“Shaka! I overslept!”

Charlotte’s eyes snapped open at the exclamation, and she sat up on her bed of folded cloth to see Lenya frantically rushing about the room and pulling together her gear for Dibilique’s match against The Trickster later that day.

After her defeat of the Iron Maiden, Dibilique had managed to ride the wave of momentum through the rest of the opening rounds, clinching a first place slot for her group. Of course, Iron Maiden had managed to rally after the initial loss and had taken the number two slot, so she was by no means out of the tournament. Still, Lenya was more than happy to take the victories where she could find them.

Of course, it would all be for nothing if she got disqualified from the tournament for being a no-show. However, watching her trying to walk, pack and dress herself all at once was more than entertaining enough for Charlotte and Molly.

“Are you girls going to be okay?” The titan asked as she stuffed her costume into a large bag.

“Go!” Charlotte waved a hand dismissively. “There’s more than enough food laying around for us to handle ourselves. Go and kick Tricksters butt or break a leg or whatever it is you Titans say to wish each other good luck.”

“We mostly just say ‘Good Luck’.” Lenya explained as she hefted the strap of her bag onto her shoulder.

“Well, good luck then.” Molly yelled as the Titan woman disappeared through the door.

Charlotte shook her head and pulled herself to her feet before stretching her arms above her head.

“Damn, she forgot to turn the game on for us.”

*.*.*.*

Vanser rubbed his temples as he sat in the back of the military shuttle on his way back to the hotel he’d been staying at before being waylaid by Zisko.

Zisko had, once again, ordered him to go inspect one of the nearby bases. It had taken almost an entire week to complete and had Vanser actually obtained Tournament tickets like he’d claimed, he would have been very irritated.

As it was, he was still very irritated, just for a different reason entirely.

Still, he’d managed to keep up with the standings in the tournament and was very pleased that Iron Maiden had managed to recover her stride and was making headway.

Vanser was also pleased that Dibilique kept herself from being eliminated because as long as she was still in the game, Vanser knew where she- and the two humans- were.

He’d need to get proof though. Something a little more definitive than a guess. He needed to get closer to her, just to be certain.

Vanser directed the shuttle driver to take him to the stadium.

*.*.*.*.*

It had taken some work, but eventually Molly and Charlotte figured out how to turn the holo vid on. Fortunately, it was already set to display the tournament, so they hadn’t needed to figure out how to change the channel, or tune it to the right frequency or whatever.

Unfortunately by the time they figured this out, it appeared that Dibilique’s match was well underway and she was halfway through the Sea round with The Trickster.

Charlotte and Molly quickly became lost in the game, and trying to figure out if their friend was doing well or not.

Suddenly, a loud noise interrupted them. Both women jumped in surprise and turned towards the door which was opened to reveal a woman neither of them recognized wearing what appeared to be a uniform.

“Oh no…” Molly whispered.

Charlotte jumped to her feet, pulling Molly up after her. “Quick we gotta… we gotta hide or something!”

She ran across the tabletop with Molly close at her heels. Before either of them could hesitate, she jumped down from the table to the chair below.

“Okay… us being on the floor probably isn’t a good idea right now.” Charlotte whispered as she watched the shadow of the giant woman moving about on the floor. “She’s probably here to do the cleaning or something. So, until we have a reason not to, let’s just chill here for a moment. All right?”

Molly bit her lip and nodded. Her eyes were wide with fear and Charlotte could see she was trying very hard to hold in her panic.

There was a click as the maid, or whatever, turned off the holovid. This annoyed Charlotte for a moment, considering how hard it had been for them to turn it on, but then she realized she had slightly bigger problems to deal with just then.

The two of them listened tensely as the woman moved about the room straightening up and cleaning. She seemed to be making a circuit of the room, which brought her closer and closer to their hiding spot.

“Charlotte…” Molly whispered fearfully as the woman passed just in front of them.

“Calm down Molly.” Charlotte muttered out of the corner of her mouth.

“But… Charlotte.”

“Calm down…” Charlotte repeated urgently, although she wasn’t sure if she was speaking primarily to Molly or herself. Half of Charlotte was telling her to run, the other half was saying to stay put. Charlotte was pretty sure either choice was going to get them discovered one way or the other.

A shadow fell over them and the chair they were standing on was jerked out from under the desk before either of them could react, dragging them blinking into the light.

Charlotte and Molly stared up at the giant and the Titan woman stared down at them, mouth opened in surprise. For a moment, none of them moved. The humans because of fear, the Titan because of surprise.

“Ugh… disgusting!” The woman’s face twisted into a look of revulsion.

“Okay time to go!” Charlotte yelled, grabbing Molly by the arm and dragging her off the seat of the chair. The two of them landed on the floor roughly, but adrenaline had them back up and running within seconds of landing.

Fortunately, the hotel maid above them didn’t react very fast to their sudden departure, and that gave them a head start in escaping.

Of course, when you’re being pursued by someone over a hundred feet tall, a few seconds isn’t worth much.

A shoe slammed down in front of them and Charlotte moved just in time to avoid it. She yanked on Molly’s arm and the two of them took off in another direction.

“Filthy vermin!” the maid snarled.

“Okay where do we go?” Charlotte mumbled as the Titan’s shadow fell over her.

“This way!” Molly screamed, suddenly gripping Charlotte around the wrist and taking the lead. Charlotte looked ahead and saw where her friend was aiming for, the loose grate that Molly had showed Charlotte earlier. Her so-called “escape route.”

Well, they’d need it now.

The two women put on as much speed as they could, keeping just ahead of the Titan’s reach. Fortunately, the maid wasn’t nearly as nimble as the two young women and Molly and Charlotte dove into the darkness behind the grate just ahead of the woman’s reaching hand.

“Okay.” Charlotte tried not to breathe in the dusty air even though her lungs were burning. “We’ll just stay here until she leaves. She can’t stay in here right? We’ll be fine.”

“Right.”

They watched apprehensively as the frustrated Titan turned and walked away. For a moment they thought they were in the clear until, after fetching something from her cleaning cart, the maid returned with a device attached to a long thin tube.

“Is that what I think it is…?” Molly whispered urgently.

Before Charlotte coul;d respond, the Titan woman was upon them, inserting the tube through the hole they’d dashed into. A moment later the machine roared to life and a powerful suction gripped at them.

It wasn’t enough to pull them in, but as the end of the tube was pushed further into the space behind the grate, the suction became more powerful.

They had no choice, the two of them retreated further into the vent, but the vacuum tube pursued them relentlessly.

“Man what did we ever do to her?” Molly gasped as she ran along the vent in an effort to escape.

“We existed.” Charlotte replied grimly.

The hose’s advance slowed and the two women started to hope that it was at the end of its reach, when they suddenly found themselves in a freefall as the vent suddenly angled downward.

Fortunately, it wasn’t straight down. After a moment, they hit the side of the vent and slid down at a slight angle. After about ten seconds of sliding, they landed in a pile of dust.

“Mol?” Charlotte groaned as she sat up. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah…” Molly coughed and rubbed her eyes. “What do we do now? I don’t think we’re going to make it back up this vent.”

Charlotte bit her lip. “Well, we can’t stay in here… We have to keep moving, I guess.” She helped Molly to her feet and the two of them continued walking through the dark metal corridor, looking for a way out.

And after that… neither of them knew.

*.*.*.*

“Miss Dibilique?”

“Yes? How can I help…” Lenya turned at the sound of the voice behind her and almost had a heart attack. It took all of her willpower not to scream in panic and run at the sight of the young imperator standing in front of her.

“…you?” Lenya finished the sentence and plastered a smile on her face. First rule, never admit guilt until you have no other option. She reminded herself. The match was between rounds. The officials had called a brief recess due to how long the first round had taken. Dibilique had stepped out of the arena for a stretch and a drink of water. There were a few people milling about, but most kept their distance.

But not all of them, apparently.

There was a brief flicker across the Imperator’s face, but a moment later Lenya’s heart unclenched as he raised his pad up to her.

“Hello. Sorry to bother you,” The young Imperator gushed. “Especially in the middle of a match like this but I’m a huge fan. I um… do you mind if I get a picture with you.”

Lenya breathed a sigh of relief and her smile became a bit more genuine. If nothing else, she was amused that her disguise was apparently fooling him. “Oh, uh, of course. Always happy to meet a fan…”

“Great!” The young officer’s grin widened and his eyes shown with boyish glee. He stepped closer to Dibilique and raised his datapad up until he could get both of them in the shot.

On a whim, Lenya grabbed the Imperator’s arm and threw it around her own shoulders, causing him to pull in tighter against her. The momentarily nonplussed look on his face was more than worth it. A second later, his pad clicked at the camera took their picture. It was a good photo, if Lenya did say so herself.

“Thanks so much.” He muttered to her, staring at the picture in his hands.

Lenya chuckled and leaned up on her toes to plant a small kiss on his cheek. The Imperator’s eyes widened in shock as she pulled away.

“Anytime.” Lenya purred, while tracing a finger along his chin. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go prepare for the next round.”

She turned and slowly sashayed down the corridor towards her dressing room, leaving the stunned Imperator behind her.

It was all Lenya could do not to burst out laughing.

*.*.*.*

Molly and Charlotte had walked through the ventilation shaft for what had felt like an eternity before finally finding a hole that they were able to squeeze out of. The two of them found themselves in what looked like a bar or tavern. Likely the hotel lounge.

They quickly found a place to hide that was out of the way of the foot traffic. Somewhere they would be difficult to spot.

As they huddled in the dingy corner of the enormous bar, Molly and Charlotte carefully surveyed the scene.

The tavern was sparsely populated, though given the hour of the day, that wasn’t likely to last long. At least, assuming Charlotte was right about the fact that it was nearing meal time for Titans. And she wasn’t going to take the chance that it wasn’t.

And if that was indeed the case, Charlotte and Molly had precious little time to act.

“All right.” Charlotte muttered to her redheaded companion. “It looks like the coast is clear for the moment. I’m going to see if I can’t make it to the top of one of these tables and have a look around. See if I can’t find any food for us to nab. After that, well… we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”

Molly nodded meekly. “Right. Okay, just be careful. I don’t want any of the titans in here to spot you.”

Charlotte smiled softly and brushed a lock of her dark hair- which was becoming far too shaggy for her liking- out of her eyes. “No worries. We’ve just got to find a way back to Lenya’s room and we’ll be home free. Easy. It’ll be okay.”

Before Molly could say another word, Charlotte had darted over to one of the legs of the chair in front of them and was swiftly scaling the massive piece of furniture.

At least they had that going for them. Because of the lower gravity, their normally marginal athletic abilities had been heightened, which allowed them to climb and jump far better than they ever could back home.

Within minutes Charlotte disappeared above the summit of the seat cushion, and Molly was left alone.

The young woman wrapped her arms around herself and huddled against the enormous wooden column that was the leg of the table, situated right in the center of the edifice. She hated when Charlotte left, even for a moment. It made her feel even more small and insignificant than she already was in this nightmare place. More than anything though, Molly wished she could find a way to return to Vanser. At least she knew he was looking out for her.

Although a part of her had to admit that even being back with Lenya was infinitely preferable to herself and Charlotte being lost alone among giant beings who were unaware they existed, or worse, actively trying to destroy them.

Time seemed to tick by with agonizing slowness as Molly waited for Charlotte’s return. She felt her throat tighten with anxiety. The only comfort the young woman could give herself was that she would know instantly if any Titan were to come too close to their hiding place.

Finally, after what seemed like an hour, Molly saw Charlotte leap down onto the seat cushion from the table top above. A moment later the dark-haired young woman landed with a slight thud onto the floor next to Molly.

“It looks like the coast is clear for the moment, Mol.” Charlotte whispered, her chest heaving as she tried to get her breathing under control. “Not too many people in here yet, mostly servers I’d say. I’m sure that’ll change as soon as the rush gets in here.”

As if the universe was mocking them, suddenly the ground began to shake underneath them. Steady drumbeat tremors that they’d come to know as Titan footsteps.

“What is…?” Molly never got the chance to finish her sentence, because at that point a shadow blocked out what little light there was underneath the table. A second later a cacophonous scraping noise assaulted their ears and two of the chairs were pulled out.

“Oh no…” Molly mumbled.

The next thing either of them knew, their little hideout was being invaded by two pairs of massive footwear.

“We’re too late!” Charlotte whispered frantically as she and Molly backed up against the table leg and away from the invading appendages.

The chairs above them groaned ominously as the two Titans settled themselves into them. Directly in front of the two humans sat a pair of black high-heeled open toed shoes. The toenails of the shoe’s owner were painted black (or a very dark purple) and her legs disappeared into a mid-calf length skirt made of a silky blue material.

The Titaness crossed one leg over the other and a pair of elegant looking hands appeared to smooth her skirt before disappearing back above the table.

Behind them, a pair of massive knee length black leather boots thudded onto the floor. The boots were intimidating, with platforms and heels almost as tall as Charlotte and Molly were. In contrast to her companion, the owner of this pair of feet invaded their space with impunity, the monstrous boots sliding towards them like an on-coming freight train.

With a yelp, Molly dove out of the way of the intruding rubber soles, which pressed up against the leg of the table.

In her haste to make her escape, Molly stumbled over a loose nail in the floorboard and found herself sprawled over the toes of the other patron. The foot jerked out from underneath her as if it’d been burned.

“What the….?”

A moment, later the skirt-wearing legs pushed her chair back and the Titaness bent down to peer into the shadows underneath the table.

She had pale, ivory skin and long hair dyed dark purple. Her eyes were an almost electric blue, and they widened in surprise at the sight of the two tiny women. For a moment her wine-colored lips fell open in a look of shock, but then they twisted into a delighted smirk.

“What is it?” Her companion asked, tapping her booted foot impatiently.

“Don’t… don’t do that. You’ll scare them.” The blue-eyed titaness whispered excitedly, even as she lowered her head further under the table to get a closer look at the two women at her feet.

“Who?”

“There are a couple of humans under the table.” As she spoke, the small lip piercing at the corner of her mouth caught what little light there was under the table.

“What?” There was another deafening roar as the other chair was pushed back. A moment later a new face appeared from above the table.

This titaness had short blonde hair. Her tawny complexion offset her bright amber colored eyes, which were rimmed in dark eyeliner

“Wow. You weren’t kidding.” The new Titan muttered, biting her pink lower lip in thought.

“Oh, can we keep them?” Her companion asked, excitedly. “They look so scared.”

“Why would I want another pet when I have you?” The second Titan growled playfully, flashing her companion a grin underneath the table. “Besides, look at them, they’re all dirty.”

“Come here little girls.” The first lady cooed, lowering her hand to Molly, who was closer.

Molly watched in terror as the long pale fingers, each tipped by a black polished, claw-like fingernail, advanced on her. Her heart beat madly and she was frozen in fear.

“Molly! MOVE!” Charlotte yelled, shoving her companion, and making to run out from under the table.

“Oh no you don’t!” The second Titaness snickered, slamming her booted foot down in front of Charlotte like an impassable gate. Charlotte’s heart hammered as she stopped just in time to avoid being crushed under the colossal wall of leather.

“Gotcha!” Molly’s stomach lurched as the giant fingers wrapped around her and she was lifted up into the bright lights of the world above the table.

Charlotte was blind with panic. She turned and ran away from the massive boot. A shadow fell over her and she looked up just in time to duck under the massive hand of the second titan which was attempting to grab her.

“Hrm, tricky little thing aren’t you?” The red haired giant grumbled.

“What’s the matter?” Her companion giggled while holding Molly safely in her grip. “Is she too much for you?”

Narrowing her eyes in irritation, the booted Titan woman looked down to find Charlotte had disappeared while she was being teased by her companion.

“Ah who cares about her anyway?” The titan grumbled. “One human is going to be enough of a hassle, I think.”

“Oh don’t say that!” Her dark-haired companion cooed, gently stroking a trembling Molly with her fingers. “Look at her! She’s so cute.”

Meanwhile, Charlotte was tearing blindly across the floor of the bar. Her heart was hammering in panic and she was running on pure instinct, only being aware enough to avoid the other titans in the bar and their loud, ground-shaking footsteps.

It wasn’t until she had made it to a safe place on the far side of the bar that Charlotte was able to reassert herself against her panic. When she came back to herself, her first overwhelming emotion was grief and guilt.

She’d run, leaving Molly to fend for herself against the giant aliens. Charlotte hadn’t been able to control the reaction, true, but that made her feel no less cowardly.

“Oh god… what do I do now?” Charlotte muttered despondently.