“Er………. Fine, yeah, sure, just stop with the crying already! Your whining is starting to give me a headache!”

“Yah!” Paiway dried her tears almost instantly, “You aren’t going to regret this Hibiki.”

“Ugh…. I already am.” The tiny male moaned.

Paiway didn’t bother to respond. She had been so excited by the discovery that Hibiki had shrunk she hadn’t even bothered putting on surgical gloves to protect her from male germs.

Paiway scooped her frog hand puppet up off the floor, “Now let’s get this examination over with so we can get you back to our room, ribbit! Hold still!” The frog’s mouth opened and clamped down on Hibiki’s legs while Paiway used the thumb and index finger of her free hand to secure Hibiki’s arms.

“Dammit! I said nothing is wrong with me!”

“Juuuuust checking, I have to make sure you don’t have any strange growths…. Besides your antenna. After I clear you I’ll letcha go….. If I clear you.” Paiway stretched him thin bringing his nude body up to her eyes. She didn’t feel any strange lumps but she’d better check for any strange discoloration. Hibiki shivered under her scrutinizing gaze. He was so close he could swat one of the beady little orbs….. if all of his limbs weren’t being held in place.

He tried to struggle but the young girl was just too strong for him, “See anything?” He grumbled.

“Nope, but maybe I should stick you in a Jacuzzi just to make sure.” Paiway suggested.

“Hell no, I’m not letting you stick me in one of those giant boiling pots!”

“Suit yourself. Well it looks like you check out! Back to my room! Heh, heh, heh!” Paiway snatched the tiny grump up with her frog’s mouth, “I’ve got a lovely jar with your name on it!”

“You can’t be serious.”

“You’ll have to wait and see.” Paiway purred, “…… Don’t give me that look, I’m not going to stick you in some crumby old jar!” Hibiki sighed, relieved, “It’s a brand spanking new one!..... Just kidding! Jeez Hibiki, you have no sense of humor!”

“Ribbit, yeah!” The girl said in a much deeper voice, the movement of the hand puppet nearly caused Hibiki to plummet to the floor, “Gah! Careful, your frog should know you shouldn’t talk with your mouthful!... Or, at least, that’s what Dita keeps telling me.”

Paiway was excited, rushing out the door she ran right smack dab into Meia’s chest. She was bounced backwards, “Hey!” She cried, nearly falling to her knees.

Meia’s face remained emotionless, “I see you’re done with your examination. Is everything well?”

“Yeah, he’s fine.” Paiway held him up in a ‘see for yourself’ gesture.

“Good, well I’ll be taking him back then.” She snatched him up before Paiway could retract her hand.

“H-hey, he’s sleeping with me tonight! You can have him tomorrow!” Paiway reached for him but Meia pulled back her hand and glared at the young girl, “He’s not a toy and I would be quite an inept commander if I just loaned out one of my subordinates to a little girl.”

“I’m big! And a doctor!” Paiway huffed, “Besides, he agreed so give him here.” She held out her hands but Hibiki didn’t spill into them.

Meia simply responded with, “No.”

“He agreed!” Paiway repeated, “Come on Meia, quit being such a spoil sport and hand him over! We can share! I just want him for tonight….. He agreed to let me keep him for a night, he agreed!”

“He’s not at liberty to make such decisions. I’m in charge of the Nirvana’s Dread Squadron, he’s under my command and my orders. It’s up to me what happens to Hibiki and right now I don’t want him in the care of some snotty little girl.”

“Snotty?! How rude!”

“Look, this is non debatable. Just let it go.” Meia turned and went back to the bridge to see the captain. Paiway was steaming mad but she didn’t pursue. Meia usually wasn’t so rude with her but the team captain of the dreads was under a lot of stress. Hibiki was now, temporarily, useless as a Vanguard pilot. He’d never return to his normal size nor would he ever pilot the Vanguard again (unless serious modifications were made). She wasn’t sure what his fate would be nor was she sure how to discipline Barnette if at all.

Back on the bridge the captain, Magno, was waiting as well as Gascogne and Dita.

“Ah, welcome back. What were the test results?” The captain asked.

“He’s been cleared.”

“Good, now we have to decide what to do with him.” The captain stroked her chin.

“You still aren’t thinking about eating me are ya?” Hibiki asked warily.

“Well you don’t have to worry about that,” Magno assured, “I won’t be eating you.” Hibiki didn’t like how her accentuated the ‘I’.

Girl’s there’s a reason why I’ve called you here. You’re Hibiki’s closest friends. It should be up to you to decide his fate. Personally I think he should be eaten,” Dita gasped, Meia glared, and Gascogne’s jaw hardened, “He’s no longer any good to us save for sentimental purposes and I think having him around, only a shell of his former self, would be quite a depressing. Besides hurting moral he’s no longer a boon simply a burden. I know my words are harsh but they’re true. Dita, you’ve spent much time with him. You’ve come to enjoy his company and, though he doesn’t show it well, I’m sure the feeling is mutual. I’m sure Hibiki wouldn’t mind if you were to….. end his suffering. Gascogne, you’ve played cards with him many times and have always been there for him when he needed someone to talk to. Your sage like advice has helped him many times; you can help him even now by swallowing him. Meia he’s your comrade and fellow soldier, a member of your squadron. You’ve fought many battles together as a team. Perhaps Hibiki could aid you on the battle field one last time as sustenance to help fuel you. A friend, a mentor, and a sister in arms, you’re the ones closest to him and you should decide what happens to him. It is my suggestion that you eat him. The final decision is yours to make though.”

Hibiki could hardly believe his ears. The captain thought he was now only a burden?! Not only that but she wanted him to wind up in the belly of a friend?!!! It was so infuriating! None of them would eat him though right? Hibiki would like to think no but he wasn’t so sure. For some reason he remembered how Dita had stared at him and licked her lips earlier in the day. Gascogne, Dita, Meia, he trusted them each with his life. But what would they do with it? It was up to them to decide.