A Fygar who dreams big becomes big.

If you couldn't tell, this story wasn't actually planned. It came from some sudden inspiration from  blkdragon 's Picture and  Vosdugolva 's Gif . I'm not too sure on how well this one turned out, but it surprised me that It ended up longer than I thought it would.

There is some popping in the story, but it's not really part of the main action, so I didn't think it needed to be warned outright in the thumbnail. Just putting that out there.

Enjoy!

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Dig Dug Distention

“Aw man, I’m late!” a Fygar shouted. “I knew I shouldn’t have stayed up so late last night. The professor is going to kill me!” The worried dragon bolted out of his room, running through the dimly lit corridors, nearly bumping into another Fygar in the process. “Oy, watch it Ingus!” A gruff female voice called after him.

“Uh, sorry Ma’am!” He answered back, not slowing his pace.

Ingus was a Fygar relatively well known in his sector. He sported forest green scales with a pair of crimson red wings. A white underbelly covered his front that trailed down the lower half of his tail. He had arms, a trait more common among the males of his species. Generally a normal-looking Fygar by all rights.

He, along with everyone else lived in an expansive network of caves located underground, connected to a ring of small islands far off from modern civilization. Aside from the draconian Fygars that inhabited the caves, there were the far more numerous Pookas. These red ball-like creatures lived carefree within the community, leaving most of the important tasks to the more intelligent reptiles.

“Huh, there he goes again.” One scaly observer commented as he ran by.

“Spent too much time in dreamland, Ingus?” another joked.

“Well, he’s got energy, I’ll give him that.”

“He’ll come around to reality soon enough...”

Ingus waved off the commentary. He had a reputation among the Fygars who knew him, thought to be something of a hopeless dreamer. Ingus was the type of person who thinks of others before himself, and as a result couldn’t turn down an opportunity to help those in need. With that in mind, He wanted to dedicate himself to helping everyone within the tunnels, a goal which, given the size of the place, was deemed unrealistic by his peers. Still he remained confident that he would achieve his goal some day. To that end, Ingus had entered into the field of science. If there was anything he could do to help the general public, it would be there.

Skidding into the labs, he quickly spotted by his mentor, who was speaking with a Pooka. “Ingus. You’re late. Again.” The lime-green Fygar scolded.

“Um, good morning Professor Frye.” Ingus chuckled nervously. He was the lead scientist of the community, and also a counselor of sorts. Every once in a while, someone would come to him with a problem, usually advice. It wasn’t really part of his job but rather it just became something he was known to do from time to time. Ingus admired that about him, and was part of the reason why he came to apprentice under him.

“Morning? It’s almost noon!” the professor sighed, thumping his tail. “Never mind, you’re here now, so you’re going straight to work.”

“Yes Sir!” Ingus answered. “What have you got for me?”

“Well, while you were away, I just finished whipping up an experimental solution. I’ve got an urgent matter to deal with, so I can’t test it at the moment. Think you can handle it?”

“With pleasure. I’ll get on it right away!” Ingus said, dashing off to the room.

“You should know this already, but make sure you don’t spill any on yourself!” Professor Frye called after him. “We don’t know how harmful it is, if anything.”

“I’ll be careful!” Ingus shouted back.

“Now...” He said, turning back to the Pooka. “Explain to me again what’s going on.”

The Pooka jabbered away in an incoherent language that only Fygars and other Pookas could understand. “Hmm. So, Pookas have been randomly going missing, and you say that there seems to be more passageways in the tunnels than before?” it nodded. “Well, this isn’t something I usually do, but I guess I can hear you out. Let’s go investigate these ‘new passages’ first.”

---

“Alright, now where’s the...oh.” sitting on top of a makeshift table was a vial with a sticky note that read “WARNING: UNTESTED!” on it. The concoction bubbled softly in its container, the light purple liquid giving off the tiniest of glows, only brightening the air around it.

Ingus stared at the vial for a while, mesmerized by it, before remembering he had to test it. “Hmm, what to use it on...” He glanced around the room for a bit, settling on a small rock on the ground. “This should do.” He said.

Carefully, Ingus tipped the vial to the side, moving as slow as he could. Managing to splash a couple of shining drops onto the rock, he stopped to watch what happens next. The rock absorbed the liquid at first, appearing normal like before. Then, the surface seemed to change, a strange film covering it. Seeing no other obvious changes, Ingus examined it further. It squeaked softly in his grasp, appearing to shine in the light. “That’s odd.” Ingus said. “It kinda looks like-“

“RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!”

“Ack!” A sudden alarm blared in his ears, startling him greatly. He had forgotten that the strange vial of liquid was still in his hands, throwing it upwards out of reflex. Crash! The vial was smashed against the ceiling, splashing Ingus with it’s contents. “Oh no.” He groaned. What’s going to happen to him now? He watched cautiously as the solution dissolved into his body, anticipating danger. Seeing no immediate changes, he sighed. Maybe it doesn’t have any effect on Fygars, or maybe the effects won’t take hold until later. Either way, Ingus had something else to worry about at the same time. What was the cause of that alarm?

Exiting the lab, he could see Fygars and Pookas all frantically scurrying about the tunnels. He grabbed old of a passing Fygar. “Hey, tell me what’s going on here!” he demanded.

“I-It’s horrible!” The Fygar cried, shaking in Ingus’ grip. “T-T-There’s an invader in the tunnels! I’ve never seen anything like it! You’ve gotta get outta here man, before-“ BOOM! The sound of an explosion echoed through the caves, sending a fresh wave of panic among the crowd. “Ahhhh! It’s all over! Everyone for themselves!” The terrified Fygar wriggled out of Ingus’ grasp, screaming as he darted away.

Ingus cracked a little smile. Although he himself was pretty scared by the whole situation, this seemed to be a perfect opportunity for him. “Not if I have anything to say about it.” He declared. “Everyone is sure to acknowledge me if I can be the one to save them!” With that, Ingus took off in the opposite direction, seeking out the intruder to their home.

While Ingus ran, he was so focused that he didn’t take notice of the discreet changes that were happening to his body. A certain shininess slowly spread across his hide, giving off a rubbery sheen. His footfalls quieted, becoming lighter. Soon, the running Fygar had become a slick, rubbery version of himself, almost like a living balloon, but not quite. He still weighed as much as before, plodding along at the same pace as before, just squeakier.

Looking around the tunnels, Ingus noticed there seemed to be more passages than there were before. He knew this place fairly well, so the new additions felt very alien to him. They looked strange as well, all having the same size and shape, and were all smoothed out compared to the rocky walls of their own corridors. Whatever made these, they knew how to dig.

BANG! Another explosion echoed, this one closer. “Jeez, what is going on over there?” Ingus asked to no one. Where he walked, a trail of multicolored scraps littered the ground. This was the best clue he had at the moment, so he followed it.

Eventually, Ingus came to a rather long hallway. This one of the main tunnels towards the center of the system. Down near one end was someone he recognized. “Professor Frye!” He shouted, running his way.

His mentor flinched at being called, quickly turning around. He paused for a moment, seeing the state of the Fygar approaching him. “...Ingus?” he asked, slightly unsure.

“Uh, yeah it’s me.” Ingus said matter-of-factly. “What, you didn’t recognize me?”

“Well, it’s because of...you know” The Fygar waved his arms around.

“Because of...What the heck!?” In all his time searching, Ingus finally got a look at himself. He grabbed at an arm, gasping as it squeaked in his grasp. The sounds of rubber brushing against itself continued while Ingus examined himself further. His entire body had the same shininess to it, not an inch of his usual roughness left. “When did this happen!?”

“...Did something happen with my potion?” Professor Frye accused.

“Maaaaaaaybe.” Ingus backed up nervously. “I kinda sorta broke the bottle and got it all over me.”

“And from the looks of things, It’s made you into a rubber Fygar.” The professor concluded. “I’d like to study you in more detail, but for now we need to get-“

Suddenly, some rocks fell between them from above, a hole opening up on the ceiling. Through it dropped a creature Ingus had never seen before. Its body appeared to be white with blue on its hands and face, though It didn’t look like skin, fur or scales. In its hands was what looked to be a type of drill.

The unknown intruder looked around, then sighed, seeing the two Fygars on either side. “Ugh, they said there would be valuable resources under these islands, but its nothing but more monsters everywhere I look!” they grumbled to themselves. Clearly they were not happy. “Alright, you’ve caught me in a bad mood, and that means neither of you are getting away!”

Before they could react, the pointed end of their drill shot out, attaching itself to Professor Frye. The Fygar winced as it hit him, but it didn’t hurt like he was expecting. He pulled at it, trying to get it free, but to no avail. He looked to the enemy curiously, eyeing the tube that connected him to their tool.

The invader then planted their too on the ground, and began to work a lever. They brought it up, and then when they pushed down, air rushed its way into the professor’s body, expanding it slightly. They continued the motion, pumping more air in the Fygar, bloating him bigger by the second.

Ingus was frozen in fear, unable to move as he watched his mentor be blown up like a balloon. His features grew disproportionate, his belly taking in most of the air. His limbs sank into his body, creaking as he was forced rounder and larger. Ingus now understood what those explosions were about, and his heart sank. He was going to pop them!

“Ingus!” Professor Frye cried over his stressing hide. “Helmpf!” His cheeks grew into his face, muffling his speech. He wasn’t going to last much longer at this rate! ‘I have to do something!’ Ingus thought to himself.

“PROFESSOR!” Ingus cried out. His body moved automatically, approaching the white intruder recklessly. “You leave him alone!” He roared, spewing flames in their direction.

The intruder dodged out of the way, detaching their pump in the process. “Oh, you wanted to go first then? Your friend is in luck. He gets to watch you pop before he does now!” The drill top shot off again, latching onto Ingus’ white belly.

The pumping started immediately, Ingus’ body swelling steadily. His hide creaked and groaned as it grew, bloating into a spherical form. With no options open to him, he resigned himself to his fate. He had saved the professor, and for what? Just so that he could see his own demise before he met his? This wasn’t the way he wanted things to end, but there wasn’t anything more he could do. He could only wait for that moment when his inflating form joined the scraps on the ground...

But that moment didn’t come. Ingus had been growing for some time now, but aside from the squeaky noises coming from his rubbery hide, he showed no actual signs of popping. He had surpassed Professor Frye’s bloated size and only continued expanding. His head made contact with the ceiling , pressing into as his body sought more room to grow. Unlike the professor, whose limbs were sucked into the swell of his stomach, Ingus entire body kept up with the growth. Although still centered around his belly, it spread out more evenly, appearing overall larger. “It’s like he’s...an actual balloon.” Professor Frye mused to himself. “The rubber must have made him stretchy. He can survive this!”

The intruder was especially shaken by this turn of events. “That’s weird.” they said. “None of these creatures have ever lasted this long before.” They thought for a moment, then a sinister grin spread across their features. “You’re the boss monster of this place, aren’t you? If I can take you out, then all of the other monsters will fall over like dominoes!” They fiddled with their device a bit, setting up something. “Gonna have to bring the big guns if I want to win this one. Switching to automatic and increasing pressure!”

They pressed a button, a metallic whirring emitting from their tool. Air began blasting out of it with the force of a compressor. It all rushed into Ingus, speeding his growth drastically. With a loud hissing, Ingus bulged with the influx of air, his form creaking an groaning as it enlarged erratically. A wall of stretched green hide snaked its way through the tunnels, occupying increasingly more space as the blimp of a Fygar blew up bigger and bigger.

Professor Frye and the white invader were losing ground fast, the unstoppable expanding reptile balloon encroaching upon their space. The wall of white that was Ingus’ belly pressed against the professor’s bloat, squeezing the air out of him, bringing the Fygar back to normal size. They weren’t in the clear yet though, as the two of them were then pressed against the rock wall behind them. Before they were crushed, however, the wall fell apart, revealing another tunnel behind it. Propelled by the advance of Ingus’ swelling gut, they were both pushed through the caves. Where they were going, neither could tell.

The pressure of Ingus’ body against the walls of the tunnels grew too high for them to hold up, collapsing the passageways to allow more room for him to stretch properly. The underground system of cave was falling apart, turning into one gigantic space for Ingus to fill. And fill it he did, constantly ballooning to larger and larger sizes.

Meanwhile, back on the surface, the remaining population of Pookas and Fygars had evacuated to the islands, unsure of what to do next. An earthquake rocked the ground, sending some into a panic they had no idea what was going on below. However, they were about to find out as Ingus’ enormous mass broke the surface of the water, billowing into the sky. His body rose upwards, towering over everything in sight.

The hose finally petered out, leaving Ingus larger than all the islands combined. He filled the space between them, looking like a gigantic egg in a nest. He was big enough to be visible from the coast of neighboring countries, appearing to most as a giant monster that suddenly appeared in the ocean.

Ingus himself wasn’t that bothered by his expansion. Rather, he really enjoyed himself! He could see really far from where his head was perched, getting quite the view. Even with his immense bloat, he could still move his arms just fine. His wings however were much too small to be usable. Not like he ever need to in the first place though.

Looking down upon his vast frame, he found Professor Frye and the enemy who had blown him up so massively. Reaching down with an enormous hand, Ingus picked up the white assailant, struggling between his rubbery claws. “Let me go you beast!” they shouted. “I will not stand to be eaten by some overgrown lizard!”

“Eat you? Oh no. Actually, I really must thank you.” Ingus said. “All that growing you put me through felt pretty good, and I think I really like being this big!”

“So...does that mean you’re letting me go?”

“Not exactly.” Before they could ask, what he meant, Ingus flung them away with all his might, sending them flying back toward the main continent. “And that takes care of that.”

“That was amazing, Ingus!” Professor Frye praised. “I mean, it was an accident, but still, you saved us all.”

“I couldn’t save everyone though...” Ingus said. “There’s still those that fell victim to that guy.”

“Oh, um, about that...” A few strange translucent figures appeared. They looked like floating faces, resembling those of Pookas and Fygars.

“Are those....Ghosts?”

“Kind of. They’re the spirits of the victims who got popped.” The professor explained. “They’re not exactly dead, per se. It’s more like incapacitation. Not many members know about this, since the condition is pretty rare. As long as nothing else drastic happens to them, They’ll eventually regenerate their bodies.

“Oh, that’s great news!” Ingus exclaimed, relieved. “So, what do we do now? There is the issue of me being a giant balloon, and well, destroying our home and all.”

“We have a lot of rebuilding to do, that’s for sure.” Professor Frye said. “And concerning your...current state, I think you should become a guardian of sorts.”

“A guardian?”

“Yeah, If any more of those weirdos come back, We’ll have you to take care of them. Considering how big and imposing you are now, you’d be a great representative for us!”

“Wow...” Never had Ingus dreamed that something like this could happen, at least, not in this exact way. “Is it really okay for me to?”

“I’ll make sure of it.” Professor Frye reassured. “I’m going to talk to the elders about it. I don’t think it’s likely that they’ll decline. Speaking of which, I probably need to get down there. Everyone’s likely still panicked out of their minds. Someone’s gotta go reassure them. Think you’ll be alright up here for a while?”

“With this kind of view? Of course!”

The professor slowly slid his way down Ingus’ vast expanse, leaving him to bask in his enormity. “Island guardian.” Ingus said to himself. He liked the sound of that. He could feel the wind blowing against his gigantic rubbery form, making him sway in this breeze. “This could be a life I could get used to.” Ingus was huge, and he was content. Think about where he could have been, he wouldn’t want it any other way.