After several minutes, Charlie let go of Big Guy’s belly, allowing him to move again. “There! An extra treat for you! It should help you fully eat what you need!” Charlie patted Big Guy’s belly. “But, for someone as fat as you, it shouldn’t be a problem anyway!”

“Stop doing that!” Big Guy snarled, backing up. “Big Guy didn’t even eats anything that time! That’s not fair!”

“You’re free to leave any time, you know,” Charlie said, gesturing toward the exit. “All you gotta do is stomach twelve pounds of food and you can leave. Twenty-four if you want to be Sarge again, and Thirty-six if you want your full identity back. These massages aren’t free, Big Guy. Next one will be your free will.”

“My… what?” Big Guy asked, wanting to show how angry he was, but his fear plastered his eyes open.

“Free will. Y’know, the thing that lets you decide for yourself. Sure, you can go get yourself a drink when you want to, but if someone tells you to do something, you do it. You don’t even question it. Can’t stop yourself from questioning it. You just do it.” Charlie scratched his muzzle. “Honestly, fur is a bit itchy, so I wouldn’t mind if you… y’know, ate that thirty-six pounds of food.”

“Then stop giving Big Guy a massage everytime me gets bloated!” Big Guy whined. “Me wants to go home!”

Charlie lifted his now-fur-covered hands with a delighted smile. “Grand Surprises! Though I will ask you this time, since free will is kinda a big deal, y’know?”

“Then don’t take it!” Big Guy barked.

“A deal is a deal I’m afraid. You agreed to the Fat Man’s Eating Challenge. Now you gotta finish it. Remember, just twelve pounds of food in that gut and you’re good as out the door!”

Big Guy tried to snarl, but he noticed his face didn’t seem to express itself. He stormed away, feeling his belly jiggle every few seconds as he did. Each step was laborious as he felt a bounce come from his midriff, jowls, thighs, and pecs. When he made it to the buffet counter for meats, he could see his reflection on the counter’s smooth, metal surface. Big Guy jumped back, letting out a yelp as he did so… Where were his eyes? Where was his nose? All he saw was a gray oval with a smoothed out bump to show where his snout was. He still had a mouth, sure, but everything else was… gone.

“Where is Big Guy face?!” He bellowed, slapping his hands to the front of his head. He tried to feel for his eyeballs, but he only felt divots. It was at that moment that a thought occurred to him. Racing back to the entrance, Big Guy scanned the area for the mannequin. It was such a minor detail that he’d nearly forgotten…. Horror-struck, he found the mannequin was gone. Big Guy took a few steps forward, only to have a set of hands press against his belly, freezing him in place. Through several minutes of groping, prodding, jostling, and squishing, Big Guy was greeted with the same text as before, “0.00 lbs.”

“Big Guy know that!” Big Guy snapped, spinning on his foot. He had to get out of here now… at any cost. This meant he needed to eat. Rushing back to the buffet, Big Guy scanned the many foods, looking for the items that he thought would be the heaviest. He knew that protein would fill him up quickly, and fruits and vegetables would do the same. He needed something that was easy to eat and came in large quantities. He needed-

Big Guy stopped in front of the dessert area. He had been so panicked about wanting to escape, he almost forgot this area existed. Placing a hand on his belly, he felt it growl. He licked his lips. This was perfect. Desserts. He wanted to try all the desserts so badly. He filled up plate after plate with copious amounts of cakes, donuts, pies, candies, brownies, cookies. After filling up several plates, he found himself standing in front of an item he knew would be his salvation. The Soft-serve Ice Cream Machine. The cream was usually very dense, making a single bowl anywhere up to a pound… depending on how high it could be stacked.

Looking at his plates of desserts back at his table, Big Guy gulped. He needed a large container for this ice cream. Scanning the dessert bar, Big Guy saw a serving dish of pudding. Though mostly untouched, Big Guy figured this could help. Pudding was also dense, so all he needed to do was combine the two and eat the entire tray! Yeah! Perfect!

Big Guy grasped the serving tray’s handles and lifted it up. He was surprised at how hefty it felt, but that only made his smile widen. Shoving the tray underneath the machine’s spout, Big Guy pulled the chocolate handle...Nothing came out.

“Wha-what?” Big Guy pulled the vanilla handle. Nothing came out.

“No! No, no no no!” Big Guy yelled, slamming a fist against the metal structure. “Charlie! Ice Cream machine is broken!”

There was no reply.

Feeling a sense of dread, Big Guy hoisted the dish of pudding up and hustled back to his table where he sat back down to stare at his desserts.

He whined. With his stomach growling so much, he knew he could eat a lot… but was it enough? Did he have enough space to finish?

Shaking his head, Big Guy immediately began shoveling food into his mouth, but as he did, his haste disappeared. The decadence of this food was… divine. Normally he didn’t like buffet desserts, but these desserts were impossible to ignore. The fruit tarts, the black forest cake, the rhubarb pie… all of it was delicious.

He continued scarfing down food. He felt his belly press into the table, so he backed up a bit. He had to reach over his belly, but he managed to grab ahold of each plate then rest it atop his belly as he ate.

Delicious. Decadent. Wonderful. Silky. Smooth. Sweet. Big Guy had just about finished off his last plate of food… and then it hit him. Knowing what was at stake now, though, his gut began to twist. He held a hand to his mouth to keep his food in, but it was becoming blatantly obvious… and uncomfortable that he was beginning to feel full.

“Urk….. No! Big Guy didn’t even… get to the pudding!” Taking a deep breath, Big Guy gripped the sides of his chair and hoisted himself up. His belly felt impossibly taut now, almost ready to burst if someone were to poke it with a pin. He hobbled his way over to the entrance but was stopped by Charlie at the front desk.

“You okay, Big Guy?” Charlie asked, gently pressing into Big Guy’s belly.

“How… much… food… urk… did Big Guy eat?” Big Guy asked.

“Well, we could find out!” Charlie said, gesturing toward the entrance. “Stand on that there welcome mat and you’ll get your answer! Though, be warned, if you go any step beyond that, you won’t be able to come back in until tomorrow!”

“Heck no!” Big Guy retorted, hobbling himself forward. He stood on the mat and, as expected, felt the hands begin to rub and prod his belly. Unlike the last two times, when his belly was supposedly empty, this time he was full to bursting. Trying to hold in all the food was more difficult with each successive prod and poke. He had to cover his mouth a few times… but the prodding finally finished. The digital sign glowed. The text read, “26.54 lbs.”.

“Wow, you’re quite a glutton, Big Guy!” Charlie said with wide eyes. “You’re only a coincidental-pudding-tray away from thirty-six!” Charlie walked up to Big Guy and gestured back into the buffet. “Whatcha say, big guy? Wanna get back your full identity? I could give you a massage to help get rid of that pesky, filling food!”

(Part 5 of 6)

Artwork/Story/Characters ©  pikminpedia Me

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