Fox Quest

Lightning crackled across the black, tumultuous sky, dark clouds rolling and boiling high above. Down below, standing on a thin bridge of land no wider than her arm span stood our hero, Candace. The proud, noble and above all good fox stood defiantly in her leather armour, her green cloak and blonde hair whipping behind her in the howling wind, summoned by both the storm above, and the chasms on either side of her. One wrong step or a slight slip would spell certain doom, and a splattered fox far on the rocks below, but what was on either side of her paled in comparison to what sat in front of her. Rising out of the darkness like a demon summoned from the depths of hell sat Castle Flattencrush, a massive, imposing structure of huge spires, spiked arches and dark windows, built out of a tiny rock spire emerging from the cavern. It was the home of the evil sorceress and her legion of monsters who had terrorized the land for far too long. Candace had quested for almost a year, righting wrongs and fighting evil, until her quest brought her here, to the source of the evil.

A slight shiver passed over the fox as she stared up at the giant, iron doors in front of her, carved with demons and dragons, but she quickly put it out of her mind. She was ready for this. Taking a grappling hook off her belt, she threw it upwards and latched one of the windows, then began to climb athletically, her powerful muscles pulling her up, until she somersaulted through the window and landed perfectly, pulling the grappling hook up after her.

“Too easy. Good thing I found this grappling hook in that cave!” She said brightly to no-one, then looked up, seeing two enchanted suits of armour advancing on her. Without a thought, the fox drew her sword and sliced through them like butter, the empty suits clattering to the ground. “And good thing I saved that magician from those bandits so he could give me this magic sword!” She said, running down the corridor ahead of her, then into a large room beyond.

A sudden sound from one one corner of the room made her turn, as out of the shadows leapt a large werewolf, easily two times her size. Thinking fast yet again, the fox reached into her beltpouch and pulled out a handful of wolfsbane, the herb repelling the beast. “And good thing I helped that gnome cobbler, who gave me a pair of shoes which I traded for an axe with the travelling merchant, so that I could give it to the lumberjack who told me werewolves are weak to wolfsbane!”

“That seems like an overly-complicated way to learn something that you could have just read in a book.” Groaned the werewolf.

“You don't even want to know what I had to go through to get the wolfsbane itself.” The fox sighed. “But I needed the experience points.”

As the werewolf fainted, the fox was about to dash further into the dark keep, getting close to the sorceress's throne room, when something caught her eye. On the other side of the room, one of the overly-gothic looking wall-mounted candle holders was sitting slightly askew. While most people would have chalked it up to a loose fixture, Candace was an experienced adventurer. Moving over to it swiftly, she tapped at the wall, hearing a hollow thunk, then grinned and gently pushed the candlestick straight again. She was awarded with a loud 'click!', and the wall swung open smoothly and silently on well-oiled hinges, revealing the secret room within.

Candace stepped in carefully, very used to having to deal with traps in such rooms, but the room was far to small for most conventional traps. In fact, it was little more than an alcove, and contained only one thing. A small, velvet-lined pedestal, on top of which sat a glowing amulet, carved out of gold and shaped like a heart. The fox grinned at the sight of the clearly magical amulet, then snatched it up.

“Sweet! More loot! Wonder what it does? Ah well, I'll get the magician to look at it when I'm back in town.” She opened her belt pouch to shove it in, only to find that it was already over-stuffed with all sorts of miscellaneous mystical mysteries. She sighed “Well, guess I'm wearing it then.” She said, slinging it around her neck, and tucking it beneath her +2 magic leather armour of agility. “And now to go bring peace to the land!” She shouts, dashing off through the castle and leaving the looted room behind her.

~~~

After a long and thrilling adventure through the castle, involving perils, intrigues and death-defying escapades that will not be elaborated on, Candace finally arrived at the doors to the throne room, beyond which lay the final chapter of her adventure. The fox adjusted her cloak into a suitably ruffled-yet-still-stylish-looking position, quickly combed her hair, and when she was certain she was looking her most heroic, she placed her hands on the large wooden doors and pushed them open, stepping over the threshold and into the throne-room beyond.

Ahead of her stretched a vast hall, the floor made of flawless black marble, the walls of dark stone and covered with paintings, and at the end of the room, between two massive, black and gold columns, was a tiered dias, on top of which was a large marble throne set with a single perfect amethyst, and the sorceress herself.

She was a feline, that much was certain her black fur shimmering like silk in the candlelight as she sipped her red wine from a crystal chalice. She was dressed quite simply for a self-proclaimed dark queen, with a simple dark purple, velvet dress, and an obsidian crown sitting on her long, dark curls of hair, the crown studded with amethysts. Despite her relatively subdued outfit, her ego was unquestionable, as behind her throne was a huge, stained-glass window in the shape of her towering over the world below. Outside, lightning flashed, bathing the room briefly in coloured light as it filtered through the stained glass.

“And so, at last, the brave Candace has arrived.” The cat purred, setting down her glass on the arm of her throne and licking her lips. “I've been watching you, hero... You've been a thorn in my side for too long...”

“I'm no thorn, witch! I am the sword of justice, and I'm here to end your reign of terror!” She shouts heroically, walking forwards so that she stood in the middle of the room. The sorceress just laughed.

“End my reign? You? Ha! You've come a long way for nothing, hero. For I am Queen Morgana, ruler of darkness, wielder of powers you could not even begin to comprehend! My magic makes me invulnerable.”

“Almost invulnerable.” The fox said with a confidant smile. “Evil always has a weakness, and I discovered yours.” On the throne, the sorceress's face betrayed nothing, though her eyes narrowed a little. “After a long and really, REALLY boring quest chain, I discovered that you have... A sister! Who lives deep in an enchanted forest after you cursed her to madness... And for a thousand gold pieces, she forged for me a dagger of mythril, capable of piercing your dark magic!” She says, drawing a very shiny dagger from her belt. “Your time has come, Morgana!!”

With a perfect, practiced, precise throw, the dagger left the fox's hand and spun towards the sorceress, its razor sharp blade slicing through the air, producing an almost ethereal humming sound. Before she could possibly react, the dagger struck the sorceress right between the eyes, blade first... and bounced off harmlessly.

The fox's ears drooped, her eyes going wide as she heard the dagger clink away across the marble floor. The sorceress burst out laughing, almost knocking over the wine glass in her throes of mirth.

“AHHAHAHA!! If only you could see your face right now! It's absolutely priceless!” She says through tears of laughter, wiping them away with a perfectly manicured finger. With a gesture of her hand, the dagger levitated over to her, allowing her to examine it. “Very, very shiny steel. Yeah, F.Y.I, I don't have a sister. I'm pretty sure you just got conned by a crazy old lady living in the woods.”

In the middle of the room, Candace, still frozen as her mind tried to register what happened, gave a comical squeak of disbelief. Morgana's grin widened.

“Ahh... I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. I'm almost considering letting you go... But I'm afraid you've been a bit too annoying for that. Too many plans foiled, too many servants slain... You need to be punished...” The sorceress began to chant under her breath, and the room throbbed with magical energy. Candace, sensing the danger she was in, turned and ran for the exit, but before she managed two steps, a bolt of black lightning hit her in the back, and the hero shrunk down to little more than two inches tall.

As Candace, now shrunken to the size of a mouse, lay on her back, staring up at the ceiling, she failed to hear the footsteps approaching until Morgana suddenly loomed over her. The black cat smirked, licking her lips.

“Mmm... At that size you look good enough to eat... But no, there's only one thing a bug like you deserves. And that's to be crushed underfoot.” With a diabolical laugh, the sorceress slipped off her shoe and raised her bare foot over the tiny fox, giving her a perfect view of the large, black sole that would be her doom. The fox opened her mouth to scream, but the foot descended, quickly eclipsing her vision and filling her whole world, rushing down until-

SQUISH!!

The sorceress laughed and moaned with joy as she ground her foot back and forth, smushing the fox paper-thin under her sole, crushing her flatter and flatter with every passing second. Slowly she raised her foot, only to bring it crashing back down again, enjoying every squish and crunch elicited by her defeated foe. Again and again the foot rose and fell, splattering Candace further and further each time. Sometimes she stuck to the floor, allowing her to see the foot rising and falling again, and sometimes she stuck to Morgana's sole, allowing her to see nothing but the darkness of the foot that was her whole world.

Eventually, when Morgana was well and truly satisfied that Candace was as flat as she could possibly be, she reached down and peeled the flat fox off her foot like a sticker, bringing her up to face height for an examination. Surprisingly the fox had kept her shape for the most part, aside from now being so thin she could be used as a bookmark, but she looked slightly less heroic than when she had entered the room. Her fur was a mess, stained with the dirt from the sorceress's foot, her hair was splayed and filthy, and her face bore an expression of disbelief, humiliation and horror, her eyes and mouth still wide open in shock, the terror of the moment preserved perfectly on her features.

“Oh... Oh, that is simply divine...” The cat purred. “In fact... I want to see this face every day, to remind myself of the good, noble and stupid hero, who's quest ended under my heel.” With a snap of her fingers, there was a flash of magic, and Candace was restored to her normal size, though still as flat as before, and sealed between a pane of glass and a thin sheet of wood, trapped inside the frame of a painting. The sorceress grinned as she looked over her newest 'artwork', then walked over to the wall of the hall and hung Candace in a blank spot, nestled between two portraits of Morgana.

“Perfect... Welcome to the gallery, hero. Your home for all eternity...” The cat laughed and turned to walk back to her throne, leaving Candace flattened, stuck, and completely defeated. It looked like for our hero, it was game-

-over the fox as she stared up at the giant, iron doors in front of her, carved with demons and dragons, but she quickly put it out of her mind. She was ready for this. Taking a grappling hook off her belt, she-

She paused, looking around in confusion, her mouth hanging open. She was standing outside Morgana's castle, just as she had been not a few hours earlier. The fox turned, looking around, her confusion growing more and more. Was it an illusion? Was she still trapped as a wall-hanging? Was this just the sorceress playing a cruel joke? The fox pinched herself hard, then winced. No, this was real, so had that been... a premonition? Had she seen what was about to happen? Had it happened at all?

She looked down, noticing the grappling hook in her hands again, then up at the open window. A grin formed across her face. Whatever it had been, a dream, a warning, time travel, it didn't matter. She had a second chance, and she knew what was going to happen. She could do it again, and do it right! With a laugh, the fox tossed the grappling hook, hooked it on the ledge, and started to climb.

~~~

Candace walked up to the large wooden doors of the throne room, taking a deep breath, then pushing the doors open again. Lightning flashed outside the stained glass portrait of the sorceress, lighting up the room just as it did before.

“So, at last the brave Candace-” The sorceress paused, a look of confusion on her face. She threw a glance over to an empty spot on the wall of the hall, between two portraits of herself, before her gaze slowly moved back to the fox. “Has arrived...?” She finishes, feeling that something was slightly off. Candace gulps, but decides to distract the sorceress quickly so she didn't have time to realize that they had done this before.

“That's right! I, Candace! The sword of justice, am here to slay you!” She shouts “How will I get through your invulnerability? Good question! I was given a dagger by your sister!” She says. A slight smirk plays across Morgana's face at this, and the sorceress relaxes, her mind put at ease by hearing the fox seemingly make a mistake. “But, brave and smart hero that I am, I know that you don't have a sister, and that it was actually a fiendish trick by the forces of evil!” She shouts, throwing the dagger away and smirking like she'd won some sort of victory. The sorceress frowns and tilts her head.

“Uhhh... Ok... Good for you?” She says hesitantly, not sure what the fox was really talking about. “But how does that get you through my magical protection?”

Candace, who had been so proud of her moment of glory, who for a brief moment thought she had the advantage, froze, her mind playing back what had just happened in her head.

“Uhhh... W-well, the dagger lead to me downfall last time, so I'm not using it this time...?” She gulped, a cold sweat coming over her as realisation dawned on her. Sitting upon her throne, the sorceress sighed and rolled her eyes. With a wave of her hand, one of the massive marble pillars next to her throne detached from it's base, levitated across the room, then slammed down on top of the fox with a loud boom that echoed around around the hall, shaking the dust from the ceiling. Beneath the impossibly heavy pillar, the flattened Candace just twitched weakly.

“Honestly I expected far more of you, hero. You've disappointed me greatly.” She says, yawning and resting her chin in one hand, the other hand magically lifting the pillar up again and slamming it down two more times. “But at least you can still be of service to me...” She says with a grin, raising her head from her hand as an idea crept into her mind. Slowly, the sorceress began to rock her hand gently forwards and backwards, and the pillar moved in response, rolling towards her, then away from her, back and forth. Candace squeaked in fear, but was quickly silenced as the heavy pillar rolled over her again and again like a rolling pin, creating small squishing noises with each pass over her, flattening her slightly thinner, and elongating her body.

For close to ten minutes the sorceress amused herself with the fox and the pillar, finding the squeals and squeaks that Candace elicited relaxing, and the constant squashing torture of a meddlesome foe cathartic. When she finally stopped, the fox had been flattened so much that her head, now almost two meters wide, was squashed at the bottom of her throne, and her legs and tail, equally wide, were all the way on the opposite side of the room, just in front of the door. Candace was now squashed paper thin, and stretched the entire length of the room.

“Ahhhh, perfect. I've been meaning to do some redecorating, and now I have a delightful fox-fur carpet...” She said, getting out of her throne and removing her shoes, then walking down and standing on Candace's face, wriggling her toes and feeling the soft fur on her. The fox whimpered weakly beneath her tread, but her body had been so squashed that she couldn't move a single aching muscle. The sorceress summoned her powers again, and a faint glow engulfed the fox's form, before fading away.

“And now you are sealed permanently into position. At least until I decide to redecorate again.” Morgana grinned, then happily walked down the length of her new carpet and out of the throne room, closing the doors behind her. Left alone in the empty room, all the new carpet could do was whimper muffledly, and lie still. For our hero, this truly was game-

-overly-complicated way to learn something that you could have just read in a book.” Groaned the werewolf.

“You don't even want to know what I had to go through-” The fox caught herself mid-sentence, looking around in shock, then growled. “Gods damn it!! She got me again!?” She snarled, then looked to the werewolf. “Hey! Fido! Which way to the library! This place has to have one!” Candace shouts. The werewolf, looking a little confused,  pointed to a side passage before promptly passing out. The hero sighed.

“Right, I've got some reading to do.” She said, then dashed off down the corridor, before dashing back, taking the hidden amulet again, and leaving properly this time.

~~~

A while later, the throne room doors were booted open, and Candace swaggered in, a huge, confidant grin on her face and a book in her hand. She opened her mouth to speak, but was immediately cut off by Morgana.

“You're ten minutes late.” She says, sipping her wine. Candace pauses, suddenly put off-balance by the statement. Her eyes widen at the realization that Morgana had figured out what was going on and she opened her mouth again, this time to lie.

“Save it” The cat hisses, though a playful grin sat on her face. “I felt that something was off last time, but I was ready for it this time... I felt the wave of magic. You stole my timeless pendant, didn't you?” With a wave of her hand, the necklace stolen from the secret room levitated up from where it was nestled in Candace's cleavage. The sorceress smirked, then let it drop back down. “Bah, I was saving that for an emergency, but it seems you've gone and activated it...” She sighs, though seeming more amused than saddened. Candace growled and stuffed the pendant back in between her breasts.

“Yeah! That's right! I took the... whatever you called it! And that means I can't lose! Every time you think you've won, time will reset, and I'll be one step ahead of you. I'll just keep going until I win, because good always triumphs over evil!”

“Really? It didn't seem to triumph the last two times... And as rousing as your banal little platitude was, you're wrong.” She says with a grin, drinking from her glass again. “Every time you use the pendant, it loses a little bit more power, and time will reset less far back each time. Eventually, you'll be resetting time to milliseconds before your failure, and then the pendant will run out of power, and I will destroy you.” The cat smiles sadistically, as if Candace was a mouse caught in a trap in front of her, wriggling futilely. “I'm still untouchable. All I need to do is beat you again and again and again until the amulet runs out, and I intend to enjoy myself. You'll be throwing yourself into a brick wall over and over, while I get to obliterate you in new and interesting ways each time. Shall we begin?” The sorceress rises from her chair, starting to summon her power, while Candace holds up her hand.

“Not so fast, witch! You may want to hold off on the victory celebrations. I was ten minutes late because I was raiding your library, and I found this!” She says, holding up the old, leather-bound tome she was carrying, the front of which bore the title 'Witches, Wizards and Sorceresses: How to Beat Them.' Morgana sighed and rubbed her head.

“Why do I even have that in my library...” She grumbled, while Candace begin flicking through, grinning as she stops on a page she had bookmarked.

“Ahem! Sorceresses, as the name suggests, are a source of magic in and of themselves. However, as a sorceress grows more powerful, the magic inside of them risks overwhelming and destroying them! As of such, all extremely powerful sorceresses must perform a ritual to place their limitless power into an object (or objects), that they keep close by to draw from. If this object is destroyed, the sorceress loses all of her power, rendering her defenseless!” The fox snapped the book shut with a smirk, delighted to see the look of anger on Morgana's face. “All I have to do is find that object and destroy it. And what else could it be, but your crown!” She shouts, pointing a heroically accusatory finger at the amethyst-studded crown sitting atop Morgana's head. The black cat growls, then stands up and takes a deep breath, her anger turning to a confidant smirk.

“Hmph. I underestimated you... but I am one of the most powerful creatures in the world. Do you think that you can destroy the source of my powers before you are destroyed? Let's find out.” The sorceress immediately begins chanting, summoning up a vast amount of power. With a flash of hellfire and a whiff of brimstone, suddenly before Candace stood a massive, anthro, three-headed dog. It was colossal, standing close to twenty feet tall, her body round with muscle and fat. The only clothing she wore (for the dog was definitely a she. Abundantly so), were small scraps of leather covering her breasts nethers, and completely failing to cover her astonishing ass, as each cheek was as large as a boulder. Around each of her three necks was a black leather collar, studded with sharp spikes, and in her left hand she held a large club made of a cleanly-gnawed bone. The three heads, their eyes like fire, focused on Candace, and the beast snarled, baring all three sets of teeth. The fox gulped and stepped back, her hand falling on her blade. Behind the beast, Morgana laughed musically.

“Do you like my pet, hero? Because she doesn't seem to like you... Let's see if you can get my crown before Cerberus smushes you into paste and uses you as a chew toy, hmm? Get her, girl!”

With a roar, Cerberus leapt forwards, it's jaws snapping at the spot Candace was standing. The fox leapt back nimbly to avoid getting chewed into gum, then instantly threw herself to the ground to dodge the bone club, which narrowly swung through the air above her head. She threw herself across the ground away from the beast to dodge a ground-shaking stomp, and finally managed to draw her blade and get back to her feet, just in time to side-step another attack by the club. With a skillful pirouette, the fox spun around and slammed her blade into the beast's thigh, only to have her blade crumple like tinfoil against the iron-hard hide.

“Oh come on!!” The fox growled, looking at her ruined blade, then yelped as she was snatched up in one massive hand and slammed hard into the ground. Candace groaned, her body aching from the slam, but as she raised her head, she was greeted by the sight of the colossal beast turning around, so that her gargantuan rear loomed over the downed fox, hanging over her and threatening to slam down on top of her at any moment. Summoning the last of her strength, the fox pushed herself to her feet and dove between the beast's legs just as she fell backwards, slamming her butt into the ground so hard that dust rained from the ceiling. Candance, however, was completely unscathed. The nimble fox rolled to her feet and leapt forwards towards the surprised sorceress, snatching the crown off of her head before she could react and hurling it to the ground with all her might.

The obsidian crown shattered instantly against the marble floor, jagged pieces of black rock and large amethysts flying everywhere, an especially jagged piece embedding itself in one of the many portraits of the sorceress, right between the painting's eyes. Morgana winced, then grit her teeth, looking at Candace, who stood with a victorious grin on her face. As she saw the sorceress's expression however, her grin began to slip, a chill running down her spine.

“I-it wasn't the crown, was it...” She whimpered, hearing heavy footsteps and three heads growling behind her. Morgana just smirked and shook her head. Candace gulped. “M-mercy?”

Cerberus's massive makeshift club slammed down on top of her in answer, and the fox was instantly smushed into a furry orange disk, her dazed-looking face visible on top, with her eyes spinning and her tongue sticking out. Her punishment would not be over that quickly however, as the beast wasted no time in leaping up and slamming both feet down on top of her with a loud SQUISH, the fox completely disappearing entirely underneath her massive soles. As she crashed down, she leapt straight back up again in a smooth motion, jumping up and down on the failed hero again and again and again, each time squishing her a little flatter.

The beast's paws slammed down one final time, and when she launched herself up again, this time she curled her legs up. From her position flattened like a perfectly round sticker on the floor, the fox had a perfectly unobstructed view of Cerberus's two massive, furry ass cheeks as the descended like twin meteorites, each one big enough to fit her entire body with room to spare. The fox let out a desperate scream, but it cut off almost as soon as it started, silenced by the devastating butt-slam delivered by the demonic dog, cracking the marble floor beneath her. The three heads howled victoriously as Cerberus ground her ass over the increasingly flattened hero, who at this point was almost transparent, and Morgana just laughed delightedly, having completely forgotten about her smashed crown, being much more interested in the dogged destruction of her foe.

“As always, you've outdone yourself, my pet.” She said, standing up and walking down the steps from her throne, reaching up to scratch the middle head under it's chin. “Now then, may I see her?” She asked with a smile. Her pet instantly obeyed dumbly, lumbering to her feet and reaching behind herself. There was a loud tearing sound, like velcro being peeled apart as Candace was extracted from her butt, and Cerberus presented her to her master faithfully.

The fox was still in her perfectly disked shape, but from the continuous stomping and the powerful butt-slam, she was now almost a meter wide, a silent scream imprinted on her panicked face, and her body almost completely 2D. Morgana purred at the sight, her long black tail flicking behind her in amusement.

“Perfect... Absolutely perfect...” She said with a grin. “But I want to get this over with quickly, so we can get to your next humiliating defeat. Cerberus, dispose of her.”

The three-headed demon dog had obviously been waiting for this, as without a hint of hesitation, she scrunched the paper-thin Candace into a ball, then tossed her up into the air and snapped her up with her middle head. As the other two heads looked on jealously, the middle head quickly chewed her up into orange gum with her powerful jaws, then swallowed her, Candace plunging into darkness. This time, it was definitely game-

-over-stuffed with all sorts of miscellaneous mystical mysteries. The fox blinked and looked around, finding herself standing in the secret alcove, with the magical pendant in her hand.

“Oh come on! It wasn't the crown?? What else could it be!?” She growled, pacing back and forth, then stopped, staring at the wall. “There's only one thing for it. I'll just need to do this by trial and error. It's gonna be somewhere in that room, so I just need to destroy everything! A-and probably get destroyed a lot myself in the process...” She whimpers, then looks down at the amulet. The healthy glow it had possessed the first time she picked it up was certainly dulled just a little, though magic still radiated off it.

“I just hope I get her before she gets me...”

~~~


The fox paced back and forth in the sorceress's throne room, looking both pensive and annoyed. From her throne, with her chin resting on one hand, watched the sorceress, the black cat's eyes glittering with amusement, her mouth curved into a superior smile. She hadn't enjoyed herself this much in a long time.

“Ok... So it wasn't the crown... and it wasn't the necklace... and it wasn't that stupid gem in your chair...” She growled at the last one, causing the sorceress to laugh.

“Yes, that was rather amusing when you managed to crack that... I think I almost preferred you as a replacement. How did it feel, compressed into an orange gem and embedded in the stone?”

“Shut up. And it wasn't that ugly window behind you either.”

This time it was the sorceress's turn to growl, her fur bristling a little. She sat up in her chair and folded her arms, her eyes narrowing.

“You're lucky time reset. You have no idea how much that window cost me... Still, I suppose I did get my revenge... It was particularly amusing, tying you down and letting all of my minions march over you. Especially the ogres... You were almost transparent when they were done...” She says with a chuckle.

“Shut up.” Candace growled again.

“My, you seem a little touchy, Candace. What's wrong, running out of time?” Morgana said, sipping her wine, her grin widening. The fox flinched a little, saying nothing, but the sorceress was right. Every defeat brought her back a little closer to now. Last time, she had appeared right outside the doors to the throne room, and she was still no closer to finding out what the source, or sources, of her powers was.

“You look so deep in thought, my dear. But I can sympathize. I'm simply agonizing over what to do with you when I defeat you for good... I think that when you're finally mashed into a pathetic hero paste, I'll add a new wing to my castle... An entirely gallery filled with paintings of your repeated defeats, and your mashed-up, pulverized, defeated form can sit in a glass jar in the center of the room, forced to look at the paintings for the rest of eternity.” She hisses.

“Shut up! Geez, what is your obsession with paintings-” She pauses, a penny dropping in her mind. Slowly, she looks around the walls of the room, her eyes falling on the masses of paintings, and the dozens of portraits Morgana had of herself. The evil cat, seeing the sudden look of revelation, immediately throws down her glass and leaps to her feet, summoning her powers a second too late. Candace had already drawn her dagger and thrown it, embedding it deep into the nearest portrait. The sorceress winced as if she had been shocked by a jolt of electricity, then glared at the hero.

“So, that's it, huh? Man, talk about an ego...” Candace said, looking at all the portraits of the sorceress on the wall. “This must have taken you some time...”

“It did” She hisses. “But it will take you even longer to destroy them all. And much less time for me to destroy you!” Before the fox could react, the sorceress cast a spell, and a huge cube of stone, easily three meters wide, was pulled out of the ceiling and crashed down on top of the fox, splattering her across the marble floor beneath. The sorceress slammed the stone down on top of her several more times, before magically placing it back into the roof. On the ground, Candace was now little more than an orange smear on the floor, her surprised, blinking eyeballs staring up at the sorceress. It had taken less than a second, but the hero had reached another game-

-over the threshold and into the throne-room beyond.

Morgana was sitting on her throne as usual, but as she saw that the time-loop had brought Candace back inside the room, she smirked. Standing up, the black cat walked forwards, her heels clicking crisply on the marble, then stopped in the middle of the room.

“See? You can't even destroy one portrait before I destroy you. And from the looks of it, my stolen amulet's power is running very, very low...” She hisses, grinning. “I think it's time to finish this.”

With the hiss of magic on her lips, the sorceress threw her arms wide and began to chant. The room began to throb with magical energy, the air becoming hot and thick as she summoned a colossal amount of power. Candace's jaw dropped, her eyes going as wide as saucers as in front of her, Morgana's body began to grow and change, using a powerful shapeshifting spell. A low growl filled the room as the sorceress's new form took shape, and she towered over Candace as an enormous dragon, at least twenty-five feet tall, smoke curling out of her nostrils, and her body covered with glittering purple scales, like a sea of amethysts. The dragon stretched, shaking her massive body, the marble beneath her feet cracking under her weight.

“Ahhh... It has been so long since I've had an excuse to use this form. I love it. The rush of power is... delicious....” Her massive head lowered, coming eye-to-eye with the tiny fox, who had frozen in fear. The dragon chuckled, looking back at her own form. “Do you see this, little hero? This magnificent body? I promise you, fox, that by the time that amulet has run out of power, you will be nothing more than a faint, orange stain upon it.”

“I... I... Ugh...” The fox, frozen in stunned terror, could only look up at the impossible beast standing over her, her mind having come to a screeching halt. The dragon just laughed, her voice booming and resounding around the grand chamber.

“Oh? Is your feeble mind having trouble comprehending the situation? Well, allow me to give you a demonstration. A taste of what's to come.” With that, the dragon's front foot rose from the floor, a fine rain of debris crumbling off it from the broken marble, and moved slowly over the terrified fox. As the shadow passed over her, Candace was left staring up at the dragon's massive, leathery footpad, every line and detail of it being etched into her mind, before slammed down on top of her.

The dragon laughed even more uproariously as the fox squished under her foot like clay, instantly reduced to an orange paste that squelched up delightfully between Morgana's dragon toes as she wriggled and flexed them.

“Pathetic. I wonder how many more times I'll have to do this before it's all-

over Candace as an enormous dragon, at least twenty-five feet tall, smoke curling out of her nostrils, and her body covered with glittering purple scales, like a sea of amethysts. The two of them immediately locked eyes, and the dragon quickly stomped again. This time Candace was quicker however, leaping out of the way as the massive foot slammed down and rolling to her feet, the dragon roaring behind her.

“Give up, hero, and maybe I'll consider erasing your mind and making you into one of my servants instead!” She shouted behind her, but her words were ignored entirely by the fox. Instead, she sprinted towards towards the wall of paintings and drew her sword, using the large marble pillars for cover. Behind her, the massive Morgana smashed through the pillar with a powerful paw but Candace had already dodged away from it, her blade slicing through a few of the paintings before she retreated back to cover, white-hot dragon fire lancing over where she had just been. The dragon shrieked with rage, her eyes narrowing to burning slits as the fox dodged and dashed through through the pillars that lined the room. Her eyes narrowed to burning slits as she watched the fox moving, ducking and rolling, following the pattern, then, with pin-point precision, she opened her mouth and fire roared out again. This time, the fox had just rolled out of cover, only to be immediately bathed in the torrent of dragon fire, the air around her completely saturated with it. As the fire died down, Candace stood, burnt to a crisp, her whole body blackened and charred. The fox's eyes blinked cartoonishly in surprise, before the dragon's foot rose above her and slammed down again, crushing the fox into a pile of ashes, before grinding her into a sooty smear. As Morgana lifted her foot, she chuckled at the sight of the black, powdery smudge on the floor, wriggling her toes to dislodge any ashes stuck to her sole.

“Whoops. I think I may have over-cooked my fox pancake. Well, we can always just do it-

-over where she had just been. The dragon shrieked with rage, her eyes narrowing to burning slits, but this time the fox stayed behind her pillar.

Shit. If I go out there, she's just gonna incinerate me! And there's still so many paintings left to destroy! She shouted inside her mind, staying still and listening to the dragon growl as she stomped up and down the room. Unless... I can get her to destroy some of them for me... A wry grin spread over the fox's face as the gears turned in her mind.

“Hey, ugly! Over here!” She shouted, leaping out and waving her arms, standing in front of the wall of paintings. Morgana's head instantly whipped around, glaring straight at the fox. Candace, who had been expecting a blast of fire that she could dodge relatively easily, was suddenly surprised as the dragon's whole massive head lunged forwards and snapped her up in her jaws. The fox instantly disappeared into the dragon's mouth, and Morgana began to chew her up like gum, an occasional flash of orange seen between the dragon's teeth as Candace was ground into a fine paste. Soon enough, the dragon tilted her head back and swallowed what was left of the fox, then sighed happily and licked her lips.

“You didn't really think I was stupid enough to fall for your trick and burn my own paintings, did you? How foolish. Still, as you digest you have plenty of time to think it-

-over the fox's face as the gears turned in her mind.

“Hey, ugly! Over here!” She shouted, leaping out and waving her arms, standing in front of the wall of paintings. Morgana's head instantly whipped around, glaring straight at the fox. Candace, who now knew exactly what to expect, leapt up as the dragon's head lunged forwards, landing on her massive nose and quickly running up to the top of her head, grabbing onto her horns. Morgana screeched with rage and began to twist her neck around, breathing fire as she attempted to incinerate the fox, but Candace, taking an ebony horn in each hand, pulled with all her might, levering the dragon's head around so that it was pointed at the wall, and the streaming fire washed over the paintings. Instantly the dry canvases and flammable oils caught alight in the super-hot fire, and soon the whole wall was ablaze. With over half the paintings in the room destroyed, and the dragon screaming in rage, Candace let go of her horns and started to run down her purple-scaled back, planning to leap off the tip of her tail. Unfortunately for her, Morgana was faster and smarter, and as soon as she felt footsteps on her back, the dragon threw herself to the ground and began to roll over.

Candace yelped as she was flung to the ground by the dragon, groaning, but before she could even contemplate moving, an enormous weight crashed down on her feet. The fox squealed and glanced back, just in time to see the wall of purple scales roll over her, smashing her down into darkness, her body pressed into paper. On top of her, the colossal dragon rolled back and forth on top of her like a dog rolling in grass, her thick, hard scales grinding down on Candace with her full, immeasurable weight. The fox was almost instantly crushed out of existence, her tiny body no match for the constant pressure and grinding as the giant Morgana continued to roll back and forth on top of her, her scales even managing to grind away at the marble floors. Eventually, the massive dragon rolled to her feet, and glanced back to where the fox had been on her back, seeing only a faint, greasy orange smear across her scales.

“See? I told you that you would be reduced to a stain on my body, hero. Still, I can feel the power in that amulet. It seems that this is not yet-

-over half the paintings in the room destroyed, and the dragon screaming in rage, Candace let go of her horns and started to run down her purple-scaled back. This time, just before the dragon threw herself to the ground, Candace leapt off her back and landed on the ground with a perfect roll, instantly dashing over to the few remaining paintings on the other, untouched wall. Her blade leapt from its sheathe as she slashed mercilessly at the paintings, taking advantage of the time she had while Morgana lumbered back to her scaled feet. By the time that the dragon had recovered, Candace was sinking her sword deep into the final portrait, embedding the blade through it and into the wall beyond. The fox's face lit up with a victorious smile as she heard a bellow of agonized rage behind her.

“Ha! See, foul beast! Goodness and righteousness has... after a few false starts... won the day! You are defeated!” The fox spun around and struck a victorious pose, only to find herself face-to-face with the very large, very angry, and, above all, very undefeated dragon.

“Do I look beaten, hero?” She snarls. Before Candace could move, Morgana's purple-scaled tail wrapped around her tightly, causing the fox elicit a startled squeak.

“B-but I destroyed all the paintings!!” She cried, not understanding why it had not worked. With a swift movement, the dragon pulled her up close to her face, so that the two foes were nose-to-nose.

“And for that, you will pay dearly...” With a flick of her tail, the fox was flung hard to the marble floor, smashing down with debilitating force. Candace groaned, her eyes spinning dizzily, then slowly managed to roll over onto her back, just in time to find herself staring up at the biggest ass she had ever seen. Above her, looming threateningly, was the giant, purple expanse of the dragon's rear, each cheek wide enough to fit four of Candace with room to spare. “Time to show you your proper place!”

Candace opened her mouth to scream as she saw the dragon's back legs bend, but the cry had not even reached her throat before Morgana leapt up and tucked her legs under her, her body curling into a sitting position, and her absolutely ridiculously sized rump crashing down with unbelievable force. Beneath her, the fox was caught in the dead center of her right butt cheek, being flattened with absolute ease due to the sheer force and weight, but then also crushed down almost a meter into the solid marble floor as Morgana's ass's impact created a deep, perfect crater.

“Hmph, you're nothing but a stain now, fox. It's-
-over onto her back, just in time to find herself staring up at the biggest ass she had ever seen. The fox desperately tried to scampered to her feet, but with the size of the dragon's ass, she didn't stand a chance. Morgana sat down immediately, obliterating her yet again. On top of her, the gargantuan dragon just laughed.

“What's wrong, hero? Too slow?” She mocked, grinding the fox into mush. “Can't escape my ass before it destroys you? Well, why don't you try again. After all, we'll be doing this over and-”

WHAM!!

“-over and-”

SPLAT!!

“-over and-”

CRUNCH!!

“-over! Until that amulet is drained!”

As the dragon laughed viciously, and time continued to loop over and over and over again, Candace tried everything she could, leaping out of the way, sprinting, rolling, even attacking the dragon's ass, but try as she might, every time, she ended up crushed, squashed, mashed, flattened or obliterated under Morgana's butt. Every time that time reset, the butt-slam came a little faster as the amulet's power was drained, and Candace could do nothing about it. She was out of luck, out of ideas, and, soon enough, she would be out of time.

As the fox was furiously flattened by the fast, frequent butt-slams, she had brief spots of uncrushed consciousness to think about how things could have possibly turned out this badly. How her long and noble quest could have ended like this, beneath the rear end of a giant, evil dragon. She had travelled the land righting wrongs and finding the best magical armour and weapons, she had infiltrated the sorceress's evil fortress and defeated her minions, and she had discovered, albeit after a few false starts, her foe's weakness. By all rights, she should have won! She had destroyed every last image of that stupid sorceress-

As time briefly reset again, just before she was once again butt-slammed into a humiliating defeat, the fox's eyes fell on the massive, stained-glass image of the sorceress, completely untouched despite the slashed and burning walls around it. As the gears began turning inside the fox's head, her eyes lit up and she gasped in revelation.

Of course! That's it! Every image of her! I just need to- The fox's train of thought was instantly cut short as  Morgana's rear crashed down on top of her again like a mountain of iron, the dragon still laughing victoriously.

“Not long now, fox! Your time is done! You've lost! You've failed! It's-”

As soon as time looped again, Candace, lying on the marble floor, grabbed the amulet off her neck and threw it with all her might. Morgana's eyes widened in horror as she saw it flying through the air, lunging to try to stop it, but her claws just barely grazed the necklace as it flew past and smashed straight into the window. With a beautiful explosion of twinkling light, the glass shattered into a thousand pieces as the amulet crashed straight through it, coloured shards spinning and falling through the air as the once awe-inspiring stained-glass was obliterated. The dragon let out screech of rage and fear as she saw the last image of herself destroyed, and in immediate response, felt her powers rapidly draining.

“N-no! It's... not possible! You can't have... My powers! Gone... gone!!” Morgana wailed, staggering as she felt all strength leaving her body. Behind her, Candace pushed herself to her feet and smiled, drawing her sword and striking the most heroic pose she could muster, given her aching body and tired mind.

“That's right, you evil beast! The powers of virtue and righteousness can never be defeated! Good always triumphs in... the... end...” Her sentence petered out as she noticed that the dragon had stopped staggering, and was now collapsing. Right on top of her.

“Oh come on!” The fox managed to shout, before the entire bulk of a passed-out dragon smashed down on top of her with a resounding boom, then lay silent. The entire room was still, save for the crackling of the fire and the occasional falling piece of glass. After a few moments, there was a tiny bit of movement from underneath the dragon, and slowly but surely, the very flat, very tired and very tenacious Candace pulled herself free, her two-dimensional form pushing itself to it's feet and wobbling unsteadily. She looked over the fallen dragon and groaned.

“Was kinda hoping the shapeshift spell would wear off with the rest of her magic...” She sighs. “How the hell am I meant to get this back to town.” With a resigned slouch, the flat fox grabbed the dragon's tail and started hauling her along an inch at a time. This would take some time...

The End!