Accidental Acension

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#138 of Commissions

The story I wrote in conjunction with nelson88 to accompany the interactive growth drive.

Art: https://www.sofurry.com/view/1653374


Accidental Ascension by Pent Ghelsburg

Disclaimer: The characters depicted in this work are purely fictional. Any resemblance to persons alive or dead is purely coincidental. They are the original and rightful intellectual property of their creators. I use them with permission and respect. This work contains micro/macro content involving underaged characters. You have been warned.

"Did you ever observe to whom the accidents happen?

Chance only favors the prepared mind."

-Louis Pasteur

You stand at the precipice of a decision. A valley with two splits that are separated by altogether different terrain. On one side a lush and green landscape full of trees and wildlife that even picturesque postcards would pale in comparison to. On the other, you cannot clearly see through its trek. Your vision is blocked and obscured. The landscape is mountainous, for what you can make of it, however, both clouds and fog billow to the point that not much can be seen. What do you do? Do you take a certain route or one that could potentially lead to more discovery and surprise?

Pent was a young boy who lived in the outskirts of Montreal. He and his brother shared an apartment a little removed from the city itself. The two had lived alone much of their lives and had gotten comfortable with a sedentary life away from the hustle of the lights of the city. They didn't mind a humble life and the winter of the north bothered neither of them. As Arctic foxes, they were more than able to keep up with the change of seasons.

At 12 years of age, the cub was very fond of Science. There was nothing more that he enjoyed in school more than the aspect of exploring things through experimentation. When he learned that his school was having a Science fair, his level of excitement intensified. Normally he did the things alone but when the teacher announced the rule was to have a partner he was at a loss. A few days after the event was mentioned, Pent approached the teacher and told her the difficulties he was facing finding a partner.

The woman informed him that there was another boy who needed a partner but he was in one grade lower than Pent. The fox was more than glad to take on the task of mentoring a younger cub and his tail began wagging at the mention of showing someone the ropes. The woman promised to introduce them the next day which is when they were to begin working on whatever project. Of course, Pent took immediate control without thinking about it and began planning out every painstaking detail he could in his mind.

Over the course of the rest of the day, the fox spent every taking moment thinking about what he could work on. He shared the details with his brother who was glad that he was excited and also that he was being forced to work with someone else for a change. The older fox knew the younger one was advanced for his age and having to show someone else might slow him down and even force him the triple-check his already over detailed work.

After Dinner Pent helped with the dishes and began the groundwork for what he planned on making with his new partner. He created a diagram which he thought out on his head. The core details of it would be centered around the model of a volcano. The spin on which would cause it to explode multiple times on command. Pent planned to digitize it by a remote. It was a tall order but one thought that Pent could impress the judges with.

Pent worked out the schematics by drawing a rough sketch of the mountain on a paper. It was far from a work of art but more importantly, it provided him the dimensions of the inner chamber as well as the wiring of the remote that would ultimately take control of the eruption. All that was left was to build it and the cub figured that was best left for the next day. He made his way to bed. It was already getting tiring and he decided to do homework in bed.

The fox continued to work diligently until he finished all of it. When he was done he allowed his body to finally rest. Though still excited he was able to harbor his inner passion for another day. When his brother checked on him, the bigger fox smiled to find him asleep with all of his books on top of him. Samaliel passed over to take them off him before kissing his head and tucking him in. The older brother wished him "Good night" before leaving the room.

The next morning came before long and Pent launched out of bed even without the alarm setting off. The fox's tail was wagging quite happily as he trotted into the kitchen for breakfast. Like most mornings he didn't wait for Samaliel who was much slower about getting out of bed than he was. Pent proceeded to make himself a bowl of vanilla oatmeal and a side of fruit before preparing some lunch for school while it heated up. When he had eaten and packed his lunch box he went back into his room in order to collect his things for school.

"See ya later, Sama." He announced his departure out loud as he headed outside.

It was still fall, so it wasn't quite cold enough to deter him from skating. He already had put his shoes in his bag so he quickly fashioned on his rollerblades in order to ride to school. The fox huffed and stood up as he brushed himself off. He picked up his bag and put it on his back. He was ready to make it towards the school. It wasn't a very long run but he was able to manage it in a little under 20 minutes. It was routine for him so it didn't really bother him and the feeling of the cool air on his fur was really refreshing to him.

The fox arrived at the school before long. The day wasn't a normal school day as the administration had set it aside for kids to get ready for the science fair. The cub hadn't brought much with him, just the materials he needed for the project in his bag. Once Pent arrived he filed into the grassy yard, which was full of the fall colors of leaves carpeted all over the lawn. The kit brought himself to a stop and changed into his shoes before throwing the skates over his shoulder by first tying the laces.

Inside the school, he headed towards the science lab. He was early. Pent didn't see many other kids around. In fact, the only ones who seemed to be around were the members of the faculty. As he got closer to the science classrooms, he could hear the chatter. The fox smiled as he sniffed the air and got a whiff of the fresh smell of basalt in the air. Pent could see a sign out in front of one of the labs indicating where he needed to go. The boy opened the door once he was close enough and showed himself inside.

After coming in the door, Pent grabbed a lab coat and put it over his otherwise casual clothes. A moment later one of the teachers approached him. It was a science teacher he had in the past and the woman guided him to a spot where a small Dalmatian boy was waiting.

"This is Nelson and he will be your partner. Good luck." The woman stepped away leaving the two boys to their project.

Pent smiled and approached the smaller boy. "Hiya, I'm Pent. Nice to meet you."

"Cool! You too. What are we working on?" The dog's tail wagged slowly deferring to the older boy.

The fox set down his bag and opened it before pulling out the supplies. "We are going to make a mock Volcano."

"Oh, really? That sounds neat. I've never done that before." The puppy stepped back to grab a stepping stool and pushed it over.

Pent rolled out the blueprint and took out the clay. "Yup. Your job is going to be to fashion the base of the mountain"

"I can do that. I am good at making clay sculptures." The smaller cub began molding the clay into the shape of a mountain.

Meanwhile Pent headed towards the corner of the room where the chemicals were stored. An older teen who appeared to be a high school was manning it. The fox nodded to him and proceeded to request the materials he needed in order to create an explosion. The otter looked back through the counter for baking soda and vinegar. The teen grabbed both of them and passed them off to the smaller cub. Pent thanked him and returned towards his table.

The fox saw that the dalmation was working diligently upon his return and rewarded him with a pat on the back. Nelson smiled warmly back at him.

"Would you like to make it colorful? Typically the reaction isn't very flashy.

The dalmation looked up at the bigger fox. "Color sounds super neat!"

"Alright, you can go pick whatever color you like from the dye station." Pent pointed at a small counter near the back of the room.

The smaller boy nodded and hopped off his stepping stool. Pent began to pour the baking soda into the bottom of the core of the volcano. Nelson headed towards the back where a rack of vials was kept. He began to examine them.

None of them were labeled. The colors were obvious enough to tell what was inside of them. Some of them were dark and others were light. The most interesting one was a clear vial that intrigued Nelson enough for him to pick it up. He began to wonder if it might be rainbow or some other fantastic variation of hues. The puppy skipped over back to where Pent was. The fox had left for some unknown reason and upon looking around the room the smaller boy found his new friend was talking to one of the teachers in the room.

Nelson decided to be helpful and got back up on his step stool. He unscrewed the top of the vial and poured it into the volcano's core. It wasn't long before Pent returned and the fox saw the smaller boy peering over the top of the volcano. The fox figured he had put in the die and considered it no big deal. The two continued to work for a few hours making a small report together to go with it. Once they were done, it was time to test the volcano to make sure it worked.

Pent eased Nelson off the table so that he wouldn't get any of the resulting foam on him. It wasn't dangerous but the fox wanted to be sure he followed safety protocol. Pent handed him a pair of goggles before putting on some himself.

"Ready?" The fox said while hovering over the bottle of vinegar over the top of the volcano.

The dalmation nodded and wagged his tail. "Yeah!"

The fox opened the nozzle of the container and began to tip it in ever so slowly. Gradually he eased in the liquid before pouring it in ever greater quantities.

The fox looked down at the volcano and wondered why nothing was happening. Under normal circumstances, the reaction would at least fizz up and show some signs of catalysis. Pent peered down the vent of the volcano and couldn't see anything because of how dark it was. Before long a cloud of smoke soon appeared and billowed into the air surrounding the fox. The cub coughed a single time and the spray of his saliva shot into the mouth of the mountain. Within moments the reaction finally took place.

Foam began to build up inside, shooting up in a plume along with the smoke that preceded it. Suddenly it exploded from within with a muffled thud, a spout of yellow fluid billowed out from the inside. The liquid expanded and splattered all over Pent. The lab coat he was wearing did a decent job keeping his clothes free from the mess but there was so much of it, the suds of the frothy substance were all over him.

Nelson watched as his friend had fallen victim to the explosion and thought it was a little bit funny however, he held back a giggle by covering his maw in order to maintain a more friendly disposition. The creamy substance on Pent's body felt strangely cold for something that had only recently undergone a reaction. The fox flicked his arms and some of the substance was strewn from his body. Pent was glad that is was no serious mixture that could pose him any danger and it didn't even register into his mind to head towards the emergency shower station.

Within moments his body began to feel a little strange as if something was bottled up inside him and badly wanted to get out. Soon the fox's clothing began to feel tight on him and Pent looked down at himself as if something strange was going on. The puppy watched from a short distance away. His friend looked uncomfortable for some reason or another and Nelson wasn't sure why. The dalmation approached him and reached out.

Pent's clothing was becoming tighter on him with every passing second. Nelson watched as his friend's body grew ever so slightly. The fox was already taller than him, to begin with, but now the smaller cub had to angle his head up to get a look at the fox. Before long the fabric on his body began to stress and stretch. The kit was feeling increasingly confined within the clothing. All he wanted to do was take it off.

The fox hunched over as the stresses on his body were becoming too much to bear. Bending over didn't really help either. Before long the seat of his pants ripped and the button on his shorts popped. Nelson watched as he grew larger and larger. The teacher finally realized what was going on and took the few cubs she was working with before fleeing the room. The dalmation was the only one who stuck by the seemingly giant fox.

A few moments later, the toes of his paws burst through his shoes. Pent immediately felt a sense of relief as the remainder of his clothing fell to shreds. But now he was standing there in his birthday suit. The fox immediately covered his bits in an effort to protect his modesty. Nelson didn't seem bothered by it, though he wasn't sure why his friend had so much of a growth spurt, to begin with.

"Wow...what happened to you?" The puppy asked muttering his own words.

Pent shrugged. "It looks like I got bigger...but why? It was a simple mixture of baking soda and vinegar."

"Well, maybe it was the dye I put in?" Nelson responded after a short pause.

The fox stared more firmly at ham. "Which dye did you put in?"

"The clear one...?" The fox looked over to where the dye rack was.

The dalmation nodded. "Yeah is that bad?"

The fox scratched his head. "Apparently so...we need to fix this...but how?"

"I don't know...let me look around..."The puppy turned around and began to look.

Pent did the same as the two were now alone, the entire time the kit covered himself. Nelson scoured the back of the room while the giant cub searched the front. Eventually, the dalmation came across a medicine cabinet that read. "Open in case of emergency." The puppy figured this qualified as an emergency and broke the seal to the cabinet. It was nothing more than a sticker but he still felt a little guilty removing it. Upon looking inside there were several bottles, each of which was in a different color container and a label on the front of them.

Nelson found a small yellow container with the name "Reducer". He thought this might be the best possible solution in this case.

"I think I found something!" The dalmation yelled out loud.

Pent rushed over and joined him. "Oh wow...that's a coincidence. Hopefully, it does what it's supposed to."

The fox took the vial and tipped it into his mouth. He sipped on it without much thought. The taste was sour and it made his stomach unsettled. Pent felt a little queasy and quenched his stomach as if he were going to hurl. However each and every time he heaved, nothing came out. Nelson felt bad knowing that he was the one who suggested the solution. A sense of weakness now overcame the fox as his body was beginning to feel the impacts of the medicine.

Little by little his body was returning to normal. Pent never quite gagged even despite the strong sensation of the need to vomit. Eventually, the feeling passed and the fox returned to his normal size. When he did the desire to vomit finally left his body and he was able to stand upright. The white fox leaned in to hug the smaller boy. It seemed Nelson had fixed his little problem. The kit was glad he had made a new friend, even going as far as to promise him to be his partner again.

Once they decided to leave the lab, Pent covered himself with a lab coat since none of his clothing had survived his sudden spurt. Upon leaving, the teacher eyed them warily. She was glad the cub was back to normal and returned to work. Pent and Nelson walked home talking the way back, learning more about each other. The older fox making sure the younger puppy was seen home safely. Pent wondering if his brother would believe the fanciful tale of the day. Maybe it was best to keep it secret, he thought to himself.