"Well... this was not what I expected to wake up to this morning..." The mint-green wolf craned his head back, the fat of his neck squishing softly as he took in the large canine form before him. Orange fur strained over a bloated black belly, the pelt stretched over an enormous layer of fat. Even leaning his head back, Lobo couldn't see the top of the enormous dog; he could barely see past that swollen black middle that bulged out with layer upon layer of blubber. However, as he watched, a yellow-maned head came around, pressing against rolls of neck fat that wobbled as it turned to face the smaller wolf. Eyes that were almost hungry looked down on him intently, and Lobo knew what that gaze meant... --- But we're getting ahead of ourselves here. This is a day after our story starts, and a preview of what is to come. Interested? Well here's how it all happened... --- At first, when the sun rose, Lobo thought it was just going to be another day. He rolled out of his plus-sized bed, pausing to hear it creak under his weight. The wolf gave a self-satisfied rumble of happiness, anticipating the day that he'd have to reinforce the already strengthened frame. With a grunt and a bit of difficulty, he heaved his heavy body from its seated position and stood in his bone-patterned boxers. The cloth strained around his wide body, his large rump and hips straining the waistband while his thick thighs made the seams on each leg strain slightly. This was fairly standard for the wolf's clothing though; if anything was loose, there was certainly a problem! Waddling over to his window--after all, regular walking was out of the question at his weight--the mint-green wolf pushed aside the blinds, letting sunlight stream in. He pushed his paws beneath the sill, getting his claws in, and lifted it up so that the cool morning air could flow through the bedroom. It was a bit hot in there, though that may have just been him; after all, he had all of that blubber to keep him warm! He hardly used a blanket when he slept anymore, unless it got particularly cold. And it certainly saved on the heating bills, though air conditioning was pretty bad when summer came around. As the window was pushed open, a white-maned head was there to greet him. Just outside the window was a large, quadruped canine, black-striped orange fur contrasting with the pale white underbelly and mane. The name tag on his black collar, labeling him as "Richard" jingled around his neck as he leaned forward, tongue lolling out slightly. Lobo's Arcanine, his friend and his partner, was always waiting for him when he woke up in the morning. Well, it was technically early afternoon as eleven rolled around, so maybe it wasn't so odd that the canine was waiting outside the window by the time he got himself out of bed. Chuckling at the flame dog's playful expression, Lobo leaned out his window, risking getting stuck thanks to his wide middle in order to scratch between the Arcanine's ears. The canine let out a bark of pleasure, tilting his head to angle it better for his trainer's reach. The wolf laughed, continuing to scritch up and down, his dull claws reaching behind each ear individually before ruffling the canine's mane. Richard gave an almost laugh-like bark, his tongue lolling out happily as he enjoyed the attention that Lobo was giving him, and he gave a half-whine when the wolf's paw was pulled back. "Aw, don't act like a puppy, Richard! I'll be right out. I wanted to train you some more anyway." Lobo laughed at the expression of instant glee that the Arcanine assumed, shaking his head playfully. "Let me just get some breakfast and then get dressed and I'll be right out." With that, the wolf headed out towards the hallway of his house, squeezing himself through the extra-wide doorway. He made a mental note, just like every morning that he found himself having difficulty getting through it, to have it widened further. He'd never get around to it unless he truly and fully got stuck though; there was something nice about feeling his sides and hips squeeze against the doorframe until he was out. Of course, it was only matter of days until he put on that extra weight he'd need to fill it completely. That was also the reason that he ate breakfast before getting dressed; with the amount he ate, Lobo knew that clothing that fit snugly a few hours earlier could easily end up a few sizes too small by the time breakfast was over! And this morning was no different; digging through his pantry, the wolf came up with two rashers of bacon, a container of eggs, and a whole loaf of bread. The last two were set aside while Lobo started the bacon up, putting several strips at a time into a pair of frying pans set atop his plus-sized oven. Once they were set to go, he cracked open all of the eggs into a single bowl, mixing it up into a single viscous liquid. Taking a brush, he dipped it in the eggs and smeared it liberally on each side of the bread slices, getting them nice and evenly coated before setting his french toast in the oven to be cooked. Half of the egg mixture and bread were being converted as such; the other half of the eggs were placed in yet another frying pan, and the remainder of the bread was being tossed into a toaster with six slots side-by-side. After a few minutes, Lobo went to check on the bacon, finding it nice and crispy without being hard as a rock, and quickly removed it from the frying pan, tossing it on a plate. A second, smaller plate got about a fourth of the bacon, and was set aside as well. The timer on the oven was next to finish, going off and indicating that the french toast was done. Hurrying over to it--well, again it was more waddling; he hadn't been able to really run for a while now--the wolf bent to turn it off, then retrieved his food with some minor difficulty. The entirety of the french toast was placed on his plate, and then he turned to the eggs. They didn't take too much longer, but he wasn't going to do something as simple as plain eggs. A large ham was taken from the fridge, easily enough for a Christmas dinner, and slices of it were cut up and tossed into the pan with the eggs, mixing them together. The remainder of the ham was placed on the smaller plate, an enormous helping in itself. Once that was done, Lobo folded up the eggs and ham that had been mixed together in the pan, making an extra-large ham omelette and tossing it onto the plate beside his bacon and french toast. The actual toast that he had tossed into the toaster earlier was done as well, and he quickly pulled out several slices, tucking two or three onto the crowded smaller plate. The rest were all smeared with a liberal layer of jam and placed on his own plate. The pans and bowl were put aside to be cleaned later; the wolf couldn't bother with such things while there was food in front of him. Taking the plates in his paw, he didn't take them to his dining room table to eat; instead, he headed for the back door. Out on his back patio, there was an extra large table and a chair that had been reinforced several times over to hold the wolf's greater weight. Giving a loud whistle, Lobo placed his larger plate onto the table, the smaller dish held in his paw as he waited. Within seconds Richard was loping around the side of the house, excited as always. He tackled his trainer without hesitation, nearly knocking the plate out of the wolf's paw, but somehow Lobo managed to keep it off of the ground. Well, at least for a few moments left. After he managed to get Richard off of him, the lupine bent--with a lot of difficulty--to place the plate on the ground for the Arcanine to eat. The canine was past him in an instant, starting on the ham first and tearing through it. His rounded belly showed that this sort of meal was common for him too; he wasn't quite fat, but Richard certainly had a bit more than that "well fed" look. Lobo laughed, watching happily as his Arcanine enjoyed the food set before him before sitting down to his own breakfast. He patted his own large, soft belly, feeling it squish under his paws... for now. After his meal, it should be at least a [I]little[/I] tighter. Licking his lips, he took his silverware and started in on his french toast first after liberally dousing it in syrup and powdered sugar. In minutes every slice had been consumed, and the bacon already had a large dent in it. The omelette was the next thing finished though, the eggs and ham mixed together in a perfect balance before they slid down his throat. At this point, Lobo could feel his clothing getting even tighter, so he reached down and undid the button on his boxers, letting his belly sag out even more without the waistband constraining it. His own weight would hold the clothing in place better than any button would, and it was much more comfortable this way. With a sigh of relief as the tension on his belly was eased, the wolf went back to his meal, finishing off his bacon. The toast didn't last much longer, jam and crumbs coating Lobo's muzzle before he licked them off. He let out a satisfied belch at the meal he had just eaten, groaning happily as he pressed his paws onto his belly. Now he was decently full; it was enough for breakfast anyway. His midmorning snack would ease any emptiness later, and then there'd be enough time to let it all digest for his lunch. It was a beautiful cycle of gaining and eating that had gotten him as big as he was already. Richard wasn't far behind him, polishing off his own dish as well. The Arcanine's tail wagged back and forth once his plate was cleared, almost seeming to ask Lobo for more. The wolf declined however, laughing; Richard might be well-fed, but he wasn't going to get too wide around the middle. After all, one could hardly battle if one couldn't get their feet on the ground, and if he let the canine get away with himself, Lobo knew he'd be the one to have to take the burden of getting him back in shape. Richard was horrible about exercise and Lobo didn't like it much better, as he ended up getting some himself in the process and wasting all that time spent getting his weight up to where it was. Plus listening to the Arcanine whine and complain every second of the way was a painful process in itself. Once their breakfast was done, Lobo scooped up his plate and waited for Richard to pick up his and hand it over; due to his own round shape, he had difficulties bending over even half of that distance. There was too much belly and not enough bend! Fortunately his partner cooperated, handing the dish to him, though it came with a brief whine for more food. Lobo simply shook his head, and Richard relented; it was a little routine the two had worked up unintentionally over the last year or so. Instead of listening to it, the heavyset wolf took both plates inside, dumping them into the sink to "be cleaned later". The truth of the matter is that they would stack up until he ran out of plates and then was forced to clean them if he wanted to eat. Fortunately, the stack was only barely poking out of the spacious sink, so he had a good two days worth of gorging before that became an issue. Once the dishes were "done", Lobo headed back down the hallway towards his room. He noticed that it felt a bit tighter, like there was less space around; it was probably because his full belly was a few inches wider than an empty one. Smiling to himself and rubbing one paw along the soft, squishing curves of his large gut, the wolf squeezed through the door into the bedroom. He grinned as his waist caught in the doorframe slightly; apparently that meal had already done enough to speed up the need for an upgrade to his living space! Of course, once the food digested and was softer, more evenly spread fat, it might be a bit easier to get around, but the consideration was now there. Lobo decided he'd call in later. After finally freeing himself from the doorway with a dull popping sound, the overweight wolf immediately headed for his closet. It was a beautiful day out, and he wanted to enjoy it, but he couldn't very well do it in boxers that looked like they'd snap off of his wide fame any minute. People might object just a little bit. Digging through his closet, he pulled out an outfit that he had recently taken a liking too. A long white trench coat was shrugged over his shoulders, though that, his back, and a little bit of his sides were all that were covered. There was no hope of buttoning the front even a quarter of the way across that wide belly, and his soft, sagging chest wasn't going to show any more success. The other half of his clothing was a simple pair of black pants, tight around his thick thighs and almost covering his generous rear completely. Fortunately, the back of his trench coat hung as far down as the back of his knees, covering anything the rest of his clothing didn't. His feet were left bare, though; clothing was fairly easy to replace, even in custom-extra-large sizes. Shoes, on the other hand, were not. After adjusting the waistband of his pants to a position somewhat more comfortable, the wolf grabbed a few things from his room, finding himself amused at having to turn sideways to pluck his wallet off of his nightstand. Once he was set, Lobo went back out to the main room of his house to find Richard waiting by the door. He smiled; the Arcanine knew their daily routine, and today was no different. They were heading on another outing into the city, a simple walk to look around, maybe shop a bit. Heck, they might even stop by the park for a battle or two if the mood suited them. And of course, if there was a bus going to the park; with the area on the other side of town, Lobo wasn't sure he could make it quite that far! After locking the door behind him, Lobo started off down the sidewalk, his waddling gait wide. There was no way he was going to fit in the front seat of a car without his stomach setting off the horn constantly, so walking was the only way to go. And maybe a larger bus; with many larger furs starting to show up (some between normal and macro size, meaning taller and/or wider than the usual average without being giants) there tended to be at least a few accommodations. Richard walked slightly ahead of him so as not to be bumped off of the walkway, often turning his head back to make sure Lobo was still following. The wolf smiled; it was the same thing they always did. As they walked, the plus-sized lupine talked with Richard; despite the fact that the Arcanine couldn't speak back, he understood very clearly what was being said to him. "So, we've been on a bit of a losing streak lately, huh?" Richard nodded, a slight droop to his ears. Lobo reached over to rub the canine between his ears, a comforting motion. The Arcanine tilted his head happily at the rubbings, pushing his head up against that large paw. What Lobo had said was true; in all of the battles they had been in lately, they had lost. Granted, many of them were mismatches on type or were just bad luck overall, but the overall trend was simple: they just weren't winning. The wolf hadn't figured out what he was doing wrong; he gave a firm training regiment every day, he used different recommended nutrients to strengthen Richard, but nothing had seemed to work. Whatever was going wrong, it wasn't a simple answer. Lobo had decided that the two of them would be heading to a market in the city that sold many supplements and minerals designed to help improve a Pokemon for battle. The two went there often to check if there was anything they could use to help Richard out. Usually it was just the same run-of-the-mill stuff; herbal powders and foods to help with a better diet. There was never any of the good supplements though, that only the more popular markets sold; proteins and irons and all sorts of goodies were rare finds, but nonetheless the two checked every day in case there happened to be some in stock. Anything to improve the overall performance in battle would be appreciated and likely make a big difference. The walk was uneventful in itself, with Lobo talking to Richard while the Arcanine simply nodded or shook his head or something to that matter in a semi-useful means of return communication. Nothing much happened along the way; they passed other furs, the rare trainer stopping to chat and discuss strategies or compliment him on how good his partner looked. Lobo was easily recognized by most; how could anyone not remember such a large wolf? After all, he did tend to stand out in a crowd. He returned the kindness, grinning and sharing tips about care and such. Overall, the trip was a very positive one, and Lobo was beaming the whole way to the shop. The building itself wasn't that impressive; it was a regular storefront, though the signs out front indicated that it was a shop for supplies and medicines designed for use by Pokemon. There was a small crowd there already; this was one of the few stores of the type for a good distance. Lobo didn't have any problem squeezing through the crowd though; most people had picked up on the fact that standing in front of such a large lupine was about the same as standing in front of a moving truck: not conducive to keeping to one's feet. As such, the furs parted before him, the sight of him enough to convince them that staying still was a bad idea. The few that missed him were either blind or facing away from him, though the latter turned quickly when his shadow was cast over them. It was hard to miss that! The doorway was wide, fortunately, so Lobo was able to slip right in, ducking only slightly beneath the entrance in order to get in. At eight feet, most doorways weren't suited for the wolf, but at least the ceiling inside was a bit higher. He could walk around comfortably, though the aisles were a bit of a close fit. If he turned sort of sideways, Lobo found that he could squeeze through without knocking anything over; maybe he should start getting people to start fetching things for him? Nah, he wanted to look at the different products himself, see what was available. He didn't want anything but the best for Richard, after all, and he wouldn't believe it unless he was the one to pick things out himself. He'd just have to be careful about making his way around, that was all. Richard had to wait outside unfortunately; since Lobo didn't keep him in a ball, he would simply be crowding the place further. The first row was medicines, mostly for injuries. Cuts, scrapes, burns, or any other injuries were inevitable; even outside of battle, there were plenty of accidents to happen so it was best to have things on paw. Lobo grabbed a whole bunch of things and put them into the basket he had picked up at the door. There were mixed medicines for different types of injuries, though he stocked up mostly on the ones for burns; what worked well for Richard actually worked well on his fur too, and when you're working with a fire-type, you tend to lose patches of hair quite easily. Fortunately, most of the medicines worked for fireproofing to some extent as well as allowing fur to grow back quickly. Once the general restocking was complete, Lobo headed to the next section, though he had a feeling he'd be spending very little time there as usual. This aisle was mostly the supplements and minerals he had been thinking of earlier, though once more they were nothing but the usual herbal remedies and vitamins. The wolf picked up a few of the latter; health was at least important. Even if it wasn't going to boost Richard's performance, it would help maintain the level that it was at. There were still no proteins or any other medicines to make him do better in battle; those shelves had been out of stock for who knew how long, and the owner of the shop refused to get more, saying that it was "unnatural" instead of the herbs and such they had gotten so used to. [I]Oh well. I didn't expect it to be any different.[/I] Lobo thought with a wry look. He headed for the counter with his basket, his large form easily clearing a path through the crowd. One large lion, clad in loose sweats, was a bit too slow to move aside. His own soft belly, jutting out about four inches past the waistband of his pants, squished against Lobo's own as he was pushed back to land on his padded rump. The feline's jaw seemed to drop open as he observed the huge, oversized wolf making his way slowly through the store towards the front counter, then gave a rueful glance at his own small belly before getting up and hurrying off. Once he had checked out and gotten all of his medicines bagged and put up, Lobo headed back out the front door, ready to go back home. He and Richard could have another training session after they got back, maybe work on his flamethrower a bit. It was good to keep in practice, and it was one of the training exercises that was very little exercise for Lobo. The wolf simply tossed a few discs for Richard to knock out of the air, which really was just a simple arm movement. And if he couldn't toss them well it was even better; because of the randomness of his throws, it allowed Richard to get a bit better at targeting an opponent that was moving unexpectedly. Outside, the crowd seemed to be worse than ever, clustered around one side of the building. They all seemed to be gathered around a figure atop a large platform, stacks of boxes around him as he spoke with a flourish to his words. Curious to see what everyone was interested in, Lobo moved a bit closer, though he was polite enough to stand at the back of the crowd this time; he didn't want to block off any of the others from being able to see or hear the speaker. Instead he settled at the closest spot he could without getting into the crowd itself, his ears perked up as he listened. The speaker was a black wolf, clad in formal attire like some sort of businessman. His black suit matched his fur well, and a pair of shades completed the look. If Lobo had wanted to make a bad joke, he would have called the lupine a "shady dealer." Fortuantely, he wasn't the type to make that sort of bad pun, at least not out loud. He also looked a bit familiar, but Lobo couldn't place it. Strangely, a name was on the tip of his tongue, but it wouldn't come out. Oh well, he'd probably remember later. The speaker was striding back and forth, seemingly advertising a new product, which happened to be contained in the large boxes behind him. The wolf's words came quickly, slow enough to be understood but too fast for anyone to take the time to think them over and still keep up. He seemed to have the audience in his paws, and was using that to his advantage. "Been in a slump in your battles lately? Having a hard time because you just can't size up to the competition? Well, what would you say if we could bring you up to your opponent's level? That's right, folks, come try our new 'Bulk Up Protein'! This latest innovative supplement works just like the name suggests, building upon existing strength and increasing it tenfold! See increases in size and strength within twenty-four hours! And the best part is that it works on trainer and partner alike, for those of you who want to live a bit larger! We're giving away free samples here, and we're holding a surprise giveaway for a year's supply! Try some for yourself, and enter here for a chance to win!" Lobo's ears perked up even higher in interest now; a bulk-up product? That sort of thing was what he had been looking for! Proteins to build up Richard's strength would be a great help, and he himself could probably use a small dose to make moving around a bit easier despite his weight. The wolf's tail wagged back and forth as he considered it, and he decided to get the sample and enter the lottery. Even if he didn't win, he could always purchase a few cases after the promotional period was over! Excited, he now took the time to push his way into the crowd (carefully of course, he didn't want to hurt anyone by knocking them over like he had the lion from before) and right up to the wolf who was advertising the proteins. "Excuse me! I'd like to get a free sample if I could!" The wolf paused in mid-speech, a grin on his muzzle as he looked down at Lobo. "Well now, here we go folks! Our first giveaway, our first customer to try our revolutionary new protein! And what's your name, sir?" The overweight lupine blinked, confused at the speaker's sudden change in attitude. "U-um... it's Lobo..." "Alright, Lobo! As a little gift from our advertising group, I'd like to grant you that year's supply of our supplement! Call it our thanks for being the first to step forward and try out our product, to show the crowd that bigger is better!" Still a bit confused, Lobo simply nodded at the wolf's fast speech, barely keeping up. He had won a contest? A year's supply of the protein? It was a bit much all at once, but in a few minutes he had clipboard pushed in front of him, asking him to sign a form that included his name, address for the supplements to be shipped to his house. It all came in a quick barrage, one thing following another, and before he knew it Lobo was turned around with a small box to add to his bags of medicine. The wolf hadn't moved so quickly in a long time, yet in moments he found himself on the edge of a crowd that was clamoring for the speaker's attention. Shaking his head and deciding that the other lupine had been quite the salesperson to handle things so readily, Lobo headed home. He didn't notice the look in the spokesman's eyes as he walked away. Richard appeared at his side the instant he started walking off, the Arcanine finished entertaining himself with whatever he did while Lobo was shopping. The canine instantly started nosing at the bags as he always did, though the contents never changed. However, this time there was an unfamiliar box, and naturally he had to know what was in it, butting against it with his head and whining slightly to get Lobo to show him. The wolf laughed and pulled it away from Richard slightly, teasing his partner with the mystery and leaving the Arcanine to sulk at being left in the dark. The walk back was, if possible, more uneventful than the way there. No one stopped to talk on the way, and there were no distractions. That was probably for the best; with his combined load, Lobo was actually starting to feel a bit of the strain from carrying his weight as well as the stuff that he had just picked up. The two managed to make it home in pretty good time, though when they did, Lobo dropped the medicines in his arms onto the counter and then dragged himself over to the couch to crash down on it and rest. Grabbing a magazine from the table next to him, he used it to fan himself off; that had been quite a workout! While the wolf went to relax, Richard went to investigate. A curious nose poked against the box again as he nudged it around on the counter, trying to find a way to open it. The lack of opposable thumbs made it impossible though, and in the end he just ended up whining at his tuckered-out master. Lobo groaned, but didn't get off of the couch, still fanning himself off. Richard was persistent, though, moving over to nose at the oversized wolf, pressing that cold black nose into the belly that spilled out between the open sides of the big lupine's coat. Lobo jumped at the cold, wet feeling on his belly, sitting up suddenly to see the Arcanine standing there, an expectant look on his face. "Oh... that's right, you wanted to know what was in that box earlier, huh? Can't it wait 'til like... after a nap and a snack?" Richard shook his head in vehement disagreement, and Lobo couldn't help but laugh at the eager look on his companion's face. He stalled for a few moments though, looking playfully thoughtful, as if he were actually considering it, then smiled and heaved himself into a sitting position with a grunt. It took a few tries to get off of his back, though he smiled at the effort it took just to sit up. With a pat to his belly, enjoying his hugeness, the big wolf forced himself up off of the couch and headed towards the kitchen counter where he had set the box. Richard eagerly bounded after him, looking like a puppy as he waited for Lobo to open it up and show him what was inside already. Lobo finally obliged after teasing the Arcanine enough, tearing open the tape sealing the box shut. He had to admit that he himself was curious; he hadn't seen what this mystery "Bulk-Up Protein" looked like. Suddenly concerned, for a moment the wolf wondered if he had been scammed. After all, he hadn't seen any samples at the spokesman's display, and the black-furred lupine had been speaking rather quickly instead of letting him get a word in edgewise. Lobo suddenly was a lot more eager to check out this supplement now, hoping that he hadn't been too gullible... But it seemed everything was alright. Inside the sealed box was a bottle, and when shaken it rattled. On the front of the bottle was a large muscled tiger, flexing strong arms, but his belly was round like a ball to fit the words "Bulk Up!" across it in bright yellow. Lobo chuckled at the image; maybe this really was legit. Unsealing the top, he twisted off the cap to look inside. There were lots of capsules inside, half blue, half yellow. The wolf took one out, looking at it carefully from several angles as if he'd be able to tell something was off just by looking at it. His untrained eyes found nothing; fancy that. The next thing he did was check for a list of ingredients, but once he found it, they were all big words that he had never heard of. Well, they looked safe enough, and big words meant they had been scientifically tested, so they had to be alright. Looking over the bottle again, Lobo found a set of instructions: "Number of pills to be consumed will vary by the one consuming it. Start with one pill; if no visible growth is seen within 24 hours, use more as needed." Well that was simple enough; he just had to start with one pill and work his way up until Richard started showing signs of visible growth. Nodding, the wolf poured a single pill out onto his paw again before bending slightly and offering it to his Arcanine. The canine tilted his head as he examined it, leaning forward to sniff at it as he would anything he hadn't seen before. After a few moments of examination, he caught it in his muzzle, swallowing it whole. Lobo nodded once Richard had taken the pill. "Well, I guess we've just got to see what happens... the bottle says twenty-four hours, so I guess we'll rest up today. Tomorrow we'll see if there's any difference, and get some training in. How does that sound?" The Arcanine nodded back, once more showing his intelligence in understanding Lobo's request. However, he knew what resting meant when it came from the big wolf; it meant lazing around all day and eating for Lobo while Richard was left to do what he pleased. The canine didn't wait; instead, he ran outside to play around in the yard while Lobo settled back onto the couch and lay down, intending to take a nice long nap. So the day went by, and there seemed to be no visible effects. Lobo had Richard come in every hour or so, checking to see if there was any signs of growth. They continued this most of the day, stopping only for meals. The only noticeable effect so far was that the Arcanine's appetite seemed to be greatly increased. Of course, this could have been normal; if Lobo had let Richard eat until he was completely satisfied at every meal, then the canine's belly would probably be a mirror of his own. So in other words, there was no guarantee that the Bulk Up pill that Lobo had given him was doing anything. Finally, nighttime came around, and there was still nothing. Lobo frowned, wondering if perhaps he had been too hasty in assuming that these pills were authentic. Still, they had said twenty-four hours, and it had only been about fifteen. The wolf decided that it was best to sleep on it and hope for improvement in the morning. That would be the best mark to determine if there was any change, so Lobo made that his course of action and went to go to bed. Richard whined; he always whined when his owner went off to bed, because then his only options were to be bored or sleep himself. That didn't change the big lupine's mind though, and in the end they both turned in for the night. Lobo made his way to his room a bit sleepily, barely noticing as he found himself passing through the doorway with only minor difficulty compared to earlier; it meant that he had worked off a good deal of his large meals today, though, and come morning he'd probably notice. He shrugged his way out of his jacket and pants, crashing onto his bed (literally crashing; the bed frame creaked particularly loudly from the eight hundred pounds of wolf flopping atop it) and crawling over to get his head on the pillow. The blanket was forgotten; after all, all of that blubber was quite warm as it was! The wolf drifted off to sleep quickly, his dreams strangely filled with the image from the Bulk Up protein bottle, only instead of a tiger there was Richard, grinning down at him as he continued to grow... --- Richard let out a grumble as he lay on his belly in the back yard, his tail occasionally flickering back and forth. The sound was a mix of annoyance and exasperation as the Arcanine shifted around. Normally by the time nightfall came around, he was tuckered out, tired enough to just collapse in the cool grass and slip off into sleep. However, today had been a slow day; since Lobo had wanted to wait and see if there were any effects from the protein, they had put off any training and just hung around. As a result, Richard had more energy than he knew what to do with. His owner might be able to fall asleep at will, but the Arcanine was far too awake to do the same! The big canine rolled over onto his side, grumbling again as he tried to get comfortable, to find something to ease him up enough that he could just fall asleep. But nothing was working despite his best efforts, and after about ten minutes of trying, he rolled back onto his stomach. Even that didn't help; despite having laid on it but a minute earlier, the position now felt uncomfortable, like he was laying on a small hill or something. The angle was weird for his back, and as a result he went back onto his side again, and it was a bit more comfortable. Richard tucked in his legs beneath him, thinking that getting in a better sleeping position might help, but as he did he felt them bump up against something soft, and he growled in annoyance at whatever was preventing him from curling up properly. However, as looked to see what the interference was, Richard's jaw practically dropped. What he was brushing up against was a softly curved black belly. He had been a little bit overweight, with a noticeable roundness to his belly before, but what he was pushing up against stuck out a full foot from his body, squishing softly against his thighs. The Arcanine sat up suddenly, worried. He hadn't been anywhere near this large before, and now suddenly his middle was poking out as far as it was? Something was definitely up! Curious, the now-larger Arcanine stood, watching as his swollen paunch now hung down to his knees. It wasn't getting any bigger, but at the same time, he hadn't notice it grow in the first place! He walked a few paces back and forth, feeling that round mass wobble and bounce slightly with every step he took. It wasn't an unpleasant feeling exactly, but it was certainly a strange one for him. He continued his experiments, letting his new belly shake and jiggle back and forth, whether he was walking, running, jumping... everything he did caused the big mass beneath him to move and shift like it had a life of its own. As he moved around, Richard felt several other shifting sensations, and he noticed that it wasn't just his middle that had grown out. Each of his limbs were thicker, noticeably so but not an immense change, and a paw reached up to rub at his muzzle with some difficulty felt a bit of give to one of his cheeks, showing that they were a bit rounder with blubber too. He let out an arf of surprise, confused at this sudden change; when had this happened? The Arcanine would have noticed himself getting bigger, at least he thought so, but he had apparently missed something with how much of him there was now! Walking around still, finding the weight strange yet unable to stop wobbling it and shaking it around to feel what it was like, the canine tried to figure out what had happened. Just lazing about wouldn't have caused such a surge of growth, and he hadn't been eating enough to swell out this far! Even if he had, it would have been tight and round; this was pure blubber, and nothing more. Richard kept running the day through his head, as if something about it would point out the obvious change. He had enjoyed breakfast (though he wish he could eat more like his big master did!) and then they had gone to the store, where Lobo had gotten those new supplements... That had to be it! It had to have been that pill that Lobo had given him earlier today! Richard figured that they had been waiting to see some kind of growth from the supplement, and here it was. But why would Lobo want him to be fatter? After all, the big wolf seemed to try and do everything in his power to get quite the opposite result! Yet here Richard was, after he had consumed that pill, probably a good twenty pounds heavier! Either Lobo hadn't planned on him getting bigger at all (something that was unlikely given the name of the protein) or he had grown in a very unexpected way. However, Richard wasn't too unhappy about it; by his logic, he got to eat less and enjoy smaller meals because of his lesser size. Despite loving to eat, Lobo had probably kept him on a strict diet based solely on his current weight, while the wolf that had to weigh about eight hundred pounds minimum on his own ate nearly five times as much. Making that assumption, the bigger Richard was, the more food he would get. The Arcanine's tail wagged back and forth as he considered the proposition; if he got bigger, say just around Lobo's size, he could eat the same amount, and if he got just a bit larger than the wolf... As he thought it over, the big canine let his tail wag, slowly forming a plan. If he could just get more of those pills he'd be bigger in no time! He even knew where Lobo had left them, right on the counter by the box that he had pulled them out of. If he was lucky and the oversized wolf hadn't sealed them back up, he would have easy access! Quickly Richard headed for the back door, though his balance was thrown off a bit as he tried to run at it. Stopping himself before his weight threw him off-balance, the Arcanine let his belly settle from its wobbling back and forth before continuing at a more cautious pace. Once he was inside, Richard crept through the house a bit more cautiously. He didn't really expect to wake Lobo; after all, the wolf snored loudly enough to rumble the floors slightly. However, to be on the safe side, he still walked a bit lighter despite his extra weight, moving slowly and quietly along the wooden floor. The Arcanine's nails clicked softly on the polished surface, but it wasn't anything near enough to match the roaring snores drowning out everything else. Richard even pinned his ears back slightly; from outside he usually couldn't hear Lobo well, since the window was closed, but now that he was in the same building... he was pretty loud! Finally the canine reached the counters, and he lifted his front legs to the counter with a little more difficulty than usual. His paws let out a soft "whump!" sound as they hit the top of the surface, but beyond that they were soundless. Richard's large black nose roamed softly back and forth over the countertop as he went back and forth, looking for the bottle of Bulk Up Protein that Lobo had left behind. After a moment he spotted it, the bright-orange tiger on the front still showing off his large biceps while his round ball of a belly gave the perfect contrast. It was something that made Richard smile; why would they show both, unless it was meant to have either effect? That thought made the Arcanine pause, wondering if the other bit was affecting him as well. He didn't feel any stronger, yet he hadn't noticed his sudden weight gain at first either. He looked over his limbs, wondering if there was any more definition showing, but if there was that extra definition was hidden by the layer of fat on him now. It didn't matter either way; the muscle would have been nice, to make it easier to get around once he was done growing, but his main intent was to get bigger, much more so! Even if he had to deal with his belly dragging along the ground a bit and pushing against his legs, it would be worth it; Lobo wouldn't be able to deny him bigger meals anymore! The lid was on the bottle, however; that made things tricky. If it had been secured then there was likely no way to get it open short of a direct Flamethrower to it. However, such an action would probably destroy the pills inside as well, which was probably not conducive to his growth. Hoping that it wasn't, Richard carefully nosed at the bottle, edging it towards the end of the countertop. Unfortunately, he accidentally pushed it too far, and the bottle slid off of the counter, clattering onto its side on the ground below. What was worse was that the top wasn't secured; it flew off, and pills scattered across the floor. Richard winced, but he was fortunate that Lobo let out a particularly loud snore at that moment; the clattering and clacking of the pills spilling onto the wooden surface went unheard. However, there was now a mess all across the floor. Without any way to easily grip the pills, the Arcanine couldn't put them back in. Instead he made a quick decision and snapped up the supplements off of the ground, swallowing each quickly to dispose of the evidence. When they were all gone (and a thorough inspection was done to make sure they were), Richard grabbed the bottle in his teeth and dropped it in the trash can, doing the same for the lid to dispose of the evidence. Once everything was cleaned up, Richard quickly headed out to the backyard, his ears lowered slightly in embarrassment. He had almost been caught in the act with such a silly move; he should have thought things out better! Even worse, the Arcanine had only planned on taking a few, just to see how much he would grow as a result of it, but now he had been forced to down the whole bottle to cover up what he had done! He almost whimpered, trying to remember how many pills that had been. The canine hadn't counted, but his estimates weren't pretty. If they all had the same effectiveness as the first one, he'd be as big as a car, and likely unable to move! Lobo may have been big, but he'd have nothing on his soon-to-be blob of an Arcanine! Grumbling worriedly, Richard flopped down on the grass again, wondering just how he was going to deal with this new development. First off, he was going to have to figure out what to do with his new weight and how to handle it, and then there was Lobo... how was he going to take this? It was certainly going to be one problem after another. At least he had a few hours until it kicked in; Richard hadn't seen when the growth had happened but it had to have been sometime after Lobo had gone to bed. It really was just delaying the inevitable though... A rumble from his belly caused the Arcanine to jump at first, expecting something to happen. It was far too soon, he had only just taken the pills! Yet it seemed nothing was happening; maybe it was just a grumble of hunger. Richard hadn't eaten since dinnertime, and it had been a few hours. It was too bad Lobo was sleeping; at this time of night he might have convinced the wolf to get a midnight snack and maybe get something himself as well. The canine shook his head though, trying to focus; he had bigger things to worry about than his appetite, pun unintended! The rumbling became even louder, and Richard groaned, wishing he could eat something to calm his middle. At the same time, he was worried; what was going to happen when the growth started? How was he going to get enough to eat? Would he even be able to move? The Arcanine was getting himself all worked up now, and he stood to start pacing. He could feel his large middle wobbling against his legs as he walked back and forth, a constant reminder of his soon-to-be-growing situation. He could feel it pressing against his thighs as he stepped, the soft, squishy surfacing only giving way slightly as it squished against him. The quaking mass seemed to become more evident by the second as Richard walked, but he took it merely as his worry playing tricks on his mind. His pacing didn't slow in the least at first, and he didn't notice as his gut started pressing further against his legs. However, after a few moments his steps began to slow as his legs started being pushed outwards, and his attention went to his already heavy belly. His eyes widened as he realized it was swelling beneath him, getting thicker and heavier by the second, a mass of blubber swelling up like some sort of water balloon. Slowly the black girth of his stomach started pressing even more insistently against his limbs, forcing his gait even wider. The Arcanine couldn't understand why he was growing already; after all, the one pill had taken hours and hours to start his weight gain! Yet here he was, and he could see the fat starting to pile on. It wasn't just visible in his swelling middle; that was simply where it was most obvious, as rolls of blubber started to form around his sides. No, he could see his limbs starting to thicken, most prominently in the upper halves, and those fattening legs were pressing even more insistently against his ballooning gut. Even his muzzle was starting to widen, pressing into his rounding cheeks on either side, making his muzzle start to resemble his heavy master's. But the growth didn't stop there; in fact, it started speeding up, picking up the pace rapidly. What was pushing his legs apart suddenly had them off of the ground; Richard let out a panicked yelp as he realized that he was no longer standing. His black, bloated gut had swollen up big enough to keep all four of his paws supported off of the ground, forcing the Arcanine to shift his position around so that his legs weren't too uncomfortable. The front two literally lay across the blubbery mass as best as he could position it, as if he were resting atop an enormous black beanbag. Of course, they wouldn't be moving long, as more fat started building up atop them, his limbs growing wider by the second, slowly becoming difficult to bend as they were overwhelmed by his now-obese state. The swelling continued to pick up, and Richard began more alarmed as he passed his original projected size. He had to be as big as a truck now, and there were no signs of slowing. He squirmed, trying to bark out in worry so that Lobo could hear him. Unfortunately, his swelling muzzle was unable to open up far enough to do so, and all he could do was give a muffled grunt from between his nearly-shut lips. Another whimper emerged from his muzzle as he felt his neck pressing against what had to be multiple chins, and he realized just how massively obese he was. This wasn't what he had planned at all! He had only wanted to be able to eat more! Still the growth continued, though it was more in surges than a gradual overall increase. In seconds, dozens of pounds of flab would be added on as his weight continued to multiply, and soon Richard found his muzzle pressed back slightly at an angle from all of the neckfat pushing against his chin and chest, forcing him to look upwards slightly. His gut had to be big enough for him to have eaten a car alone and still had room for dessert; that was a bit more than he wanted! And yet he wasn't done yet, his belly spreading out in all directions, his legs firmly resting atop that large, heavy mass, his muzzle pressed into it as well. How far was he going to go? Richard couldn't stop wondering that as he felt his side bump into the house. His other side was mashed up against the fence, the blubber fortunately padding his hide enough that he wasn't getting any splinters from it, though one roll of fat was threatening to hang over the top of it. However, that showed him just how big he was getting, if he was filling up the entire back yard with just his gut alone! His limbs hadn't grown as quickly, but were pretty thick in themselves, his blubbery rump (which he had just noticed in this last surge of growth) was like a pair of beanbags swallowing his now-small tail. He was getting absolutely huge! How long was this going to go on...? The Arcanine just hoped it wasn't too much longer... --- Lobo let out a loud yawn as he sat up in his bed, rubbing at his eyes. Was it morning already? A glance over at the window, still covered by shades in order to keep the sunlight from hitting him directly, suggested otherwise. There was no light to be seen! Still, a glance at the clock said that it was nearly ten in the morning, meaning that it should have been daylight. Maybe there was a problem with the shades? Groaning, the wolf sat up in bed, rubbing at an itch on the far side of his belly, before standing and waddling over to the window. He hooked his pudgy fingers beneath the windowsill, pushing up and trying to lift it. Surprisingly, it didn't slide open like it usually did, like it was caught on something. Frowning at the window, Lobo shook his head and decided he'd have to call someone in to find out what the problem was. Well, he was up, and despite whatever problems his window was having, his belly told him that he was late for breakfast. Between his mental clock, his body clock, and his self-invented belly clock, the last tended to be the most accurate of the three. Meals were always the easiest way to time things compared to that silly method of following the sun, especially since clocks were thrown back or forth an hour every six months or so! Lobo's day was simply timed by the six major meals: breakfast, mid-day snack, lunch, afternoon break, dinner, and midnight munchies. It was a much more efficient system, and his rumbling belly always told him when one or another was coming around, so he kept track of his day quite nicely. As he headed out into the kitchen, Lobo heard the doorbell ring, and he paused momentarily. Who was at the door this early, to interrupt his breakfast? Grumbling between hunger and curiosity, the latter seemed to win out as the wolf headed to the front door to see who it was. Peeking through the eyehole at the top of the door (and getting a bright eyeful of light; it certainly was daytime despite his window's problems!), he saw a postal delivery truck driving away. Now interested to see what had been delivered, the oversized lupine undid the lock and opened the door. Three large boxes sat on his doorstep, just below the level of the door's eyehole but still a rather tall stack in itself. On one side was a familiar tiger staring at him, one big arm flexed while his belly displayed the name of his product. Lobo's eyebrows rose, and he smiled; they had come through with their year supply rather quickly! That reminded him; after breakfast he had to check on Richard, to see if yesterday's pills had shown any effect. If they had, then he could figure out the dosage to get his Arcanine up to fighting shape. If not, the instructions said to try multiple, so it wasn't a bum lead yet! Idly thinking about the pills as he started taking the heavy boxes inside, Lobo wondered if perhaps he should take some himself. After all, as he got larger his bulk would be harder to carry around, and a little muscle underneath the fat would make it a lot easier to get by. In fact, as he got them all inside, he had convinced himself that it was a great idea. The big wolf reached for the bottle of pills he had left on the counter, intent on taking one or two, when he noticed that the bottle wasn't there. Confused, he hunted around the countertop looking for the container, even checking inside its original box. However, it wasn't anywhere to be found, leaving Lobo puzzled. Where could it have gotten to? He hadn't moved it, last he remembered. Oh well. He had just won a year's supply! One bottle wasn't such a big deal comparatively. Opening one of the boxes, Lobo pulled one out. He noticed immediately that there was a difference to the bottles, though mostly it was the color scheme. The name was a little different too. These were apparently "Bulk-Up PLUS Proteins". Maybe that meant that they had a stronger effect? Lobo shrugged, turning the bottle around to read the instructions. After all, with a different enhanced version of the pill, there was likely a different way to handle it. It wouldn't hurt to be safe! It didn't take him long to find what he was looking for, and the instructions were simple: "Take one pill per fifty kilos of weight, and do not mix with food." Lobo whined at that last bit; he couldn't take it with food? That meant he'd have to skip breakfast! Of course, it was worth the sacrifice; with more strength, he'd be able to support more weight, which meant he could eat without fear of being immobilized too easily. The pros and cons were weighed back and forth in his mind as he tried to decide if he should take them now or wait until after breakfast, but for once his belly didn't win out. Surprisingly, Lobo had decided to go with the pills for now, and just eat an extra-big lunch later. One more problem stopped Lobo from taking them immediately though; the side of the bottle said to measure his weight in kilos. He knew his weight in pounds; he was roughly eight hundred or so. Kilos weren't that much less though, if his poor memory of metric was right, so he assumed that maybe he was like seven hundred, seven fifty kilos at best. Deciding on the latter of the two, the wolf did the simple math in his head. One pill per fifty kilos was fifteen pills... well, they probably hadn't planned on someone as large as him ordering them! Chuckling to himself, Lobo poured out a bunch into his paw, doing a quick scan and estimating that it was about fifteen, maybe one or two more. Tilting his head back, he poured them into his muzzle, swallowing them all down in one gulp. With a satisfied smile, he went over to the couch to flip on the TV, forgetting for the moment to check on Richard. The first few channels were boring infomercials, and Lobo found himself flicking back and forth until he reached the news. The last thing he wanted to listen to after all of the ads for fur-growth cream or some sort of beauty supplement was to hear about something stupid the government did. The big wolf started to flick it to another channel, but he paused as a large, very familiar symbol, flashed in front of the screen. That tiger from the Bulk Up bottles grinned at him again, though now that grin almost seemed mocking, as if saying "I got you!" Lobo quickly turned up the volume to hear the report. "This is Channel Fur News, reporting live from Babel Labs. A large batch of an experimental muscle enhancement supplement has been reported as missing from the lab where it was being produced. This experiment was still in the testing phases, with several very negative side effects. As you can see behind me, one of the testing volunteers-" The camera panned out to show an enormous purple-and-white husky resting atop his swollen belly, a huge mass of fat with smaller, pudgy limbs and a bloated muzzle poking out of it. He gave a half-wave as best as he could, though he looked a bit embarrassed to be on camera. "...The pills have an unwanted side effect. It seems that, when ingested, the pills have a multiplying effect on any excess body fat that the fur taking them has. This husky, a mere 250 lbs, has been boosted up to a full-bodied and excessively overweight size of a full ton, and only after taking three pills. Another test subject, weighing in at an original weight of 400 lbs, has shown a growth to just about the same weight with two. It appears that a greater amount of mass causes more growth. If you have come across these pills, last listed as being named 'Bulk Up Proteins', please do not take them, and report them to the authorities. The city thanks you for your cooperation, and we hope to have this situation under control soon." Lobo found himself staring at the screen as the news went on to talk about some peace negotiations gone wrong, not even bothering to flick it off. So... there had been a supplement being tested, and interestingly enough, it had the same name as the one he had just taken. This same supplement had gone missing after being shown to cause massive amounts of growth in test subjects. The amount of growth was staggering too; 250 pounds to 1000 with three pills, and four hundred to the same amount with just two. Lobo had taken around fifteen, at his current weight of eight hundred pounds... oh, this would not be good, not at all. He loved being huge, but this was starting to sound like it would get ridiculous...! Now Lobo found himself wondering what had happened to Richard. The Arcanine had only taken one pill, so the effects shouldn't be too serious, but at the same time, that missing bottle of pills worried him... Richard wouldn't have taken them, would he? Lobo quickly stood (as quickly as he could, anyway) and waddled towards the back door, hoping that the growth was just as delayed as his Arcanine's was; if he was lucky, then he would have time to alert someone to his impending growth, as well as someone to repair his house. By his calculations he was going to be quite large afterwards! As he made it out the back door, Lobo heard a grumble from his belly. He tried to ignore it; he knew he hadn't eaten, but he was following the instructions on the bottle at the time! And now he didn't have time to eat, and likely wouldn't have anywhere near enough food to feed himself in the near future! But the grumbling began to be more insistent, and the wolf reached down to rub his belly, wondering why he was having such sudden pains, but when he did, he paused; he felt his belly push back against him! Looking down, Lobo watched in a mix of awe and horror as his already-large paunch started expanding outwards, pressing out from his body to hang lower, heavier. And it wasn't just his belly either; his legs were starting to get thicker, making his waddle more pronounced, and his hips and chest were starting to show growth too. These new pills worked fast! Lobo hurried to the backyard, suspecting what might have happened and hoping he was wrong. He paused when he got there, though. "Well... this was not what I expected to wake up to this morning..." The mint-green wolf craned his head back, the fat of his neck squishing softly as he took in the large canine form before him. Orange fur strained over a bloated black belly, the pelt stretched over an enormous layer of fat. Even leaning his head back, Lobo couldn't see the top of the enormous dog; he could barely see past that swollen black middle that bulged out with layer upon layer of blubber. However, as he watched, a yellow-maned head came around, pressing against rolls of neck fat that wobbled as it turned to face the smaller wolf. Eyes that were almost hungry looked down on him intently, and Lobo knew what that gaze meant. Swallowing, the swelling wolf stared at the massive bulk that was Richard, now just about looming over the house. His side was pressed firmly against the wall of the house that Lobo's bedroom was situated on, which was probably why he hadn't been able to open the door. The massively fattened Arcanine was actually wedged between the house and the fence to a point that he had a slightly squished shape. It was amazing that the fence hadn't given way beneath that bulk yet; apparently whoever had made it had done so pretty well. Still, it was a sign of just how massive Richard was right now, his body taking up every inch of the backyard. Another grumble came, and Lobo felt his belly spilling lower. Richard gave him a sympathetic look; he had probably gone through the exact same thing. And judging by Richard's size, when he had been a rather trim Arcanine to begin with, the proportion between trainer and Aranine might be restored sooner than they thought. Lobo heard a groan, and realized that he was still only dressed in his boxers, having not bothered getting dressed yet this morning between thoughts of breakfast, the news report, and his worry over Richard. It seemed the material wasn't prepared to handle the stress of the swelling wolf within them. Lobo could feel the fat increasing on his body, his form slowly taking on more and more bulk. It wasn't an unfamiliar feeling, one that he had gotten used to from several friends "giving him a hand" with his gaining. In fact, the formerly heavy wolf, now a much, much bigger one, could probably place a bet on who had done this. It just came to him now why the salesman from before had been so familiar; it had to have been Zee again! That lupine had been trying to get out some sort of product to mass-prank people, and no one would suspect it until too late! And of course it was no wonder that Zee had chosen him to "randomly" get that year's supply; he was always trying to prank Lobo into immobile obesity! Lobo let out a grunt as he felt his belly pulling him forward, forcing him to lean onto it as his weight increased. He could hear the seat of his boxers groaning louder as his rump expanded, the fat cheeks pressing out against it and popping one of the stitches on the seam. His legs were starting to press against his gut as well as each other, growing thicker by the second. His muzzle was already pudgier; it was a familiar feeling to have his thick face pressing into a few of his neck rolls, his multiple chins stretching outwards. His chest sagged and sank over his belly, almost like a pair of soft pillows for his round tire of a neck to rest on. In moments, Lobo's weight increased from a meager (for him) eight hundred to a full ton, and he wasn't slowing. His belly rested on the ground, his legs forced apart from the girth pressing against it. His boxers gave one last groan before snapping off of his wide rump, causing another wave to ripple through his blubbery form. The wolf's gut was starting to press up against Richard's, the minty-green an odd contrast as it squashed against the mass of black before it. For some reason, it made Lobo think of mint chocolate-chip ice cream, and his belly grumbled from actual hunger instead of the sounds of his growth. The swelling surged forward for the next twenty minutes, with Lobo's weight showing less and less signs of growth. It wasn't that he had slowed down in gaining at all, but that at the consistent pace he was swelling at, the growth was less noticeable. However, as he reached the thirty minute mark, stretching even wider than Richard (and finally knocking down the fence after crushing it beneath him) he finally stopped growing, weighing in at a full total of what had to be nearly six tons; that was twelve times bigger than the two at the research labs had gotten to! All Lobo could see was blubber; his gut stretched over fifteen feet in every direction he looked but backwards where it rose up slightly as it pressed into Richard's slightly smaller bulk. His paws were useless, squashed into his arms with their doughy, stubby digits sticking out. His legs were in about the same condition, unable to do more than wiggle, which merely shook his monstrous rump back and forth. As he sat there in all of his bulk, Lobo tried to think of something he could do. Maybe he could call for help? Nah, someone would see him soon enough, and he wasn't sure he could even open his jaws at the moment. Well, with a bit of experimentation he found that he could, but still, he figured it wouldn't be worth the effort. Someone would notice the two blubbery behemoths in his backyard eventually, and then things could be handled from there. Instead, he merely contented himself to settle into his blubber, resting comfortably on it. All he did, in the end, was say one thing to Richard: "Well... today's been an odd day, hasn't it?" Richard nodded, a soft whine emerging from his throat. He hadn't intended on getting this big, yet here he was, swollen up almost as large as the super-sized wolf behind him. Whereas Lobo was used to being fattened up to fantastical sizes, the Arcanine was trying to deal with a completely unfamiliar feeling. It was strange behind so huge, with his body constantly pressing up against itself no matter how he moved, and each motion setting off ripples like a sizeable earthquake. It wasn't unpleasant, but at the same time he worried too much about how he was going to handle this to enjoy it like Lobo was probably doing. And indeed the big wolf was having a blast. Lobo had always been one to enjoy gaining, and though there were always certain difficulties that came with being as massive as he was, the benefit was that it felt amazing. There was no particular reason why; he had just always loved being huge, loved feeling his weight climb higher and higher. The last time Zee had fattened him up, it had been as a birthday gift and he had topped off at a full twenty-two tons. That had been pure bliss for him, and he wanted nothing more than to have it happen again. Sure, there were times that it was annoying, like when he was hungry but he kept getting stuck in the doorway, but in the end, even that was worth it, to know he was [I]that big.[/I] Still, the two were left with the question of what to do. Lobo went back to pondering that, as sitting around resting on his gut was going to get boring after a while. There was no one else to enjoy his weight, after all, except Richard, but the Arcanine didn't seem as pleased as his lupine trainer to be as large as he was. Neither could move an inch, and shouts would be muffled by all of their blubber, so in the end, all they could do was wait and hope someone found them soon. Surprisingly, that hope wasn't misplaced, though the way in which it was granted was a bit questionable. Someone did find them; a black-furred head poked around the side of the house, the sunlight reflecting off a pair of shades. Lobo wasn't sure if he wanted to groan or roll his eyes as Zee strode around to the backyard, a grin on his muzzle as he surveyed the two massive forms before him. His eyes had that cocky "Oh what do we have here?" look in them, and he stood before Lobo, looking him over. His smile grew even more devious as he seemed to consider something. Lobo wasn't sure what, and Zee certainly didn't give it away. "My... you guys really let yourselves go with those pills, didn't you...?" Lobo let out a muffled grunt, really the best that he could do at the moment. Zee ignored that, grinning even more widely as he strode up to the two fattened males. One paw was behind his back, but despite his raised vantage point, Lobo couldn't spot what he was holding due to his belly getting in the way. Heck, he was having a hard time keeping an eye on Zee as it was, with the small prankster coming up close so that the immobilized wolf's gut was definitely coming between them. He wondered what Zee was up to... until he felt a slight tug on his side, followed by a few more, and then that black muzzle popped into view after he climbed up Lobo's side. He grinned his usual grin as he plopped down against Lobo's belly, easily finding a seat among the sea flab. "To think this was only one bottle's worth... well, good thing I've still got another three right here!" With a smirk, Zee showed the small bottles of pills that he had been hiding behind his back. Lobo gulped as he saw them; was the wolf going to feed them all to him and fatten him up even further? He was already huge, yet Zee had that look in his eyes that said it wasn't enough. The little prankster was more than happy going to whatever limits he could, and since Lobo's house was situated on the edge of the city, everyone's favorite black wolf could let the growth go on for quite a bit without causing too much property damage. However, he was confused when the bottle was put aside, unopened. Was Zee just toying with him? "Oh, they weren't for you, Lobo. I fatten you up all the time. You've got to share the fun once in a while, right?" Zee's grin grew even wider as he let the implications of his words sink in. He intended to use them on Richard! Lobo wobbled in protest, but the smaller lupine merely laughed and stood, scooping up the bottles and running across Lobo's back to hop onto Richard's. At the moment, the trainer was larger than his Arcanine, so it worked out nicely. Zee didn't stop until he was at Richard's head though, and he bent down to speak to the big flame dog. Lobo strained his ears to hear what he was saying. "Oh don't worry, boy. You're only going to be huge..." There was an almost diabolical look to his eyes as he slowly unscrewed one bottle, then another, then another. Richard looked on worriedly, but he couldn't move to stop Zee from pushing open his fattened muzzle enough to pour the content of each bottle into the Arcanine's mouth. Slowly, one by one, the three bottles were emptied out, each brightly-colored pill vanishing until there were no more. For effect, the wolf even shook each container in case he had missed one, but none of them rattled in the slightest. Grinning, he tossed the bottles aside and quickly climbed off, hurrying back to Lobo's body and plopping down again, as if ready to watch some grand show. And knowing Zee, for him it would be one. Before, when they had only used the original pill, Lobo had noticed that it had taken a long time before any effects were visible. However, when he had taken multiple, the changes came quickly, after merely minutes. That had been after only a handful of pills; now that Richard had been forced to down all three bottles worth, the difference was instantaneous. By the time Zee had jumped across to Lobo's massively swollen form, he was jumping down rather than up. The Arcanine had begun gaining more weight instantly, the pills taking what was already there and multiplying it again and again. His growth was more rapid than even Lobo's had been; in instants he was five times his original fattened size, then ten. Lobo's jaw dropped as he watched Richard blimp outwards, an enormously fat Arcanine that already towered far over the house. The building itself was actually starting to crack on its foundations as the flame dog's belly shoved against it, trying to make room for growth but only running into an obstacle. Lobo and Zee both watched in amazement as that mass of blubber fought against the solid house, before the wall started bending inwards. In mere moments, there was a loud crack like gunshot, and the wall completely caved in, the side of the house falling over as the rest slowly succumbed to Richard's fattening form. Surprisingly, though, once Richard had destroyed the house, leaving him at over twenty times the size he had been previously, his growth stopped. Even Zee looked surprised at the sudden change, as well as thoughtful. Lobo could see why; after all, he himself expected the Arcanine to have gotten about a hundred times bigger, and that wasn't any sort of exaggeration based at how potent the pills were. Perhaps the pills weren't as potent as they thought? Or maybe they only worked with the subject's original excess body fat? Either way, Richard's growth had halted as he filled up the entire land plot that had once been devoted to Lobo's home, his gut spilling over into yards on all sides and even blocking the road in front of the house; he truly was huge! Zee let out a dissatisfied grunt as he flopped back down on Lobo's belly, looking displeased. "Mmph... not fair! Those didn't work anything like I had asked them to be made... He was supposed to be really huge!" Lobo quirked an eyebrow as best as he could. "That's not already really huge?" "Well... I've got a reputation to live up to!" If either Lobo or Richard could have groaned right then, they would have. As it was, both of them were too swollen to do anything, the Arcanine especially. Zee shrugged; it hadn't been a complete victory, but at the same time, it seemed his latest pranks were really a hit. He wondered how many of those free samples had been given out yesterday, and just how many people he had gotten. With one last look at his latest victims, he slid down off of Lobo's fattened body, walking away. At an inquiry from the wolf as to where he was going, he simply grinned, slipping away without an answer. Lobo shook his head slightly, the rolls of his neck pressing into his shoulders and chest. He glanced up at Richard, the hugely fattened Arcanine a massive blob of fat and fur at this point, and gave him a wry look. "It's gonna take a lot of training to get you back down to size..."