Ethan grinned. "Alright, alright. So what now? What's the next step?"
Alice still looked worried. "The problem is, we still don't know the king's actual goal. What if this is just part of some bigger plan?"
Luna waved her hand dismissively. "Whatever his plan is, we still have one major advantage…"
Ethan raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? What's that?"
Luna winked. "Those poor soldiers who are now the size of a damn building!"
Silence.
Then, suddenly, Fayra's lips curled into a mischievous grin. "Ohhh, I've got a fun idea…"
Ethan gave her a tired look. "Can we please have one of your ideas that doesn't lead to total disaster?"
Fayra, now lying flat on the ground, just laughed. "No, no, hear me out! What if we trick the giant soldiers into thinking we're on their side? We might be able to turn them against the king!"
Ethan narrowed his eyes. "So… you wanna form an army of random oversized idiots?"
Selena clapped him on the shoulder. "Exactly! Finally, someone's catching on!"
Ethan dragged a hand down his face. "I was just asking what your plan was, not agreeing to it…"
But it was already too late. Fayra, Luna, and Selena had already jumped up and started plotting their next crazy scheme.
Ethan sighed internally. How the hell did our epic adventure turn into a ridiculous comedy about brainless giants?
Fayra, Selena, and Luna huddled together like three evil masterminds, excitement practically glowing in their eyes as they worked on their latest ridiculous plan.
Luna grinned. "We just gotta make those newly-made giants think we're their friends!"
Selena nodded seriously. "And then, we use them to cause some real chaos!"
Ethan, already feeling a headache coming on, rubbed his temples. "I know there's gonna be a point where this whole thing backfires horribly…"
Fayra smirked. "Well, that just makes it more fun, doesn't it?"
Meanwhile, the poor giant soldiers were still struggling to process what had just happened to them. One of them, trying to step over a small river, ended up planting his foot directly in the water, sending a massive splash everywhere like a freakin' fountain.
The first soldier, now taller than the trees, groaned. "We can't even live in the normal world anymore! People scream and run from us!"
The second soldier, staring miserably at his massive hands, muttered, "Damn… I can't even go back home… My mom's house barely reaches my knees now."
The third soldier, suddenly looking up at the sky, said, "Hey! But from up here… the stars look way prettier!"
Everyone else turned to glare at him.
"…Dude. Not the time for poetry."
At that moment, from behind the trees, Ethan and his group finally stepped into view.
Ethan took one look at the panicked giants and muttered, "Well… this is definitely not what I expected."
Selena, her voice full of amusement, suddenly shouted, "Hey, you big lost souls! Looking for a new purpose in life?!"
The giant soldiers blinked at them, confused. "What?!"
Fayra grinned wickedly. "We've got a way to fix your little problem!"
The first soldier, now fully turned toward them, sighed. "Yeah? And how's that?"
Luna clapped her hands together excitedly. "Join us! Together, we can take down the king!"
Silence.
The giants exchanged nervous glances… then looked back at Ethan's group…
And then, one of them suddenly shouted, "Wait a damn minute! Aren't these guys wanted criminals?!"
Ethan just winked. "Well… being wanted is kinda like being famous, right?"
Luna quickly jumped in. "Think about it! You can't go back to normal life! People are gonna run from you! But if you join us… you'll become the heroes this world needs!"
The second soldier scratched his chin. "Huh… that does kinda make sense… but we're still not sure—"
Ethan sighed and muttered, "Alright, let's see…" Then suddenly, an idea popped into his head.
"…We've got food."
The giant soldiers' eyes lit up instantly.
"…Food?"
Selena quickly added, "And a bunch of cool potions that might turn you back to normal!"
The first soldier grinned. "Well damn, what are we waiting for?! We're in!"
Alice, eyes half-open, stared at the mess in front of her. Five royal soldiers—now ten times their original size—stood awkwardly among the wreckage of the cabin, trying to figure out how to move without stepping on everything.
Silence.
Then, Alice ran a hand through her hair, her voice completely drained of hope. "Alright… I give up. Someone, please, wake me up from this nightmare."
Ethan, too busy trying to figure out how to use this disaster to their advantage, simply said, "No waking up, Alice. We gotta make the most of this."
Alice let out a long sigh, her expression screaming I'm not even gonna try to be logical anymore. "Okay… let's see… We had a cabin. It exploded. Now we've got five giants who, up until yesterday, wanted to chop our heads off, but now they're acting like our oversized pet dogs. Yep. Totally normal, nothing weird about this at all."
Luna grinned. "Exactly! And now, we use them for our plan!"
Alice immediately held up a hand. "One question. Just one very simple question…" She took a deep breath and said firmly, "Does this plan you're thinking of actually involve any rational thought, or is this just another way for everything to explode again?"
Ethan smirked mischievously. "Let's see… First, we send the giants to crash the royal banquet. While the kingdom is in full panic mode, we sneak into the castle and steal the king's plans!"
Alice sat down on the ground right then and there, her face completely blank as she stared into the distance.
"…I used to have a normal life, y'know? How… how did I even end up in this situation?"
Selena, practically buzzing with excitement, said, "But think about it! A bunch of massive giants storming into the palace, scaring the hell out of everyone? This is a golden opportunity!"
Alice, now speaking as if explaining something to a child, said, "Oh, absolutely. No flaws in this plan whatsoever. Just one tiny little question…" She tilted her head slightly, her voice suddenly on edge. "Do these five giants… even know how to walk properly?"
As if on cue, one of the giant soldiers took a step—immediately lost his balance—and came crashing down with a thunderous boom. Dust exploded into the air, and the ground shook beneath them.
Alice covered her face with her hands. "Amazing. Just amazing. You're a genius, Ethan. Our team is literally the perfect blend of chaos and disaster."
Ethan just laughed. "Yep! But hey, we're a disaster that's about to throw the whole kingdom into absolute mayhem!"
And just like that, Operation "Dumb Giants Storm the King's Castle" officially began.