes while he held his arms out in an attempt to connect back to what he once lost. Nothing made him better than finally seeing his journey at its end, no matter what happened. He reached the peak and now he at last-

…ran himself into a sturdy wall.

He fell onto his back before he picked himself up and shook his head. The fog cleared a bit while his legs trembled. From there he managed to look at what he rushed into even through a light concussion. From what he heard certain expectations embedded into his head which painted anxiety until the image cleared.

It started as nothing but a white wall, but then he gazed upwards.

The picture caught up to him. The bundle of happiness and love of his seven year old girlfriend finally made her debut after what seemed like ages ago. Because she also lived in The Spillage she resembled DeMille along with the others who lived there. With her bright personality unheard of compared to other residents, it became obvious why King Abira kidnapped her over other less bright kids. Her long pink hair stood out as one of her most endearing features along with her cute pink eyes that DeMille loved so much. Her skin stayed more on the lighter side in a slight pinch of peach while her floppy ears dangled on the sides of her head. Unlike DeMille's rabbit like ears underneath his hat, Pasaran's hung down in a more triangular shape unlike others at The Spillage. Like DeMille though, she wore a hat colored in pink and white and it rounded out like some small helmet. Her dress matched her hat in colors as white edges ran along the outer portions and around her neck while she adorned a small pink pearl around the top. She displayed no skin around her legs as her long pink and white shoes covered them similar to how Alesa wore her boots. Because of her younger age compared to DeMille, an entire year, she lacked a few inches off of the top even though DeMille considered it charming. If DeMille primarily considered blue as his main color of choice and Alesa with orange, Pasaran kept a close interest in pink. As he continued to hang out with her over the course of a few years, they've already locked destinies as "puppy love" boyfriend and girlfriend. DeMille couldn't have picked a better girl to call a friend than Pasaran.

He would have called her face to face if she never reached for the stars with her now mammoth size.

DeMille watched in awe as the young Pasaran completely dwarfed him in height. She even appeared a lot bigger than Alesa, as if he shrunk to the size of a flew instead of an ant. In many aspects it pulled at DeMille's heart strings even more than usual, but for the most part he rather preferred her at her normal height. She turned her head around as her pink hair the length of entire oceans swayed with her, while her eyes glanced everywhere. One slight shuffle of her shoes sent DeMille to the ground as her once light pleasing voice ran across the skies. He needed to avoid her steps in any way possible so she wouldn't crush him as he attempted to grab her attention. At lengths even greater than that of Alesa, DeMille needed her attention more than ever.

"PASARAN! I'M DOWN HERE!" DeMille shouted with all of his tiny might.

He watched Pasaran's ears twitch before she turned around aimlessly.

"DeMille? Did I just hear you?"

Her pink shoes shifted and shuffled around which left DeMille to fend for himself. Large shadows cast over him which left only a split second to react. He rushed everywhere as Pasaran's giant pink shoes sent thunderous quakes across the ground which almost sent him off of his feet. He even ran into the white walls of her shoe bottoms numerous times as she unwarily almost stepped on him numerous times.

Her small steps left clouds of dust behind as DeMille shouted for her again.

"YES! I'M DOWN AT YOUR FEET!"

At that moment, her huge pink shoes went still. She put both of her hands against her mouth in a stunned manner as DeMille saw her ever planet sized head dip down at his tiny presence.

"DEMILLE?!"

His worry lightly increased as Pasaran bent over a little and reached down for his tiny speck of a body. She lightly pinched around him with two gigantic fingers before she lightly lifted him up near her face. He bewildered yet adorable pink eyes the size of planetoids stared directly at the speck within her grasp as DeMille tried to loosen himself up so she wouldn't inadvertently squeeze him too much. Even as she may have injured him a little, the sight of her adorable yet massive face melted all of his worry behind. He specifically picked her out as his girlfriend for a reason after all, and Pasaran really enjoyed their time together. Even as he barely matched her in height, he couldn't deny that they connected in more ways than one. She'd never hurt a fly, let alone him. The gentle giant of Pasaran carefully held her tiny companion in DeMille.

He stayed within the embrace of his pink girlfriend as she kept her astonished eyes on him.

"Am I…seeing things right? I can barely see you among my fingers!"

"Yes, I'm…really this tiny." DeMille answered despite his calmness in her hand. "I sort of became mixed up in an unfortunate altercation which diminished me considerably."

"Whoa, big words for a small DeMille!" Pasaran answered as her adorable smile played DeMille perfectly. "Guess I'm not so short any more, huh?"

"Heheheh, I guess not." DeMille replied as he softly chuckled. "I have to say…you look even cuter all huge from my perspective."

Pasaran raised her eyebrows and thinly blushed before she giggled.

"Heeheeheehee, I appreciate that!"

At that point, DeMille witnessed his giant pink girlfriend as she raised her other huge hand and slowly brought it closer to him. She then stuck one of her fingers out and lightly caressed him like she held her most prized pet which the shrunken boy really enjoyed. With each small poke he shuddered and shied away for a moment until her gigantic finger stroked his tiny body again. While they gave each other hugs and kisses on the cheeks when they hung out, they always stayed within those boundaries. Due to the changes in size between them, it became a first for DeMille to ever have Pasaran act in such a particular fashion. He became sheepish in her gigantic presence and slowly lit up like a bright red tomato as her friendly demeanor still rang true despite her giant size. He easily related to dogs when someone scratched their bellies in just the right spot and he wanted it to continue endlessly. Pasaran knew how to please her tiny boyfriend and it ended up as a major weakness in his character at times.

Regrettably, even perfect moments always come to an end. Pasaran withdrew her finger and left DeMille coiled in her fingers as the shrunken boy himself looked downward so he could avoid blushing intensely at her huge cute face.

"Aww, did I go too much on you?" Pasaran asked as her head tilted.

DeMille, all flustered and shy, couldn't find the right words at first.

"Oh, errrrrmmm… Uhhhh…"

His mouth clamped shut. He acted like a complete idiot in front of his gigantic girlfriend and refused to show his face. He bottled his emotions up, but the lid gently popped once he heard her infectious lovable giggles.

"Heeheehee! Little DeMille can't handle gigantic me! How cute! In fact, you also look pretty cute all tiny in my grasp!"

The huge seven year old brought DeMille up closer to her face as the tiny boy heard high pitched steam in his head from the amount of emotions built up. He shut his eyes but only for a few moments before he saw Pasaran as she turned her face to the side. Another set of infectious adorable giggles later and then he found himself pressed against her cheek rather gently. Her fingers kept him bound to her skin but he never fought back. Instead, he calmly embraced her in the friendliest of fashions like any good boyfriend. His serene smile completed Pasaran's overjoyed grin which displayed their perfect match for each other. They thought of each other as truly special.

"So squishy…and loving." Pasaran muttered as she felt his loving hug against her cheek.

"I'll never forget about you, Pasaran." DeMille said from the bottom of his heart.

"I'll always remember you too, DeMille." Pasaran replied like she really meant it.

At that point she used her other hand to grab a portion of her hair before she brought it toward the tiny DeMille by her cheek. The tiny boy never saw it coming and before long he found himself tangled in her sea of long pink hair. It smelled like cinnamon and cotton candy, which he loved, but he lost himself fairly quickly within her long locks. Nothing but endless pink filled his vision as he tried to find a way out, but the more he struggled the more tangled he became. He heard Pasaran's loving giggles yet couldn't see anything other than her hair. While he wanted to remain calm, once he found himself upside down in the jungles of his girlfriends hair he pretty much ditched the idea. The boy who went against crazy divas in bathtubs, disco dancing freaks, and a large tub of fat admitted defeat…all from getting stuck in his girlfriend's pink hair.

About a dozen strands completely bound him into a cocoon of sorts, and he lacked the skill of escape artists to break free like nothing happened. He deeply sighed and shook his head as a familiar pink eye stared down at his dot of a body.

"You always had an appreciation for my long hair, DeMille." Pasaran's large voice said.

"Yeah…I sure did." DeMille answered as the tightness left him short of breath.

"Aww, you can't get out?" Pasaran asked.

DeMille couldn't answer as his face turned blue. Before it went on any longer, Pasaran used one of her huge fingers to unravel him until he literally hung onto one of her long locks. Finally able to breathe a bit, DeMille climbed back up until he found himself in the dense pink of her hair again. As someone who maintained good hygiene, she never showed any signs of ticks or spots of dandruff anywhere. The bunny boy kept his footing stiff just in case as he marveled at such a pristine change in perspective. He grasped the long pink tubes of Pasaran's hair and wandered aimlessly throughout the thick world around him. His steps even gave Pasaran a few chuckles which bobbed his tiny body a few times and left him to grab a hair to not lose his balance. After a few close calls though, one chuckle became too much and hurled him forward over an edge. He smacked a few pink strands on the way down before he hit the air, but it only lasted a few seconds until he impacted a rigid but not too hard surface. He shook himself off before he looked up and saw the humongous face of his beloved girlfriend as she held out one of her massive digits to catch him like a net. When it became tough she swooped in to his rescue, which was the complete opposite compared to his current ongoing quest. Even so, he adored her presence and felt happy to know he had her in his life, even as a giant titan girl. Pasaran caught him for a change, and he never minded at all.

"I think you've had your fun exploring through the jungles for once. Enjoy yourself?"

DeMille's cheeks lit up once again.

"Well, uhhhh…I guess so…"

"Heeheeheehee! I thought you hated tomatoes, DeMille!" Pasaran said as she covered her mouth with her other hand and giggled cutely.

"Oh, I'm just, uhhhhh…still comprehending your titanic size!" DeMille replied as he shuddered like crazy at the adorableness on display.

"Really? Well, I know how to loosen stress from you…"

DeMille refused to look any further up. He couldn't look at his girlfriend without admiring her cuteness, especially at such a size which eclipses his. As all of his emotions competed for dominance, Pasaran brought him closer to her face once more which lit him up even more. He tried to cover his eyes as the purest of pink giggled again, but before he knew it…he completely stiffened up. She finally sealed it for him once her two huge lips made contact with his shrunken body. He thought he heard steam from the back of his head as he tried to comprehend her action, but in the end he received her intertwined blessing. She meant to world to him and vice versa, and yet she finalized everything with one gigantic smooch.

They connected perfectly.

After a few seconds of "becoming one with trees", his body loosened up and sagged in Pasaran's hand before he collapsed onto his back with a circle of hearts over his head. At first he struggled to say anything, but as the gigantic smiling adorable face of Pasaran gazed down upon his speck of a body, it warmed him back up.

"I…I…I love you, Pasaran."

"I love you too, DeMille." Pasaran answered. "No matter how small, you'll always remain as my loving boyfriend."

DeMille covered his face as he drained out all of his regular colors for tomato red the longer the moments went on, which didn't go unnoticed by the giant pink girl.

"Heeheeheehee! You always know how to lighten me up when I need it. I just can't help myself, especially because you tininess really brings out the absolute cuteness! You look so cute all tiny and all that I could just eat you up!"

A small switch turned off in his head which he went unnoticed at first. A portion of his red face faded despite Pasaran's incessantly adorable face taking up his entire vision. Her pink eyes stared blankly at him for a couple of moments before another switch in his head went kaput.

"In fact…"

Multiple thoughts turned a one eighty as her once joyous smile changed into a snarky grin. Next to all of the positivity he went through before high tailed it as the situation settled in once she tilted her hand toward her face. DeMille started to lose traction as the once happy smile split into a dark cavern of misery and digestion. Suddenly, he became the target to her insidious idea. Pasaran changed from angel to demon in a split second.

"Wha-wha-what are you doing?!" DeMille exclaimed as attempted to grasp anything to save himself.

"What do you think, silly? I just want us to stay together forever!" Pasaran's said in her infectious happy tone.

"Not like this! NOT LIKE THIS!" DeMille retorted as Pasaran tilted her hand more.

"Yes, my hubby. You'll always be with me." Pasaran stated. "Say hello to our everlasting love from now on!"

At that point he couldn't hold on any longer. The warmness of her breath meant nothing when he knew better, but he never got to think much longer. Once his fingers slipped he tumbled down into the cavernous maw of his beloved girlfriend before she shut them tight. Nothing but complete darkness poured around him, but he felt Pasaran's mammoth tongue under him. It tossed him around when he slammed into the backsides of her teeth numerous times as she heard her infectious giggles from the back, but concentration went all over the place. The splashes of saliva, impacts into her teeth, and the wild ride atop her tongue left DeMille bruised and shattered as he scanned for any potential escape option. He knew of one, but due to the darkness he had no idea where he set inside Pasaran's mouth. He pounded against her teeth and tongue which didn't work, but she fought back as she hauled him backward using her tongue. He witnessed a very faint glisten above him which served as his one possible ticket out, but by the time he reached out he sank too low as pure muscle worked against him.

One particular insulting sound from Pasaran later and he found himself compressed against something slimy and strong that ceaselessly pushed him further and further down. He needed no reminders about where he ended up next, but any attempts against them only made the forces work harder. His hands and feet slipped everywhere while his eyes painted nothing but the purest of black, but the trip down only lasted a few seconds until he went into a free fall. The entire place reeked something pungent but the worse came up soon after. He immediately fell into something gravely hot which he felt corrode away at his body. His shorts disappeared into shambles as his legs went numb, and before long he couldn't feel them anymore. He screamed as the burning sensations worked on his torso next. At that point he pounded against some type of slimy hot pulsating wall nearby until he only felt his shoulders. He knew all too well what would happen next, and by then tears formed in his eyes.

"I love you DeMille…"

He heard Pasaran's last few words from the outside before his head and arms submerged under the hot liquid as she fully digested him…

---

DeMille shot awake shrieking. His breath shortened while his heart rate increased tenfold. He glanced down at himself and realized he still had his body intact as he looked over the covers. Sweat poured from his forehead while he shook himself off and staggered out of bed.

"I may have eaten too much yesterday…" DeMille muttered.

As the reality of his safety settled in, he slowly adapted back into his normal mindset. Even so, he received a dark scare in his dreams that left him shaken to the core. He knew Pasaran would never resort to such atrocious behaviors if she ever saw him as tiny as an ant, but the thoughts still lingered in the back of his mind. He loved her like no other and she felt the same about him, so direct harm never passed through their heads. Even when he remained down she always stood by his side with no dark thoughts about him. Any healthy relationship relied on two partners who equally thought good things about the world after all.

Once he calmed himself a bit, he tucked in the covered and stretched before he proceeded out his room door. While still a bit shaky from his nightmare, he reminded himself about the test Moriki talked about yesterday. At least he recovered all of his HP and his Gimmicks filled up to top usability after his sleep, so he became tip top shape for whatever she prepared for him. He proceeded down the hallway and passed a couple of door when one of them opened. He recognized which one after Moriki told them about their specific rooms for the night, so he felt no surprise when he saw Rellek make his appearance. He didn't expect the mole kid's choice of wear though, as he came out in light blue pajamas, a light blue nightcap, and with a small teddy bear in his hand. DeMille thought he had it crazy after a turbulent nightmare, but the sight of Rellek drearily in his night clothes served as icing on the cherry cake.

Rellek rubbed his beady eyes and teetered back and forth as DeMille approached.

"Good morning, uhhhhh, Rellek."

The mole kid yawned as he slowly looked over to him.

"Good morning…DeMille…"

Rellek nodded off soon after and started to fall asleep while standing up. He blew a large bubble from his nose before his head went down which prompted DeMille to snap his fingers a few times in front of his face.

"Hey! Rellek!"

His snaps caused Rellek to jolt up for a split second before his half open eyes gazed back at him.

"Oh! Uhhh, sorry. Still a bit…tired…after everything…"

DeMille crossed his arms and tilted his head.

"Really? You know I went through the exact same tests, and yet I'm ready to go after my sleep. I'm not in the same condition as you."

"Right… That issue…" Rellek responded before he trailed off. "Let's just say…I had issues washing my clothes…"

"Washing your clothes?" DeMille asked. "How so?"

"Blame the management." Rellek explained before he yawned again. "When I placed my dirty clothes in one of the…washing machines it went haywire… The management arrived…and said my clothes were different to the point where that the machines…had no idea how to clean them… They ran everywhere for hours…until they finally found what my clothes needed…and ran the washing machine for a few minutes…where they came out spot…spot…"

He immediately collapsed onto the floor and started to snore loudly. DeMille rolled his eyes at all of the stupidity on display, especially after Rellek explained his situation. To think a complete misunderstanding about what a mole kid needed to get his clothes cleaned lead to basically all of his winks gone completely out the window. In fairness, Sweetpea Garden never had outsiders visit their grounds in ages, but if they learned how to grow rare vegetables the would have at least understood basic clothes washing necessities. They left Rellek completely drained of life as if he suddenly decided to become nocturnal, and he needed to stay awake for the final test if they wanted to gain their normal sizes back. You snooze, you lose, and then awaken to the bad news.

Such thoughts left DeMille rather wary about something, especially after his nightmare. He picked up the sleeping Rellek and slapped him in the face which stirred the mole kid awake.

"Hey Rellek, I know you lack sleep, but…I need a second opinion."

Even though he barely stood awake, Rellek had enough to tilt his head in slight curiosity.

"Even though I'm severely dozy…"

He then yawned mid sentence.

"…I'm all ears."

DeMile took a few deep breaths as Rellek started to nod off again…which required another face slap. The drowsy one jolted up for a split second before DeMille spoke his mind.

"Do you think…we'll get our sizes back?"

"Hrrrrm? What do you mean…?" Rellek asked as he teetered back and forth.

"I mean, what if we fail the last test…and find ourselves stuck at this size forever? I can't save Pasaran while I'm as small as an ant! I'll never live the same way ever again! All of my progress to stop Abira and rescue my girlfriend will crash and burn in spectacular fashion! I'll live the rest of my life as a shrunken freak! THE HERO'S JOURNEY WILL END PREMATURELY AND THIS GAME WILL STAY SOFTLOCKED!"

DeMille trembled while he held his hands near his face like he became incredibly spooked by something. The nightmare took a chunk of his personality down with it even though he woke up unscathed for the most part. The mere thought of Pasaran swallowing him provided chills as he stood before the tired Rellek after his own misfortunes last night. He needed a bit of comfort from his friends similar to the teddy bear Rellek dragged around. Even main heroes needed companionship every now and then.

Despite his drowsy nature, Rellek had a few choice words to say.

"Am I listening to the…same DeMille from earlier? Even though I've only known you for a short time…you've taken every challenge up front like…nothing! Since when had a little bit of worry…stopped someone like you from…going through everything…for your girlfriend? Does anyone else in the Ketchup Kingdom truly have what it takes…to get Pasaran back? I don't…I…don't…"

Yet again, Rellek dozed off. DeMille groaned before he slapped him awake.

"I'm up! I'm up!" Rellek stated before he continued. "Anyway, I don't think anyone else comes close…to your capabilities. I'm certain this will go by…just like all of your other moments before you…met me. We'll grow back to normal size… Trust me…"

"Wow, uhhhh, I really appreciate that Rellek." DeMille responded. "I never thought of this journey in that specific manner before."

"You learn a few things…as an agent for the Daily Mole…" Rellek said rather drearily.

"By the way, have you seen Sofubi recently?" DeMille asked.

Rellek sluggishly tilted his head.

"I recall something…about some sort of pool…"

The bunny kid perked up a little after that before he understood and headed off. Rellek, as part of the group, followed rather clumsily after him. He banged his head against the floor and wall as DeMille saw a few detailed signs about where to go next. They passed by the owner by the front desk before they came across the clear glass door which lead to the aforementioned pool. He managed to only see a few glances before he went inside followed by the sleepy Rellek. They heard something sizzling as they suddenly halted in front of the open water.

…or a huge tub of tomato juice.

Right smack dab on the side of the large pool sat Sofubi in all of his naked frog glory…or as much as a normal bathing suit counted toward the definition. Because of the early hours he pretty much had the whole area to himself, and from the constant bubbles that surfaced he easily enjoyed the comfort. In fact, the whole pool formed a recognizable concave structure which made it out like a giant bowl of tomato soup. The fat frog relaxed next to a huge makeshift spoon as the temperatures maintained a soothing feeling across the skin. The sights alone left them wishing they learned about such a place earlier as they likely would have taken a dip sometime before bed. Even so, Sofubi clearly took advantage of the early absence to his advantage and enjoyed himself like he plunged into a hot Jacuzzi. The hotel had its fair share of premium attributes.

Sofubi let loose a few relaxing deep breath as the cloudy steam covered his body.

"Ahhhhhh. I can feel the fat melting away like jelly. Mmmmmm…"

He became so engulfed in perfect relaxation he completely missed DeMille and Rellek until DeMille literally spoke through the steam.

"Hey, Sofubi!"

Startled, Sofubi sank into the tomato juice and splashed a few times before his eyes went wide. He scrambled back into his spot before his eyes darted over to the other two on the sidelines.

"Sweet tomatoes! Don't jumpscare me like that! I'm sort of having a moment here!"

"In the pool all by yourself?" DeMille asked as he put a finger on his chin.

"I heard it melts the pounds away, okay? Remember the reason I accompanied you? I'm trying to slim down." Sofubi answered. "Besides, I won't attract skunks anytime soon!"

"Yeah, in stinky…tomato juice… Pee-yew…" Rellek said as he began to doze off again.

"Pee-yew?" Sofubi responded "More like 'Oh you' as in 'Oh, you thought ahead and came here first before anyone else' type of deal! I'm reaping the rewards here!"

DeMille thought of another appropriate saying using the second part for the current situation, but then they would have to increase the age rating.

"Riiiiiiight." DeMille stated. "You do realize we have that final test today, right? You can't sit in that tomato filled pool all day, you know."

"Yeah, I know." Sofubi answered. "I'm taking in as much as I can before then! They can't possibly have a test this early in the-"

All of them suddenly heard a scream of a certain variety they knew all too well. Even the sleepy Rellek jolted awake the moment the particular exclamation hit his ears. Since the three of them slept in the hotel the blatant giant one rested at her own special area outside. If everything went according to plan by Moriki she should have gained a good night's sleep, but the tone indicated the polar opposite. It sounded like something went wrong and she suffered for it.

Alesa encountered trouble.

---

Alesa adequately slept through the night despite her gigantic size. Even though Moriki set an entire area of dirt for her, the inhabitants ironed out all of the rugged and dirty portions to the point where she never noticed the actual substance. She lacked a blanket, but due to the humid weather she never minded it. For a pillow, the inhabitants also formed a rather fluffy pile of dirt of her in such a way it could have easily passed off as an actual pillow much to her delight. While not the most comfortable of spots, it got the job done for someone of her height even though Sweetpea Garden never housed someone normal sized before. If anything, it showed the dedication of Moriki and the others for their one in a million visitors to have the best stay possible, especially since they needed everything prepared for the final test. Every time Alesa shuffled a bit in her sleep though she sent quakes across the ground which went mostly unnoticed by the public around her feet. While she would have appreciated the hotel, she knew such an option became impossible at her size and dealt with it. She learned the definition of "dirt nap" overnight.

One the sun shined in her eyes, she slowly stirred awake. She wondered if DeMille and the other two woke up around the same time, but all forms of movement instantly never happened upon her first couple of seconds. She never recalled binding herself before bed, so she found it rather odd at first.

"What the…" Alesa thought as her arms and legs stayed still.

Once she finally got a good look at her surroundings the skeletons immediately poured out. While she never kept a blanket over her for the night, dozens of tiny thick vines never served as the best substitute in her eyes. They kept her stuck to the ground across her back and incapacitated across her entire body except for her head. Her arms stayed firm across her sides while her legs felt like she ended up paralyzed from the waist down. The more she fought against the restraints the more tighter they became which eventually lead to a few blisters here and there. Whatever happened for her to find herself in such a predicament completely eluded her, but she didn't like it.

She screamed for a split second as she tried to move before she heard a tiny voice nearby.

"Have a nice sleep, tomatoma?"

She snorted fumes as she slowly turned her restricted head near the ground and saw numerous garden inhabitants in multiple crowds leads by none other than Moriki herself. Alesa didn't fall for her cute demeanor any more.

"Moriki?! Did you and your cohorts do this?!"

Moriki lightly nodded much to the giant Alesa's anger.

"Unfortunately, yes matotoma. You've done quite enough damage to this place, chappu."

"Damage?!" Alesa exclaimed. "I've barely done next to nothing since I've arrived! I may appear like I've ingested a few mushrooms, but I'm not one to go on a destruction spree when I see tiny ones like you!"

"You may not have seen what you've done, ketcha, but we know the truth of the matter, tomato." Moriki responded with a stern expression. "Those craters you've left behind, toket, left numerous paths in need of fixing, matomato, not to mention you've the numerous others stricken with utter fear of leaving their houses, tomatoma. We can't risk it, chappu."

Alesa couldn't believe her ears. She knew for a fact she always maintained caution when she walked around the garden at her gigantic height and never once dealt major damage to anything by her tall platform boots. During the few times she lightly stepped out of line the locals never minded the mishaps and even comprehended her status as the biggest girl on campus. Even Moriki adored seeing her as if she reached for the skies more than anyone else. To see the blatant backstabbing from ones she considered friendly became the icing on the betrayal cake. They never considered her friend, but as an enemy.

She further attempted to break free, but the vines held her back.

"If I could move my arms and legs I would SQUASH all of you bugs!" Alesa's booming voice exclaimed.

"Why do you think we tied you up then, tomatomato?" Moriki said. "The more you fight back the tighter it gets, ketchappu. It comes from one of our special vegetables, totomato."

Alesa growled under her breath as Moriki smugly grinned at the planet sized face in front of her. At that point, the giant one lunged her head forward and opened her jaws but came up short before Moriki.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, toma. Still fighting back I see, matomato. No matter, ketchappu, for we have the upper hand now, tomato. We did what we had to do for someone of your size, chappu."

"Darn it! I trusted you! I thought you loved how huge I am!" Alesa exclaimed as she wriggled underneath the vines helplessly.

Moriki snickered before she cracked a smile and then burst into laughter followed by the endless crowds behind her. Their numerous cries humiliated Alesa's predicament even further and decreased her tolerance for all of the Sweetpea Garden inhabitants. The fact Moriki even fell to the ground and rolled crazily in one long laughing fit made Alesa more like the utter idiot compared to everyone else, even to the three shrunken boys of her group. She wanted to get her tomato robot and decimate everything the mystical garden had to offer just to get even with them. Alesa wanted to wipe them off the face of the planet more than ever before.

"Heheheheheh, chappu. Wow, tomatoma, you really know how to start something, matotoma. Have you ever heard of 'acting', tomato? You instantly fell for our nice facade there, toket! We actually wanted you gone the moment you crashed into our lives, mato, but your companions delayed our actions, toma. With them out of the picture, we can have you eliminated, tomatomato!"

Alesa snorted more steam from her nose.

"And how do you intend to do that with those minuscule bodies of yours?"

Moriki smirked before she glanced back toward the crowds behind her and snapped her fingers. From there, many locals ran up to Alesa's immobilized body with some tall ladders before they set them up against her sides. In droves, the crowds climbed up them, including Moriki, until everyone stood on top of Alesa's abdomen. No matter how much she tried to wiggle them off her attempts failed and as if to rub salt over a cherry doughnut, Moriki stared her down with the smuggest expression across her face. She stood on Alesa's chest while the giant one angrily glared at her tiny speck of a body.

"One particular option, matomato." Moriki answered. "Complete…messy…DISSECTION."

"Like HECK I would let you do that!" Alesa retorted.

"Of course you would, tomato." Moriki responded. "Again, why do you think we restrained you, ketchappu? LET'S SLICE YOU OPEN, TOMTOMATOMATOKETCHAPPU!"

The many crowds of locals immediately went to work and brought out some tiny knives from their pockets. They screamed "tomato" and "ketchappu" before they plunged them into her skin. Even though they paled in comparison to normal sized weaponry, Alesa definitely felt them and shrieked while she attempted to flail her arms and legs around to no avail. She even saw vivid red from the small gashes left behind as the garden goers dug even further into her without a doctor's license. It really felt like she became booked for an open operation lead by amateurs without any form of anesthesia and she wanted it to end. Never had she expected to end up as a damsel in distress like Pasaran, but then again craziness happened daily in the Ketchup Kingdom at every turn. For once she wished they would have just jumped into her open mouth and teared up her insides instead, because at least she wouldn't have any visuals as they operated. They saw her as nothing but collateral damage as they literally cut into her.

Alesa yelled again as the strong vines bound her tightly, but it wouldn't last long until the Ketchup Kingdom's trademark "unexpected fourth factor" happened.

"WHAT IN SPICY PEPPER BLAZES?!"

Everyone, even the one cutting into Alesa, immediately paused. Out of everyone who understood what sort of situation they wandered into, the giant girl became the most grateful. It required her to slightly move her head right, but once three distinct specks passed her vision she lit up. Even though she despised one of them for an unfortunate altercation when they first met, out of everyone in the area he became her knight in shining guacamole armor. He even arrived with his two other companions who suffered the same fate, and possibly for the first time she wanted their help as much as the other one. Moriki and her garden associates may have completely lost their minds, but she still had three who kept their sanity to a certain medium even after everything that occurred around the Ketchup Kingdom.

The light blue bunny boy showed up along with the fat frog and mole kid.

In the short time span since he left the hotel, DeMille straightened himself out a bit from the scares he received last night. Sofubi required a few extra moments to get his clothes back on, and even after he did he still smelled of tomatoes. Rellek ingested spicy tea from the hotel's kitchen and dunked his head in hot water before he redressed himself and accompanied the other two. With fear behind them, going out and about from a tomato pool, and jolting themselves awake the three shrunken boys became ready for action.

Moriki stood stiff for a couple of moments as she tried to hastily hide away her cutting knife.

"Oh, uhhhhhhh, tomatoma… Hi DeMille, matotoma! I didn't expect to, chappu, see you up this early, matomato!"

"I think we have a way bigger elephant in the room now-"

"HEY!" Alesa's booming voice interjected rather strictly.

DeMille briefly looked at Alesa's massive face.

"I'm talking about Moriki and what she did, not you!" DeMille finished.

"Ohhhhhhhhh." Alesa said as she lifted her eyebrows. "In that case, carry on!"

"Of course." Rellek replied as he held off on rolling his eyes. "Anyways, you have some explaining to do, Moriki!"

The once vibrant and happy girl with the lettuce hair and green pepper beret tucked on her dress's collar and sweat bullets as she glanced down at the three boys.

"Well, I, ummmmmm, mato…"

"Oh, cut the fancy delays already!" Alesa exclaimed before she spoke for her. "She and her cohorts want to cut me open like I'm some sort of middle school science project!"

For some reason, Sofubi trembled upon the news and shook his legs like someone stuck him out into the cold. Even so, he stood by the other two as they couldn't believe their ears. At that point, Moriki finally dropped the ball and let all of her intentions pour out.

"Ohhhhh…I can't hold this smile up any longer, mato. You think I actually, tomatoma, WANTED you here? We've lived in peace until your ragtag group plus this giant girl, tomato, wandered here like you popped in uninvited, chappu!"

"So you played along until now where you literally want to CUT OUR FRIEND OPEN?!" Sofubi exclaimed in disbelief.

"Geez, you're MESSED UP, LADY!" Rellek added.

"In fairness…she deserved it, ketchappu."

At that point, Moriki angled the knife in her hand downward as she meanly leered in the boys' direction before she plunged the knife into Alesa's skin once again which instantly caused her to scream. The tiny ones wouldn't let their friend get hurt any longer, so they ran on over to the ladders and raced up them like mad. Surprisingly, none of the inhabitants attempted to push them off and allowed them to get on top of Alesa's midsection with no trouble at all. They stared down the endless waves of garden goers and brought their Gimmicks out in preparation for the inevitable. Moriki stayed near the back while Alesa's massive head could only watch as everything unfolded across her body. The group added the occurrence to the list of weirdness they encountered on their journey.

"Wow. How quaint." Alesa's loud voice flatly said. "To think a fateful clash of two sides would take place on top of my trapped gigantic body. Anything else I need to know?"

Her sarcasm didn't faze either of the two sides as they focused on each other. After a couple of seconds of nothing but still winds through the breeze, Moriki finally stated the two decisive words.

"Get them, tomatomatomatoketchappu."

The battle commenced. DeMille brought out his SneaKar Gimmick, Sofubi with his Hotafant, and Rellek with his ShuriGun. The locals swung their knives as DeMille booted up his respective Gimmick, which revved up as the bunny boy jumped in. The Sneakar zoomed forward and plowed through everyone unfortunate enough to get in its way, which sent many airborne. Alesa's skin even bounced the Gimmick up in the air at one point which crashed down atop multiple inhabitants before it skidded to a stop. Some locals almost brandished their knives right in front of him which he barely avoided after a pivot to the right. Both sides meant business.

As DeMille activated the Gimmick once again, Alesa's voice boomed from behind.

"Hey! Try not to accidentally hurt ME in the crossfire! I'm just as important!"

DeMille briefly faced Alesa's massive head as he avoided another knife to the face.

"Sorry, Alesa! As much as I don't want to, I don't see that possibility!"

Alesa blatantly rolled her huge orange eyes right in front of him.

"Figures." Alesa stated.

DeMille attempted to swap Gimmicks in the meantime, but when he let his guard down he found himself dog piled by countless locals who slashed at him with their knives. He took a stab to the leg before he fended the attackers off while he expected the worst. Once he looked down though, while it still hurt greatly he saw no deep hole despite the redness around the stricken spot. Knives pierced so to see no such hole left him lightly puzzled before more garden goers brandished their knives at him again. He made quick work of his Gimmick switching in his second attempt and successfully brought out his Dojo Pup who acted immediately. With each successful input the Gimmick powered up even more as it swiftly unleashed flurries of punches and kicks directly as his opposition. It disposed of numerous crowds but still had plenty in waiting. DeMille had his work cut out for him, but his quick Gimmick switching kept him in the zone ahead of the endless waves of enemies.

Sofubi stomached more damage than anyone else due to his lower speed. Despite the slashes and stabs his way, his thick girth helped him survive several heavy blows. He quickly caught the raindrops on screen which fueled his elephant shaped watering can before it unleashed scalding hot water which showered upon the crowds before him. He often took a stab or two but had healing items on hand to get himself back into fighting shape. He heard Alesa shriek a few times as the heavy downpours burned parts of her skin, but she did her best to hold herself back for the collateral damage as Sofubi acted. One unlucky kick sent him backward and left him tumbling onto the surface of one of Alesa's huge tall platform boots where he halted. One Gimmick switch later and his Super Fan came out to play which he activated instantly. It blew several small tornadoes that formed into one large tornado that sent droves of enemies off of Alesa's body and to the ground. They also suffered some damage in the process. While not the fastest to react and often lagged behind other party members, his Gimmicks packed a punch with their constant spread damage and high outputs.

Rellek found himself cornered in more ways than one, and most of it came down to the fact that he lacked a lot of Gimmicks compared to the other three. Even with the minor setback though, his pure speed left him acting first over everyone else. He cocked his ShuriGun and unloaded streams of ninja stars and anyone who dared to come close. He did his best to not miss his mark so he wouldn't inadvertently strike Alesa, although he nearly found himself trapped on one of her arms. From there he switched to his Firehog Gimmick and let the sparks fly to those unfortunate to get in range. Some edges of the explosions hit Alesa, but unlike other Gimmicks she minimally reacted to each hits. Once he saw an opening he gunned it until he safely made it back to her abdomen with the others. He suffered minor slashes and stabs, but for the most part numbers ranged pretty low as he avoided many attacks. His speed served as his greatest asset, and he used it along with the few Gimmicks he had to their full advantage.

After they've dealt with multiple hordes across Alesa's body, DeMille glanced down at a particular part of the screen. Once he noticed a certain bar three fourths full, he instantly shot a look at Sofubi. They locked eyes before incoming locals swarmed them, but they prepared ahead of time. The two friends grinned as Rellek took a back seat, and before long everything went black. None of the opposition knew what sort of plan they had, but Alesa did as she watched everything unfold.

Breaking Weather news

Suddenly, the lights shifted where immediately DeMille walked onto the scene in a really long lab coat of some kind. He had his eyes closed as a large screen popped in which showed a map of the Ketchup Kingdom. The enemies stood completely baffled at what their eyes witnessed as DeMille stood silent next to the screen

Today…

He then brought out a simple pointer and set it on the screen.

Is nice!

A large round blaring sun showed up on the map across the image which seemed somewhat normal as images of clouds formed around them. However, after a few seconds another image soon usurped the shining star which caught DeMille's attention.

Hmm…?

The sun slowly changed into an incredibly round version of a certain chubby frog which appeared to have taken DeMille by surprise. He watched in shock as he dropped his pointer and pivoted around like a maniac before the clouds went gray.

?!

The sun soon dimmed down and the image vanished before DeMille ran for the hills which confused the onlookers until they looked up. The moment they realized everything they already wasted too much time as Sofubi's round circular body fell from above and crushed all of them under his fat girth. Topar flew everywhere as Alesa lightly yelped and the enemies set on the ground flatter than a stack of pancakes. From there, the boys knew they handled every last one of knife wielding inhabitants and earned decent amounts of experience points in the process. While one of the weirder AWE! attacks the group had up their sleeves it functioned well like the others of its kind.

Only one more opponent stood between them and victory, and she watched the carnage the entire time all while she stood in one of her cute poses. She sighed for a moment before she addressed what she saw.

"Oh well, matomato. I'm not surprised to see you three take all of them down, tomato."

"We've dealt with worse." Rellek answered. "Now free Alesa from those binds!"

"I concur!" Alesa added using her giant loud voice.

Moriki stood before them while she held her arms cutely behind her back.

"Unfortunately, I can't allow that, chappu. You know too much of this place, toket, and your giant girl here deserves strict punishments for ruining our garden, matotoma."

Sofubi deeply groaned before he shook his head slowly.

"Why does everything have to end in a boss fight?" Sofubi muttered as he got his Super Fan ready.

"Then I guess we already know how to settle this then." DeMille said as he glared down Moriki and readied his Gear-Yo Gimmick.

"Aww, don't you want to leave little ol' me alone, mato? You wouldn't want to fight an adorable GIRL for the sake of your friend, tomatoma?"

"Sorry Moriki, but we won't allow you and the others to hurt Alesa any further." Rellek said as he loaded up his ShuriGun.

Alesa actually lightly smiled from overhead while Moriki's slowly faded from existence.

"How unfortunate, tomato. I hoped it wouldn't have to come to this, ketchappu…"

The others watched as Moriki rummaged through her pockets for a few moments until she snagged something. From the depths of her personal stash,, the lettuce haired girl with the green pepper beret brought out a rather innocent looking basket which even displayed a small pink ribbon on the handle. Due to its curvature around the base the others couldn't see the insides too well, but they didn't need to. Moriki twirled it around and shuffled her feet all innocently as if she walked down a trail to grandma's house, but she delivered no such sweet treats. The tiny boys never let their guards down she the girl gravely leered in their direction. Even with nothing but a basket, Moriki meant business.

"Well then, chappu…" Moriki grimly stated as she stretched her legs. "Time to weed out the dandelions and crabgrass, tomatomatomatoketchappu!"

Boss time.

DeMille made the first move with his Gear-Yo while Sofubi and Rellek acted as backups. He lashed his Gimmick outward as Moriki ducked and swiveled around each attempt. In retaliation, the girl reached into her basket and threw out some large heads of cabbage, in proportion to this tiny sizes, which spontaneously exploded on impact with anything. DeMille and Rellek frenziedly tapped their feet as if they stepped on some lit coals while Sofubi never had a chance as multiple heads blew up all over his body. He ran through a few healing items so he remained it fighting shape as he activated his Super Fan Gimmick. The large tornado flew by fast and blasted Moriki backward for some decent damage, but it kept going past her. Eventually it hit Alesa right in the middle of her face which lightly tickled but also stirred up something in her nose. She sniffed a few times, but she couldn't stop it.

"Aaaaaah…aaaaAAAAAAHHHHH…"

The other four on her midsection knew where the happening headed and pulled back.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH…"

All four braced for impact.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHH…"

The inevitable happened.

"CHOOOOOOOO!"

All four combatants flew backwards from the force until they landed on the upper portions of Alesa's tall right boot. Rellek found himself the unluckiest though as he careened into the open hole where nothing but darkness existed. As much as DeMille and Sofubi wanted to help him, they had a crazed lettuce haired girl to deal with, and as she flew backward multiple explosive lettuce heads fell out which they needed to avoid. Moriki smashed into the bottom part of Alesa's boot and fell back down before she got onto her feet once again. Even after such a drastic change of events, nobody ended up seriously injured.

Moriki switched her tactics soon after. DeMille switched to his A-B Glove Gimmick while Sofubi switched to his Cyclooka. From her basket, the lettuce haired girl tossed out large groups of purple eggplants which smelled as if someone planted manure around the area. Sofubi got on his Gimmick and pedaled like he meant it right before a few eggplants splattered across him. An electric blast surged through the air and caught Moriki by surprise as DeMille correctly fired up his own Gimmick. Sofubi collapsed backward as a smelly eggplant went for DeMille, who fired his A-B Glove right before he got hit. Moriki suffered major damage while the two boys found themselves all sticky and hurt, but they had more steam in them to continue. It would take more to knock them out.

DeMille attempted to use his A-B Glove again, but it instantly jammed from all of the sticky gunk left behind from the eggplant. Sofubi's Cyclooka also shared the same outcome, so both of the boys attempted to find an item to get rid of the status. However, some of their items even became sticky and useless which likely became a side effect to them taking one of Moriki's eggplants to the face. They needed to wait it out until they became usable again so they switched Gimmicks yet again. Moriki threw out more eggplants while DeMille and Sofubi brought out their Dojo Pup and Sun Beam respectively.

Before long though, the terrain they stood on started to shake and quake uncontrollably, and they only needed to listen to Alesa's loud voice to figure out what went on.

"Heeheeheehee! Oh, hahahahaha! Something, heeheehee…is tickling me! Hahahahaha! Can you please, hahahaha, make you battle on me, heeheeheehee, less ticklish? Heeheeheeheehee!"

They required a few moments as they bobbed up and down but eventually gained their footing once more. While they may have missed it at the time, the truth behind someone tickling Alesa existed within the darkness of her boot. As it turned out, Rellek went pretty deep inside her long platform boot and landed near the bottom where the stench left him gagging for air. He couldn't see anything, and frankly he wished for it to stay that way. He crawled in various directions but lost himself very frequently which became ironic since he dealt with underground travel throughout most of his days as a Daily Mole reporter. As he moved around to find the exit through the malodorous stenches around him, Alesa felt him which tickled her to no end. Such actions to escape the darkness of her boot left the battlefield atop it constantly shaking which the others needed to account for. Alesa may not have minded it, but for the others not so much.

Moriki lead the next few attacks with more exploding lettuce heads before she switched to peaches. The moment she threw them from the basket into the air the fruit expanded to over twice the size of all of them which left no room for error as it crashed. DeMille set the directions of his Gimmick up correctly which sent the boxing canine punching through incoming peaches before it landed a couple of hard ones on Moriki. Sofubi followed up DeMille with his Sun Beam which sent a streak of light from the sun down before it reflected off of a square mirror in front of him. The beam blew straight through the peaches and incinerated Moriki for some good damage. Her "peachy keen" attacks served as nothing but collateral damage compared to what DeMille and Sofubi cooked up. They had her on the ropes.

Moriki gritted her teeth before she moved off of Alesa's boot and back onto her midsection while the others follwed. After what seemed like an eternity, Rellek also squirmed his way out of the darkness of Alesa's boot but with a very green face. He barely held his stomach together as he finally found the grace of fresh air before he followed the others as a slower pace than normal. He required a few moments to regain his senses as he wrung out his time inside Alesa's boot from his head. She deserved to never know about the cleanliness of her feet or face her wrath.

Moriki snorted smoke as the others watched her perform some really out of the ordinary. The green beret on top of her head lit up into a spicy red as her once green hair ignited into deep crimson. She pulled her beret down which expanded exponentially until it completely covered her whole head, hair included. It soon expanded beyond until it consumed her entire body until her face popped right out near the top. Her arms and legs soon followed before her red lettuce hair came out, and it burned intensely as it lightly floated behind her. Some light smoke and flames burned across her new red pepper outfit while she never felt any pain from the fire whatsoever. Clearly the group ticked her off and she didn't take too kindly about her status on the losing side.

Time for phase two.

"Never have I imagined to go this far, tomato, but when you need something eliminated…BRING OUT THE GHOST PEPPERS, KETCHAPPU!"

The new "red peppered" outfitted Moriki reached into her basket yet again as the other boys switched Gimmicks. They noticed the gunk from earlier disappeared over some of them, plus a couple of items, which left them ready for use again. Even though Rellek only kept two Gimmicks on hand at the moment since he just joined the group, he wielded his ShuriGun and Firehog like an expert. DeMille brought up his A-B Glove while Sofubi brought his Hotaphat as Moriki broke thermostats around her. She backed up and dropped fiery apples, which left Alesa yelping, as fireballs rained from the sky from her suit. DeMille bashed Moriki with his high tech glove, Sofubi cooled the fires with his elephant water can, and Rellek detonated his hedgehog bomb which catapulted the fired up girl up atop Alesa's face. The other had no choice but to follow, although they needed to act cautiously around the huge face of their friend because of more sensitive parts. They packed a wallop across Moriki which fueled her anger.

Alesa shut her eyes and shut her mouth as the four traversed across her face. Moriki rained firestorm after firestorm either from her pepper suit or her burning basket. The streams of fire alone left quite a hefty number on the boys to the point where they mowed through more healing items than normal. Rellek managed to sneak in a few ShuriGun shots between attacks, but for the most part nobody could get up close. They ran through their options as they fired their Gimmicks, and they didn't have much time from the constant heavy damage dealt by Moriki's "flaming passion". The outcome appeared bleak until Rellek saw a certain meter completely filled up from their successful Gimmick attempts. He motioned to DeMille who got the message very quickly as Sofubi took a back seat to let them work. If DeMille pulled off an AWE! Attack with Sofubi, then Rellek deserved one as well.

The three pulled back before the mole kid brought out a one in a kind CD player. Such an object left Moriki stumped to the point where she held off on attacking just to see what would happen, especially after what DeMille went through with Sofubi earlier. DeMille stepped back as Rellek hit the play button, which started a soothing lullaby sung by none other than DeMille's girlfriend, Pasaran. The bunny and mole kids closed their eyes as the tune resonated through them in a rather relaxing march. They appeared to have nearly conked themselves out into dreamland as Pasaran's singing tingled their muscles as if she stood by to tuck them comfortably into bed.

…until the song ended and DeMile ended up struck by lightning.

He stood straight up with wide eyes as electricity surged through him before Rellek walked over and touched him…which electrified him as well. Both boys appeared completely stunned as they received mother nature's wrath until they separated and reeled back. A catchy rock song played before they recovered a bit and started to blink pure white which caught Moriki's attention. She spewed boiling hot flames from her costume and flaming lettuce heads from her basket, but it resulted in no damage whatsoever. She got taken aback as DeMille and Rellek took their fighting stances. Leave it to the Invincibility Song AWE! Attack to save their bacon…and critical numbers.

They couldn't stay in such a state for long so they acted quickly. DeMille brought out his NanaBoard Gimmick while Rellek lit up another Firehog. No matter how much Moriki tried to force them back, the rock tune kept them clean as a whistle. Once DeMille inputted the correct commands a banana fell from his hand which forced a monkey on a banana surfboard to zoom in who bashed Moriki upside the head. The Firehog zipped in soon after and combusted which sent Moriki even further back until she completely lost her balance. She fell backward off of Alesa's head as the boys prepared another string of Gimmicks for more attacks, but they received some help from the trapped one they though remained completely immobile. While she may have most of her body pinned down, she still maintained some mobility of her face which included her mouth. As the flames and hot status of Moriki's flaming ghost pepper outfit fizzled out, Alesa opened her mouth wide as the lettuce haired girl collapsed downward. She fell straight into Alesa's open maw before the giant girl shut it firm and trapped her inside. The other boys couldn't believe their eyes at the unforeseen assistance of their massive friend, and yet it still happened. From there they knew they won the battle.

They defeated the lettuce head of Sweetpea Garden.

The three boys slid down Alesa's head until they landed on her midsection again. Her cheeks swelled as Moriki tried to get out, but she couldn't. If she still had some juice in her ghost pepper outfit she likely would have reactivated it, but after the beating she took it likely contained nothing left.

"Let me out, ketchappu! LET ME OUT, TOMATOMA!"

Alesa lightly shook her head as she refused to talk, likely to not give Moriki an escape route. DeMille and the other two walked up closer to Alesa's cheeks as the giant girl kept her trapped.

"You've gone crazy for the last time, Moriki." DeMille stated. "Now will you let us go in peace without any further conflict?"

One of Alesa's cheeks puffed up a little before it subsided. While her voice became a bit muffled from inside Alesa's mouth, the others still heard what she said…and she sounded rather sad.

"Ohhhhhhh, tomato… I…I admit defeat, chappu. You can leave if you want to, matomato."

"And will you give us the special vegetable for us to grow back to our normal sizes?" Sofubi asked.

"Well, uhhhhh, toma… Yes, matomato. We'll let you grab a bite, toket."

Alesa glared her big orange eyes down at DeMille as she swished Moriki around within her cheeks. She lightly grunted as he heard Moriki once she became plastered across the side of her mouth, which brought indications that the giant girl had something on her mind. Alesa grunted again before she looked down at her cheeks then over to her midsection, as if she wanted to tell him something but couldn't with her mouth full. DeMille provided a couple of confused gestures before Alesa set her head back and subsided her bloated cheeks for a few seconds. She then wiggled her midsection a few times until she set her massive eyes on DeMille again. He required a few extra moments to process everything, and once she lightly stuck the tip of her tongue out then withdrew it he connected with her current mindset. He never thought Alesa would ever consider such an action, but after the beatings they took it seemed reasonable for him to get the final say on the matter.

If DeMille wanted Moriki to experience everything in Alesa's digestive system, he could say so.

Even the others caught on to what Alesa lead on about.

"No…you wouldn't…" Sofubi said.

"You wouldn't actually…" Rellek added.

Alesa kept her eyes down at the three as she slowly nodded and swished Moriki a few more times while she waited for the final answer. The girl inside her mouth yelled out for some sort of ease after what she did, and yet only one held the deciding factor. As the supposed leader of the group it became somewhat reasonable for him to decide on Moriki's fate, and Alesa waited for his answer. He needed time to think after all of the hassles up to the particular point though.

They went through so much only to get back stabbed when they least expected it, so it sounded like the perfect end for someone like her. He learned all about it from the nightmare he went through last night where Pasaran swallowed him whole, and he could send her through the exact same process. At face value it seemed rather fitting for a girl who lived among vegetables to feel like one on the other end of the food chain, and yet terribly cruel at the same time. She wouldn't escape and the few times she acted nice they actually had fond memories. The more he thought about it the worse it appeared. He finally reached a decision.

"No. Spit her out."

Alesa raised her eyes brows while Sofubi and Rellek stayed silent. She acted as if she wanted him to go for the more brutal option, but in the end she followed up on what he wanted. She tossed her around her mouth a few more times for good measure before the giant girl hurled Moriki right out near the others. Her entire body became slathered in torrents of saliva and spit as she coughed for air while she barely held herself up from her knees. She shivered as the others ran up to her, although Alesa set the records straight now that she could speak again.

"You know I would have done it. No hesitations necessary on my end." Alesa's booming voice said.

DeMille briefly shot Alesa's massive face overhead a glance.

"She may have acted cruel, but nobody deserves such a harsh fate."

"Still, I could have easily made her part of my diet."

"No, Alesa."

The giant girl groaned as she watched the scene play out on her chest. Moriki shook herself clean and wrung her lettuce hair of some excess saliva before she snagged the bottom of her ghost pepper outfit. After one quick snap it zipped back up until it set atop of her head and became her green beret. Her overall redness also lessened back into her normal green as she finally spoke up after her "sticky" situation.

"You…you actually let me out, ketchappu…" Moriki lowly said.

"Well, just because you double crossed us doesn't mean you deserve to visit Alesa's stomach." DeMille responded.

"I almost felt the need to wear brown pants back there!" Sofubi stated. "Geez, I got quite the scare!"

"I guess we won't pass that final test anytime soon either." Rellek stated.

Moriki dried herself off from Alesa's spit a bit more. Soon after, her once nervous frown slowly changed into a more positive smile before she turned to the side and shouted.

"Okay! You can release them now, ketchap!"

The moment her exclamation stopped they saw changes immediately. From the underground near the base of the vines which kept Alesa pinned down a few of the friendly worms the locals had surfaced and wiggled around. They squeaked a little before the vines loosened then fell to the ground with light thuds which freed the massive girl from her restraints. The four outsiders stood shocked before the boys figured they should probably get off Alesa first. DeMille, Sofubi, Rellek, and Moriki made their way down the ladders nearby until they planted their feet into the dirt which prompted Alesa to get off of her back. She sent miniature tremors as she got back on her feet, and soon enough everyone saw her towering form overhead like she just reached news heights. They may have escaped trouble, but they needed explanations nonetheless.

The four watched Moriki giggle for a few seconds before she finally dropped the ball on them.

"You four really are incredible, matomato. I have to give it to you, toket, for going the distance…because you just passed the final test, tomato!"

DeMille and the other three stood in shock at what they just heard. Before anyone reacted, the crowds of locals they defeated across Alesa's body instantly surrounded the group and cheered like fans of a favorite sports team. The four had no idea what to say at first, and most of them mumbled some inaudible nonsense as they computed all of the hard numbers. The game never maintained the most depth, but their ears never deceived them. The wheels in their heads came to a screeching halt after someone jammed the gears.

"Wha-wha-wha…WHAT?!" Sofubi exclaimed in a flustered manner. "Did I just hear someone babble like an idiot?! I feel like I just got played like a fiddle!"

"No, you heard it correctly!" Rellek replied.

"That display of pure betrayal…plus all of work done to Alesa… You planned the whole thing?!" DeMille yelled in utter shock.

Moriki placed her hands behind her back all cutely and shuffled her feet a few times.

"Yes, mato. We acted the way we did all for the sake of the test, chappu. If you went easy on us, tomato, then how would you prove your dedication towards your end goal, tomatoma? I know how harsh we acted, toma, but we needed to play it up for all of you, ketchappu."

"You…actually make a good point there." Alesa's huge voice boomed overhead.

As if to finally seal the deal between both parties, Moriki clasped her hands together and properly bowed in front of the four of them, including the titanic Alesa.

"We're terribly sorry for our actions, tomato. We intended to keep it up for a bit longer, matotoma, but then the huge one trapped me in her cavernous maw, chappu. If we took things a bit too far, matomato, I also apologize on that front as well."

"Well, at least you admitted your wrongdoings." DeMille replied. "We gained eligibility to eat that special vegetable, right? You know, because we passed all of those tests?"

Moriki stood straight up before she glanced over to the side and bit her bottom lip. Her feet also shuffled more than usual in the dirt.

"Well, ketchappu…" Moriki started. "In all honesty…we planned to do that since you arrived, toket."

Jaws nearly hit the floor for all four of the group.

"WHAAAAAAAT?!" Sofubi exclaimed in utter surprise.

"We could have avoided all of the incidents here…FROM THE GET GO?!" Alesa's loud voice overhead said.

"I know, I know, matomato. I really feel guilty, matotoma." Moriki sadly explained. "We just didn't want all of you to leave so soon, tomato. Because we have to stay hidden, toketcha, we never get any visitors here. We made up all of the tests on the spot, ketchap, and they never meant anything at all…even the last one where we tied the giant one down, chappu."

"So out of every possible option to have us stay longer…you decided to TIE ME DOWN?!" Alesa's loud voice boomed.

"Well, in fairness they've never experienced the societies outside the garden." Rellek replied. "Social skills may remain pretty hazy in certain aspects."

"Riiiiiiiight." DeMille stated as he rolled his eyes. "And I'm completely clueless as to how to perform a handshake."

"Hand what, tomatomato?" Moriki asked.

DeMille's sarcasm instantly vanished once he heard her question.

"I stand corrected." DeMille said before he switched topics. "Anyways, you clearly have your weird ways and even though they may have ended up a bit harsh, especially after your last stunt, in reality we just want our sizes back. If you can show us the special vegetable with no more delays-"

"Wait-wait-wait." Alesa voice boomed. "We're just going to let these garden goers get away with tying me up and cutting us?!"

"Alesa, they're socially maladjusted from their confinements within the trees." Rellek answered. "Besides, we didn't have a TERRIBLE time here."

"Well, maybe for you since you can go into every single building down there, but I'm not so lucky." Alesa stated as she crossed her huge arms.

"Oh, right, mato! That reminds me about those cuts, tomatoma!" Moriki chimed in.

While the topic eluded them at first, Moriki made sure to let them know. The fact none of the gashes after battle remained despite the fact it still hurt left the group bewildered at first until she brought out one of the knives used. They never managed to get a good look at them during their tussle, but on closer inspection they appeared like a thin large berry with a green stem at the hilt. Moriki held up a finger before she lightly tapped one of the flat sides which instantly oozed out a red goo that fizzled for a few seconds. Something clicked immediately once they witnessed the demonstration.

"Wait a minute. We never suffered any sort of cuts…at all." DeMille said as the wires connected.

"Nope, matomato." Moriki answered. "These berries have a specific shape and, tomato, drip red jelly which provides a painful burning sensation, mato. The feeling goes away after a few seconds, tomatoma, and leaves no harmful damage behind, chappu. Quite a mystique berry, matomato, to fake actual injuries, huh?"

"Wow. Just…wow…" Rellek said in awe. "Do you have any sort of vegetable with a power you DON'T have?!"

"I…can't think of any, ketchappu." Moriki responded. "As much as I want to delay everything further, tomatoma, I understand your urgency after what we took you through, toket. Here, I'll show you where we keep the special vegetables, tomato."

---

The tiny lettuce haired girl brought the group near the outskirts of the garden where the trees enclosed the mystic place from the rest of the world. They never really thought of them much during their stay, especially with more urgent matters on their hands, but as they approached a few they told a very long story. With rigid bark, gnarled roots, and torn branches they've stayed in the same post likely since their inception. To think they still kept the garden safe displayed their effectiveness, although most of the Ketchup Kingdom never really put their minds forward to actively find such an enigma. The boys never really took the time to realize just how tall they stood from their shrunken perspectives, although Alesa likely saw just any normal tree and nothing special. She almost tripped over a root which would have equaled a magnitude ten. Reasons lead them over to the thick trees and Moriki knew why.

They approached the base of one of them as Moriki walked forward. Her happy smile kept their moods upbeat.

"Wow. I never managed to appreciate these huge things up close until now." Rellek stated as he almost lost his balance gazing up.

"Well, they've helped hide this place for the common societies…although I'm just guessing from their rugged surfaces." DeMille stated.

"You have keen eyes, matomato." Moriki responded. "They have kept this whole garden hidden for centuries, toma, and have remained intact since the first settlers grew them. You could say they act as guardians of the garden, chappu."

"Why am I not surprised to hear that the locals grew them?" Alesa thought as she nonchalantly glanced up.

"I assume you grow your special vegetables around here?" Sofubi asked as his mouth watered.

"Close, but not quite, ketcha." Moriki replied. "Wait here, tomato."

The others obeyed and watched as Moriki slowly made her way near the base of the tree in front of them. She breathed heavily for a brief moment before she closer her eyes and placed a hand directly on the trunk. Her body slowed as her fingers dug into the bark, and for the first couple of moments the others saw nothing. Several minutes passed and no results left streaks of anxiety in their heads since they wanted their sizes back, and yet the girl with the lettuce hair just stood with her hand on the tree like she cherished it far more than them. They may have heard some whispers, although one could mistake them for sounds of nature. Some even began to drift to sleep from how long they stood around doing-

The ground shook, and they knew the culprit didn't tower behind them in tall platform boots. The surfaced roots dug back into the earth as the leaves above trembled like a hurricane blew. Moriki never budged but the others thought differently, even for someone as gigantic as Alesa. The large tree slowly crawled to the left as the trees around it followed suit like the biggest set of double doors. The space between grew wider and wider until they left an open path when they one set. The boys needed to pick themselves off of their backs since they lost their footing from the tremors. While not the most flashy of reveals, it performed its job in revealing a secret path to another part of the garden they never knew about.

"Only a Sweetpea Garden native, tomato, can naturally open the way to the special veggies, ketchappu."

Moriki motioned for the four to follow as her lettuce hair swayed in the wind. The path lasted a bit over three minutes until it abruptly ended at their final destination. If the outside provided a small taste, the actual special vegetable area became a feast for the eyes. The path opened into a more natural appearing greenhouse type of area except for the large trees around the openings above. The rich soil even lightly sparkly in the sunlight as what seemed like hundreds of various plants dotted around every piece of free space. A lot of them showed familiarity to common pieces of greenery, but the group knew that when it came to anything that grew in Sweetpea Garden the term "normal" sounded more like "preposterous". Many garden goers also populated the area except it lacked their special "veggie" houses. From below they could have easily wandered into a lush jungle, although for someone like Alesa she saw no such special visuals. Aside from the curved trees above which kept multiple openings of the sunlight and more plants around the premises, it didn't have too much over what they saw initially when they first met everyone. Even so, the fact only natives could open access the place indicated great importance and secrecy beyond the normal term. The fact they set foot onto the grounds at lasted proved that they earned respect and friendship of everyone in the garden.

Sofubi drooped a little once he saw nothing but endless greens.

"Awwwwww! I hoped for some sort of dessert making plant!"

"Of course." Rellek stated as he crossed his arms and sighed.

"Whoa! I can't see a single ounce of dirt down there due to all of these plant and vegetables!" Alesa's voice boomed. "How in the right mind will I know where to step?"

"We'll stay attentive, toma." Moriki answered. "Most of the locals here already knew we would come and prepared ahead of time to stay out of the way."

"That should ease a couple of headaches." DeMille said as he glanced up to Alesa's massive face.

"I should warn all of you, mato, about everything here." Moriki said. "Every single vegetable and plant here, tomato, does something to you when eaten. For the sake of your safety, chappu, do NOT eat any part of them, not even a tiny bit of a leaf, until we reach, tomatoma, the respective growth plant."

The other four pretty much understood instantly and clamped their mouths shut just in case. From how she said it, it almost seemed like all of them wandered into some type of treasure vault except they traded coins for lush greens. One single interaction would end in disaster if their curiosities got the better of them. They either tread carefully or else they faced the consequences. None of them wanted to find themselves on the other end of…whatever plant awaited them.

Alesa in particular made very light steps as the group moved forward. Because she barely saw the dirt below her due to all of the plant and vegetables it left next to no room for error. Moriki stated everyone around learned beforehand and wandered out of the way, and yet she still maintained caution. The others down below also needed to adapt from having lots of muddy tremors behind them at every step.

"So, what sort of veggies and plants do you grow around here?" Rellek asked. "I mean, because they grant something upon consumption you must have a catalog somewhere to keep track of every single one."

"Catawhat, matomato?" Moriki asked as she continued to lead the group.

"Oh, uhhhhh, I mean list." Rellek corrected.

"Ahhhh, tomatoma." Moriki answered. "We sort of recorded what we have grown, tomato, but not in many details, ketcha. Seeds plop here all the time in various ways, chappu, so it gets pretty hectic to keep track of all of them. This part of the garden, ketcha, used to have more ground for plants and veggies, matotoma, but the seed collecting has died down a bit so its a bit shorter now, matomato."

"I don't find it too surprising to hear this place was once a lot bigger." Alesa's booming voice said.

"Well, it toned down a lot of the more hectic kinds we grow, toket." Moriki answered. "The stabler kinds, toma, helped garner attention from someone far far away from here, mato."

"Really? Who?" DeMille asked.

"Oh, we've never met, chappu. Apparently they wanted some more exotic plants and veggies, ketcha, for their own secret garden. They said 'mushroom' this and 'flower' that which I never quite understood, matomato, but we granted their wishes. We learned of its location in response, toket, and they even offered us a more secretive spot, tomatoma, to live and grow our plants and veggies. However, mato, we turned the offer down, toma, but they said they'll always stay in touch. For specifics as to how they found us, matomato, the memory sort of faded a bit for me. At least they promised to never reveal our location, tomato, as long as we did the same for their garden, ketchappu. We have garden buddies across the land, tomatomatomatoketchappu!"

Her statements completely flew over their heads. For once they thought Moriki lied for the sake of saying something unheard of. Of course the term became well defined in the Ketchup Kingdom due to its weirdness, and even then limits existed. If outside worlds existed they likely would have learned about them already, and insanity happened all the time to cloud judgments. Their minds completely avoided what they just heard, especially from the complete absurdity in her claims. Sweetpea Garden remained a well hidden secret, so to connect with somewhere outside the Ketchup Kingdom sounded completely counter intuitive. Moriki shouldn't create stories just to lighten the mood a bit.

After a few minutes of careful walked, eventually they came across a dozen droopy plants whose leaves sagged downward and covered the path ahead. The four stayed away for their safety as Moriki went up and placed a hand on one of the leaves.

"Through here, toma. Don't worry, you can touch these safely, mato. Just don't eat them, chappu."

The others nodded as they watched Moriki push her way through. The boys wasted no time and followed her while Alesa stayed behind. She had very minor visuals below and wanted to not risk it. Every time she shuffled her tall boots though they sent quakes down below, so she pretty much stayed still as well. She enjoyed her time as the biggest girl in existence, but not as a destructive one…unless prompted.

As for the others, they found themselves encased in a small alcove where light droplets fell to the ground harmlessly and the sun shined through seams between the leaves. They provided enough to see ahead where something rather distinct cast a shadow upon them. Upon further inspection the moment they walked up closer their brains connected the dots as the vegetable made its regal debut…or lack thereof depending on the culture. The white curvature as leaves sprouted from its top left only a couple of options, and if they saw orange they could have easily mistaken the identity for another. For the four tiny ones though, its familiarity left it as just a common mystery especially in a place known for its strange vegetation. Nothing stood out over its other brethren sold in markets, but if they judged too quickly other details stayed out of the question.

"A…daikon radish?" DeMille stated while he stood in front of the huge veggie.

"Sure looks like it." Sofubi said.

"This is the veggie that will grow us back to normal?" Rellek said in slight disbelief. "Geez! I half expected maybe a matsutake mushroom!"

"Well, when it comes to our creations, matomato, we can get…unpredictable." Moriki said. "They take a really long time to fully grow, toma, so we only have this one for now, tomato. One bite and then you'll kiss your current size goodbye, ketcha!"

"About time too." Alesa's booming voice said. "While I love feeling gigantic, the fact I have to trek carefully through this place has started to drive me nuts. The sooner you eat that the sooner we can leave."

"Well… What if we don't want to grow back?"

Someone spouted complete hypocrisy, and the moment they noticed the fat frog they gazed at him incessantly. He fiddled with his hat and fidgeted a bit as DeMille went up to him.

"Did I just hear someone lose their mind? Why have you suddenly thought of such a dangerous action?"

"Well…" Sofubi answered. "You see, because I'm tiny I don't exactly weight as much. I accomplished my dream since I joined you, so it sounds completely-"

DeMille instantly grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him like he escaped a psychiatric ward.

"Sofubi, we'll have a lot more to worry about than just your weight issues! Remember Pasaran?! King Abira?! THE SUPER KARA-COOKER?! DO YOU WANT TO BECOME THAT CRAZY TOMATO KING'S PLAYTHING FOR THE REST OF YOUR SORRY LIFE?!"

DeMille almost burst a blood vessel as he made his point straight into Sofubi's soul. He held back on so much since the mishap with Shadap, and the fact he finally reached the checkered flag but one of his companions thought otherwise completely went against everything he acted for. While the fat frog may have achieved the weight loss when he shrunk, he wouldn't enjoy it for long as long as Abira kept his grimy tomato hands on Pasaran to fuel his twisted invention. He never lost the thought, but he became sidetracked to the garden and temporarily pushed it to the side. DeMille needed all of the help he could get, and he wouldn't leave Sofubi behind.

The frog himself had all of the sense shaken out of him as DeMille's insanity forced the answer out of him.

"Okay! Okay! Clearly staying miniaturized doesn't completely shed all of the pounds off!"

"Wait, not just yet."

DeMille simmered down once he heard Alesa's giant voice from above. Moriki stayed quiet and backed up a little since she thought the group would have a moment. She left the others on their own as the tiny boys' attention went toward their massive friend and the red walls of her tall platform boots bottoms.

"Come on Alesa! I finally see the finish line and don't want any more delays!" DeMille shouted.

"Oh, I just want to do one more thing." Alesa's booming voice answered.

"What exactly?" Rellek asked.

Alesa giggled.

"Just give me a few more moments."

The boys saw the gigantic stature of their friend as she bent down with her tall boots situated right in front of them. They felt some strong quakes while the area around them darkened until something brushed across their backsides. Alesa's huge hand spread out and wrapped around the three of them comfortably before they felt themselves go weightless. After a few seconds of elevation they saw nothing but Alesa's bright orange eyes and happy smile while she kept they encased within her fingers.

Her head matched entire planets as they heard her deafening voice from her sheer size.

"Not going to lie, I'm really going to miss this feeling of acting like I've grown beyond the scope of the planet. I never thought I'd make it big, and now look!"

"Yeah, you really appear like you ingested a thousand mushrooms!" DeMille answered.

"Heh, imagine finding a cheat code that makes you like this with stats beyond a typical nine hundred ninety nine." Rellek said.

"Oh, yeah. I would go CRAZY if we found something like that." Alesa said. "How about you Sofubi? Am I incredibly cute all huge like this?"

Similar to what DeMille felt a few days ago, Sofubi's face went red like a ripe tomato as he tried to bury himself in his hat. Alesa chuckled a little as the frog attempted to answer.

"Well, errrrrrm, I, well…"

"Awwww, how cute!" Alesa said. "Will this make you feel better?"

The three tiny boys stayed for the ride as Alesa brought them up closer to her face. DeMille received a couple of flashbacks to the nightmare with Pasaran which unnerved him to an extent. The other two shuddered for a few seconds as Alesa's snarky smile left them questioning her intention. She lowered them a bit down toward her chest and left them a decent distance away before she acted quickly. Without a single second to spare, Alesa instantly shot them forward and pressed them against her chest in possibly the biggest hug she could muster. The tiny boys never saw it coming until all of their faces turned into tomatoes in one of the friendliest gestures ever done by their giant friend. Sofubi even cried a little under his breath from pure happiness as if it became too much to handle. She may have a rather angry personality when it came to her obsession with King Abira, but she supported the ones she cared about when needed. She liked her status as a member of the ragtag group destined to rescue Pasaran even if she desired to meet her idol when the time came. If anything, she showed why she wanted to do what she did before the boys gained their sizes back.

Once she brought them back her huge orange eyes gazed at their tiny bodies one more time as they failed to come up with a decent response.

"Okay, I'm done." Alesa's huge voice said. "Time for you three to change back."

From there she put herself on her knees before she lowered her hand and dropped the three back onto the dirt with a smile. They required a few moments to snap out of it, but once they did they slapped themselves silly. A couple of deep breaths later and they shook off all of the passing feelings after Alesa happily embraced them. They had to admit as she towered over them she displayed some light cuteness, although they kept their words to themselves. They wanted to hide their feelings just in case, although their reddened faces from the interaction told Alesa everything. She had her fun, but they couldn't delay any further.

Moriki watched as the three boys walked up to the daikon radish before she suddenly stopped between them. She held up a finger before she brought out the special berry she used to "cut" up Alesa and tilted it toward the vegetable at a distinct angle. She gripped the stem and pinched the top as she made a light incision which became coated in the fizzling red jelly. They saw light steam pour out while Moriki made two more cuts nearby. Before long, all three rounded out and plopped right into Moriki's open arms. The portions formed a rather concave shape.

"Here you go, ketcha! One growth veggie coming right up, matomato!"

DeMille, Sofubi, and Rellek each took a slice. As much as they wanted to eat their portion and grow back, they hesitated for a second.

"But…but what about you?" Sofubi asked. "When we reverse the process you'll remain tiny and we may never see you again."

"Awwww, don't worry about me, toma." Moriki responded. "I belong here, matotoma. Someone has to watch over these plants and vegetables, chappu, and keep this whole garden in check, tomatoma. Besides, you know where to find this place now, toket. Who knows, mato? Maybe when you stop by again, tomato, we may have grown a particular vegetable to meet face to face again, totomato…"

"You…mean?" Rellek asked rather shakily.

Moriki kept her hands behind her back as multiple crowds of Sweetpea Garden natives surrounded the group, including Alesa's giant platform boots, as they watched the scene unfold.

"Hey, you never know, matomato." Moriki replied one more time before she cutely winked.

They really had to give it to Moriki for thinking a few steps ahead. While she may have acted strangely and even against them at one point, it became apparent that she, along with the other locals, lacked a few social skills due to their secrecy from society. While likely she'll improve over time, something about her personality left the others chuckling like any close friend would. She may have made it clear that she needed to stay behind for the garden, but they wouldn't forget her. Alesa wanted to act like she held up the sky to someone, and thanks to the tiny lettuce haired girl she always had an option. They saw only a temporary goodbye, and Moriki knew it all too well.

The boys glanced down at their slices of radish one more time before they finally performed the fateful action. They managed to take a bite out of the legendary vegetable. Sofubi almost gagged as the taste became too much for him, and the other two understood his opinion. While it may have an incredible ability, it tasted like sandpaper mixed with wet gym socks and soap. DeMille and Rellek wanted to hurl immediately, but they held their tastes down until them swallowed. Sofubi gasped for breath and nearly fell onto his back as he attempted to wring out his tongue as if it would squeeze the disgusting sense out. Even though they wanted to scour the ends of the planet for the nearest toilet, their skin tingled to a certain degree that almost left them weightless.

They noticed results a few seconds later.

Moriki and all of the locals around them went further and further down as they shot up over time. Soon the leaves that once served as ceilings brushed past them as the once titanic Alesa met eye to eye with them like they haven't felt such a feeling in centuries. All four boys locked eyes with their friend until they recognized a particular benchmark. Her vibrant orange eyes happily gazed across their bodies for they've reached their final goal after the mishap. They couldn't help but smile back.

Back to normal size at last.

"I…I feel myself again!" Rellek said.

"Me too!" Sofubi added. "I'm back to my old…chunky self…"

He trailed off in disdain as reality came back to haunt him.

"Hey, you'll have time to slim down without cheat codes as we go to rescue Pasaran." DeMille replied.

His words seemed to have cheered up Sofubi a little as he lightly smiled back and rubbed the back of his head like he didn't think before he spoke. Alesa happily grinned and chuckled before them.

"Great to have you guys back." Alesa said. "Any further delays from visiting Abira and I likely would have gone on a rampage…and not on that movie set!"

"Heheheheh, of course, Alesa." DeMille answered as he playfully smiled and rolled his eyes.

"Hey, I meant it!" Alesa responded in a comically angry way. "Don't force me to build my own Mini Cooker to shrink you back to ant size!"

"Then we would have to spend even more time to get back to normal." Rellek answered.

"Well, I, uhhhhh, LIKE staying as the giant one, so…there!" Alesa retorted rather humorously.

The many specks across the ground cheered with praise once they witnessed the boys' reversal before their very eyes. DeMille rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment before he heard Moriki's voice throughout all of the chatter. Alesa took note of it and saw her waving her tiny hands into the air.

"I got ya."

With that said, Alesa reached down and plucked the small speck on the ground into her grasp. She held the tiny form of Moriki before the boys as the lettuce haired girl tepidly chuckled.

"Wow, uhhhhh, matomato." Moriki said from Alesa's hand. "I may have to get used to, tomatoma, the perspective changes, heheheheheh…"

DeMille chuckled in return.

"Well, we needed to adapt when we shrunk. You'll get used to it."

"Riiiiight, tomato." Moriki replied. "I just…never imagined you also matched up with the girl, toket."

"Well, I may have a couple of inches over all of you." Alesa said as she scanned over the boys.

"Have you ever thought that your tall boots may have been in a factor in that?" Sofubi asked.

"Hey, it still counts!" Alesa remarked.

"And I'll have to add that to the report…" Rellek thought as he wrote down more words on a notepad.

Everyone watched as Moriki bowed elegantly one more time before all of them.

"I bid all of you farewell, ketcha. Please come back and visit us again sometime, chappu. I'll always welcome you with open arms, matotoma."

"Yeah, Moriki. We'll never forget this place and always keep you in mind." DeMille said.

They heard her infectious giggles one final time before Alesa placed her back onto the ground with the other locals. They cheered one final time as the four misfits carefully made their way out of the special grounds. Even as they left they heard the happy cheers from everyone in Sweetpea Garden. They went out the same way Alesa forced her way in since the entrance now became too small for them, and after they made sure they never stepped on anyone, Sweetpea Garden left their sights.

As they walked out, DeMille looked back one more time as the others straightened themselves out.

"I have to admit, I never saw that coming." Sofubi stated as he readjusted his hat.

"None of us did, Sofubi." Rellek said. "At least now we can finally get back on our journey. I wrote down some very in depth notes for the Daily Mole I'm sure will earn me a promotion somewhere down the line."

"Yeah, like how I became the titan of the Ketchup Kingdom!" Alesa said. "Maybe if I can convince Moriki to snack on the special growth veggie myself…"

"Yeah, that would end in complete chaos." DeMille stated.

Alesa puffed up her cheeks and went slightly red.

"Hey, I would literally become Abira's biggest fan! He would have no choice but to notice me!"

"Okay, okay! Fine!" Sofubi said. "Can we get back to this quest before my brain explodes from the constant craziness?"

The fat frog held the sides of his head like he felt a migraine which told the others they likely should get off of their butts for once.

"Well, I saw another Hanzo Lab in the distance away from Soy City." Rellek stated. "Maybe they have some new Gimmicks for us?"

"Only one way to find out." DeMille replied. "Let's rescue Pasaran!"

From there, the four made their way out of the forest and back on the trail to track down the final Super Kid. They still needed the final Toy Part after all, and Pasaran still remained imprisoned for them to rescue. Even as they left though, Moriki's kind words never left their heads. They only needed to leave as soon as possible because of their current quest and couldn't delay any further. If the issue never stemmed from any urgency they found it highly likely that they would have stayed for a bit longer. The mystery and magical properties of the place rang true in many circumstances which tickled their fancy. However, they knew where the place existed so it became only a matter of time when they found the perfect moment to visit again. Maybe a special vegetable set in some corner and awaited their arrival for Moriki to present to them…

Alesa would love to experience seeing the three boys all tiny again.