While he�s walking to the park, Jim thinks of how much Crystal has meant to him over the past year. But as the park comes into view Jim notices something. �That�s strange.� Jim mumbles to himself. �Where is everyone?� This time of year the lake is usually packed with people.
�YOWL!!!!� Jim screams as he�s hit from behind and falls to the ground.
He turns around to see Tiny the Enforcer staring down at him. Jim has developed a small drug problem that no one knows about. Due to all the extracurricular activities with Crystal, he recently hurt his back. After it healed, he got hooked on the prescription painkillers. Unfortunately since he no longer has a prescription, he started to get them someplace else. But this new supplier is not cheap and he ran up a little tab. Now it�s time to pay up and he�s a little short.
�Thought I would arrange some privacy for us so we can discuss these credits you owe Mr. Scarely.� Tiny is holding his weapon of choice in hand, a bar of soap wrapped in a towel. They say he prefers it because it hurts like hell, but only leaves bruises behind. And although Tiny is already feared by just about everyone, he still insists on beating the shit out of his victims anyway.
�I�ll get him his money. Just give me a few days.� Jim replies hoping maybe he�ll listen to reason.
�Well da Boss just wanted me to give you some incentive.�
Tiny begins to beat Jim with the soap viciously. Jim�s only defense is to shields his head to prevent any permanent injuries. Surges of pain travel through his body as the soap bounces off bones. His ears begin to ring and the ground seems to be spinning. That damn soap hurts like He�
Suddenly Jim hears Tiny yell �SHHHIT!� and the plummeting stops. He manages to force his eyes open and look over. It�s Crystal! She must have knocked Tiny over. Now he�s lying unconscious on the ground. Oh no, she is lifting one of her paws over him!
�Crystal Don�t!� Jim screams as loud as he can. She turns and looks down at him with a terrifying expression on her face. Jim has never seen that look before. It�s primate, cruel, merciless; Tiny is in a lot of trouble.
�You don�t want to do this.� Jim says even though he can tell it�s not true.
Crystal looks back down at the man on the ground. He�s still not moving, but it looks like he might be coming to. She wants to make him scream, but perhaps that�s not something Jim needs to see.
�Alright Jim, we�ll do this your way. Go get campus security and I�ll keep an eye on our friend� Crystal says still looking down at Tiny.
Jim gets on his feet and runs to the campus security station. His chest is throbbing, but Jim is afraid of what might happen if Tiny is left with Crystal for too long. Crystal is watching him as he disappears over the hill.
�You crazy freak of nature, whatca trying to do here?� Tiny begins to yell in an arrogant voice as he comes to. The only person on this planet he�s afraid of is the boss. Besides, Tiny has heard all about this girl. She�s nothing but a pussycat.
�Well are you death. With ears like that you should be able to hear a damn crick�.� His yelling stops when Crystal looks back at him. One look at her face and Tiny knew he made a big mistake.
He is still lying on the ground disoriented when one of her gigantic paws swings over him. However before he can react, it pins him to the ground. Tiny can feel the unbearable pressure mounting. Every part of his body is engulfed in pain. It hurts more than anything he�s ever experience in his life. After a moment, he can�t breath anymore and his rib cage starts to cave in!
Then all of the sudden the pressure is gone and he can breathe again. Although his whole body aches, nothing seems to be broken. Tiny looks back up at the monster that is staring down at him. His tormentor has a satisfied look is on her face. Then without warning that horrible paw starts coming down on him again! He tries to crawl away, but it�s too fast!
After about the fourth time the paw almost crushes him, Tiny stops moving. Every time he looks up at that monster she steps on him again. This time he just lies on the ground, crunched up in the fetal position, crying.
�Tiny can you hear me?� Tiny does not respond out of fear of being trampled again, but his silence only makes her angry. She lifts a paw up and swings it over him.
�Please! Please! No more!� Tiny begs and begins coughing up blood again.
Crystal moves the paw away from him and bends down. �Now, tell me why you were beating MY man.�
�Here they are officer.� Jim says to the security officer that came back to the lake with him. Jim is just happy to see Tiny still alive, he�s been gone almost a half an hour.
Tiny was sitting on the ground. His arms are wrapped around his stomach, his skin is red, there�s blood on the ground, and he has a look of absolute terror in his eyes. It�s obvious that Crystal has been torturing him.
�What�s been going on here?� The security officer asks.
�Nothing officer.� Crystal replies. �Just detaining a trespasser.�
The officer looks around and asks �Alright then in that case does anyone want to press charges?�
One at a time Crystal, Tiny, and then Jim all say no. Each one having their own reasons for not getting the law involved.
�Well if that�s the case then you come with me.� The officer says while pointing at Tiny. �The rest of you are free to go.�
Tiny goes with the officer and leaves the area. Jim slowly tries to sneak away also, but doesn�t get far.
�Where do you think you�re going?� Crystal asks.
Jim turns around to see Crystal on one knee with one of her hands on the ground waiting for him. He had never been afraid to jump into her palm until today. Tiny must have told her everything. Jim is in big trouble now.
Jim grudgingly climbs onto her palm and sits down. Crystal lifts him up to her face. She�s really pissed!
�Why didn�t you tell me?� Crystal asks in a surprisingly calm voice.
�Honey, it�s not as bad as it sounds.�
�Don�t you Honey me! It Sounds like you owe money to the mob and you�re addicted to drugs!� Crystal yells in an angry voice.
�OK, OK, so I have a little problem with painkillers.� Jim says hanging his head in shame.
Crystal tries to calm herself and says, �It�s alright, I fixed it.�
�Fixed it, how?�
�I made a deal with Tiny. I�ll pay back the credits you owe and they leave you alone, permanently. That means no more drugs! You�ll have to quit. It won�t be easy but I�ll help you anyway I can.� Crystal replies and carries her boyfriend home.
On the way home, Crystal begins to stroke her man lovingly with one of her fingers. Jim was not the first person in her life to get addicted to drugs. One of her tutors, Lily, had gotten hooked on stims. Over 8 months, Crystal watched Lily slowly get worse. Until one day she took her own life. That was not going to happen to Jim!
�but Mr. Scarely she offered to pay back the money.� Tiny argues
�I don�t care what she offered! No one and I mean no one tells me who I can and can�t take sell to!� Mr. Scarely replies in an angry tone. �You go back there and tell that bitch that I�ll sell to whoever I want! And unless she wants this Jim�s legs broken, she�ll pays back everything her boyfriend owes with interest!�
�But Boss, she�s dangerous I tell you!�
�Listen Tiny I�ve heard all about this girl she wants to be a normal citizen, not the next Godzilla. Besides if it gets out that I let this kitty bullied me, the punks on the street would loose all respect for the family. Now go do what I tell you or I�ll give you something to be afraid of!�
Crystal is relaxing on her mat when the doorbell goes off. �That�s funny,� she thinks �Jim is not suppose to be here for another hour. He must be early.�
She hit the door release button and yells �Come in!�
An hour later, Jim looks down at his watch on his way to Crystal�s and thinks, �10:17pm I�m late. Crystal�s not going to be happy with me. What�s this? Her door is open.�
Jim enters Crystal�s dorm room and sees Tiny sitting on the mat next to her. He�s covered in saliva and some of his own blood. It looks like someone beat the living shit out of him. What in the hell did she do to him?
�Crystal what�s going on here.�
�Tiny and I were just discussing some new terms to our deal. Weren�t we Tiny?�
�Yes�...� Tiny replies in a weak voice and refuses to make eye contact.
Crystal looks down at him �Yes�.�
�.�Master� Tiny finishes acknowledging who has complete dominance over him.
�Good boy!� Crystal says as she pets him like a dog. Then Crystal hands Tiny a briefcase and tells him to leave. Tiny takes the briefcase, bows down, kisses Crystal�s feet, and then scurries out of the room like a scared animal.
�My god, he looks awful! What did you do to him?� Jim asks
�Just taught him some manners.� Crystal says and quickly changes the subject. �I�m going to have to cancel for tonight. Something came up last minute. You understand, don�t you?�
�Sure, sure, that fine.� Jim responds as he heads for the door. For the first time since he met Crystal, he is afraid. Not so much of her, but of what she is capable of. Tiny was a fearless, cruel, and feared man. Nobody ever gave the Scarely family problems in part because of him. However today Crystal had him calling her �master� and kissing her feet.
A few hours later, Tiny enters the living room of the log cabin that serves as the Scarely family hideout. The cabin is deep in the woods near Trent Lake. The Scarely family owns most of the land for miles in all directions under a false name. Not even the police know the cabin�s exact location.
Mr. Scarely is sitting on a lounge chair staring out the window at the dark forest outside. He raises his hand in the air as Tiny approaches and says, �Did you get my money?�
�Yes Boss 32,000 credits, just like you asked. But Boss, she wanted me to give you a message.�
�What Message?� Mr. Scarely asks in an irritated voice.
�Please Boss just do as she asks. This Jim is not wor��
�What Message!!!�
�She�She�she says that if we don�t agree to her terms, she�s going to�� The boss cuts off Tiny.
�What! Rub me out! That�s it! Johnny where are you?�
�Right here Boss.� A mean looking young man answers.
The boss tells him in a very angry tone, �I want you to rub out this kitty cat! Arrange an accident at this construction company she�s working at. Have a building or something fall on her. And while you�re at it, take care of her junky boyfriend too!�
�I�ll take care of it tomm�.� Johnny is cut off by a loud sound coming from above. He looks up just in time to see the roof torn off. �What da hell is that!� A giant hand appears from above that grabs Mr. Scarely.
Johnny is soon joined by the rest of the gang in the living room. They all pull out their weapons and begin firing at the giant cat that can now be seen standing over them.
However Tiny just stands there watching as his master squeezes Mr. Scarely to death. Then the hand produces five razor sharp fingernails that swing down toward him. Not wanting to see what�s next, he closes his eyes. Something large passing by him. Tiny can hear screaming, slicing, lasers firing, and then silence.
He opens his eyes just in time to see Little Bob and Joey run out the front door. They make a mad run for the truck parked outside. However they won�t get far, the master has spotted them.
She turns around and swings one of her mighty paws over their heads. Then in one fatal stomp, the ground shakes as a shower of blood shoots out in all directions. Little Bob and Joey were crushed like bugs under the paw that is lifting up, revealing flatten remains.
Tiny comes out of the cabin, the master is looking down at him. He walks over to her paw and gets on his knees. Removing the microphone she used to listen to his conservation with Mr. Scarely, he thinks of his failure. She gave him one last chance to prevent this from happening and he failed. Now it�s time to pay the price.
Tiny looks up to her and says �I�m ready master� and bows his head in shame. It is all over; Tiny�s gang is all dead. The master has taken everything from him, even his dignity. All he can hope for now is a quick and painless death.
After what seems like an eternity of waiting, Tiny looks back up. Crystal is still looking down at him. She asks him, �Do you really want to die?�
�Yes master, I have nothing left to live for.�
For the first time, Crystal is no longer angry with him. She heard Mr. Scarley over the radio; he was the one pulling Tiny�s strings. All those who were a threat to Jim were dead now. Did Tiny really deserve to die too?
However, perhaps just to put him out of his misery is the right thing to do. Just then Crystal notices something shine in the wreckage. She reaches over into the rubble of the cabin and picks up a metal box. She bends down and places next to Tiny.
�What�s in here Tiny?�
�That�s the Boss�s safe. Rumor has it he keeps a half a million in there. But I don�t know the combo.�
�That shouldn�t be a problem.� She jimmies the door off using two of her fingernails.
Placing the safe back on the ground next to Tiny she asks �How much is in there?�
It takes Tiny a few moments to check. A look of complete shock overtakes him. �There must be over three million in here!�
�Good� Crystal says smiling, �That should be enough to take care of you for the rest of your life.�
�Thank you master!�
�Tiny one thing, though.� She picks him up and begins stroking his head gently with one of her fingers. �There may be a time when I need your services again in the future. If that day ever comes, just remember who you master is.�
Crystal places him back on the ground near the truck. She smiles at him, �Now take the money and go. I�ll clean up this mess.�
Back on campus, Jim is jogging around the campus. �Damn this hurts!� He thinks to himself. Withdraw pains from the drugs are kicking in already. Between the headaches, soreness, and queasiness he felt awful. The midnight jog he thought might help was only making him feel worse.
Jim falls to his knees and tries to concentrate. Was the ground vibrating or was it just him? Wait the ground is vibrating! Could it be Crystal? Might as well find out. Besides she offered to help and he really needs some help right now!
Jim begins to thinks out loud. �Ah, there�s her dorm right over the hill. Her door is still open a crack?� He runs to the door and enters the dorm.
Crystal is lying on her mat. There are traces of blood on her hands and one of her paws. Some of her fur is also stained with blood. It seems like she just got home a moment ago.
�Crystal? Are you alright?�
Crystal slowly sits up and glances at him. �I�m fine.�
�What happened?�
Reaching out with her hand, Crystal picks up Jim and cradles him in her palm. �Just taking care of some unfinished business, that�s all.� She replies in a soft tone. �Honey lets just cuddle tonight and we can talk in the morning if you still want to.�
Jim nods and is gently placed on Crystal�s chest as she lays down. The warm embrace of her hand covers him like a large blanket. The soothing sound of purring makes him forget about his withdraw pains.
Somehow he knew that all of his problems with the mob were over now. Although he suspects Crystal may never tell him what happened tonight, that�s ok. If he has learned nothing else about her over the past few days, it�s that she has secrets just like anyone else.
Character based upon that created by Rogue.