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Warning As with my previous stories, this one contains several elements inherent to the pre-established 'Diaper Dimension.' These include, but are not limited to: Diapers and their usage for their intended purpose Breastfeeding Non-consensual mental regression through various means (Including possible drugs, hypnosis, and/or surgery) References to surgery to achieve various nefarious goals Humiliation Giants, aka, Amazons or Bigs Predominantly female domination (some male) Babying of adults (perceived or otherwise) Experimentation on humans Kidnapping Coerced or manipulated actions through possible means of white lies, gas lighting, or incentives Mild language or use of explitives Depictions of death, illness, or handicaps Graphic imagery associated with any of these warnings This story has not been labeled as mature, due to a lack of specific references to anything overtly sexual, but this warning serves as a 'turn back' point for any readers who do not wish to read about the previous warnings. Lastly, this list is subject to change during the course of writing this story. While most of the plot is ironed out, more warnings may be added if needed. Hey everyone! Welcome back and I hope everyone had as good of a break as I did! Work was stressful, but it’s always nice to get away for a little bit from trying to meet my own personal deadlines, especially after such a large project as my last two stories were with all the completely new world-building and whatnot. Now, though, it’s just as equally good to be back and writing stories again. That being said, this story has definitely grown over the past two weeks from my original plan. Initially, I fleshed this thing out to be around ten chapters, but soon realized it needed more on my first pass. Seeing a lot was missing from the plot for the type of story I wanted to tell though, the chapter count now stands at 24, but checking out a few later, I can absolutely say that there might be more. As I promised before, since these stories are based on previous works of mine, I will try to include all the stories that might need to be read before this one. As it is a sequel, the primary previous story would be Project Nurture, as several of the characters from there will be mentioned and parts of this story will also align with that one. I would also suggest for more background that The Opening would be helpful as well, as it discusses when the portals first opened and gives some background on the two worlds in general. Lastly, looking at the map of Libertalia (in the Reference Guide) or the DD Timeline might be useful. As I try to do for each of these stories in the DD though, I will try to write most of this where reading them is not required, but as a warning, further details and some plot elements may not be discussed. Next, as is typical these days, I will post the next poll at the start of the following chapter. Since this is only the first DD story, my rule of two won’t apply yet, so I’m thinking I will include two DD and one non-DD story this go-round. So, be on the lookout for that. Also, looking ahead, I’m absolutely tasking myself with writing/editing three chapters a week. That being said, with 24 current chapters and at three a week, this will definitively bump into late May/early June, which means that I will be pausing at least at one point for a multi-day vacation. Considering it’s Florida and I always come back with at least three new story ideas, take comfort in the delay at least for future stories from me. Last but not least and as usual, I hope everyone enjoys this first chapter of my next story! Chapter 1: Hello. Name’s Ashley Cutters, Journalist It’s a small, unassuming house, but within lay so much more, particularly with a fringe member of LRG being tasked to look up the dirty laundry of the government here in Libertalia. Considering all the security measures in place and all the others that had ‘gone missing’ over the years from the organization, Vincent didn’t want to take a chance this time. “Alright… let’s see what we’ve got on the menu tonight…” Vincent was practically licking his lips in anticipation of what he could find in his search of the dark web tonight. “Join the Littles Revolution Group they said… Challenge yourself and change the world!” Vincent couldn’t help but roll his eyes a little at that tagline that had so easily ensnared his wide-eyed and younger and more hopeful self. LRG was a smaller group back then… more manageable and under the radar. Hacking to get free music initially, Victor had stumbled into the law a few times but always managed to get away. After his Little friend got kidnapped though, Victor had turned his attention to LRG and signed up to help after only a week of seeing what they were trying to accomplish. With his skills, incidents like the initial opening of the portals between worlds and the opening of Dark Cliff Prison were almost commonplace stories amongst the more rebellious Little population of Libertalia now. Being a Middle himself meant he was more or less immune from most of the horrors that came with being a Little in this world, but he saw a need and tried to fulfill it for others that definitely couldn’t. Little did he know that path of righteousness and good intentions would lead him here… somewhere in the backwoods of the state of Virgan. It had been a year since he last went to the movies… six months since a bar, and three weeks since even the dinky grocery store just off the main road from here to Columbia. Another LRG got him groceries now… especially after he found some piece about some new drug called ‘FOY’ and was almost immediately flagged and shut down by the Feds. Ever since, he had lived in a state of paranoia… hence the practically ghost cabin set in the middle of nowhere as his main base of operations now. Still, Vincent sighed and tried to think of all this as a game. It had worked in the past when these hacking sessions went into tedious or potentially dangerous places. The FOY thing was great and all no doubt, but… this wasn’t living. He needed something… anything to break up his routine. Maybe he would talk to Carlos the next time he stopped by for a food run about taking a vacation… maybe. Grumbling a little, Vincent shook his head and returned to the monitor as he finished off the last of his cheesy puffs. “Now… what do you have for me tonight?” His thick sausage-like fingers clacked on the keyboard with a rapid regularity that indicated years of practice at this sort of thing. As such, minutes later, Vincent had opened one of the deep web chatrooms like he was simply passing from one room to another. “Let’s see… anything to help LRG pass those restraint laws… equality and all? Anything at all tonight?” Vincent’s eyes strained against the bright screen, but an hour later, despite his impressive and extensive skills, he was still no closer to something definitive to send back. It was just that way sometimes. Yes, there were scores of plans and threats on there, but nothing with substance that could either be classified as reportable or even actionable. Just a bunch of hot air and… “Oh?” Vincent noted with some surprise, leaning in from his wide chair to get a better look at what he was seeing. “What’s this?” The posting was very strange to the point where Vincent even ran a check on it to make sure it was clean and wouldn’t upload a virus or crash his system. He had learned that the hard way back as a junior in high school. Looking more closely, something snagged his attention right away. “Holorecording’s, huh?” Vincent checked the file at least three times just to be sure he was reading it right, but it was confirmed and that piqued his curiosity more than any tagline associated. Vincent knew full-well that Holorecording’s were all the rage years ago, especially when agents of the old academy used to travel to Earth and pluck humans away for testing purposes before the dawn of portal travel and when they exploited soft spots instead. Seeing the ‘.vid.e’ label though, Vincent could already tell that it was the enhanced version instead of the original 2D video like any other old-fashioned video recording. In this case, enhanced meant 3D recordings and possibly sensation feedback and even mental thoughts if he was lucky. Not wanting to turn away now, Vincent clicked into the posting further. A brief description at the title of the page noted something about the files being ‘vital’ and ‘critical to understand.’ Vincent had his doubts about that, especially since 90% of the other posts said that, but he shrugged and kept at it… curious if nothing else over the holorecording file contained within. “Hmmm… seems intriguing enough…” Getting to the main page of the file and knowing what was next, Vincent got up and went to the backroom of the cabin where he stored most of the excess electronics and equipment associated. Looking around, he finally found the box he was looking for, a good layer of dust covering it that had to be blown away first. “Ah. Gotcha! Almost got rid of you last month to store an extra supply of rum in here. Good thing I decided I didn’t need more alcohol here… I guess.” Continuing to dust the box off, Vicent made his way back to the computer before sitting down again and then popping the lid off. Peering inside, he could see the headgear, visor, and even the contacts for one’s temple. “Looks okay… hard to tell really until I actually just go ahead and test this thing out.” Vincent blew a little more dust off and then gently placed the device over his head. Wincing a little at first, he made quick work of the device to relieve the tighter pressure and expand the halo section until it fit his head more comfortably. Taking the attached cord, he blew on it lightly and then hooked the device in. Soon, the screen before him blinked, and Vincent completed the preliminary set up as the newly clicked holorecording files were downloaded onto his server. Applying a little petroleum jelly to the contact points at his temple, he took a breath and looked over the various warnings on the box. “Warning… excessive use can lead to seizure, brain hemorrhage, and even death. Do not use with potentially corrupted files and do not use while alone.” Looking around the empty room, Vincent shrugged his shoulders. “Oh well… can’t stop all the time just because I’m a one-man team up here.” As he clicked on the final steps for downloading the files, Vincent felt a little fear over using this old technology once more. There was a reason for the warnings… why the technology had been dropped in favor of other more recent models here in Libertalia. Newer methods were safer… more legal. Looking around at half the equipment in here used just for pirating signals and hacking into government servers, it might have been an odd fear, but holorecording’s tended to brute-force their way into local servers rather than ask permission at all. It gave the recordings a true 3D experience to the viewer later, but the legality was sketchy at best in court cases, so the technology had largely been dropped in favor of more… legal ways. So, to see it so plainly on here for that fact alone was curious if nothing else. Vincent didn’t want to hope, but there were only so many who used this technology in the past few years… and they were either illegal, which could mean some great dirt on something out there that could hurt the Bigs, or they were less poised with technology, which could mean they were more desperate and likely more interesting. Either way, it boded well for Vincent’s mission and ultimately, LRG. Clicking onto the first recording once it had downloaded, the first screen showed the typical warnings yet again about using this technology, which Vincent promptly clicked through rapidly, understanding the risks… and quickly ignoring them. Next, and most curious, before the instructions, there was a brief blurb about what he was about to watch. It was something about someone named Ashley and this footage found from her imbedded camera. Most fascinating though, although maybe a little worrying or disappointing, it noted that ‘some pieces are missing’ from the recording and it is ‘unknown if they had been deleted by the user’ or were simply ‘too corrupted.’ Either way, Vincent pressed on with curiosity like that of a child potentially finding buried treasure in their backyard. The screen cut away, and then another popped up. “Place device on head now.” Vincent did as he was instructed, and as he remembered from the last time that he used this thing over six years ago now, the visor remained clear so he could see the screen and the next instructions. “Press here to proceed.” A decently sized green button then appeared below. Vincent hovered his mouse over the button, took a deep breath, and pressed it before relaxing back in his chair. * * * Black. Nothing. The screen was just a myriad of inky blackness, punctuated occasionally by a little blip or static on the screen. “Ah, shit!” a male voice called out from the abyss, remaining faceless in the darkened void. “Oh, perfect, Stuart!” a female voice said with a sigh and no small amount of clear frustration. “Just what this footage needs… cursing right from the start! This could be the beginning of some very serious report one day, you know.” “Sorry…” presumably Stuart apologized, grunting a little like he was trying to adjust something. Briefly the edges of the void curled in and flicked with static and a few green, blue, yellow, and red dots… and then pure nothingness once again. “Ugh! I just realized that the audio and video were off before. Now, it’s just the video and I’m…” He grunted again. “Trying to adjust that.” “Well, can you fix it?” the female voice asked, sighing heavily again and now sounding more than a little impatient as well. “This whole plan isn’t going to go very well if this stupid thing doesn’t even wor…!” * * * Day 0 – 12:30 P.M. EDT – Earth The screen cut back, and a white border, like from one of the old video systems, popped on as a frame around the main picture, which wasn’t much more than a computer lab somewhere, punctuated in several spots by at least ten twenty-foot-long sections of three-inch-thick wires. Multiple spots were frayed and pulled apart, while other sections were fully intact. One desk was cluttered with all sorts of odd metallic objects and scraps of wiring, while the other desk appeared to contain some sort of toolset and even a medical diagram of the head and an eyeball… though with something dark right behind the iris in this case. “Okay… that should do it…” a pale and scrawny figure noted, possibly Stuart, now coming into the frame. Unsettlingly in some way, he was looking directly at the camera with a calculating and curious expression. Before becoming too awkward though, he then briefly looked away and back to another monitor just off screen. “Okay… single feed up and running. Blink once for me, will you, Ashley?” The feed momentarily went black before snapping back to its previous image. “Like that, Stuart?” the female voice, presumably Ashley, questioned. This time, instead of one of annoyance, it sounded more hopeful. “Yep. That’s good, Ashley.” Stuart then hopped back and briefly went out of frame behind the monitor on the more crowded desk, and the sounds of clicks and clacks could be heard like he was typing something in. “Okay… now blink three times in succession. This might feel a little weird after, but we need this thing to reach out to other sources if you want more than a single shot from your eye. No point in this level of technology if we can’t get all the angles… just in case.” The feed temporarily dipped down and back up, almost as if Ashley was nodding while holding a camera. Then, the feed blipped out in three short bursts. Suddenly, the feed switched, and the previous single view of the camera now showed something more akin to a 3D image panning around the room. One watching from the outside would have likely felt the sensation that they could touch everything, rather than as if they were just watching a movie. The view shifted more, and more of the room could be seen. Nearby, lying down on an exam chair of sorts, like one would find in any dentist’s office, was a tall and skinny blonde woman, her blouse and slacks contrasting heavily was the disposable bib around her neck. “You good, Ashley? Still with me?” Stuart asked, pressing in on the blonde woman. “Yeah…” Her voice shook a little and her answer was anything but confident. “Just a little… dizzy, I guess?” She patted her eye tenuously and then quickly looked back at her fingers, almost like she was expecting something to be left there. “At least the bleeding’s gone now.” Stuart nodded. “Yeah. Not going to lie… you looked a little grizzly earlier when I was trying to adjust the feed. It looks like the micro surgeons did a great job though. No scarring from what I can see… which is impressive, because… you know… there’s…” He didn’t seem to be able to finish that thought and gestured with his hands awkwardly. His social skills didn’t seem to be one of his strengths, but Ashley only smiled back. “Because there’s a camera embedded in my eye now?” Stuart nodded and she laughed a little. “Yeah… feels strange to say, but you know the Amazon’s technology. It’s decades at least ahead of our own… even now with everything they’ve been trading to us and all the advances we’ve made since the opening of the portals.” “Yeah… this whole place… building and city too… run off what they’ve given us.” Stuart then rolled back to his monitor. Then, without looking back, he cleared his throat. “But also… Bigs.” Ashely looked at him strangely for a moment. “What?” “Bigs…” Stuart noted again. “You called them Amazons. They’re called Bigs. ‘Amazon’ is almost a derogatory word… especially coming from a Little.” “Oh… I completely forgot about that.” Ashley seemed momentarily stunned and nervous for a moment. “Hey… no big deal here, right?” Stuart leaned back over and looked at Ashley with reassuring eyes. “Just… keep it in mind when you’re going over there.” Ashley frowned and then suddenly looked defensive. “What? I’m not… I…” “Fine, fine,” Stuart said, retreating a little bit back to his monitor. “Don’t tell me about your plans with the tech I just helped set up, but I’m just trying to help. Don’t want a smacked bottom two seconds into your trip over there, do you?” Ashley grimaced a little and then looked slightly embarrassed. “Oh… yeah. Sorry, Stuart. Just… you know how these things go, right? Mr. Swarthout wants doubly sure that all this stays under the radar… at least until publishing. You know how he gets.” Stuart nodded. “Right. I mean, you are talking to the person who sets all this undercover stuff up in the first place for the magazine. Heck, discretion might as well be my middle name these days.” Ashley smiled and Stuart went back to clicking all over his monitor. “Okay… now, let’s check out the feeds. Turn your head up and down and side to side.” Ashley did, but the view didn’t change, and instead still seemed like a 3D experience and not being stuck in one spot. “Good. The feed didn’t change intensity or direction when you did that.” He clicked a few more times. “Now, blink.” Ashley nodded, but this time, the feed popped off and went back to completely blackness whenever she did so. “Oops. Need to… adjust… that… okay, now try again.” Ashley nodded again and blinked, but this time, the feed didn’t black out. “Phew! That could have been bad. Need to make sure you still have a view even if your eyes are closed… or blindfolded.” Ashley only nodded, a small amount of fear seemingly lingering in her eyes over why that would be a top priority that was needed. “Alright… lastly, let’s see if this other feed works… the mental one, I mean. 50-50 shot of this thing even functioning, but… let’s give it a go, shall we?” “Uh, do I need to do something?” Ashley looked around and she blinked a few times and even resorted to snapping her fingers, but nothing appeared to be working. “Hmmm….” Stuart looked closer at his monitor and clicked in a few places. “Let’s try it this way. I’ve increased the number of input feeds. Might feel a little funny, and we might still only capture some of your thoughts, but something would be better than nothing, you know?” Ashley nodded and her face soon relaxed. ‘I hope this works…’ Stuart’s eyes lit up. “Aha!” He seemed near ecstatic over what he was seeing on his screen. “Did you just think ‘I hope this works’ just now?” “Oh shit…” Ashley seemed petrified for a moment that all her thoughts were going to be recorded now, but it was soon supplemented by a look of fascination as well. “Intrusive suckers, those Bigs, huh?” “Maybe… no, definitely if even half the rumors are correct.” Stuart then wheeled away from his desk and came over to Ashley to start getting her ready to leave. “But just think about all those times where you couldn’t speak, and a recording of your thoughts might have helped. I remember you didn’t seem too pleased from that one assignment you had in the Middle East where you had to recall all that stuff for your article weeks after it had occurred.” Ashley nodded, seemingly appreciative of the technology more than worried by it. “You always bring up that assignment, Stuart. I’m still not forgetting how skeptical you were of me when I volunteered for that one.” “Alright, alright,” he said, defensively holding up his hands as he backed off. “I was wrong back then, and you proved to everyone of your skills as an investigative journalist. Just don’t go mucking everything up with this one just because you’re part-cyborg now or whatever. This tech is just a recording device… not a bail out.” Ashley sat up on the chair and waved his concern off. “I know that. Just tell me this… how does thing store data or how do I get it back to you all? Do I needed to do something further?” Stuart nodded and flipped one of screens back to her which soon switched from an MRI scan of her head to one of a process diagram. “Simple really… it has a memory of 400 TBs, but with our modification, it also will attempt to reach out and link to any satellites in the area and send back the feed to a safehouse. Then, if everything goes right, about one to two times a month, they’ll come back here and show us the footage.” ‘If everything goes right…’ The monitor pinged and Stuart looked back at it, and both smiled and seemed hesitant. “Yeah… I’ll admit it’s not the most assured plan using Littles over there to get us the footage, but it’s either that or we send in a person to take it from you, which could blow your cover, or we extract you early, with or without a story.” Ashley rolled her eyes. “Fine, fine. Just… I guess as long as the footage comes back intact for me to do a story after…” Ashley then hopped off the chair and walked over to where Stuart was sitting. “Now… how about that battery life? What am I working with here?” Stuart seemed more hesitant in this answer and then waved his hand around. “Well… difficult to say really. It could last anywhere from two months to…” * * * Day 0 – 12:30 P.M. EDT – Earth The clouds stretched for what seemed like miles as Ashley looked out over the budding metropolis of Philly. The so-called ‘dark times’ had hit the city pretty bad, but with the Amazons… Bigs bump in technology, the city was breathing a long sigh of relief and hope once more. Buildings shined, stonework had been repaired, and the streets now remained clean and devoid of pretty much every gang that once roamed so freely. Ashley was just a kid when all that was going on, and was mostly shielded by her parents, but now, both they and that old festering city were long gone. “Ashley?” Ms. Abernathy called from her desk, to which Ashley spun around. “Mr. Swarthout will see you now.” Ashley nodded and proceeded through the large wooden double doors and into Mrs. Swarthout’s office, the CEO of the magazine here. “You wanted to see me, boss?” Mr. Swarthout was looking at a painting behind his desk but then turned to see Ashley. “Yes… please have a seat.” As he gestured to the open seat in front of his desk, his mouth was grinning, but his eyes bore a heavy aura of dismay and even worry. “Is this about the assignment?” she asked, sitting down and getting comfortable while also trying to maintain a good posture in front of her boss… someone who could pull the plug on all this at the snap of his fingers. Mr. Swarthout sighed before sitting down himself and folding his fingers together. “Well, you are the investigator. I guess I shouldn’t try to hide my intentions of this meeting…” Ashley hesitated by ultimately shook her head. “Very well… I just wanted to check on a few things, but primarily…” He quickly looked like he wanted to puke or curse. “You have until the end of October to get back here and report your story. Beyond that, and regardless of your progress… I pull the assignment. Understood?” Ashley did and nodded, but her face seemed to swarm with questions. “I won’t need that long, right? I mean, if our reports are anything to go off, I should find a story worth all this effort in no time at all and be back before the end of August if my other timelines are anything to go off.” “Maybe…” Mr. Swarthout was a cautious man, but bold as well when he needed to be. Today, his cautious side was showing far more than usual. “It’s just that our reports also indicated that you could encounter no small amount of… trouble. And frankly, Ashley, that’s putting it mildly. I know you’re no stranger to conflict… civil wars, violent dictators, drug trafficking… your resume speaks for itself by now, but…” He trailed off and his eyes hung heavy with something like fear. ‘The pictures… the reports… he must be thinking about the same packet of information we got back from one of our vacationing reporters over there that sparked all this initially…’ Ashley shifted uncomfortably, likely recalling the effects on one such individual that escaped back here, as opposed to their own journalist which had not. “Yes, sir… I know the risks. Those other assignments had their own risks, but at the end of the day, a Kevlar jacket can keep a bullet away. Over there though… not sure how much I can do to stop some even half of what I’ve heard about if it comes to that.” “Exactly.” His words seemed happy that Ashley was showing that she wasn’t going into this blind, but the risks were clearly still sticking around in the front of his mind. “Just remember that most will be out to stop you if you get anywhere near one of the better stories. You will be a target already the moment you step foot on their soil… stats on humans returning from over there who stay more than a week aren’t good. Potentially, with the October cutoff even, you could be over there for over 140 days... more if even the slightest thing goes wrong. Plus, you could be walking right into a trap and not even know it until it was too late.” Ashley sighed, and she was clearly processing everything, but she nearly unbothered by it not long after. “Maybe… but I’ve done that before, and besides… maybe I won’t even deviate from the tour group I’m already signed up for? Could be something interesting there… Diamond Tours I think I heard? Or maybe that was the other one I investigated and then rejected…” The tiny scoff from Mr. Swarthout was audible, but he also didn’t press it any further. “Well… I guess I can’t stop you at this point. You’re stubborn, and that makes you a great journalist, but still, as they used to say… be it on your head then.” Just as Ashley started to stand after nodding in acknowledgement back to him, he then stood up. “Oh, wait… Ashley…” She stopped herself from leaving. “Speaking of tour group… do you have a backstory yet? Your name could be well-known… even to a bunch of Bigs.” This time Ashley smiled with confidence and then pulled out a thick manilla envelope from her bag. “All in here, Sir. Stuart set me up as usual, and I don’t open this thing until I’m locked-in back home. You just never know who could be watching and wind up blowing my cover…” “Hmmm… very diligent of you.” His eyes went down to look over the packet now gripped tightly in her fingers. “I’m sure it will all be up to our standards. Still though…” Worry eclipsed his face once more. “I’m just… I’m concerned about you, Ashley. Would you…” He briefly grimaced. “Would you maybe reconsider? As a favor to an old man?” Ashley frowned at first, shaking her head and then backing away from the seat in front of his desk with a warmer smile instead. “No, sir. I’m not giving up this assignment for anything. I value your concern, sir, but now. Besides, I’ll be fine. I’m not a rookie anymore… so please… stop worrying, will you? I’ve got everythi…” * * * Day 0.1 – 12:30 P.M. EDT – Earth A small room came into view, suitcases and cardboard boxes taking up a majority of the initial frame. Some framed photos were perched nearby, but most of the items besides the main furniture pieces seemed to be souvenirs from around the world, presumably from Ashely’s travels in her job. One could tell a lot about a person looking at just their walls, and Ashley was no different, definitely being the type of person who valued degrees and awards over relationships, and beads from a far-off country to even something as simple as a pet. “Okay… back at my apartment now…” Ashley blinked a few times as she stared into a nearby mirror, temporarily pressing around the feed of her eye. “Still find this strange that everything is recording. Going to the bathroom felt wrong at first… but Stuart assured me yesterday that a filter will be applied before all this stuff gets submitted. Better not be lying about that, or so help me…” Ashley cracked her knuckles and then shook her head. “Whatever… this assignment is going to be a little strange, but first step… pack up the apartment.” She momentarily tapped one of the nearby cardboard boxes perched on a side table of sorts. “Mr. Swarthout is instituting the usual policy of paying for my lease for three months, but after that… the rest of my stuff will go into storage until I get back.” Her face clouded a little in sadness. “Gosh… I still miss my old place before the assignment I took in Germany that lasted another month longer than I thought it was going to.” She then shook her head and looked right into the mirror. “Regardless, I wanted to specifically include this bit for the future for two reasons. The first… well, is me.” She then waved into the mirror. “Not sure how all these angles work exactly, but hey! My name is Ashley Cutters, and I’m an investigative journalist for the magazine, Times Reporting. We cover a lot of local news, but since the ‘dark times’ ended, the magazine has been branching out more onto the country and now world stage.” Ashley then walked into what best could be described as her dining room, though the cluttered table seemed far from sitting anyone comfortably for a meal anytime soon. “So, just to note as well… I requested this assignment. Basically, I was reading a few articles from escaped Littles in the other dimension, plus the one from our own reporter, and I just knew there was a story there waiting to be told. It just felt like too good an opportunity to pass up, so I volunteered right away when Mr. Swarthout wanted to publish a story of some kind from over there. He wasn’t super specific about what, but it gives me plenty of leeway for any type of story I want. Just needs to be compelling.” She then walked over and sat down in front of a large stack of papers. “Now, I also wanted to do this…” She paused and reached for the large and thick manilla folder she had previously received from Stuart and then shown to Mr. Swarthout. “I want to see inside, and I really need to start memorizing everything in here. I’ve got about three days to do this, and if I’m discreet, I can do the rest of the finer details on the bus ride after the portal facility and travel… I hope.” Popping the folder open, Ashley seemed curious as to what was truly inside for this little operation of hers and moments later began to fish out what looked like a passport, cash, personal items, and several other odds and ends. “Well… I guess it could be worse.” She then pulled the ID card close into her face before showing it off at different angles around the room. “Still not sure how this tech works, but I don’t want to take a chance. Guess I need to reach out to Stuart before I leave about the specifics for all that, but for now…” Her finger then pointed to her name. “Looks like I’m now going to be Ashley… Stevens.” She paused and squinted at the ID card for a moment. “Hmmm… first name is the same. Easier to memorize, but not the best for covers.” Setting the ID down with a sigh, she started to read over a thick packet of information. “And it looks like I’m a personal trainer originally from Seattle, Washington. I guess…” she then glanced down at her body, “I guess I could pass for one. Need to check out a few facts and routines maybe first before I leave, but still…” She then sighed and looked at one of the few photo frames in the room. “Sgt. Gideon… Elias could’ve done better….” She picked up the frame and gently caressed the photo within, clearly showing herself and a taller and muscular man geared in desert camo. “Best military contact I ever had. Never worried about ID’s, background, or keeping my butt safe. He did that and more…” She left her words hanging on the air for a second as she lowered the frame to her lap and looked longingly out her apartment window. Looking back down about a minute later, she shrugged her shoulders. “Oh well… I’m sure he’s off protecting someone else by now. Wish he was coming with me, but… oh! And here are the portal tickets.” Ruffling through the spilled-out contents a little more after setting the frame of her and Sgt. Elias aside, Ashley then produced a large rectangular ticket that shimmered in sections underneath the overhead lights. “Good. Three days from now. Plenty of time to get all this memorized for my purposes. And… interesting.” She then pulled the ticket closer to her face. “Leaving from the portal in Philly but going to their portal facility across the country in Niveis… our Nevada. Curious…” Swishing around the finer details of her mission and some further notes on her background packet of detail to memorize for her undercover identity, Ashley finally stood up and began to pace around the room. Each time she made another lap around her furniture; she would switch to reciting another fact about ‘Ashley Stevens.’ Before long, she stopped and went back to the mirror she had started with. “You are Ashley… Ashley Stevens…” She said it, her voice shaking a little at first, and from her tense facial muscles, it seemed to deeply bother her. ‘Go again, Ash… Try it with more confidence… practice makes perfect, right?’ She then gazed back into the mirror. “You are Ashley Ste… Stevens…” ‘Crud! Again, and get it right this time.’ She sighed and took another huge breath. “You are Ashley Stevens.” This time the words came to her much more easily. “You are… Ashley Stevens!” A smile began to creep over her face. “You are Ashley Stevens! Ashley Stevens! Ashley Stevens!” * * * Day 0.4 – 11:16 P.M. EDT – Earth “Ashley Stevens checking in.” Ashley was now dressed more sporty, complete with tennis shoes and a pair of yoga pants as opposed to her previously more typical rugged clothing, born from years on the road and in foreign countries. Her high-top ponytail just seemed to add to her new persona as she handed over her fake ID to the ticket person at the newly constructed portal depot. Working exclusively in glass and steel almost seemed to be a requirement with the design of this building, looking both futuristic and intimidating but welcoming at the same time. For a moment before entering, Ashley hesitated just to look at the newly added structure to just outside of Philly. It was just another example of how everything was changing at breakneck speeds recently. After a second, bringing her attention back to the present, the ticket person looked back at Ashley and smiled. “Oh, yes. Sorry about the wait. Still upgrading from the original systems here. Those old hunks of junk were slow but steady and never crashed. These new ones from the other dimension, well… let’s just say I do a backup of my computer once an hour now… just in case.” “Oh no!” Ashley seemed to feign her concern over such a simple matter. Ashley had a heart for sure, but it was more calculating sometimes when it came to others. Ashley Stevens, though, was a character and needed a more jovial nature to blend in better and form connections which she could later exploit for her story. Stuart being Stuart had laid all that out in detail in her briefing packet. “Don’t you just hate it when that happens! My studio just got the new system last month, and ugh! Never seen so many crashes in my life.” The ticket person smiled while also rolling their eyes. “Oh, that’s just terrible. I’m so sorry.” The computer then whirred to life and a scanner-like noise could be heard followed by a single beep. Smiling back, the ticket person handed Ashley back her ticket. “Alright, hon. You should be all set to go.” The ticket person’s eyes then dropped to their screen. “Huh… portal station to the east of Carson City and north of Prata… strange… Why don’t they just call it Las Vegas like we do? I mean, they call their Philadelphia, Philadelphia as well, you know? Silly Bigs, right?” Ash nodded but she knew the answer and just didn’t seem to be able to hold back. “It’s already Greek. Their dimension pulls a lot from the Greek and Latin. The attendant stared back blankly for a moment, and from a quick widening of her eyes, it was evident that Ashley knew she had pushed her knowledge too far. Sure, a personal trainer could know that stuff, but it might have been more unusual for them to point it out. “At least… that’s what I read in Times Reporting last month!” The ticket person quickly smiled once again. “Oh! That must be it. They do have the most fascinating articles on all that silly stuff.” Ashley clenched her fist temporarily but made sure to maintain her smile above the ticket counter. “Now then…” The ticket person’s finger then pointed to a wide-set hallway with several numbers above it. “Follow pathway 6 and you should be all set to go for your 12:30 departure time to portal station, Niveis 1!” Grabbing the ticket, Ashley smiled broadly back at them, clearly relieved that she had mustered her way out of that slip-up in character. “Perfect! You have yourself a wonderful day!” Waving goodbye like she had once seen in an old movie, the ticket person waved back without incident. ‘Whew! Definitely going to have to get used to this chipper personality that Stuart set me up with…’ In truth, Ashley could have changed it, but by now, she knew that for the moment, she could get more with a more empathetic and bubblier persona than her own. She almost always reverted to her usual self, but she made no more mention of it and proceeded calmly through the newly designed and built portal terminal building. * * * Day 0.4 – 12:26 P.M. EDT – Earth “Next, please!” a stubby and smiling man said, gesturing to the line Ashley was in while scanning everyone’s tickets before sending them off and down the ramp to the large metallic circle at the far end of the room. “Have your tickets out and ready to scan!” Ashley was more than ready by now and eagerly tapped the extended handle of her suitcase. She had shown up early and had spent the past hour getting some coffee and a small pastry. She wanted to eat more, but one of the top suggestions for portal travel was ‘don’t eat or at least eat light’ beforehand. As she scanned her ticket and saw the portal, her face seemed both relieved and content. ‘At least it’s Philly and not one of the ones out in the middle of nowhere. I think they still use the tech that fries your DNA or something and you have to go into medical hibernation for a week… or was it a month?’ She shook her head and kept moving toward the portal entrance… still lying dormant. “Attention!” the seemingly head scientist announced, clad in his pristine lab coat near the top of a platform next to the portal. Everyone below waiting in line immediately turned to him. “Now, I know this will be new for some of you, so just hold on and I promise! Everything you are about to see, hear, and witness is completely normal. Once activated, we will proceed one at a time. But first, please take the pill you are being handed now.” A smaller scientist, dressed in more hospital-like scrubs, came along and handed everyone a pill. Looking down at her palm after being handed one, the blackish green pill didn’t seem to sit well at all with Ashley. ‘Oh boy! Just gotta do this and get it over with. Can’t be worse than the scorpion shot down in Mexico last year, right?’ Wincing a little, Ashley immediately popped the pill into her mouth and visibly swallowed. “And now,” the head scientist continued, “we shall proceed! Activate the portal!” Almost like a performance of sorts, portal travel still fascinated most. For Ashley, the vibrations that started when the switch was thrown unnerved her just a little bit. ‘What the hell is that?’ Everyone had heard what portal travel was like, but seemingly like the universe was getting pierced into two, the whole room shook with tremendous fury. An audible whine and groan of a sound echoed off the walls, and soon, everything just turned to an unsettling hum. ‘God! I can feel it in my stomach!’ Several others groaned, but like the popping of ears after a flight, everything suddenly went still. Briefly everything became fuzzy within view, complete with static on the fringes of the frame by the date and time stamp, but when it snapped back, the portal quickly erupted with a viscous blue fluid. Shimmering and almost magical, it was entrancing to most. Ashley could only stare back in wonder at what was unfolding before her. Then, like a pool of water settling after being disturbed by a rock being thrown in, the liquid-like substance stopped and only briefly rippled within the metal circle device above everyone. “Wow…” Several of the crowd nodded in agreement with Ashley’s short but quite accurate reaction to what they had all just witnessed. “This way! This way!” the head scientist squawked again, looking at his watch quickly as if he had a pressing schedule to keep. The entire room hummed with life and the blue energy coiled through the wiring leading to the perimeter of the metal circle that now contained the liquid-seeming center. It was all quite mesmerizing and… “Feeling nervous, honey?” Ashley turned around to see a slightly taller woman smiling kindly down at her. Ashley wasn’t short by any means, but this woman easily eclipsed her by a good foot at least. Ashley quickly shook her head. ‘Crud! Is she an Amazon? Crud! I mean… Big!’ Everyone knew by now that physical compression between the portals was common. Most Littles over there shrank at least an inch, but coming over here, the same applied to Bigs… just not as well. Most towered over the rest of the population and were pretty obvious once pointed out. “N… no!” she blurted out, a little more defiant and defensively than she had anticipated. “I mean… no. Just… hungry.” It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t exactly the whole truth either. The taller woman smiled. “No worries, dear. There’s nothing to any of this anymore. Once the pill enters your stomach, you might feel a little woozy on the other side, but nothing a nice nap can’t fix. Just breathe easy and you’ll be right as rain.” “Thank you…” Ashley blushed a little, feeling a little overwhelmed by her presence alone, but at the same time… there was almost something alluring to her voice and overall demeanor. Something inviting… something… ‘No, no, Ash! Not that crud. Stay strong and stay focused. Just keep walking… just keep walking…’ “Ticket please,” one of the scientists requested as soon as Ashley was second in line to the portal. Nodding, she handed the ticket over, which was then scanned, and a small hole was punched into the bar code. “Walk forward and don’t forget to just keep breathing.” Their voice was almost mechanical… definitely without any shred of emotion or sympathy, but Ashley could only sigh and step forward. ‘Maybe complacency just means they do this all the time? More portal travel; less problems, right?’ The unease on her face didn’t seem to mix with her inner confidence, but she just breathed slowly as instructed and closed her eyes for a second, gripped her suitcase tight, and stepped through the… * * * Day 1 – 9:33 A.M. PDT – Earth 2 “Talk about a rough landing, huh?” another one from Ashley’s tour group asked her as he hobbled forward with everyone else toward the sign marked ‘Busses.’ “Yeah… you could say that…” Ashley brushed off the feeling of exhaustion blanketing over her already but just seemed glad to be here now. ‘At least I didn’t stumble… would’ve made a terrible first impression with the Bigs… Lost an inch or two though I think…’ “Come on, everyone!” one of the Bigs directed as they stood erect against the wall along the hallway leading out. “Don’t stop. Plenty more coming behind.” Ashley might have looked to check if the Big was lying or not, but the sheer size and sternness etched deep into the Big’s face made her snap her head back facing forward. ‘Don’t question… don’t poke… at least not yet.’ Getting outside, the sun blinded nearly everyone, and Ashley had to shield her eyes away from its intense glare. Everything felt bigger… more tactile, more dangerous here already… and that included the sun. ‘Man… please don’t burn already. I packed my sunscreen down deep. I thought I wasn’t going to need it until later… Stupid brain! You should have remembered to always be prepared with that kind of stuff after Iran last year!’ “Alright everyone!” another Big announced, stepping up in front of the group. “Per your tickets, you all are here for the Hermes Travel Company, correct? First stop, Alati Lake City?” Almost everyone nodded with the exception of two who then checked their ticket and ran off to the signs listing ‘Prata’ and ‘Carson City.’ A few giggled at their expense. Smirking as well, the Big continued. “Excellent! All good now, I’m sure. Welcome! I’m Miss Ripert, your tour guide.” A few clapped, but most seemed more or less out of it already. “Now, I’m sure you’re all pretty exhausted, so just let me check you in and then hop on board. While you wait, let our driver, Stephen, take your bags. I promise… they will be safe.” Ashley didn’t like to let go of all her belongings here to a complete stranger, but she relented as the portly man ambled up and asked to take her suitcase with a smile. “Ashley Stevens,” she said boldly when asked by Miss Ripert her name and for her portal ticket and confirmation number. ‘Please don’t be an issue… I don’t think I can defy someone this tall on my first day… at least not feeling this tired…’ “Let’s see… Ashley… Ashley… Ash… ah! Here we go.” Scanning the ticket and verifying her number, the little tablet in her large hands beeped. “Perfect. You’re all set.” Ashley nodded. “Thank you.” Climbing on board next, she eventually found her seat. Moments after Stephen popped the bus on and it roared to life, Ashley couldn’t fight it anymore and sleep soon overtook her, blacking out the feed once more. * * * Day 1 – 2:50 P.M. MDT – Earth 2 The bus hit a bump, and everything popped back on suddenly. “Wha…?” Ashley sleepily stirred to life and instantly stretched. Looking at her watch, it showed that she had been asleep for over five hours. “Gessh… guess I really was tired.” ‘At least I memorized more of my backstory before I left instead of relying on the bus ride…’ The bus then started to turn and Ashley shifted toward the window from the force of the pull. It wasn’t major, but it was just enough that it slightly shifted her gaze to the left… which just happened to be the perfect timing to see a large glimmering city just out her window. “Wow… I guess that’s Alati Lake City…” “Yep,” another passenger on the tour bus confirmed. “Miss Ripert just announced that a few minutes ago. Should be arriving in the next hour or so depending on traffic getting into the city.” “Thanks…” Ashley smiled back at her fellow tourer and then looked immediately back at the city. A mirror counterpart of Salt Lake City, the surroundings seemed near identical, but here, due to the advanced technology, the city now almost seemed to shine like silver and gold against the bright sun overhead. The pale blue and expansive Alati Lake could just be made out to the west of the city against the backdrop of the near mountains. ‘I wasn’t so sure about this location… especially in comparison against all the rest… but I don’t think I’ll be disappointed here as a first stop… even if it is for almost a week.’ Minutes later, as if to confirm and elevate her excitement even more, Miss Ripert stood up in front of the bus. “We should be arriving within the city soon, and then it will be about another 15 to 20 to get to our hotel, depending on traffic. For now, though,” she smiled playfully and gestured outside of the lefthand of the bus, “this is Alati Lake City. One of the most populous cities in the state as well as being the capital of Utem. I’m sure in the next few days, all if you will get to explore the wonderful outdoor recreation and hub of religious culture that the city is known for.” Miss Ripert then cleared her throat. “That being said, though, I just wanted to give out a few warnings. Us Bigs are good people, but a few may be more inclined to certain… impulses. To avoid these, there are a few simple steps you can follow. Trust me, you’ll want to pay attention to these. They could just mean the difference of you all leaving back through the portal… or something more… permanent.” A few of the Littles murmured in fear, but most stayed silent and listened closely. “Now, first up, never talk…” * * * Day 1 – 4:55 P.M. MDT – Earth 2 Busses hissed to a halt outside the large and opulent sandstone and blue building that was their hotel. It wasn’t the tallest around, but the buildings on either side from this angle shrank close to the ground. As Ashley stared up at the tall building, she couldn’t help but hold her mouth agape in awe. ‘Wow… technology and art fused around here so seamlessly… and it’s only day one.’ “Okay,” Miss Ripert began to shout over the more populated streets, “we’ve all checked in and offloaded your luggage into your rooms for the night. With this tour, we will spend about six days here and in the surrounding mountains, exploring several sites and visiting several companies I think you might find most… illuminating.” Moving away from the hotel, Miss Ripert began to explain all about the city and its founding. “Founded almost two centuries ago now, a breakaway sect from the mainstream religion at the time settled here to practice as they wished. As a result, laws here became more flexible, and desires flared to make a city that would not only last the test of time but also break free of the shackles of many cities to the east that derived their city planning from Europa’s cities at the time.” Looking around as they walked, Ashley could see the validity of Miss Ripert’s words. While there was almost a neo-classical feeling to some of the buildings and statues around, there was also a clear push for styles corresponding to more retro-futuristic in some parts and touches of Brutalism in others. It seemed an odd combination, but it also gave the city a variety that was missing from most cities back on Earth lately. With many destroyed or in need of heavy repairs, most began to look eerily similar as they were rebuilt. Here though, the uniqueness along with clear city planning and a dash of color everywhere, stood out strongly in contrast. “Now, of course, subsequent renovations to them have closed this gap in recent years, but Alati Lake City stands as a testament to…” “Ophelia! Get back here!” a woman screamed from nearby. The group looked over and saw, with the reaction of many gasps of horror, a Little was running through the streets and away from a Big. “No, sweetie! Not into traffic!” Clearly panicking, she seemed to wilt in seeing the Little dodge cars whose hoods she barely stood over. “Someone! Anyone! Stop her!” Most of the group seemed stunned, but Miss Ripert acted quickly and used herself as a shield to block our movement any closer to the Little now blocking traffic. “Stay back everyone. They need to solve this on their own. Trust me… you don’t want to get involved.” As if right on cue, the crowd began to depart. That, and plus the stopped cars, formed some semblance of a circle around the Little, supposedly called Ophelia. From her expression, some doubt definitely seemed to be present in Ashley’s mind if that was even her name though when she first heard it. “Come on, honey. There’s no way out. Come back to Mama.” The woman Big seemed genuinely concerned about ‘her’ Little, but the whole scene still felt very much out of place and even illegal at times if looked at from the right angles… especially regarding the relationship between Big and Little here. Ashley edged forward, but Miss Ripert blocked her path to get a better look. Ashley’s frown showed she didn’t appreciate that, but not pushing it further, anyone could see that she was trying to listen in, despite her distance away from the scene. “Never! I would rather die than go back to be your baby slave!” The Little wasn’t calm, but was clearly level-headed enough to speak without any signs of mental or physical impairment. ‘I don’t know what would be worse to see… a Little that was mentally affected, or a Little that was so physically affected, that their mentality didn’t mean much anymore. Ugh… best not think about it, Ash…’ Regardless, the scene unfolding was aligning with what about Ashley had read about and then been briefed on before coming here. It was a terrible one, but it was realization of the truth that yes, there was a story here somewhere. Ophelia practically growled in response. “Heck no! You stay back, lady! I can’t even curse anymore because of you!” Ashley looked puzzled for a moment. ‘I wonder what the heck that means?’ She paused but then quickly turned her attention back to the unfolding scene between Ophelia and the Big. “You even forced me into…” An odd sort of look came over Ophelia’s face and her eyes squinted in pure hatred toward the Big. “You know what? I don’t need to wear these anymore.” She stomped her foot and then reached right under her dress… and pulled off her diaper, clearly being a cheap alternative that would even allow for that sort of thing. Most from Earth by now already had heard at least the rumors about ‘unremovable’ diapers, but from the reports, Ashley knew they were much more than just rumors. Still, despite the oddity of a Little even being able to tear off their diaper, it was still a clear act of defiance here and many gasped in the crowd around Ashley. “Take that, lady!” Ophelia hissed back at the Big with more confidence than someone who had just been wearing a diaper ought to have. The Big temporarily scowled. “Mommy! It’s ‘Mommy,’ Ophelia. Remember that?” Ashley seemed perplexed for a moment regarding the Big’s demeanor. ‘Which was she more upset about? The diaper or the lack of term to address her?’ “No!” Ophelia screamed again, this time stomping her foot on the ground and then over top of her diaper. “You’re not my mommy! My mommy is back home and…” Right as she said it though, it was clear to anyone watching that she hadn’t meant to say that… or at least not come across so childish when referring to her true parent back on Earth. Before anyone else could react though, a series of high-pitched whistles rang out through the streets and two police officers ran to the scene. “Ma’am? Is this one your Little?” The Big nodded her head. “I’m very sorry, officer. I promise you that she’s normally not like this. I…” “Ma’am… if she is under your care, then I’m afraid you are both going to need to come to court.” The officer didn’t mince his words at all, now only pointing back to where they had come from, which one could just see beyond the crowds was their police car. “Or… that’s at least what will happen if you can’t resolve this situation in the next minute, understand?” The Big now genuinely seemed fearful, but seconds later, resolved as well. Looking back at Ophelia, she smiled, but now also seemed burdened by the alternative if she failed now. Ashley leaned closer, knowing something was about to happen between them. “I’m sorry, Ophelia…” “Sorry?” Ophelia questioned. “Sorry for wh…?” Before she could speak another syllable though, the Big had rushed up to her, wrangled her into her arms, and then popped a large bulbous white pacifier in Ophelia’s mouth before hitting the front button at least three times. Needless to say, Ophelia seemed outraged and more worryingly, in pain now. ‘Wow… I hope I’m capturing all angles of this… this could be a great story… Poor Ophelias though…’ Ashley seemed sympathetic to a fellow Little, but the journalist in her wasn’t just going to stop and looking at this story from all the angles. Abuse. Being held against one’s will. Infantilization to the highest degree. A corrupt system. The normality of the treatment. Ashley could see all the titles of her next article so perfectly, but as she looked around, her smile of a possible story began to fade. ‘No one’s even batting an eye over this. If they’re not reacting harshly to this, then it’s already at least mostly normalized… which means there’s another story that no one wants to talk about… or even can for that matter. No… this isn’t my story.’ “Good work, ma’am. Just try to keep a closer eye on her. I might even suggest some… modifications, or some equipment maybe,” one of the officers noted swiftly once Ophelia had been pacified and was now being held firmly in place, not going anywhere… even as she struggled heavily… even more so after he mentioned ‘modifications’ and ‘equipment’ being used. “Now… being a parent myself to a Little, I might suggest you rediaper her. Never can be too careful, right?” The Big smiled and bounced Ophelia gently, despite her continued protests. “Oh no. Definitely not. Fortunately, we live right up the street. Absolutely not going to let her ruin the new carpet I just had put in.” A few of the Bigs laughed nearby but Ashley didn’t seem to know how to react. ‘If I laugh, I’m a terrible person without empathy towards a fellow Little. If I don’t laugh… I could seem suspicious. Ugh… well, maybe just roll the dice and see what happens.’ So, instead, Ashley just opted for silence instead of compliance. She seemed to catch the suspicious and maybe even evil glance shot her way by one of the locals, but otherwise, most didn’t comment. “And also… rest assured officer,” the woman Big continued, bouncing Ophelia in her arms, “little Ophelia here won’t be practicing anymore escape attempts under my watch. I can assure you of that.” She patted her Little on the butt a few times as Ophelia let out a small whimper of defeat and most definitely fear. The officer only tipped his hat, smiled, and left. As for the reactions from the rest of the tour group… they were less inclined to say anything. It only took a second though, to realize that most now seemed too petrified over what just happened in front of them. Most grimaced even further when the Big got Ophelia to wave her hand back at everyone and babyishly say ‘goodbye’ for her to the crowd there. It was an unsettling sight to say the least. Still, the scene now over, Miss Ripert glanced back at the group. “Now then… no worries, my darlings. Just a small escapee of a Little. These attempts happen all the time here now, but you have to give their tiny failures a little sympathy at least… and nothing more.” Ashley knitted her hands together, clearly trying to distance herself from all that was happening. It was all terrible to see, but the complacency of every Big now that Ophelia had been taken away was disconcerting. This wasn’t her story, but as Ashley listened on to excuse after excuse by Miss Ripert over what just happened, it felt more like a conspiracy embedded into the very fabric of the society here than anything else… and certainly not the fault of a small and clearly traumatized Little. Ashley didn’t have a story yet, but seeing it was only Day 1 and this had happened literally right in front of her when she wasn’t even looking, her overall confidence seemed to bloom that yes, she would find a story. ‘I vow to myself now… I’m not leaving here until I get the story I’m looking for. ‘Ashley Cutter’ will soon be a name on everyone’s lips back home. The Little that figured out the truth of this terrible place!’ It might have been a simplistic platitude, but it provided the tiniest of smiles. Even in a place like this, it was good to have hope that everything would be okay. So, for Ashley, that absolutely meant that by the end here, she would have her story.

The experimental school. We had all been called to a large assembly, not too uncommon since it was the 3rd day of school. Then again what was common in this school? Walking along in the crowded hall, I longed for my days before this school. So simple, hang out with friends, go bowling or to a movie, or just hang out at the park. Things were so much simpler then. And then I signed that stupid contract. I didn't have the money for a good college, I had the grades to get in but not good enough to get a ride on. I never really played sports, what I did have was a head for creativity and original things. That's what they had said got me not only accepted but desired here. Nothing about it added up. Why would you expect more out of middle level students? I'd get my degree but I had to stay at the school until graduating. Oh I got some time off campus but not much. Isolation was key, they said. No outside interference. They even restricted the TV and social media coming in. They had made their own social media platform as well. But now, I have almost graduated from this hell hole, everything I think about it my heart jumps. I was so close, one more year. I could see them trying to control me past graduation though. This place didn't let go of people. Some people had tried to quit or drop out. Each time they tried to leave without permission, they'd just turn up again on campus. Same excuse every time too. "I changed my mind, so I came back." I had asked a friend once, he gave me the same answer but when I asked why he said he wasn't sure why he changed his mind. This school was going to try and reach into my life beyond the gate. I could feel it. Whatever, it wasn't in my contract, I'd figure it out once I was free, that contract only went as far as the gates. I entered the large auditorium which doubled as a theater. It had about 500 seats in it and a stage. Long black curtains that sat at the back of the stage. On a projector screen was a welcome message that cheerily read "A time to change, and a time to be changed!" The picture in the background had students smiling and laughing. Only girls would have had the nerve to use that dumb of a slogan for the year. I knew better than to voice that opinion out loud. A girl might hear and that would definitely invoke her privileges. Probably means something about bettering yourself and others and the school or some such nonsense. Completely stupid. Last year was "Better school, better you, better world." It wasn't getting better… On the stage sat the student council, the ruling body of the school. They enacted all policies, procedures, disciplinary rules and punishments for those enrolled. Get bad grades? Then you ended up cleaning the floors. Get in a fight? Well, let's just say that wasn't happening anymore. The list of rules and consequences was quite extensive, it wasn't something one could memorize. The list was probably so long that it couldn't be memorized on purpose. If you couldn't memorize it, they could get away with whatever they decided was inappropriate. I wasn't much of a stand out, mischief maker so I rarely got into trouble. Though it had happened. I found a seat near a large group of other guys, I wasn't really in the mood to mingle and this school put a huge damper on dating, it was not a rule mind you, just not what most guys wanted to deal with. In the end, the mood for romance was kind of dead when you were not able to really have much of a say in any relationship. At least when the other side had won. Oddly enough when his side had won, I had found a girlfriend relatively easily. I tried a couple times but it just never worked out. Supposedly your "personal life" was exempt from the rules but how did that work when you were a society separated from the world and it was governed by a certain group. We lived and breathed in this school, there was no escaping it while you were in the walls that surrounded the campus. It was filling up in the auditorium and the school student secretary stepped up to the mic. "Hello, everyone!" She started cheerfully. "I know we are all anxious to start so let's hurry and find our seats. We need to start on time or we will be late for the rest of the day." She was in charge of time keeping and she was very passionate about it. She was the quintessential nerdy girl, goggle glasses and all. There were only about 300 people in this school. Its numbers kept small by the sheer fact every student had been hand picked to come here. You had to have the right personality, be willing to take a leap of faith, be creative, the list went on and on. It was more about personality than anything else, or so it seemed. Some of the students here were among the lowest scoring students in their respective high schools. I had a few friends that shouldn't have been able to get into college let alone anything prestigious. Hopefully this will be short and sweet, I thought, we can just get it over with. Boring speeches were not my thing. I waited impatiently fiddling with a pencil, we had not been allowed to bring anything with us including phones. They always cited "we should pay attention instead of playing with a phone." Like we were some kind of kindergarteners. Weren't we supposed to be self governing? That one only went as far as they wanted it to. About 5 minutes later the vice president got up and called the meeting to order. "Welcome to a new year at the Complete School of Forward Thinking." A cheer went up among the students, mostly from the girls. "I am Sarah Glockins, I will be your vice president again this year." Another pause and another shriek from the girls. She was not as bad as the others but she was still on the wrong side of the fence. "On behalf of your returning body of student leadership I'd like to welcome our new students AND our returning students to our great halls again for another year of learning and growing. Well, maybe just learning for some of us." She giggled and I caught the cryptic sense she had something up her sleeve. This wasn't good. Not in this school, surprises tended to leave you in a bad place. It never ended well, especially when the girls were in charge. I had learned the hard way that anything cryptic like that meant trouble for me. I was truly done with this school, if I wasn't so close I'd have found a way out of here. This year was going to be hell, I knew it too. Truth was, things had been getting progressively more intense over the last 2 years that the vote had gone to the girls. I was two seats from the aisle, only a little bit from the door. Girls were standing guard there. They wore something on their hip, it seemed too small to be a weapon or a stun gun. The fire escape seemed to be unguarded, but it'd probably be locked until an actual fire alarm. State of the art alarm systems would stay locked now until the alarm went off. Everything in this damnable school was state of the art too. Everything was brand new all the time. They really did have a limitless budget around here. I guess if you were doing an experiment you had to do it the best way possible. Plus, if the scope of the experiment was true we were designing a new form of government to implement in the real world, then "no expense spared" was a good slogan. Sarah rambled on about the new year and the slogan, the guy sitting next to me leaned in, "I can't believe they won again, after last year you'd have thought it was a shoe in for them to lose." I nodded. They had incorporated a few punishments that went above and beyond the normal and no one had stopped them. It seemed like the approval rating would have dropped after that. The voting system was complex and required everyone to put in a visible and tangible token. This made cheating literally impossible. It had been a landslide win again. The count wasn't even needed. The girls' tokens had filled the tube while the guys remained half empty. Of Course you never had any idea who voted for what. You were alone when you voted. Granted that had been the terms of the experiment. The students were self governing for the most part. The teachers stayed out of it and allowed those on the winning side to lead as they saw fit. The only real rules were no permanent harm or ejection from the school were allowed. In short, You had to solve issues and not just shove them aside or destroy the problem. My thoughts returned to my escape route. Best option would be to go through the stage, likely the way they wouldn't think anyone would go. Why put guards up there? Everyone would see where you were going. Applause erupted around the room as Sarah finished her monotonous deluge of annoying words. She was not one I cared to be around or listen to talk. The woman had a bad tendency to squawk when she laughed, worse she was an incessant gossip. Apparently she had introduced the lone male on the stage. He was just there to represent the losing party. "Welcome everyone, I'm Blake Townsend," he paused. "Sorry gents, we lost." Holding his hands out in mock surrender. A couple girls whistled and cheered. "But we will make do and make sure we get the better of it next year. Anyway, I'll keep it short. Keep your heads up and make the best of it. I promise it'll get better this year!" Some cheers went up from the boys, they were half hearted but still some guys were still hopeful. "We can still make it a good year. If you feel like there's any unfair treatment just let me know. I'll make sure our voices are still heard." His speech was determined. "With that I give you the devil herself, student body president, Julie Buttkiss. Oops I mean Butterkiss" He was going to pay for that. From across the stage Julie stood up. Her eyes looked amused but in a dangerous way. Her look said it all, she would return the favor and she already knew how. She was the devil though, a picture perfect one, if anyone was honest. She belonged on magazine covers. It was Likely that that was how she got the position in the first place. Too many males with hard ons that would never get anything more than Blake was getting right now. She had enacted all the policies last year that had made life a living hell for anyone who was male. "Thanks Blake, and I'm sure you didn't mean it. After all, we girls have made this experiment incredibly successful." She started, her smooth voice captured everyone's ears. It almost was transe-like. "This school was founded to change the way society works. This experiment was made so that we could develop a new form of government and social structure. Why? The old way is failing, and we have young minds that are not conformed to old ideas, we can generate a new life that is fresh and will reinvigorate our world. In the beginning we were set up clean without entanglements. Given an opportunity to change ourselves, and then change others." There it was, that stupid logo that was on the screen, I zoned out as she launched into the history of this demon infested place. If you'd been here for 3 days you'd have heard this speech 3 times. We were called because we were intelligent, could add to a constructive society, we were the creative ones that could redesign the world. And now that you've signed on the dotted line you belong to us for 4 years. I tuned back into our regularly scheduled broadcast as she went back to recapping the last few years. "In the past 2 years we have raised the average grade to almost 90%. A full ten point increase. We have seen a 60% drop in disciplinary needs." She paused as cheers went up, again mostly girls. "When this school was founded, the idea was to find out who was best at running society, who would produce the best results, and even more so, who society wanted to run society. The first 2 years it was the boys. Boys," her voice dropped to an almost conspiratorial tone, "you failed us all. In those 2 years it was chaos, and not a good learning environment. Drugs, sex, you name it, it was in our halls." I had only come here three years ago, it had been a bit rougher then, even I could admit that, but things had gone the exact opposite direction once the girls took over. "With each year that we ladies have been in charge this school has improved a hundred fold." I wondered how she was measuring that. "Since this school's founding, we have risen up from the ashes quite a bit. Last year was phenomenal, our policies brought the remaining outliers back under control. For that exact reason the polices: Feminine Judgment, Retaliation Restriction, and Corporal Punishment will remain." My jaw dropped, how could the admins not stop this? Feminine Judgment meant a girl could decide a boy or girl was misbehaving. While worded carefully to avoid sex1sm, it was definitely in favor of the girls. The result was always a disciplinary panel. They decided your fate. They were always female. Retaliation Restriction, if you were called out for negatively responding to anything educational or disciplinary you were in for it. The panel was skipped and you were basically hung where you stood. Corporal Punishment spoke for itself. It was the default now. Almost everything ended up with you bent over getting your backside tanned. It had only happened to me once but I was one of the more crafty boys. Julie continued her evidence from the damned, "70% of boys received 2 spankings last year. That's a lot for you math challenged folks." She joked, not many laughed. " 96% received one. While only 10% of the girls received one, you know who you are and we ladies expect better from you this year. In the end the measures have brought this school to being the highest functioning school in all but 2 measured metrics nationwide. Isn't that wonderful?"She never paused for a cheer or acknowledgement. "And so we will be continuing our march to bring this school to the top!" She almost shouted the last words. The top of what? The heap of annoying me? I doubted it could get much worse. The girls went wild. "Ladies calm down now. We have a new policy to enact this year. It'll be the final thing we need to push us over the top on every scale that is measured in this nation. The numbers have shown that our male counterparts are not to be trusted, that they routinely step out of line, have lower test scores and final scores than us ladies. That is to say until they've been put on a better path. Today we announce the Better Boys Behavior Beneficiance.This will allow you Ladies to properly care for and love our boys. They need a good Maternal and nurturing influence to truly thrive. Her tone was serious now, my heart was racing, and I could see a few other male faces echoing my thoughts. "Upon entering, ladies, you were given a bag and told to leave it sealed until the time came. It's not that time yet. However, we need to discuss the contents inside. First you will find a card stock paper that says "your rules" on it. You will need to read it carefully at the end of the commencement. The next is 5 sheets of regular paper, on it says "their rules." My heart was in full fight or flight now. The adrenaline in my system said "GO NOW!" but if I moved I knew nothing good would come of it yet. "These will need to be given to each of your targets today. Now I want you to know, you will not likely have 5 targets. This is just in case." TARGETS!!?! What were they going to throw at us? Bad, bad, bad! "There is a bottle you will need, please use it today. I'm begging you. Not doing so could leave you in violation of your rules and lead to corporal punishment or worse." This was getting crazy, if the girls would be held accountable like this then it had to be massive. I was already gathering myself to run. I wasn't really sure where. The contract guaranteed a free college ride but it also guaranteed you stayed put until you graduated. Once the year started you never left campus. Some families had a home here and lived with students but mostly the students stayed in dorms. The really hard part was the 15 foot wall that ran around the campus. We were told it was security but the barbs on the top were aimed to keep people in not out. Not that anyone tried to get in. "There are some other things in there including a paddle, if you need it today, and a couple other supplies for routine maintenance. The last thing in there is very important. It is the reason we all came together. It's also what you will need most today. Ladies when I say this I want you all to remain calm. Show your maturity. You see, the goal is to give boys a good example to grow into. You need to be that example, this is also not retribution but a lesson. They need to be controlled for both our good and theirs. I know you're excited ladies, but contain yourselves. If you open that bag too early it will ruin the surprise. Boys, I'm begging you, make it easy on us ladies. Please do not fight this. I promise rewards to those that are good boys. BIG rewards." That was not setting me at ease. Some other guys had already given in, just dreading it all, you could see the defeat in their eyes. Heads buried in hands. It didn't take long to be ground down if you didn't go with the flow but they had decided it was better to not be dust. Some girlfriends trying to console boyfriends, the smiles on their faces were not helping. "Those that try to resist will be punished severely." Of course they would, so far that was the only part I believed. "Now ladies, the last item in your bag is five… big… fluffy…white…crinkly… DIAPERS!" Her voice was so excited, she seemed like she was about to jump the podium. Her face was the image of a psychiatric ward patient who had been given the freedom they had wanted since being confined years ago. Everyone in the room went silent except one, his expletive echoed across the room. "What the f@*$?" He wasn't getting the "rewards" for sure. My mind latched on to that last word. She couldn't be implying the girls would be putting boys in diapers. There was no way they were that crazy. No one would allow that. As if she was reading his mind "I know ladies you are confused. I assure you this is for the best. You will be diapering the boys today. The boys have proven to be a large part of the problems here and are in need of a bit of feminine touch. Remember to treat them as well as they are behaved, they are not meat, but they are to be wrapped up today, be as loving but firm as a mother would be. Now in good faith, I will be taking care of our good boy Blake here who chose some inappropriate things to say to me. So," Reaching beneath the podium she pulled out a large rectangular white thing. I immediately assumed it was one of these diapers, "ladies, shall we begin the great diapering? You may open your bags now!" Without another word she whirled on Blake whose face had gone sheet white. I could only hear zippers from bags being opened as he protested from his seat. She went straight to work on his belt and zipper. He gave an attempt at stopping her but he wasn't fighting or running as much as he should have been. Maybe he knew something I didn't, but I wasn't going to find out. I snapped out of the horror show and looked around, girls were reading their cards, most of the guys were in a state of despair, they had just given up and were going to allow whatever happened to them happen. Being grabbed by a girl they just followed orders. A bunch were fighting back, the group around me was backed together trying to stop the feminine onslaught, the girls outnumbered the boys by a good bit and the group was being grabbed one by one and overpowered. One fool just dropped his pants and laid down grinning. Not sure what was with him. No one had even come for him yet. Some cried in defeat. Being in the center of the group of guys I wasn't in any immediate threat. I watched as girls laid boyfriends down and padded rears, each taking time to use powder, some began to administer punishments to ensure obedience, it only took a few swings to start eliciting yelps from some. The process was insane. Even outnumbered, it was taking time to work through them all. It gave me a minute to think. I needed to start my escape plan, I began to work towards a weak spot in the line trying to dissect the group around me. "John Belinger!" My name echoed from the mic. "I see you, do not move! You belong to me." That psycho, Tammy Garland. Unfortunately, she was also the treasurer. She likely had already known about this and had planned to make him hers. She'd had a crush on me for a year. My only spanking had come from her, unjustly I might add. She was intent on ruining my life. I thought I'd shaken her off last year by hitting her with a giant water balloon filled with a rancid smelling liquid we had found near a dumpster. Tammy had never given up, asking me out multiple times, I wasn't even being polite about turning her down anymore. Knowing her, She probably had a diaper labeled with my name from the very start. Seriously, the dumb girl labeled everything. I scanned around the door, the guards were still there. They had a device in hand that looked like it was designed for a medical purpose instead of anything else. I hadn't seen it used on anyone so I wasn't completely sure what it was yet. All around me boys were being diapered. Some whose pants were already at their ankles, some protesting and promising, even begging. It saved none of them. A couple girls had already diapered males sitting next to them smiling with joy. Feeling it up and down as they were inspected. Why were they so happy about this? There only seemed to be a few girls who thought this was not a good idea. They sat off to the side judging and pointing, one stifled a laugh as she watched a boy getting a beating. I could even see a woman teacher closing in on a male teacher. She was smiling from ear to ear and beckoning him with one finger and a diaper in hand. When she reached him she didn't hesitate, his pants dropped to the floor as she stripped him. She hooked his leg as he tried to back away, tripping him to the floor. His legs went up and she placed the diaper under him. I could hear a bit of his protests. "I'm a teacher not a student, we are not a part of this experiment." She, oblivious to his objections, went to work. He was powdered thoroughly and properly covered. I watched long enough to see it pulled between his legs. That psycho was probably getting close, the stage was empty aside from Blake and Julie who had finished her work and was inspecting Blake's rather puffy butt. The line of girls around me had thinned to the point where there were gaps. They had snagged enough males I could get to the edge easily. It was that moment I decided I was not going to join Blake. I'd find a new university, who cared. There was no amount of debt I was not willing to go through to get out of this. I bolted to the side of the room breaking through the girls there, and ran toward the stage. Up the stairs and toward the curtains at the back. "JOHN!" The president's voice interrupted my run. "You won't get out. We are in lock down, now be a good boy like Blake here. Tammy is going to take care of you, I promise." Her smooth voice dulled my desire to run for just a moment. She sounded sincere, calm and genuine. Blake took that moment to warn me, "John, get out, she said they will never let us out of these things, GO!" I heard him yelp as Julie leveled a slap to his thighs. "You be quiet." That was all I needed. I took off out the back. I managed to use a door in the back that led to a dressing room. Another guy was on his back here, he seemed to be enjoying the moment, at least from the state of his arousal he was. The girl simply looked me up and down "looks like you won't be getting the rewards promised." I didn't care what that meant. In the hall, I was greeted with 2 girls yelling at me to "wait where I was," yeah right. They held the same devices I'd seen on other guards. I ran on never slowing down until I was sure I was out of sight. I began checking exterior doors, one after another, all locked. I began to despair at the idea I'd get out of the school itself. I'd deal with the fence once I was free of the building. Every door and window was sealed magnetically. I would need to find a window I could break. Most of them had webbing in them that stopped being broken easily. The second floor would probably have the opportunity I needed, no one was concerned about someone breaking in up there. Maybe a fire escape, I could trigger the alarm and get out. As I ran I saw a small outlet with the a fire alarm pull. I half slid half fell and scrambled back down the hall. This had to work. I broke the glass cover and yanked on the alarm…. Nothing. Maybe it was a silent alarm. I shouldn't have been surprised, but the door wouldn't budge. I didn't wait too long to mourn the failure. I shot off like a rocket again. "There!!" A voice rang out behind me. It was male! What the hell? I was already around the corner but my surprise almost tripped me up. I recovered and flew into a stairwell. My lungs were burning as I wound my way up a flight of stairs. Into the hallway, I needed a place to hide. I had to catch my breath and get enough time to form a plan. If they'd just give me 10 seconds…. As I went down the hall I opened all the doors around corners and into new halls. I doubled back about a third of the way down a hall and went into the second to the last door I'd opened, checking to make sure they were not in sight. Hopefully that would throw them off my scent. I ducked into the dark lecture hall, there were chairs and desks in a normal row pattern. I hid myself among them. Hopefully, if they did come in they would still miss me. "He came down this hall, someone stay here, if he makes a break for it we will know. Everyone else, let's start searching classrooms." My heart froze. I could hear the click of women's heels on the hard floor in the hall. They were getting closer and closer. *click* *click* They stopped seemingly at the door. "I'll check the next one." I didn't recognize the voice. "OK, I'll check this one then." A new voice announced, I hadn't heard footsteps of two people. Then There were at least three of them and one was probably a dude. Was I screwed or what? How was I getting out of this? "John?" the new voice asked. "John, if you are in here, I promise if you are a good boy, I'll make sure you get rewarded still." I could barely breathe. My hands felt numb. "John, we want what's best for you. I promise it won't hurt at all." I saw movement, it was the teacher that had pampered another teacher. Her ankle length flowery dress seemed to be taunting me as she moved through the room checking the few hiding places. My hiding spot under the desk should keep me relatively unseen due to it being dark in the room, but she would find me eventually. "John I'll make sure you get taken good care of, even if I have to do it myself." Her voice was motherly. "John, I know you're scared, that's pretty normal, and that bloodbath in the auditorium didn't help." She seemed for all the world a sheep in wolves clothes. She sounded like the devil, everything sounded good but wrapped up a deadly intent. "But don't worry this can be good. You won't avoid it but you can enjoy it. It's up to you, John." She kept using my name, it was unnerving. If I attacked her who knew what would happen, I'd rather not deal with the aftermath of that. "Come out John, stop hiding, you can't get out. The school is locked down, the doors locked, windows are sealed, John." She was moving between the desks now, I would have to make a break for it soon. "Tammy is here too, John. She is going to be your guardian. John, she is so excited to help you. You don't understand how lucky you are. John, you need to come out." I saw her dress round the corner as far from the door as she was ever going to get again. It was the best chance I had. I chose that moment to bolt. "John stop!" The teacher yelled. She Didn't bother to run after me. It should have been a warning, but my path was already set. I Was almost through the door. I was definitely not stopping. As I passed the door, without warning I was tackled. We went to the floor of the hallway. "Just take it easy man, this'll be over soon." Was all he said. "Who are you? What kind of traitor are you? Get off of me!" I shouted and struggled. I twisted violently; it was enough to get a better view of the traitor. I didn't know him, he was blonde with a chiseled face. He was strong enough to hold me but with effort I could probably get out. "You're not seeing the bigger picture John. We males were ruining this place, they are fixing it. I sided with them to help us get better." His voice strained as he tried to keep me from freeing myself. "John, I'm going to help you accept what we are doing here." It was Tammy, my efforts doubled, the adrenaline coursing through me seemed to double as well. She held one of those devices the guards had in the auditorium. "Leave me the hell alone you b!+(#" I growled at her. I twisted the traitor off of me and sat up. It was at that point I noticed he didn't have pants on, and in full display was one of those diapers they had put on all the other guys. My mind rebelled at the thought, I tried to hurl myself away from him, but that momentary pause was all it took. I felt something pressed to my back and a sharp pain. It only lasted a second and a wave of intense numbness started to form. I didn't wait to figure it out, or atleast I tried not to wait. I made it 3 steps before whatever had been injected into me took effect. My legs stopped working all together. I dropped to the floor like a sack of potatoes. What nightmare is this? I began to try and army crawl away. I had to get away. What had she done to me? "Don't worry it's temporary, John." Tammy said coming up behind me, she rubbed my back, shushing me. I was just trying to escape. Not that an army crawl was going to get me out of here. I was never getting away now and I realised it. I collapsed on the floor and rolled away my legs limp and trailing behind me. I batted at Tammy to get her to leave me alone. "John, this won't last long so we need to get you in your diapers before that ends, I don't want to have to inject you twice." I laid my head back and began to sob, never responding to her. She didn't deserve a response. I was hauled back into the lecture hall and onto the professor's desk. "Don't be so intolerant, man, they are actually pretty comfortable, soft and you won't need a toilet anymore." The traitor went on. "Who brainwashed you? Or are you just this pathetic?" I yelled through the tears. "What kind of person just allows themselves to be made into a baby?" Tammy moved between my knees interrupting my tirade. She unbuttoned my pants and grabbed the sides of my underwear and shorts yanked them off. "You're being such a good boy now. John, I'm glad you're letting me do this. It's better this way, you'll see." I realized I wasn't fighting back anymore and my hands had been released. What did it matter? I couldn't run. "John, I'm going to put this on you now." Patting another white rectangle that I had become way too familiar with. "You don't know all the rules yet, and that's ok, but my rules are that your care and schooling are now my responsibility. Once I tape you in, I am your guardian." "Guardian?" I squawked, "what's that supposed to mean?" She sounded crazy.``Remember the day when you signed your paperwork so you could come here free of charge and get a degree. You were promised that degree, in exchange You also promised to follow the rules of the school no matter how they evolved?" I did remember that line but it hadn't been framed that way. "Remember this school is an experiment on how society could be. We are shaping the future of our nation, and maybe the world." For the first time, something touched my mind. They may be crazy but it could follow me wherever I go, it could infect the world. "You're all sick." I spat at her. "John, you boys are dangerous, always in trouble. The only time you are not is when you are in the care of your mothers. When you are under a good motherly love. That is when a boy is at his best behavior. We are going to put you boys back where you belong, at your 'mother's' skirts. Now be a good boy." She sighed, this was the behavior of someone who was insane, but she didn't seem crazy, she was calm and put together. "I know it's no secret that I like you." She leaned down and gave a slight peck on my cheek.``this could be so much better, if only you'd just let me do this one thing" "It's not just one thing, you want to ruin me. You're a wh0r3 like the rest of them." "John, you're so angry. It'll be ok, you'll see. Your perspective is the only thing making this bad." I knew I wasn't getting out of this, in my core I was trapped. Giving up the fight I layed still and just accepted the inevitable. "Whatever." I muttered. Tammy laid her head on my chest as if she was hugging me. I could smell her soap. It was nice. Gentle like a flower but strong enough not to be missed. My legs may be paralyzed but my arms weren't, I pushed with all I had, "Don't touch me." At least I would have this memory, the one of her surprised face falling onto her rear. My hands were immediately held in place by the teacher and the other guy. They weren't letting go anymore. I was effectively immobilized now. It took her a second to recover. "John, I'm going to let that one go, because I know how traumatic this day has been. However, anymore outbursts and I'll give you the second spank you've gotten from me." She seemed to consider something for a second. "Maybe reading your rules would help you to understand better. Maybe reading both our rules would help. Hmm? What do you think?" "That's a good boy", she produced 2 pieces of cardstock paper. Holding one up she read it like you would to a small child. "Rule one, you will wear diapers at all times, the only approved time without one is bathtime and when being changed. Rule two, the boys bathrooms are now boys changing stations, until all toilets are removed they are off limits, once they are removed they will be off limits unless you are with your guardian. Rule three, you will use your diaper at all times, if you refuse, the incontinence injection will be used. This will render you without control for a time, after 5 shots it will be permanent. Rule four, your guardian, the one who taped you into your first diaper, is in charge, what she says, goes. Rule five, if you fail in these things there is an acceptable list of punishments she may use. Rule 6, pants are to only be worn when weather requires it, your guardian needs to have access to you at all times, she will also make the decision on pants." Tammy leaned down and looked in my eyes. She did have a prettiness to her. Not like a girl who was just in it to be a "hot chick." It was more subtle, more real. She was a psycho though. So no matter what, she was a no fly zone. Placing a hand on my chest, "I have wanted to reward you for a long time, will you let me now? Will you be my good boy?" Placing the diaper on my thigh she slid her hand to my groin. "I promise this will be worth it" My curiosity never even engaged. Blake's words came back to me, and I just laid there not even sobbing or acknowledging her. My pants around my knees, Tammy turned and grabbed her bag. "These diaper bags are great, so many pockets." Producing a bottle of baby powder she went to work, rubbing it in. Making sure to hit everything, she went on for a long time, trying to get me going. "Nothing huh?" The disappointment in her voice was not very satisfying. At least not as much as I wanted it to be. "You really don't get how much I hate you." She pulled something from her bag that I didn't get to see well. She Never paused, she plunged it into my belly below my belly button. I felt the pressure of the injection, and screamed as the pain hit. I felt it burning my insides. All the sudden it was like a knot I didn't know was there just released. As fast as it started it ended. "What did you do to me?" Tammy smiled, caressing my face, "I'd say there are about 5 seconds before you find out. You're going to be a good boy. Since diapers are not a punishment but me educating you, I have levied a punishment for your negative behavior." I felt the need to pee and tried to clamp down on my muscles. Tammy quickly unfolded a diaper and laid it over me. At that moment I realized she had destroyed my continence. I had about half a second to come to terms with it before I made the first mess of my adult life. "Oh no, I guess you will need me. For at least the time being, the first time should last a week or so. The second injection is about 20 days, the third about 2 months. Number four will last close to a year, and well, number 5 will have you gloriously fluffy for life." She chuckled at that. My depression grew bigger, it was like a void opening below me that I fell into. She wouldn't have time to make it permanent but she could definitely do some damage. "Calm down," Tammy had gone back to that crazy tone where she seemed emotionless. "I have the fix for you too, a nice fluffy diaper. Now let's get you taken care of. "I hate you." I said "But I love you, and I'll make you a good boy." She smiled an almost sad smile. "I understand your anger but for now, before you make another mess, let's diaper you, my good boy." The diaper was raised between my legs as I felt a final dribble escape and trickle into the padding. It was gone as fast as it leaked out. She slowly taped me in. Chatting about her rules the whole time, I wasn't listening, I was mourning my life, I would never survive this no matter how I struggled, I'd be ground to dust if I tried… _-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_ I had not planned on continuing this but I have a few ideas, if it gets enough support to keep it going, I'll be motivated if not it'll die here lol. BB

Chapter 1 This is the story of a red panda with pink fur. Her name is Alice. She was not supposed to live past the age of 2. Her parents are both also red pandas but with normal fur. Her mom's name is Jane and she is 5 foot 6. Her dad's name is Cree. He is about 5 foot 9. They were both normal in height and both lived normal lives. They quickly fall in love after meeting at an archery contest. Jane and Cree made it to the semi-finals. Both of them have hit all their shots right on the bullseye, all they had to do was not miss or get distracted. Jane smirks at Cree giving him a cheeky wink. She yells over to him. "Hey, tell you what you beat me and I might let you get to know me better. But if I win you are going to buy me lunch." Jane says and blows a kiss at him. His mind was racing. He was never much of a lady's man. He just liked archery and kept to himself he never had a girl come on to him like this. He took a deep breath In and out. He shook his head and took aim. She might be hot and a girl but she wasn't going to take it easy on her. "Don't miss cutie~" Jane yells at him giggling. This makes the man panic and let go of his arrow pointing straight up. The arrow comes back down, landing right through his foot. Cree screams as Jane runs over to him. "Oh no! I didn't mean for that to happen! Just relax, this might hurt a bit sweetie." She says yanking the arrow right out. This causes Cree to scream trying not to cry in pain. He didn't want to look weak in front of someone so cute. He watched as she took off her sleeved shirt leaving her only in an undershirt and rips it up and ties it tight around his foot. "Let's get you to the hospital, I think I owe you that at least. Then maybe you can buy me that lunch." She says smiling at him. His voice cracks as he goes to speak. "Cree…" He says blushing but still in a lot of pain. She giggled but looked confused. "M-my name that is…" Cree says in a panic. Jane smiles and hugs him. "My name’s Jane, nice to meet you cutie. Though I wish it was better circumstances." This was their first time meeting; they were both about 22 years old at this point. They grew closer and closer before eventually getting married a few years later. Though it had to be said Jane never let Cree play the dominant one. She loved him but also loved to be on top. This might have caused the problem where Jane got pregnant. It was another year later but after some casual sex and wearing out the red panda boy Jane found out she was pregnant. She screamed from the bathroom. She had no intention of having kids. At least not yet. She couldn't believe how badly she wanted him the other day and didn't get off him letting him go full load in her. Cree runs into the bathroom. "What's wrong?!" He asks. She just sighs again. "Looks like we are going to have a kid…" Cree was overly excited but Jane not as much. Maybe secretly, over the next few months, she got more and more excited about the idea. Then after finding out it was a girl she was even more excited. She couldn't wait. Her belly grew more and more. Before one night they laid down to go to sleep her water broke just before she was out. They rushed her to the hospital where she screamed and cried as she gave birth to their new daughter. They named Alice this was Jane's idea she was named after her grandma. But something was off her fur was not red like her mom and dad but pinker. She was taken away by the doctors to get the normal check-up and cleaned up. Cree held Jane's hand. "Pink fur huh? What could cause that? My whole family was red I believe?" Cree says. Jane looks down thinking then looks up nervously. "I remember my grandma telling me of a story that she had a boy with pink fur but…" She says then covers her mouth beginning to cry. "B-but he didn't make it…" She continued. Cree tears up. "Surely not! She will be fine… I-" Just then the doctors walk into the room and hand Jane the baby. Alice just cries till she sees her mom before she just smiles reaching up at her. Jane smiles letting the newborn play with her fingers. The doctor then sighs. "I have something important to say. I'm sorry but she… will be lucky to make it past the age of 2. She has a very rare sickness, it has to do with a rare mutation that causes her fur to turn pink. I have never seen a child live past the ages of two but I hope I'm wrong, I'm sorry." They both broke into tears hugging her tight. They wanted to give her the best life they could before she could leave them. They took her on trip after trip, almost never spending time at home. They took her to theme parks and just all over the world, they spent all the money they had on her. But one day on Alice's first birthday all this stress and going out every day for so long put Jane into a heart attack. Cree rushes her to a hospital straight to the emergency room. She was lucky she made it through but she will have to stay at home and try not to push herself. Anything crazy, exciting or stressing on her heart again might kill her. Alice was about a year old now and the family was celebrating her first birthday. Alice was sitting In her high chair looking up at her mom and dad. "Happy birthday princess!" Cree and Jane yell. As they cheer and laugh. This makes Alice laugh and hits her tray with her hands excitedly. Jane and Cree both give her a big cake saying we love you on it. Suddenly Jane begins crying. "Eat all you want baby girl… w-we might not get to do this next year." Cree Hugs her and she begins to bawl. Alice looks excited by the cake and begins to make a mess while eating some of the cake. After a while of playing she looks up at her mom and dad crying then also begins to bawl not knowing what's wrong but knowing something is wrong. The rest of the year was spent as peacefully as possible to make sure Jane didn't go through another heart attack. This was rough on the family after the last year but they made it through. It's been a decent year but no changes are seen by Alice, no worse condition or anything. They ended up taking her to the hospital to be re-tested after hours and hours of waiting as the doctor walked in. Alice was playing with some toys in a small playpen while Cree and Jane watched. "We got good news! We don't understand how but she doesn't appear to have any of the symptoms anymore but there's still some strange things going on. She might be ok if only a few defects later on in life, But keep a very close eye on her." They both looked excited and hugged laughing and crying. But suddenly the strain of this excitement hit Jane as she screamed and held her chest. She was quickly rushed to the hospital. Cree grabbed Alice. He was crying and hugging her so worried about his wife as she was rushed to a different room. Alice was worried about her dad just playing with his shirt and chewing on it looking up at him. They sat out in the waiting room for nearly 8 hours then the doctors walked in looking down. "Cree… we are so sorry but Jane has passed from a heart attack. We did everything we could, we are deeply sorry." Cree hugs Alice tight and cries like crazy. Alice also begins to cry because her dad was crying. Cree knew he was losing someone this year but his wife was not what he expected. Many years pass after this. Alice is now about 10 years old and 4 feet tall. She was oddly short for her age but it wasn't crazy. Cree comes into her room while she sleeps and shakes her awake. "Time to wake up princess and get ready for school. I got to work too. I probably won't be home when you get home so I'll have a babysitter for you when you get home." Cree says. Alice grones and sits up. "But daddy I don't want a babysitter. I'm 10 years old now and I'm not a little girl anymore…" She says rubbing her eyes. Cree smiles and hugs her. "I know sweetie. But I just don't want anything bad to happen to you. I couldn't stand losing you after losing your mom about 8 years ago today." Alice hugs her dad. "I'm sorry dad… I wish I remembered mom. What was mom like daddy?" He smiled and rubbed her head. "Honestly she was a lot like you. Stubborn and going to have it her way. But she was loving and caring. She loved you so much. I miss her so much." Cree says. Alice frowns looking down. “But I'm just happy to have my little girl!” He said as he tickled her. Both him and Alice laughed and she smiled at him after he stopped. "Now get in the shower. Make sure you get clean this time." Cree says as he walks out of her room. She giggled. “Ok, daddy!” She jumped up and grabbed some clothes that were normal for her age. They looked about normal, maybe a little more childish than she wanted but it wasn't crazy for a 10-year-old. She goes to the bathroom and takes a shower and puts on some blue shortalls on then puts on a cute blue hat heading down to the kitchen. Her dad was already gone but had a pb&J sandwich sitting out for her. Alice smiles and takes walks outside and sits on the porch waiting for the school bus. She swings her legs happily and eats her pb&J. She had a pretty decent life. They might not have tons of money or a perfect house but it was a better life than living on the street or something. Suddenly the bus honks. Alice jumps down off the porch and runs off to the bus with her backpack on, She gets on the bus and looks around. There were a few people that stuck out to her. One was a young boy in the front; he always sat up straight holding his books and smiled at Alice. She gives an awkward smile and waves back. He was a human that wore a shirt with Eevee on it. They were playing tug of War and wore some aqua shorts. He was always super nice to her and she pretended to be nice to him. She didn't hate him, he was just a little weird and always talked about protecting her and stuff. It was kinda creepy to her. The next was a little lion, his mane hasn't grown in yet but he always teased Alice. He wore a camo shirt and jeans. He smirks as Alice passes. "Hey Alice and here I thought you wore pants to school, not just underwear!" She jumps and quickly looks down but she did put on clothing. Why was she tricked by that? She stomps her foot. "Dang it, Ram! I hate you so much, you are such a jerk!" She yells going to the back of the bus and sitting embarrassed. Suddenly the bus driver yells. "Stop fighting back there!" A few people around ram laugh just mocking Alice. Alice sits thinking to herself. "I hate this stupid school… Why can't daddy just get me out of it? They told me I technically don't have to go. Something about… my symptoms might come back eventually, that when I'm grown up I'm going to be set for life apparently?" She sighs and looks out the window watching as they drive away from her home and slowly to the school. Later she's in class, and the bell was about to ring for the next class. The teacher is talking to the class. It's a Female Cow in a long blue dress. "Ok class, tomorrow is bring your mother to school day! So don't forget to have her sign that paper so she can come in to talk about her work and other activities." The class cheered excitedly. Alice just frowns and lays her head on the table the teacher looks worried and as the class was leaving she stopped Alice. "Hey, Alice? Can we talk?" She gulps and panics. "I didn't shoot the spit wad at Ram! He started it!" The teacher looked confused and sighs. "That's not what I was talking about, but good job incriminating yourself." She said giggling. Alice looked surprised then puffed out her cheeks and crossed her arms. "Not fair…" She smiles and rubs Alice's head but she smacks it off. "So what do you want?" Alice asks, the teacher leans down, getting face to face. "Is something wrong with your mom? You seem to get upset when I talk about it?" The teacher asks. She looks down. "My mom died when I was young… i-i wish I knew her…" She tries to keep talking but she begins crying as the teacher hugs her, Feeling awful. They gave her off mom's day to stay home with her dad. Unfortunately, her dad got called into work too so she had to be with a babysitter. She loved her dad but she wished he could stay home more and be with her. Many more years later Alice is now 16 years old. She has not grown one-inch thanks to her strange illness. She's still 4 feet tall. Just like a normal day her dad walks into her room. "Alice, time to wake up. You're going to miss the bus." She sits up quickly only wearing a bra and panties and jumps out of bed. "Shit! Why did you let me sleep in so late?!" Her dad sighs. "Alice, please watch your mouth. You know I don't like that language." She shakes her head and shrugs. "Dad, I'm 16! I might be small and only 4 feet tall but I'm still 16! You got to let me grow up!" He laughs looking down. "Sorry, I know I know. You are just so cute. I'm happy to know you won’t die. Your mother's probably so happy. But being so small forever is a shame. I know it's been hard with school." Alice got dressed in a similar outfit when she was 10 years old. "I wish normal clothing would fit me at least… I hate wearing such childish clothing. Can’t we order special order clothing?" Her dad sighs. “You know I don't have that kinda money. As much as I would love to.” Suddenly there's a honk. "Shit the bus! Got to go, dad, love you! We can talk later!" She hugs him and runs out of the house just catching the bus. In the front there sat the same boy but definitely more Older. Everyone on the bus was 16 now. Even ram he had a bit of a mane now looked like a mean lion now. But oddly she sits right beside him. He throws his arms around her and she smiles. "Wow, cut it close huh? You didn't even comb your hair." She blushes and puts her hair down with her hands. "Oh shut up ram. My dad woke me up late." She sighs and lays against him. "You are nice and comfortable." Alice says, he smirks and leans down, and kisses her. She blushed and covered her face. "Love you." Ram said. Alice smiled back. "Love you too." Turned out Ram used to tease her because he liked her. It took her a while to fall for him but he was the only boy that seemed to like her. He was still kinda a dick but she was loved, right? After the bus ride, they got off and waved as they went to their classes. She was suddenly stopped by her three girlfriends. One was a squirrel she only wore skirts and dresses. Today it was a yellow summer dress. She was a foot and a half taller than Alice. Next was a mouse. She was white-furred and kinda a bitch but she was kinda nice to Alice. Then last was a cat she was striped with black and orange. "Hey, Alice! Are you still coming over today after school?" The mouse asks. "Hey Brittany, uhh ya I think so? We are staying all night right? I might need to get some clothes to sleep in but definitely." The squirrel smirks. "Oh ya, she needs clothing for a toddler because she is so small." Alice blushes and glares. "I'm not that small Cali!" The cat speaks up next. "Oh, Cali don't tease her. She can't help it if she still needs to wear diapers." The group laughs and Alice blushes like Crazy. "Sam! Ahhh! I'm going to class. I'll see you all after school! Or maybe I won’t, it might be nice." She goes to her class and the group laughs more before smirking at each other. It seemed the group had a plan for her. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Enjoying this? Join my patreon to read the next 10 chapters! https://www.patreon.com/Little_Rie

Hello people as I don't have the same "desire" as everyone else here I would still like to post a link to a blog that I started. I'm 4 days into it well anyways it's a blog about 30 days in diapers. Blog: http://30daysindiapers.blogspot.com Feel free to follow and make comments or questions on my blog, I'll respond to them when I get the chance.