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Hello everyone, and welcome to the first in what I hope to be a series of ABDL superhero stories, similar to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This is also my first ABDL story, so any kind of feedback and suggestions on how I can improve my writing is more than welcome. With that, I hope you enjoy. ..... When you think of a superhero, what comes to mind? A muscular paragon of courage willing to defend all that is good in the world? Someone with cool powers and a dynamic costume with bright colors? I'm both of those things, but what makes me different from other superheroes is the fact that I can't keep my pants dry. My name is Nick Windel, and this is my story... Real Heroes Wear Diapers: The Diapered Avenger Chapter 1 But first, let's go back a few days. I'm a sophomore in college, and a pretty average looking guy with red hair and skin so pale, people assume I'm a leprechaun. I was currently on Summer Vacation, staying with my family for a few months. My big sister Amanda was also visiting, planning a party for her son Issac's first birthday. I was looking for a present to get for the little guy. While walking around town, I noticed a strange store I had never seen before I left for college. It was called “Hidden Magic”. Seemed a little on the nose, but I still went in to check it out. When I entered, I was greeted by a nice man at the counter. “Hello there. Thank you for finding Hidden Magic! Is there anything you're looking for?” He asked. “No, I'm fine. Just browsing around. I don't think there's anything for an infant's birthday here.” I replied as I walked around, looking at the various trinkets like crystal balls and necklaces, probably all fake. Suddenly, my eyes turned to a strange object on one of the shelves. It looked like a pacifier, but much bigger than the one a baby uses, almost as if it was big enough for me. On the center was a red jewel that looked pretty expensive, and on the clip was some strange language I couldn't decipher. I decided to pick it up and take it to the front. “Hey, do you know what this is?” I asked. “Ah, the Soother of Justice. Good choice.” The man said. “It has been said that the gemstone embedded into that has magical properties that can give the user incredible abilities.” “Okay... How much is it worth?” I ask. The man smiled in response. “It is usually a lot more expensive, but for you, only twenty dollars. I sense this belongs to you.” I realized this was pretty much a steal, so I decided to pay for it. I didn't know why, but something compelled me to get it. So I thanked the man and headed back to my house. My mom and sister were out, probably shopping for the party in a few days, so I was alone for now. I went to my room and took out my purchase. I noticed the gemstone on the pacifier was glowing faintly in my hands, and for some reason, I moved it into my mouth. I didn't even think about it, it just happened. And as soon as it did, the gemstone shined brightly, letting out a flash as the clip attached itself to the side of my shirt. As soon as the light faded, and my eyes adjusted, I noticed my outfit had changed, and I said to myself... “What the hell am I wearing?!” For some reason, instead of my usual red polo shirt and camo shorts, I was wearing a bright red and blue onesie with a red cape on the back, and underneath the onesie, was a thick diaper which stuck out like a sore thumb. Even my normally reddish orange hair was bright red, almost like an anime character. I was naturally confused as to what this pacifier did to me. I tried to reach for it, but it wasn't in my mouth. Instead, it was almost like a badge on the side of the onesie. I pounded the side of my desk in frustration, but amazingly, it almost broke in two with the crack it caused. “What the...” I pondered for a moment. That guy at the store was telling the truth about the stuff this pacifier could do. Granted, I can only do it while dressed like a giant baby, but I guess I can live with that. I decided to head out to the backyard to see what else I could do with this. I went out to a forest outside of town and did a little stretching to prepare myself. I started by running for a little bit, but I noticed a ran several meters in a matter of seconds. So I had super speed, that was cool. I decided to run around some more to get the hang of it. It was really exhilarating until I was stopped by a nearby rock, causing me to trip, forcing my eyes shut to prepare for the pain. The strange thing is that... I didn't hit the ground. I opened my eyes and found I was floating in midair. So I can fly too, that's even cooler than super speed! I moved around in midair, getting used to flying around, but I was getting the hang of it. I wasn't exactly Superman in terms of skill, but I just need more practice. I also remembered how easily I broke my desk, so I decided to see how strong I was by punching a nearby tree. A few seconds after my fist made contact, the tree fell over easily. I tried it with a few more trees, even cutting one in half with a karate chop. I had never felt so alive in my life! So it was all the more jarring when I transformed back. For some reason, the pacifier badge on my onesie (The fact that I actually said that sentence is making my rethink my life choices) started glowing again, and it let out another flash of light. Suddenly, I was back in my regular clothes, and the pacifier was back in my hand. Okay, so this thing follows Ultraman rules, I guess. However, I noticed something carried over from the costume, something I can't believe I was still wearing. Underneath my shorts was a diaper, which I could tell from the waistband sticking out a few inches from my pants. To which I responded... “You have GOT to be kidding me!” So, what do you think so far? This first chapter is mainly here to provide setup an insight into the main character, so things will get more interesting next chapter. Is there any area I can improve on this? If so, I welcome any kind of feedback. I'm fine with either a reply to this or a direct message. Either way, Chapter 2 is coming soon,

THE MAGIC SHOW INTRODUCTION When my girlfriend broke up with me I moved back to my hometown, and started living with my step mom, Jackie. I didn’t have anywhere else to go. The condo, and our cars were all in my ex’s name. She was always the more responsible one. Living with Jackie again really filled out my cliche - that being : a thirty-one year old, struggling magician, that lives in his mom’s basement. She didn’t mind at all. Jackie had needed help working on the house ever since my father passed away last year, and welcomed the help. She ran a small daycare out of the house during the week. Which I thought would help the ‘struggling’ part of my current situation. I expected that I could score a few jobs doing kid’s parties for her clients. Most of them were single moms though. With little expendable income. I recognized a few of the women from grade school. Jackie didn’t charge them much to watch their kids. She had a soft spot for single moms. She raised my step sister all alone until she married my dad. The odd jobs around the house kept me occupied enough during the day. But, without a girlfriend to have sex with at night I was obviously left to my own devices - those being fantasies of wearing diapers and getting treated like a baby by pretty girls. It didn’t take long for all of the latter to become entangled. PART ONE ONE WEEK LATER... It was late Wednesday afternoon. I was finishing up a magic show that Jackie had helped me set up for the kids and their parents. “Okay Kids! Was that cool or what? I got one more trick for you. Who wants to see their mommy or daddy act like a chicken?” “YEAH!!... SO COOL!!!... YEAH!!!...” The kids erupted with anticipation. One little girl turned to her mom “I LIKED THE WABBIT!!! CAN I HAVE A WABBIT MOMMY!!!” The woman smiling back at the little girl was Dana - one of the girls I had recognized from high school. She caught me staring at her for a couple seconds too long. Shooting me a coy smile. I blushed, and tried to maintain my composer. “You hear that grown ups? The kids say they want to see you get HYPNOTIZED! You’re not gonna disappoint them are you?” I pulled a watch out of my pocket, and lifted it into the air. Instructing the kids to cover their ears. “Just stare at the watch now all you grown ups... you’re getting tired... Your eyes are heavy... On the count of three you will fall into a deep sleep. ONE... TWO... THREE...” The adults all slumped over in unison. “When I snap my fingers you will all wake up and be chickens until I snap my fingers again.” With one swift flick of my finger the adults all sprung from their chairs and started flapping their arms and strutting about the room. “BAWK, BAWK” they screeched as their kids rolled with laughter. I let the kids have their fun for a few minutes. “Okay! that’s long enough I think. We wouldn't want them to get stuck as chickens would we?” “OH NO!!!... TURN THEM BACK... QUICK!!!... NO!!!...” The youngsters were all shouting at once. Most of them maintained their playful giggles all the while. Until I hypnotized them too... “Okay parents that’s enough.” It took a few moments for them all to awkwardly shuffle back to their seats. “When I count to three everyone will wake up.” Adults and kids alike were staring at me through distant glassy eyes - completely unaware of what was coming next. “But... when you wake up…” my voice quivered anxiously, “ When you wake up anytime you see me wearing a diaper you will think I’m actually a baby, and treat me like one until I put my normal clothes back on again.” Dana cornered me after the show. “How have you been? I haven't seen you since High School? Blair really liked you... erm... your show... you know?” she was fumbling her words like a little school girl. “Thanks. It was my pleasure. I needed something to do. Things here are...” I trailed off not wanting to remind her that I lived with my step mom, if she was in fact flirting with me. “If you were gonna say boring. Join the club. Carsonville hasn't changed much since you left. If you’re free Friday maybe we can help each other not be bored. Here’s my number.” Dana shot me another coy smile and handed me a piece of notebook paper. “I should be free.” I tried to play cool - even though I was sure I was blushing again. Dana was pretty back then and really grew into her body nicely. I couldn’t believe she was into me. Jackie was in the kitchen opening a bottle of wine by the time I joined her in the kitchen, after showing to her car. “Celebrate a good show before dinner?” she asked as she poured two very big cups. Jackie liked her wine. And I was never one to turn down a drink. We finished the bottle before Jackie started cooking, and another one at dinner. Needless to say I was pretty drunk as I rushed to the basement the second I had finished eating. I was obviously excited to get myself into a diaper, but now there was an urgency. I had to pee so bad after drinking all that wine. I tore my clothes off with a hurry on the way to my room, and quickly tapped a diaper from my personal stash around my hips. I was walking like Frankenstein’s monster on my way back to Jackie. Trying to hold the pee in until she saw me. Jackie was cleaning the dishes. She had her back to me when I stepped back into the kitchen. My heart was pounding. It would be so embarrassing if the hypnosis didn’t work. But even still - I was so drunk... thinking about her actual reaction to me pissing myself right in front of her. Wearing nothing but a giant baby diaper, nursery print and all. It was giving me a hard on. This was happening now, for better or worse. I didn’t have to put any effort into it at all. As soon as I let go a little I could feel the front of my diaper start growing warmer. “Mommy…” I squeaked, tugging at the back of Jackie’s dress. “I have a acciwent...” Jackie turned around, and let out a gasp. I feared the worst. Her big blue eyes were wider than I’d ever seen them, filled with a look of horror - one that you would find on a woman who just saw her thirty one year old step son pissing in a giant baby diaper and talking to her like he was a toddler. My heart skipped a beat or two - before her eyes glassed over, and her mouth relaxed into a smile. She knelt down and poked my belly. “Did mommy's little man have an accident?” She cood at me. “We will have to clean him up before beddy-bye. Yes we will.” It worked! I was so relieved. “I go peepee!” I shouted at her in excitement. “I want sleep with you!” Jackie put the last dish away and took my hand. “Okay baby. Let’s get you cleaned up.” Jackie took me to my room, and laid me on the bed, and untaped my wet diaper. She gently cleaned me with baby wipes, cooing at me as she did. “Somebody really made their diaper wet didn’t he?” she slid a fresh diaper underneath me, and shook the baby powder over my naked body. “We’ll use extra powder this time. Baby doesn’t want a rash.” she booped my nose before fastening the last tape. “All clean!” “Play mommy! Play!” I demanded. As I wiggled around in my diaper. “In the morning it’s bedtime now. Come on.” She helped me up, and led me out of the room by my hand. “I really have to do something with this room.” she said as she shut the lights out and led me upstairs to the nursery. She tried to put me in one of the cribs that she used for the daycare, but i fought her. “I wan play with mommy!” I protested, trying to squirm away from her and the crib. “Someone is feisty tonight isn’t he?” I was still drunk. “Well mommy is gonna go to bed soon too baby. I guess you can stay up with me while I get ready. I followed Jackie to her room with a smile from ear to ear. Everything was going perfect. It got better once she situated me in the middle of her bed. She unzipped her dress and let it fall to the floor. My erection throbbed in my diaper as I watched my beautiful step mom undress. She was nearing 50 but her body was still something to behold. “Come on, and be good for mommy.” She leaned across the bed to grab me. Her breasts were inches from my face as she scooped me towards her. There wasn’t a thought otherwise. I grabbed her bosom and played with it as she scooted me to the edge of the bed. Latching onto her nipples when they close enough to my mouth. “MAMA!!!” I babbled and I sucked on it before she pulled me off. “You’re too old for those, baby!” she giggled. “Mommy will make you a bottle after her shower.” Jackie pulled me away from her and sat me on the bathroom floor before slipping her smooth legs into the tub. After the bath she made me a bottle as promised and laid me down in the crib for bed. At this point I was ready to be alone with my thoughts. I spent all night playing with myself and making a mess in my diaper for Jackie to change in the morning. The morning was just as fulfilling. Jackie woke me up in the morning. And changed my diaper. Treating me just as much like her little baby as she did the night before. She fixed me a bottle and sat me down in the play area, just in time for the other kids to start getting dropped off. “Isn’t he cute… he’s getting so big!” the other moms would praise me as they dropped their little ones off. I was especially happy when Dana showed up to drop her daughter off. “DANA!” I squealed as I made my way over to her on my hands and knees. Reaching up at her when I made my way to her feet. “KISS!!! KISS DANA!!!” “Aww... He’s so precious Jackie.” Dana knelt down and wrapped her arms around me and smooched myface. “So smart!” she huffed. “You make sure Blair has a good day big guy. I'm Counting on youOUWEE!” I had grabbed a handful of her butt before she pulled away and surprised her. She hoisted herself up rather quickly. I tried to get a handful of her breast before it was too late. But only managed to pull her blouse open. “Oh my! Watch out for this one!” she laughed, quickly covering the bright red bra I had just exposed. Her cheeks were as red as it was. “Honestly I don’t know what’s gotten into him.” Jackie said apologetically. “He tried to latch onto mine last night. You don’t think it was too early to put him on the bottle do you? “They have to grow up sometime.” she laughed. Buttoning up her shirt. “But boys will be boys. I have to run though. See you tonight Jackie. I spent all day playing with my step mom and the other babies. The last hour was a struggle to not mess myself. Not that I didn’t want to... I just wanted to do it in front of Dana. She couldn't have come sooner. “Blair is just waking up from her nap, let me go get her. Wait here.” Jackie gestured towards the couch before making her way to the nursery. “And how is my favorite little man?” Dana turned her attention to me. My attention was focused on her perky breasts since she walked in. I crawled over to her, making baby noises, already starting to pee a little in my diaper with every step. “Dana!” I babbled playfully as I crawled up onto the couch and into her lap. She bounced me around playfully for a few minutes before she discovered that I was wet. By that time i was already scrunching my face up, as I buried it in her cleavage. Even though I had to go poop so bad it still took a lot of conscious effort to mess myself. “Uh Oh! Is someone making a stinky!?!” Dana was pinching her nose and snaking it in my face. “Does someone need a diapee change?” she asked me playfully. I wiggeled around on top of her. Smearing the mess I made underneath me. Giggling, and pointing at the pile of my special diapers. “DIAPER!” I yelled and pointed again. “Okay, okay! I guess I can help your mommy out. It’s the least I can do.” I couldn’t believe it. Dana - the 2007 cheerleading captain - my crush - the women I was going on a date with tomorrow night was changing my diaper. “Stop that!” Dana demanded playfully. Pulling my hand of her breast one more time. “Looks like he likes yours as much as mine. You didn’t have to do that.” Jackie had come back with Blair as Dana was finishing my diaper change “Here I’ll trade you.” I took one more chance while she was distracted to grope her breast. I laid awake that night thinking about how hard it still was to poop myself. Even though I wanted to. It didn’t take that much thinking... When I was sure Jackie was asleep I snuck out of my crib and made my way to my room downstairs. I grabbed my pocket watch and watched it swing in the mirror. When I felt myself getting drowsy I pressed play on a recording I had just made. I could hear my own voice as I drifted further away...“When you're wearing diapers you will no longer be potty trained. You have no control over when you pee or poop. You’ll be just like a real baby until you wear your big boy clothes.” When I came to, I waddled back to my crib and fell asleep. Anxious for Jackie to wake me up for one more afternoon of fun before I had to put my real clothes back on for a little while. Tomorrow would be Friday - Dana’s and my date! There was no way I wasn't going to be thinking about that sexy woman changing my diaper the whole time.

The band Damage Limitation are on tour and stopping at a festival. Much to their chagrin they have been set up with a PR opportunity that none of them want. The band's manager, John, finds that corralling a rock band is the hardest part of his job. --- This story update, like all my others, is available on my Patreon one week before it gets posted elsewhere. For a $5 monthly pledge you can see every update I post (one every four days) before everyone else. For $10 you get early access plus access to TWENTY-SIX exclusive stories only available on Patreon. Other rewards and tiers are available and can be found on my Patreon page. https://www.patreon.com/Elfy88 --- Damage Limitation By Elfy The tour bus rolled down the highway under the blazing sun. The band Damage Limitation were lounging around as the miles of empty countryside stretched out behind them, the tour was really taking a toll on the three-piece band. The group were on their way to the Upload Festival where they would be headlining that night in support of their new album. It was to be the last show before they were to get a well-earned break. In truth tensions within the band were quite high but that was no surprise considering they had been living together in such cramped confines for so long. James, the vocalist and bass player, was sitting at the back of the bus using the video game console. Matt, the guitarist, was furiously scribbling on a piece of paper. He was already starting work on songs for the next album as well as his side project. The drummer, Brad, was at the front of the bus with his feet up and a baseball cap pulled down over his face. Sitting just across from the driver was the band manager. John was looking back at the guys he managed and was just as interested in some time away. Trying to keep these guys from fighting was a full time job. He was hoping for a quiet final day of the tour before heading home to his family. John consulted his planner and reminded himself of an event that was booked for earlier in the day. He closed his eyes and sighed before leaning across to the driver. “We need to make a detour.” John said quietly, “Go to this address.” John left the piece of paper with the driver who immediately started typing the new address into the satellite navigation equipment. John stood up and took a deep breath, he knew that what he had to say would not go down well with the young men strewn around the bus. “Band meeting!” John called out, “Upstairs.” John walked to the upper level of the bus which was filled with equipment. He walked to the front of the bus and sat down, as he heard people coming up the stairs he looked out at the town that was rapidly approaching. The bus sped past a billboard advertising the festival, a picture of Damage Limitation took up a majority of the space. “What’s up?” James asked as he sat down on one of the chairs and put his feet up. “Let’s wait till everyone’s here.” John replied. “That doesn’t sound good…” James chuckled as he leaned back and pulled out his phone. Matt was the second person up the stairs. He didn’t say anything but sat down on a speaker opposite the singer and continued scribbling notes without looking up. Not long after he sat down he shook his head and scribbled out some lines. “Writing our next hit?” James asked as he glanced up from the phone, “Please no octave changes this time. You’re killing me, dude.” “I’m writing something acoustic for my solo stuff.” Matt replied. “That’s good because John’s kicking you out of the band.” James replied with a snide smile. “He’s… what!?” Matt finally looked up from his paper to see James laughing and John shaking his head. “No one is getting kicked out.” John said quickly, “We just have to make an unexpected stop.” “Asshole.” Matt muttered to James before turning back to his paper. Brad finally trooped up the stairs half a minute later. He was yawning and quickly slumped into the seat nearest him. He leaned his head against the window and motioned for John to get on with it. “Alright, now that everyone’s here…” John started, “I wanted to let you all know there is a publicity event booked before the show tonight.” “More autographs?” Brad sighed, “You know how I feel about that.” “Yes, I know.” John replied, “You think it affects your drumming…” “More like it affects his jerking off.” James interjected with a laugh that no one shared. “Fuck you, James.” Brad replied without missing a beat. “Guys, knock it off.” John said as he briefly put his hand up to his forehead, “There won’t be many autographs. You’re going to be visiting a day care at the festival site for some pictures, maybe you’ll help out a bit and th-” “A day care!?” James scoffed, “Count me out.” “It’s the record labels idea.” John said, “They want you to do it so you’ll have to do it.” “That’s bullshit.” James argued. “You have to admit it’s not very rock and roll.” Matt said as he looked up again, “Like, I thought we were trying to make some hard hitting music that makes a difference.” “More like some hard hitting money.” Brad said lazily, “I’ve got a mortgage to pay off.” “Just get cleaned up.” John said, “We’ll be there in about half an hour and I need you all to be presentable for the press. You know you have to keep the suits happy if you want to get your bonus.” With general murmurs of discontent the three band members left to go back downstairs. John reminded himself it was just one more day before he could get a break, he just had to get the band through this last day of the tour. --- The bus pulled in to the festival car park and finally came to a stop. No one on board seemed particularly eager to get off but the roadies from other vehicles came on to start offloading equipment. James was chewing on some bubble-gum as he looked out of the window at the general hubbub outside the bus. He could hear a band on the main stage playing a song but they didn’t sound very good. James never really socialised with other bands, he didn’t mind doing it but it always seemed like other bands avoided them. He supposed his incessant pranking and joking might be the reason but if they couldn’t handle a little bit of fun that wasn’t his problem. “Yo, wake up.” James said as he threw a guitar pick across the aisle at Brad who was sleeping again. “Wha…” Brad slowly looked up in confusion, “Where are we?” “We’re at the festival.” James said, “John’s just gone off to work out where we’re going.” Brad nodded and stretched but soon leant back against the window. He didn’t fall back to sleep but he wasn’t doing much either. Matt was sat on the seat behind him taking a break from writing but not from work, he was listening to some other music. He called it research to see what other bands were doing but his bandmates called it an excuse to goof off. Matt always thought it was rich for them to say that though since it always seemed to be him that was doing the work for the band. James looked back out of the window to see John jogging back across the car park and on to the bus. He had a bunch of contracts and papers and looked a little rushed. He put his paper down on the vacant driver’s seat and looked around. “Good, you’re all here.” John said slightly breathlessly. “Where else would we be?” James asked sarcastically, “It’s not like we’re allowed to have fun or anything anymore.” “James you knew that when you signed the contract with the label you would have responsibilities and…” John began. “Whatever, dude.” James said with a dismissive wave of the hand, “What’re we doing?” “OK, well you aren’t due out on stage for quite a while and there are one or two things lined up for you beforehand.” James explained, “The nursery is waiting for us as we speak so if you are all ready to go.” “I’ve been so excited to do it.” James jumped to his feet in mock excitement and clapped his hands annoyingly. He couldn’t have been more sarcastic if he tried. “Try to tone the sarcasm down before you see the children.” John sighed with exasperation as the three band members filed past him and off the bus. The three uninterested band members followed John across the car park. The area over the fence was very loud, music intermingled with excited cheers and fairground noises as the classic atmosphere of a rock and roll festival. The backstage area was a lot less hectic although festival workers were hurrying to and fro getting things and people ready. The logistics of a festival must be a nightmare, they all thought as they walked through the area. “Well if it isn’t “Music Limitation.”” Shouted a condescending voice from a chair just in front of a large trailer. The band looked around and collectively groaned in disappointment. James let out a string of expletives under his breath as he saw a familiar but unwanted figure. “No one told me Chad would be here” Matt said with a grimace. Chad stood up and started walking over to the members of Damage Limitation. Chad was very well acquainted with the band having been their original lead singer until the band kicked him out for being too much for them to handle. He was now the singer of a different band that were starting to get some momentum behind them, Rose’s Thorn. “What do you want?” Brad asked rather aggressively. Even the usually laid back drummer was less than happy to see the former singer. “Chill out guys.” Chad said with a smirk as he swaggered forwards drinking from a bottle of beer, “Just happy to see my old friends. I hear you’re on babysitting duty.” “Well… Our label’s making us…” Matt muttered as the others scowled. “Aww, mommy and daddy at the label sending you out to babysit for extra pennies?” Chad laughed, “No shame in that. You like doing what people in suits tell you, I prefer to have freedom to do whatever I like.” “Guys, come on. No point standing around out here…” John rolled his eyes as he tried to move his band away from the potential flashpoint. As the band started following their manager away from Chad and towards the nursery they heard Chad clearing his throat and calling out. “I don’t suppose you’ve had a chance to listen to my group’s new album?” Chad asked, “Tales from a Lifer it’s got great reviews and just went platinum.” None of the band members turned around but James threw up a middle finger over his shoulder to show Chad what he thought of him. The other band members chuckled. “I have heard that album.” Matt admitted when they were out of earshot, “I listened to it for research.” “Was it good?” James asked. “Yeah.” Matt replied with a sigh, “Really good.” “Damn…” James said before swearing some more. The nursery that the band was visiting was in a semi-permanent building in a secluded area that anyone with a ticket could access. It was quiet and away from the stages, a perfect place to leave your kids before going out to spend the day rocking and rolling. John led the way around to the day care making sure to enter the back way so that they didn’t get mobbed by fans. “I need you all to smile and be happy.” John said as they approached the day care door. “That’s great.” James said with the fakest smile he could muster, “Because I’m ecstatic to be here!” “Could you try not being an ass for five minutes?” Matt said as he rolled his eyes, “None of us would choose to do this but we might as well make the most of it.” John opened the door to a colourful room full of little kids ranging in age from just babies to younger kids. There were a few helpers running around trying to keep them out of trouble and a few photographers that had arrived shortly earlier for those publicity shots the label were so desperate for. As the cameras started flashing the band members all did their best to smile. The kids all cheered on command when prompted by their guardians and the person operating the single video camera gave the “OK” symbol with his fingers. “We’re getting some good stuff…” John muttered, “Go mingle with the kids.” The band members would’ve all preferred to turn around and leave now that their pictures were taken but they did as they were told and split up amongst the children. For the next half an hour the band did their best to appear interested as they talked to the children about their games. “Nearly time to go.” John said after checking his watch, “Just one last thing to do.”

An idea I've had for a while from reading too many Anime Light novels. Prologue. A howl was heard in the distance as a demon was cut down dead. Emily held her hand up in the air waiting for her sword to come back to her after cutting off the demon’s head. “Well that’s number 200 today so far. They said it was a group of over 500 demons, but I don’t see anymore. I wonder if they got the intel wrong again like last time, they said over 2,000 I came out here and found barely 700.” Emily doesn’t get to think much longer before she spots her sword floating to her. She grabs her sword out of the air and puts it on her back and starts to walk around. It had been 50 years sense the war started and Demons started coming to their world and mana was first found to exist. Countless have died fighting the demons but the demons keep coming. People soon lost hope until 16 years ago when a child was born that had a huge pool of mana more than any other person. She was quickly taken away by the military to be trained at a young age to learn to fight the demons. That all had been years ago for Emily, her 16th birthday was coming up and here she was out hunting demons. She hated to be stuck hunting but what can she do, she was the Rank 1 Demon hunter in what was left of the US and the world. “God what’s taking so damn long? I sent all 9 of you guys out where are the other 8?” Emily ask’s her sword she’s holding. “Sorry Emily it seems they had bigger targets then I did.” “We still got time if needed I can go help them.” For Emily just having a huge mana pool and being gifted with all types of magic was not her only ability she had made each one of the weapons she used and gave them souls to help her fight demons. They were her best friends and only people she could talk too when she was alone. Emily had spent weeks making each one of her weapons by infusing her mana and a soul into the blade then enchanting them. When she was done, she had living weapons she could control and have help her in any tight spot. She had given each of her weapons a name that she felt fit them well and they loved the names she gave them. If you were to look at her weapons you would be shocked at how heavy they were and how a such a young girl could control them. “Drake what rank was the one you killed?” “It was a Rank B Tank class.” “Really? Well great that’s the 5th one this month we might have a problem. Any idea what the other 8 are killing?” “Speaking of that Amanda needs some help she says hers is a Rank S Assaulter.” “Shit really? Well let’s go.” One thing about Emily’s weapons she loved is they could talk to each other no matter where they were it helped make her job easier when she had to go hunting. Emily had taken off at speeds unheard of for someone running. She was easily running faster then any car could ever hope to. “How far tell we get to Amanda?” Emily asked. “She’s 2 miles ahead of us so get ready.” Emily grabbed Drake out of the air. Drake was Emily’s long sword and go to weapon for fighting Rank S and higher demons she had only hoped she got to Amanda in time. Emily came running out of the trees holding on to Drake as she spots the Rank S and Amanda’s spear head trying to stab it in the leg. “AMANDA BACK OFF.” Amanda swings Drake with all her might slicing the Demon in two and sending a shockwave flying cutting everything in its path. “Emily careful next time you used too much power again.” Drake said trying to calm Emily’s power down Drake knew what happened when Emily uses too much power and it was never good. Last time she did she hit a Rank SS tank and cut the mountains in half behind it. “I know I’m sorry Drake I was worried about Amanda. I know how easy you guys can break when I’m not near.” Emily didn’t want any one of her weapons to break like Drake did the first time. She cried for weeks as she tried to fix him. “Amanda are you ok?” Emily was concerned fighting a S rank assaulter is no easy thing even for rank 100 hunters yet alone magical weapons by themselves. “Yes, sorry Ma’am I should have called sooner.” “It’s ok, your safe and that’s what matters to me.” Emily hugged Amanda as tight as she could happy that she made it in time. “Drake Amanda what are the totals so far?” “Seems like once we are done, we only found maybe 300 demons that means 400 are still missing.” “Say Drake what is the closest village to us from here?” “I’d say maybe 20 miles away why do you ask?” Drake answers wondering what Emily is thinking. “What weapon is closest to the village?” Emily was starting to worry. “Elizabeth it looks like why?” “How close is she?” “She’s 4 miles outside of the village.” Emily’s worst fears are coming true she was not told that a Village may be a target. “SHIT GET EVERYONE TO FOLLOW ME NOW!” “What’s wrong?” Drake had just gotten the words out when Emily was off in a flash. It dawned on him what she had asked, and he knew they were in deep. Emily was running full speed as fast as she could hoping to get to the village in time. “Ma’am all your weapons are following you now.” Drake said with pride knowing it’s not often they all fight at once. Emily could see the smoke coming from the village in the distance and dreaded that her hunch was correct. “EVERYONE ATTACK ANY DEMONS LEAVE NONE ALIVE!” Emily screamed. “YES MA’AM” All 9 of her weapons answered at once. Emily Jumped into the air looking down she could see the village and the bad state it was in. She knew she had little time to act. Emily lunched spell after spell hitting all her targets as her weapons flew around killing everything in sight. ‘There is no damn way this is 400 demons there are way too many.’ Emily thought. “Ma’am!” A call from Asher was heard in her head. “We have a RANK SSS Overlord here!” Now Emily knew why there were so many demons, the damn Overlord was summoning them. “EVERYONE PROTECT THE VILLAGE I’LL TAKE THE RANK SSS.” Emily jumped from building to building as fast as she could to get to where Asher had seen the Overlord. Emily was one of 10 on the whole planet that could kill a Rank SSS Overlord’s were rare and only came to this side when they found a large pool of mana to use. Finding one out here in a village this far out was odd to her but she didn’t have time to think why she knew she had to act. Emily spotted the Overlord and hit it with a fire spell knocking it off its feet. Overlords for being over 50 feet tall, never could walk well and were easy to knock over and that was what she hoped to use to kill the thing. “EMILY LOOK OUT!” Emily heard Drake scream at her, but it was too late before she took a huge hit to her side. Emily’s only thought at that moment was. ‘Shit I forgot to put up my shield.’ Emily was knocked into a near by building causing it to fall around her while she looked at what the hell had hit her. Emily could finally see it now that the dust had cleared. “You have got to be shitting me.” Emily looked up and knew something was up. A Rank SSSS had hit her. “DRAKE! Why the fuck is a Demon Lord here?” “I have no idea Emily I am wondering the same thing.” “Oh, son of a bitch is the Military trying to attract demons again?” “It would seem that is a possibility that or something else is attracting them here.” Drake answered. “Find out what mana is attracting them while I deal with these two.” “Yes ma’am.” With that Drake took off while Emily dealt with the Demon lord and Over Lord. “Ok big boys it’s you and me now.” Emily tossed a gravity spell at the Over Lord cutting its leg clean off spraying blood everywhere. She then hit it with a dark spell and flame magic before jumping up and landing on its head crushing it. “One down one to go” Before Emily could hit the Demon Lord it hit her with a shadow spear causing her to fly back into a group of trees breaking them. “Son of a bitch that hurt!” Emily looked down and noticed the shadow spear had hit her in the hip leaving a small hole with blood coming out of it. “Shit that really hurt.” Emily cast a small healing spell just enough to stop the flow of blood before she ran back at the Demon lord. Emily ran and jumped before punching it in the face knocking it back into a house destroying the house. “Damn mortal you will pay for that.” “Oh, great you can talk I guess that means your above SSSS rank?” “Smart little girl but now it’s time for you to die and give me your mana.” “Fat chance of that ugly.” Emily hit him with a inferno spell knocking him back slightly. “Is that the best you can do girl?” The Demon Lord puts his hand in the ground and pulls out a massive sword before swinging it at Emily. Emily can barely dodge it in time. “ASHER COME TO ME!” At that moment a halberd flew into Emily’s hands “Ma’am I don’t feel any human life around us feel free to use your full power.” Asher tells Emily. “Sounds good to me.” Emily pulls on the end of the pole before twisted it and selecting the spell she put into Asher. “Asher destroyer mode.” A bright glow comes out of Asher as she slowly changes into a scythe like halberd. Slowly glowing white wings form on Emily’s back and a set of red demon horns on her head. “Ready to die bastard?” Emily shining with white wings and glowing red horns looking like a angel demon hybrid come to kill all life. “Oh, the Mortal knows forbidden magic. Didn’t your mommy tell you not to mess with the gods” “Well bastard your fucking kind killed my parents, so I think it’s ok if I do the same to you guys.” Emily pulled her Scythe up and took one huge swing in front of her. “You missed little girl what were you trying to hit a bug?” The Demon Lord then heard a noise behind him and turned around. “What the hell did you do?!?!?!” Behind him with a brand-new valley. The mountains trees animals everything was gone just a new valley. The Demon lord turned back to look at Emily but no sooner had he his head was on the ground looking up at his body cut in two. “What the hell are you girl!?!” The Demon lord screamed. “I’m your death.” With that She stabbed his head with her Scythe before she started to turn back to normal. “Thanks for the help Asher.” Emily let Asher go and watched her float in front of her. “Any time ma’am.” With that Asher took off to go finish cleaning up the demons and look for living humans. “Emily, I found what they were after.” Drake yelled into Emily’s mind. “Calm down what was it?” Emily wondered what the demons could want to send a Demon Lord and a Over Lord after. “It seems to be an Egg and a little girl ma’am.” “Say what?” “I found a little girl holding a Egg about her size a mile away from the village. She was slightly hurt but I healed her I’m bringing her back now to you.” Now Emily really wanted to know what the hell was going on why the hell did the Demons want an Egg or even the girl? Emily had a few Idea’s, but she was not sure, she would have to wait and see. “Has anyone found survivors?” Emily shouted in her mind to everyone. “Sorry ma’am it seems that no one alive.” “Bastard demons. How many did they kill Sarah?” “Total ma’am?” “Yes” “I count a little over 2,700 people.” “Shit if only we had gotten here sooner to save everyone.” Emily just wished she had been faster. “We did kill over 1,200 demon’s ma’am.” “Ok counting earlier that’s over 1400 counting a Demon Lord and a Over lord. Let’s report this once Drake gets back.” Emily heard a loud noise and quickly turned her head to see Drake coming with the girl and the egg floating below him. She knew today was going to be a really long day now.

Suddenly A prologue And there I was, surrounded by living plush bears, chocolate brown dress, with brown and white frills and bows, and ginormous white underskirt and petticoat, brown gloves with lace cuffs and brown, knee high, polka dotted socks enclosured by marble white mary jane shoes, topped by a huge equally polka dotted bow on my head, from which my brunette curly locks cascaded in pigtails that reached a little past my shoulders. The bears, 12 to be exact, all clad in armor and bearing arms, looking at me, waiting for my orders, it almost felt majestic, if it wasn't for the layers upon layers of plush and frills and girlishness, then, as if being clad in the most girly outfit possible surrounded by a company of heavily armed plushies at my former kindergarten classroom in the middle of the night wasn't weird enough, the door just opened, and Dora was at the other side. - Justin? Is that you? OH MY GOD! Shit, she must have followed my plushy procession into the night, and now identified me behind all the layers of frills and bows and magic that are upon me, damnit! -Huh, Justin, why are the teddys walking to me? Actually, why are they walking at all? Great, now my bear company, probably reacting to my distress, or they just don't like real people, or maybe they have PTSD, or are just jerks, I don't know, I created most of them just 15 minutes ago, even a psychiatrist takes more time to assess someone's behaviour, anyway, they deemed my best friend a threat, and are going to eliminate her if I don't do something. Just as a reminder, I was beyond groggy by now, all the living teddy bear creation and magical princess transformation left me pretty wasted, I don't know how I was even standing up, so I did the only thing that came up to me. -I ORDER YOU TO STOP!!! She… She is a friend. All the bears froze in place, and I collapsed, at the brink of unconsciousness the only thing I remember is Dora's comforting arms holding my body, and her worried voice calling me while the glamours that maintained my girly appearance were undone, leaving me, a giant boy, clad in a plain white tee and clearly used diaper in the arms of the much smaller girl, all I could muster was: -I... I can explain… And then I fainted. Suddenly A butler. It all started at a very normal day, my last one in fact, if everything that happened can even be called normal, it was a friday, I woke up early, took a nice, relaxing and probably too long shower, but hey, nobody can be perfect, and it took freaking forever to brush my hair, after drying up I arranged my locks into a single low ponytail and trimmed my beard, then I dressed and got out, I’d get breakfast on the way to school, then I was stopped by dad on my way to the garage door. -Hey, Justin, you’ll have to go with me today, I’ll need the bike for a meeting downtown. He was laying on the couch, in just his underwear, probably slept while trying to binge something from netflix again. -Sure, just drop me at work, I’ll get breakfast and go from there. -OK, just let me find the keys and my helmet. And off he stumbled to his room, I texted Dora saying I’d run a little late and if she wanted to change anything on her breakfast, after five minutes of waiting he returned, helmet on one hand, keys on the other, and still no pants. -You forgot your pants. -Oh, right, pants! That’s what I was forgetting. Man, I love my dad, but he can be such a hassle, especially in the morning, before he took his jug of decaf coffee, which sounds completely ridiculous, but it is one of the fundamental truths of the universe, just after the 'your toast will always fall with the jam side down' one, anyway, after he put some pants on we went to the nearby starbucks, he got his trento of decaf, I checked my phone, no answers from Dora, so I took her cold brew, a chai and 2 belgium waffles, sent another text to her, to see if something happened, greeted my boss and went my way. Reaching school, I went to our secluded spot, on top of a tree right in front of the main gate, to meet Dora, she was waiting for me already, tucked in one of the crevices between the branches, as her petite frame allowed her. -You’re late! I’m hungry, and now we only have 5 or so minutes to eat. -The less you talk the more time you have to eat. And stop being a brat, Dad needs the bike, so I came by foot, and why haven’t you answered any of my texts? -Cellphone broke again, I forgot it was in my pocket while I did a backflip, it fell into the pool. I passed her the coffee and waffle and we ate as fast as we could. -Aaah! Cold brews are the best, except maybe for expressos. She exclaimed on our way to homeroom, we had the luck of having the same lunch too, but that was it. -I still don’t know how you like coffee, like, it’s horrible! -I won’t have this argument again, besides, you work at a freaking starbucks, how come you don’t like coffee, did you lie at your job interview or what? -Nope, just told them I have very sweet teeth, seems to have worked. And we sat at our usual places at the back of the class just as the bell rang, Mr. Robbinson was reading whatever was at his Ipad screen, probably news, or maybe an erotic novel, who knows? Knowing him it’s probably an article about the most recent professional box fight, or something like that. But I digress, he started roll-call, and thanks god no one in class has the same first name, so when I heard mine I responded with a sound “Present.” and Dora sulked as always when he called her, I don’t see what’s so wrong with Theodora, I actually think it’s a beautiful name, but she abominates it, so I just roll with it, then, after roll-call ended he promptly returned to his tablet, Robb is actually kinda rad, for a 80-something story teacher, never call him Robb, he hates it, well at least we two aren’t the only ones with name problems in the room, but back to him being rad, well, like, he isn’t just tech-literate, but he also is the coach for the male boxing team, and legend says every time a new gym teacher tries to take the position from him he challenges them to a fight, and is till this day undefeated. I spent the rest of the class daydreaming and doodling about an octogenarian’s professional boxing league, Dora was doing homework, as usual, and the rest of the class blissfully ignored us. After the bell rang we said goodbye and parted our own ways, I went to the chemistry lab, and after that english, and finally arts, one of the only reasons I still came to school, not that I hated studying, but given the fact that almost everyone I have class with flat out ignores me, and that the few people I call friends suffer the same, School isn’t exactly the best place on Earth to be, at least we aren't bullied anymore, no more lunches flipped on our heads and any of that stuff. Back to my last peaceful day in life, after the best class ever I had lunch, I made a beeline to the cafeteria, where I found Dora waiting for me at our usual table in one of the corners, our lunch already there with her, you see we have an agreement, I pay for her breakfast and she makes me lunch, today we were having mac and cheese. And what a great mac and cheese -Man, your cooking is just awesome, Dora. -Yeah, I know, thanks. -I wish I could cook something like this. -Have I already mentioned it’s super weird that you, from all people, can’t even fry an egg? -Yeah, it’s like the 47th time you do it, this month. But hey, I’ve been trying, even made some noodles yesterday. -Noodles don’t count, you just have to boil the water and put them in, try something real next time, like an egg, or potatos. -If I destroy the kitchen I’ll tell dad to send you the bill, ok? We resumed eating and played a few games of Magic The Gathering after, I lost, as usual, but Dora’s practically unbeatable, she’s almost at professional level, she even beats Wendy, our game junky friend who got us started on it, while I’m just a for fun player, after having my board wiped for the third consecutive time I just gave up and started doodling till the bell rang. I was drawing an armored bear fighting a dragon when, fifteen minutes earlier, the speakers made an announcement: “Mr. Justin James Arthurian Blake, please report to the principal’s office immediately” -Sounds like Giant J.J. is in trouble… -You know I hate that nickname. -It’s better than Arthurian, High-King of losers weirdos and freaks. -Yeah, but I still hate it, both actually. -Sure, but you should go, Bernie hates late people, even more than he hates me, anyway, later you tell me what you’ve “done” to deserve the attention of Mr Boring B., now go! Oh and tell Regina I said hi. -OK. I walked the empty and quiet halls to the principal’s office, my backpack dangling from my shoulder, I didn’t really knew what was happening, at the cafeteria everyone was staring at me like I had an abnormality or something, which isn’t very far from usual, but in all my school years I’ve never been called by the principal, I wasn’t the troublemaker, that would be Dora, or Tyler, maybe even Agnes, but never me. I spent the whole walk thinking what could have happened, maybe this was a prank, no Joshua and his crew were jerks, but even them didn’t have this much power, although that didn’t stop him of trying to make our lives living hells, maybe this was about the sewing club, after all I am its president, or maybe something happened to dad, or to Martha, which made me even more worried, I couldn’t bear anything else to happen, but maybe it was about some kind of award for academic prowess or whatever, I am a straight A’s student after all. Blam! Ouch! I was so much into my head that I bumped head first into the door, that'll leave a mark. -Come in! - said the voice at the other side. -Hello miss Agnes, I'm Justin, would you have for some reason anything for cranial trauma? - I said rubbing my forehead that by now should be purple or pink by now. - I'm Sorry dear, maybe at the nurse's office, but you'll be okay, it's just a bump. - Oh, ok, I'll pass there later, also, Dora said hi. -Oh, how sweet of her. Now go on in, they’re waiting for you. They? Who’s they? Gosh, this is one of the worst case scenarios isn’t it? Please be a prank, that, I can work around with. But as I entered the room, hoping to be scolded for something I haven’t done, I didn’t know what was coming for me was much better, but also much worse. -Oh, Justin! Please come in, have a seat. Ok, no scolding, maybe some kind of award or competition, or even a talk about a scholarship, that would explain the crazy tall, taller than me, and I’m almost 6’5”, and very skinny man in one of those penguin suits, what are even those called? Smokings, right? Or were they swallowtails? I just can’t remember. But I digress, he just rose from his chair to greet me, nothing unexpected there, probably some guy looking for top students that are willing to pay absurd tuitions for a piece of paper with their name on, but then he bowed instead of shaking my hand and his words, those weren’t anything I could expect: -It is great to finally meet you, master Justin, I am Sebastian Phantomfall, your new personal butler. Suddenly NOT a Superspy -I'm...I'm sorry... What?! -Well, you see Justin, this fine gentleman here claims to be here to pick you up on behalf of your father, and has a handwritten note from him. Here, take a look. Principal Burns passed me a piece of brown paper with a note in the handwriting of my father, it read "Hey kiddo, sorry I couldn't come with him, had an emergency at work, go with Sebastian, Dad." OK, at least nobody died horribly, and I could leave school earlier, which meant skipping P.E., great, now I just had to figure out what this personal butler thing is all about, my first guess would be it's a prank from dad or Martha, but I'm not catching the punchline here, and we have very similar senses of humor, so I could rule that out for now, and my friends don't do pranks, so maybe this shit is serious, I'll ask him on the way to wherever we’re going. -OK, this is definitely dad’s, so, I’m leaving with you... Uh... Sebastian right? -Exactly, master Justin, if you excuse us, Principal Burns. -I actually don't, Mr Sebastian. -I beg your pardon. -You see, by the school regiment a student may only leave the school grounds during the period of activities in case of an emergency. And unless you explain to me what's so urgent that it can't wait 2 periods, I won't allow you to take Mr Justin anywhere. Capiche? -Capisco signore, non sapevo che parli italiano, preferisco parlare in questa lingua? (I understand, sir, didn't know you spoke italian, would you rather talk in this language?) -What? Man, seeing Mr Burns expression had no price, but being the dickhead that I am, I added insult to injury by answering -In effetti non parla, è solo un'espressione popolare. (Actually he doesn’t, it’s just a popular expression) -Oh, thank you, master Justin, now I see, I forgot you americans cherry pick artifacts from other cultures to your own. That sounded extremely xenophobic but also shows that he’s probably british, although without an accent, maybe he lived by this side of the atlantic for enough time to lose it, or maybe he is an undercover spy for the MI6, or a Kingsman, that would explain the fancy suit, but no umbrella, so we can rule kingsman out, I think. But what do an agent of the secret service wants with me? Maybe he thinks I hold critical information, or I’m being hunted by terrorists, do they think I have critical information? Maybe they’re really interested in my paper on the correlations of sewing and structural physics. While I daydreamed about my new butler/undercover secret agent, they finished the most awkward staring contest in the history of staring contests with the following phrase: -I was ordered to take master Justin to hear his grandmother’s last words while she still lives, so would you please excuse us to attend matters of utmost urgency, sir. -Oh! I… I’m terribly sorry, you can go. Way to go mister butler, take me out of here. -Let’s go, master Justin, your grandmother awaits. Wait, did he just say grandmother? I have no grandparents, dad’s an orphan, and mom, let’s not talk about mom, but as far as I knew she had no family in the country, was he lying? Probably, if not, let’s just stay with the MI6 theory, dad never said mom was british, only that she was an illegal immigrant, how can an european even become illegal in the US? she was probably Canadian, but then, why did she came to the US in the first place? Was she running from the law? Or maybe from a dark past, that would explain a lot. Just please be lying Mr. butler. please be an agent under service of her majesty taking me for protection because my paper on the structures of teddy bears was game changing or something like that. After we were already out of the main building I asked him. -Sebastian, how did you even get into school? It’s not like they’re going to let any weirdo with a brown paper note into the principal’s office, even though it’s a real one. -As a experienced butler, I have my ways, master Justin. Also avoid using such rude expressions as weirdo. -Whatever! Why did you lie to him? -I beg your pardon. -Why did you lie to principal Burns? I have no grandparents. -Because, master Justin, if I told him my mistress, your grandmother, is alive and well, he would have made you attend classes, and that would put us way behind the schedule, which is unacceptable to her royal majesty, besides, you despise physical education, don’t you? -Yeah, I do. But how do you know that? -A butler always has a keen eye to the needs of his master, master Justin. -Wait, her royal majesty? So you are a secret agent! -I am sorry master Justin, but I do not understand what you just meant. -You know, like James Bond, or Jason Bourne, or Jack Bauer, you probably have a J.B. codename too, or maybe a number. -I unfortunately never heard of any of those individuals, master Justin, and am but a humble butler. Now, we are almost running late, would you please get in? And only then I noticed, just outside the main gate stood a huge mahogany victorian carriage with four pit black horses at the front, their ruby red eyes facing dead front, the ground where they stood burnt, I reached for the closest one’s mane, but Sebastian stopped me. -I would refrain from touching these beasts, young master, it’s quite painful to do so without proper equipment, see? The voice belonged to a very short and bearded man with black coat, pants, boots and hat, was black some kind of theme? Maybe it’s their aesthetic. Anyway, he took one of his black leathery gloves to show me a huge burn scar in his right palm, it was pretty nasty. -Master Justin, this is Reginald, he’ll be your coachman for today. -Pleasure to meet you, young master, just call me whenever you need a ride, it doesn’t matter if it’s to this plane or the other. And then he gave me a black business card with his name in blood red letters. -What even are those? -Fiery Nightmares, young master, quite savage beasts, but great for quick transport when tamed, their pelt and hoofs allow them to shadowalk, very handy, but don’t worry I’ve had these ones for at least half a century and didn’t have even one accident involving them, at least that I can remember. Okay, now was officially the time to turn back and run, but I was too curious and amazed to take the clues that hopping into a evil-looking chariot guided by burning, probably demonic, black horses with two complete strangers was a bad idea, yeah, I can be that slow sometimes. But in my defense, I was probably hoping that this was the start of some magical destiny chapter into my life, the kind that changes you, and by the end makes your life worth living, or at least interesting. So I hopped into the not at all out of place chariot, sat by the window and watched, amazed, as it plunged into the shadows and the world around turned pit black. Completely oblivious to how right, and how wrong I was. Suddenly Magic After there was only pit black darkness to see I tried to start some kind of conversation with my newly instated butler. -So, where are we going? -To the royal country house, at the Fine Flowers Fields of Findus. -OK, so what weird thing I should expect there? -The Fine Flowers Fields are as common as it can get, Master Justin, lots of extensive fields, full of flowers, just like the Netherlands. -Like where? -You probably know it as Holland, master Justin. -Oh! Are there any windmills? -Unfortunately, no. The local wind is quite lazy, and very irreverent, rendering any kind of wind powered contraption useless. -Oh! -Any more questions, master Justin? I didn’t get how wind could be lazy, or have a personality, for that matter, but I’ve just seen black burning horses plunge the carriage we were in into the shadows, so I let it slide, doubly so because there was something really bothering me. -Why do you call me master Justin? Why not just Justin? -Because you’re my new master, master Justin, and as such I should address you properly. -But it’s so long, and weird, don’t you get tired of it? And it’s completely impractical. -My personal opinion on the subject does not matter, master Justin, besides, proper manners aren’t about being practical, but respectful. However, I see your distress, would you rather I call you young master, or your highness, or just master? -Somehow those sound even weirder, just let me know if you think of a different way to call me. -I will sure do, master Justin. And with that conversation killer, I got my phone and played a few games for what seemed like an hour, than tried to open Spotify, just remembered Bill sent me a new playlist he compiled called “To pass awkward times quickly”, but apparently there's no reception inside the shadows, so I did what I do best, complained. -How much till we reach, what was it again? The F place. -Findus, master Justin, and it should be another hour till we reach our destination. -Another hour?! Man, I wish I had paid that premium, another hour... and no music. I sighed. -If it's music you want, master Justin, I can provide that. -What, you have an MP3 player with you? -I don't have any kind of musician in my possession, specially one of such an exquisitely named instrument, if that is what you want to know, master Justin, but I can have any music you want played. -How? -This way. Then he snapped his fingers, and music started playing, the sound came from everywhere, like I was in the middle of an orchestra while they were playing, it’d put even Bill’s super expensive mega blaster deep sound headphones to shame. -But… but, how? -Magic, master Justin, just like the horses leading it and this carriage aren't from your world, so am I, and this is one of my many abilities. -Wait, so magic is real? Like, wizards and witches and dragons and elves and all other fantasy stuff? -Yes, in a way. -And you can assure me that you, and all of this, are real, and I’m not dreaming or hallucinating or on drugs or anything like that? -Last time I checked I was pretty much real, but if it would soothe you you could let me touch you, master Justin. -That won’t do, pinch my arm, as hard as you can. -But, master Justin, causing you harm, that would be… I needed to make sure I didn't fell asleep at the cafeteria without noticing, and had the suspicion that if I tried to pinch myself he would stop me. Then a scene from that one anime Anna and Wendy made me watch at the handcrafts club came to mind, I had an idea. -Correct me if I’m wrong, I’m you master, so, if give you an order, it’s absolute, right, like, you have to do it. -In most cases that is correct, master Justin. -Pinch me Sebastian, that’s an order! -If you insist, young master. I extended my arm and he pinched it, and by God, it hurted! It even made a bruise. So I wasn’t dreaming, at least, I don’t remember consuming anything suspicious,I mean, Dora wouldn't spike my lunch, she had a strict no drugs policy, so they could be ruled out for now, which left me to hallucination, but this was too much detailed, not much colorful, and doesn’t had a clear feeling about it, so probably not an hallucination, as far as I knew. So, as good old mr. Holmes would say “When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.” which in this case meant Magic! Real Magic, with a capital M, not sleight of hand and cold reading, nor huge intricate apparatuses, nor some mystic mumbo jumbo, Magic that made dragons and elves and dwarves and heroes and dark lords and epic quests and wizards and kingdoms to be saved, the possibilities were endless, I could be a hero in the making, or possess a dormant unique special power that would save the world, which are kinda the same, but you get the gist of it, I would finally be someone important, and Sebastian said I was going to meet a queen, she probably needed me to save her magical kingdom, and would send me in a quest to recover some ancient artifact of power that was lost for ages and things like that. -Here we are, master Justin. I was daydreaming about fighting a dragon with a magic sword at the top of some impossibly high mountains when he called for me, I must had been lost in thought, amazed by the idea of Magic, cause only then I noticed light coming from the windows, outside, extending till the horizon, were fields of really small and thin roses, almost like grass, from all the colors you could imagine, and some more you couldn’t, all impossibly bright, but not painful to look, beautiful don’t even start to describe it. The carriage slowed down till it came to a halt, and a small tap could be heard on the top. -This is our stop, master Justin. We came out of it to the light of two shining suns, both silvery, at our front stood a high fenced silver gate that mimicked the flowers from the fields, sided by a silvery hedge as tall as it. -Here’s my limit, see ya, young master, watchdog.- Reginald said, guiding the horses to plunge into the gate’s shadow, quickly disappearing into it. Sebastian fished a watch from his pocket. -Just in time for the preparations, let’s go, master Justin. -Preparations? -But of course, even though her majesty is your grandmother, you have to be at least presentable, to have tea with the queen. Yeah, that made sense, wait, grandmother? The queen? I kinda overlooked that. And tea, tea meant talking, probably a healthy dose of small talk, which meant talking about mom, surely she would want to talk about mom, the thing is, I’d rather spend all my lunches till graduation alone than talk about mom, but refusing to talk to the queen, wouldn’t that get me arrested? The gates opened on their own, and as we entered the royal property, I debated the pros and cons of magical prison in my mind. Suddenly A Princess While we traversed the path to the whitish mansion, cause that's what it was, a freakishly huge mansion, that was probably white, but maybe yellow? The music kept playing, now it was an epic kind-of-last-boss' piece, probably something by Chopin or Wagner, Bill would certainly know the name, and how to play it. But it was completely out of place in the stone walkway flanked by idyllic gardens, filled with impossibly colorful flowers, pixies flying by, and gnomes running around, going from one hiding spot to another. -Uh, Sebastian, could you, you know, turn it off? -Of course, master Justin. As he snapped his fingers the music was gone, just like that. And then a pair of bright floating spots came to us seemingly from nowhere, one red and one blue, and spun around us in rising spirals, they spoke in unison with melodic yet insanely high-pitched voices. -He's back, he's back, the fanged child is back, and company he brings, a mortal, a son of Adam. And a cute one at that, curls just like hers. Oh! How we miss her. she was such fun. Is he her son?! He seems like It! Seems of Royal blood! And no one else went over the veil, he must be her son. But is he ready? Will he triumph over the trees, or will the flowers eat hum alive? Will... -That is enough, you two! - Sebastian said with a firm voice catching both of them. -Let us go, leave us be. In his hands struggled two very tiny people, they looked almost the same, only differentiable by their hair color, and the aura around them, from their backs sprung pairs of tiny, almost invisible dragonfly wings, the same color as their auras and hair. - I will let both of you go, if you promise not to meddle in today's matters, and properly introduce yourselves to master Justin. Deal? -We will avoid meddling in your affairs from our own volition, for today. -And of course we'll introduce ourselves to the young master. They said, the blue after the red one -Fair enough, you are free to go on those conditions. And he let them go, after which they came to me. -Welcome, young master, to this side of the Veil, may you have a merry time here. -I’m Vili. -I’m Vé. -You may call us the twins. -OK, pleasure to meet you, you may call me Justin. -We will leave you to attend to your matters now, Justin, come play with us after the witch is done with you. -I’ll try. And just like that they were gone, as if never there, I was curious about those nicknames, son of adam made sense. Who's her? Were they talking about she? And why fanged child? Maybe he has sharp teeth, and who's the witch? Maybe the queen? A witch queen? Things just turned way better. -What are they? -A pair of pixies, older than most things alive, they have quite the knack for causing trouble. -I think I like them. He frowned, but turned, and kept walking, there were no more intermissions till we’ve reached the largest double wooden doors, I’ve ever seen, those things were larger than the doors at the mall, they also opened without anyone of course, and inside there was a huge hall, doors everywhere, a wooden staircase dominated its center, splitting in two when it reached the farther wall, the central lane had a green rug over it, from the door and up the stairs, flanked by a few vases and statues and busts, on the walls were paintings impossibly colorful, luxurious don’t even start describing this place. Lined up with the rug were what I assumed to be a butler and a maid, they bowed and came to us, she reached for my backpack and I retreated, while the other butler passed Sebastian an envelope, saying nothing. -Thank you, Edmund. Don’t worry master Justin, Abigail just wants to put your belongings at your room upstairs. He said as he broke the envelope’s seal and read the letter that was inside. I gave her my backpack, but still wary of what she’d do with it, watching as she went up the stairs and turned left. -I have a room? -But of course, all of the royal family members have their personal rooms in all of the crown properties. -Nice! -Edmund, take master Justin to his room, she is there and already know what to do. -Wait, you aren’t coming with me? - and who's she? -Unfortunately there are other pressing matters that require my attention, master Justin, but as soon as they are resolved I will resume tending for your care. But don’t worry, the mannor’s staff, although not as skilled, are more than capacitated to fill in in my absence. And as we rose the stairs to the left wing he went went through a door on the right wall, I was kinda getting attached to that butler, well, he said he’d be back, so things were probably OK. I followed Edmund to my new room, which was actually some rooms, more like an small apartment without a kitchen, first there was a hall, to the left there was the bathroom, with one of those old ceramic tubs instead of a shower, at the front was the bedroom, with a king size bed with those posts on the corners, a desk, a walk-in closet, yet empty except for my bag and a full length mirror, and to the right was the living room with a balcony and some sofas and a coffee table at the center, in which waited for me a lady, or at least she seemed like a lady, she was wearing a skirt, a really beautiful purple skirt and white shirt with white stockings and purple heels, and purple framed glasses, even her nails were purple, and her skin was as white as it can be, by her side seated a large, also purple, suitcase, accompanying her were three maids, one of which was Abigail, and a short, skinny, white haired boy, or was he a girl? Wearing a suit that changed colors in the blink of an eye, sometimes grey, sometimes black, sometimes blue. -Good afternoon young master, I’m Noelle Frost, royal tailor, and this here, -I’m White, your highness. -Hi, I’m Justin. -They are responsible for making you presentable to her majesty at this afternoon tea, your highness. Said Edmund, talking for the first time, Sebastian said something about preparations, so this made sense. -Thank you for clarifying, mr. butler, now, you three go draw the bath, me and White have a lot to do. Oh, and mr. butler, help the young master undress to the underwear. -What?! No no no no no, no! Nobody is helping me undress, or seeing me naked. -Mr. butler, you won’t be needed here. We understand your reservations, young master, but we need to make precise measurements of your body to work on your looks. -We need you to strip, your highness. -And why can’t you just measure me from over my clothes? Adjusting some pieces to my measurements shouldn’t need more than that precision. -Oh young master, we are not adjusting anything, I’ll be tailoring you a custom-made outfit, from scratch, but for our Magics to work we need the precise measurements of your body. She made a very compelling argument, especially so when she said Magics, cause there was no way they could make even a pair of pants from scratch in the given time frame, not conventionally at least, so yeah, I stripped to my underpants for the prospect of seeing some Magic in action, even undone my hair. Noelle measured me with a silvery chord, not taking notes nor saying anything, just humming the whole time, when she was very close I noticed, her irises were purple too,the same tone as her outfit. While she measured me White stood there, eating me with his eyes, then, after she finished, he came with a needle and pierced my right pinky, drawing a single drop of blood to a small flask. -Ouch! -I’m sorry for your pain, your highness, but it is needed since you’re mortal, I promise to use it only for the intended use of making you presentable. -Now, off you go, to your bath, clean all that shadowy dust from you, young master, when you are back we’ll have your looks all figured out. I entered the bathroom, and waited for the maids to leave, when they didn’t, probably waiting for me to enter the tub, I told them: -Could you leave please? I can bathe myself. -If you wish so, your highness. They said in unison and left, I undressed, and took the most relaxing bath I had in ever, maybe because the water was green, maybe there was some kind of magical salts or whatever in it, but I left that bath feeling like a new person. I exited the bathroom, towel wrapped around my waistline, when Noelle called. -There’s a pair of underwear on your bed, young master, please come here after you put it on. It was the weirdest pair of boxers I’ve seen to that day, all puffy and frilly, but it was that or going commando. After putting it on I went to the living room, they’ve moved the furniture to the sides and brought the mirror from the bedroom, at the coffee table stood a big piece of green cloth, probably cotton or some magical variant of it -Please stand in front of the mirror, young master, we’ll start working on your attire. They stood beside me, she wrapped the cloth around my waist, then I was enveloped in a glimmering light, and felt the cloth reshaping itself around me, taking form, It twisted and turned, and as ir did the glimmer went brighter and brighter, untill I couldn’t see a thing. Thenl it was over, and looking into the mirror I didn't see me, but rather a Very cute and well dressed brunette, petite, her curls cascading by the shoulders. -What the hell! Why am I wearing a dress? -It’s standard formal wear for all princesses, your highness. Princess? What the actual fuck?! Suddenly Punishment -What? Princess? The fuck? I'm a guy! A dude! -You see, young master, the only titles of royalty attainable since Victor the Voracious assumed the throne ages ago are Princess and Queen, someone more versed in history may give you a better explanation, as I'm just a tailor. -What kind of sick joke is this? I looked into the mirror and she started right back at me, a little girl, well, not so little, but she looked like a child in a Easter dress, my hair was a red auburn shade, done in tall pigtails, a small green bow tying each, my beard and body hair gone, my skin was whiter, my nails were green, there were freckles in my face, which was finer and more delicate, my shoulders were less farther apart from one another, my whole frame thinner, they even made me shorter, by a full inch, and the dress, it was a green one piece straight out from one of Anna's lolita catalogues, probably something she'd sewn and wear, with more frills and bows than I could count in my state of shock, it was gorgeous nonetheless, the shade of green just matching my eyes, making it seem made of emeralds, and the sewing was masterful, to say the least, but why a dress? Why not a jacket and tie with some trousers? I have a penis, for Christ sake, I wear pants! -What the actual fuck?! -Please refrain yourself from cursing ever again, master Justin, you actually look quite gorgeous and beautiful. Where the hell did he come from? Wasn't he taking care of urgent matters? When did even he come in? Who did he think to call me beautiful? -Cut the crap Sebastian, I want my body back! -I'll remind you, young master Justin, that one of my duties as your personal butler comprises of ministering appropriate corrective punishment to any and all unacceptable behaviour and actions you partake in. -SHUT UP STUPID BUTLER! NOW MAKE THEM TURN ME BACK TO NORMAL! I screamed at him, pointing to the amused woman and clueless boy, who did he think he was? Coming out of nowhere and threatening me, I just wanted my body back, this was made without my consent. -That is it, master Justin, someone of your position should know better than to curse and scream at people, so I will teach you. He snapped his fingers, the loudest finger snapping ever, it kinda scared me, but I was too mad to care. -What the hell did... Ugh... And my mouth filled with the basic taste of soap, not with the soap you see, just the taste. -From now on, until I see fit, your mouth will be washed whenever you say any foul or improper word. -You fucking... Ugh... This... This is torture! -No, master Justin, this is me educating you on manners, now please resume getting ready for the afternoon tea, we still have to revise your table manners before it. -I had one of the leprechauns make you these, young master, just... avoid listening to the bagpipes while wearing them, especially live performances. She passed me a pair of leather bootees and silk green socks, they did fit me perfectly. -I'm sorry my glamours weren't of your liking, your highness, they'll wear off by midnight, I'll work better on the next ones. The sadness on his voice was palpable, yet he sported a poker face worthy of poker stars. It wasn't his fault I was angry, he was just doing his job, I shouldn’t be such a brat to them, at least whatever they made to me wouldn’t be permanent. -They are beautiful, White, it's just... not me, you know? And Noelle, the dress is gorgeous, I wish I could sew something like this one day. Also, you two can just call me Justin. This your highness and master shit… Ugh... Thing! Is so annoying. -We appreciate the kindness, young master, but we shouldn't. -It would be improper, your highness. Gosh they were such squares with this proper treatment thing. -You two may leave now, thank you for your hard work. He dismissed them and they promptly gathered their stuff, as they left the maids returned, this time with two big wooden cases, they arranged the furniture back in its place and in but a few minutes made a complete tea table, minus the food and beverages, at the coffee table, with all the china and silverware necessary. -Wow, you have all the crap... Ugh... You know, I'll curse you for the rest of my days for doing this to me. -As long as you do you will have the sour taste of a soap bar cleaning your uneducated mouth in your throat, master Justin. -Shit! Ugh... I'll have to find a way to work around this, maybe it's like those web banned word lists, seems to just react to certain words, I'll try those new ways of nearly cursing they do in the net later, when Mr. "I'm teaching you good manners" isn't watching. -So, master Justin, shall we start our makeshift tea, we are, unfortunately, on a schedule. -Or what?! You’ll put an actual soap bar on my mouth? Or maybe this time you’ll make me hear a clock ticking for being late?! -Please, master Justin, we can’t be late, and I must make sure you have all the afternoon tea’s norms at least memorised. -I’m not doing anything nor going anywhere until you find a way to fix my appearance. -Master Justin, there is nothing to “fix” about the way you are looking, your current appearance, it is just the way a princess should look, now if you keep refusing to behave as expected from someone of your position I will be forced to resort to more physical means to ensure your cooperation. Then he waved his hand, and in it appeared a paddle, the angry look on his face was beyond scary, it was downright terrifying, it froze me, as I wondered what he meant with ‘physical means’ -You… You wouldn’t… -I would do anything for your betterment, master Justin, so please, sit. And as he spoke, he smiled, and it made me even more scared, so I promptly sat. And as I sat, came the first scolding. -Straighten your back, always sit with your knees together and your feet apart, so your knickers aren't shown, these are basic table manners master Justin. -Yeah, never had to wear a fucking... Ugh... A skirt! First time I ever wear a skirt! Move on. -So, what are the basic etiquette rules of afternoon tea? As he said that, holding the cup and saucer in his hands my head started spinning, like a trailer in a tornado, and all kinds of memories started flooding my mind: tea at the kitchen back home, bedtime stories, sleepovers, books falling from my head, dancing lessons with her, laughter, a birthday party, Tyberius, incessant coughing, a hospital bed, a huge oak on the outskirts of town, nights spent crying with only Tybers to console me, finally walking with a book on my head, learning to dance on my own, and back to tea at the kitchen "So, what did mommy do wrong JJ?" -Are you okay master Justin? Would you like to take some air? -Never… Never seconds you may take If the teapot empty stay Before milk, always tea And your biscuits, never dip Stir always like the clock Without a clink chink or stop On the saucer goes the spoon Just so nobody swoons Never put your pinky up That would be messed up Sugar no more than two cubes Just follow these simple rules. -Bravo master Justin! Bravo! Could not summarize it better myself. Master Justin? He was clapping, I haven't recited that for nearly a decade, but it was ingrained on me, I could never forget it. And just as I finished reciting, I was panting, my heartbeat skyrocketed, and my vision was blurry. The next thing I knew we were at the balcony, sat on the swing bench I haven’t noticed, my head rested on his chest, it was comfortable.

Terry and Sally have been friends for a long time but are known somewhat as troublemakers. Terry is not short of money thanks to a large inheritance and lives a life of pleasure. Whilst taking a horseback ride through a forest Terry knew from his youth the pair find a clearing he rememberes with one very large difference... --- If you like this story or any of my other works please consider visiting my Patreon page where you will find a lot of stories and things For a $5 subscription you will get to see every update I post (one every four days!) a week before everyone else. For $10 you get early access and TWENTY FOUR exclusive stories only posted to my Patreon page! There are other tiers and rewards available and they can all be seen on my Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/Elfy88 --- The Cave By Elfy Terry smiled widely as he looked out at the trees that surrounded him on all sides. He was bouncing up and down slightly as he sat in the saddle of a large black stallion that was currently taking him through a small trail in the woods. He reached up to adjust his riding helmet slightly as it slipped down over his eyes. He looked around behind him to see his companion and friend who looked just as happy as her. Sally was a novice rider but she was having a great time riding through the forest. She was a great lover of nature and she was very glad that her friend had talked her into this. She had never thought about riding a horse before but now that she was trying it she was loving it. Her smaller white horse was very calm as it walked along behind Terry’s horse. Both of the riders were 25-years-old and they had known each other since they were children. There were no romantic feelings between them, they felt almost like siblings to each other. They spent a lot of time together and this warm Saturday afternoon was no different to a lot of other days. Not everything was sunshine and roses for Terry and Sally though. The two friends were quite ostracised from the small town they lived in. They were seen as troublemakers by a lot of people and it was a tag that neither of the horse riders would deny. They didn’t like small town life and despite being in their mid-twenties they hadn’t really grown up. Petty vandalism was their favourite pastime when they were bored, never anything to get themselves in a lot of trouble but enough to annoy the other townsfolk. Terry and Sally were able to live such lives of leisure thanks to the windfall Terry had received when his parents had died. Terry’s mom and dad passed away unexpectedly several years before and Terry was the sole beneficiary. They weren’t super rich but enough money passed to Terry to stop him having to worry about money for some time. Sally, as Terry’s best friend, was only too happy to live off the spoils as well. They felt like they could do whatever they liked and then buy their way out afterwards, much to the chagrin of the rest of the town they were usually proven right. “Hey, can we stop for lunch soon?” Sally called from behind Terry, “This horse is really chafing me.” “Sure, there’s a place just up ahead.” Terry replied. The two adults continued on the path with the horses slowly trotting through the small gap in the trees. Terry led his horse round a corner and almost immediately the small path opened up into a big clearing in the middle of the woods. A small stream ran through the middle and wild flowers were growing all over the ground. It was picturesque. “Wow, how did you find this place?” Sally asked with awe. “Mom and dad used to take me here when I was a kid.” Terry replied, “We used to have picnics over…” Terry trailed off slowly as he looked across the thin stream at the other end of the clearing. His brows furrowed and a look of confusion spread across his face. “What’s up?” Sally asked when Terry had stopped. “That cave over there…” Terry was pointing at a large opening semi-hidden by trees and foliage, “I swear it wasn’t here when I was a kid.” “What?” Sally was frowning now. “There were no caves here before. I remember this place well, I’ve got photos at home!” Terry was getting increasingly animated, “That cave is new!” “Caves don’t just spring up places.” Sally said sceptically, “They form over millions of years.” “I know that!” Terry snapped, “What do you want me to say? It’s never been there before.” “Are you sure that it wasn’t just hidden by trees and… Hey! Come back!” Sally reached out as Terry suddenly jumped off his horse and stomped off towards the stream. Sally hurried to keep up with Terry but he seemed determined to investigate what he saw as a new feature on the landscape. He marched straight through the shallow stream, the water came halfway up his riding boots and he was splashing himself but didn’t seem to care. Sally was torn between running after him and sorting out the horses that were watching the scene with the lazy detachment of tamed beasts. She nearly fell as she climbed off the horse and nervously took the reins to lead them to a nearby tree. She was a novice with horses but was thankful that the large animals stayed calm as she tied them to the tree. “Just, erm, wait here…” Sally said as she held her hands out to the horses. As Sally turned away the large stallion moved it’s head and pulled on the material tying it to the tree. The knot slid slightly but held. The beast watched with it’s large half-opened eyes as Sally started jogging away and calling for her friend. “I swear, if I get some disease from this water I’ll… Terry! Wait up!” Sally was splashing through the water but was doing so against her better judgement. She remembered the documentary she had watched about brain eating amoebas that lived in the water. She tried to push the thought from her mind knowing it was ridiculous. Terry stomped across the green space until he was stood right in front of the mystery cave. It’s large opening looked almost like a mouth ready to swallow anyone who stepped inside into the bowels of the Earth. The ground sloped away and downwards into the darkness and it was impossible to see more than a few feet. Terry stared transfixed into the impenetrable blackness. Terry jumped when he felt Sally’s hand on his arm a few seconds later. He turned to see her looking at him with concern. “I’m not crazy!” Terry shouted, “This was never here!” “OK, I believe you.” Sally replied though privately she was still very unsure about the whole thing, “Does it matter though? I mean this place is beautiful and…” “Yes, it matters.” Terry replied sharply, “When I lost my parents… When they died I realised I would never have any new memories with them, I had to cherish those I had. This cave is not in my memories, if I’m wrong about this then what else am I wrong about?” Sally wasn’t used to her best friend talking in such a personal and, dare she say it, emotional way. Terry was the sort of guy who did whatever he wanted and laughed at the consequences no matter what they were or who they hurt, Sally hadn’t seen this more tender side since they were in school together. “Well, what do you want to do?” Sally asked after a small silence, “We could have the picnic or we could go back to town…” “Are you crazy?” Terry asked as he turned back to the darkness, “We should explore it.” “Explore?” Sally scrunched her face up, “Really? It looks dark and I bet it’s full of God-knows-what insects. ” “Yeah.” Terry said, “There’s something about this place. It feels alien and yet… Familiar. We should go in and see what’s in there.” “I don’t know…” Sally was looking at the darkness and thinking about all the bugs and animals that might call it home. Despite what Terry was saying she was sure such a large cave couldn’t just appear in a few years. Terry pulled out his cell phone and turned on the flashlight. He turned and shined it into the cave, the darkness was so thick that the light seemed to disappear into it. He hesitated for a second before stepping forwards and into the giant opening. He walked slowly but steadily into the darkness as Sally begged him to come back. “Come on, Terry!” Sally called out. She heard her voice echo but there was no reply from Terry who had been swallowed by the darkness. Sally felt a breeze in the forest clearing. The leaves laying on the floor blew around a little and Sally saw the horses on the other side of the creek moving nervously. She felt scared, not just about the cave but also about being alone out here. Her head twisted from one direction to the other as she tried to work out what to do. “I can’t believe I’m doing this.” Sally muttered as she stepped into the cave. Almost immediately Sally felt the air temperature drop. It was a few degrees colder in the cave, enough to make her shiver slightly. The pitch black was oppressive and Sally felt even more alone than before, it felt like all the sounds of forest animals had suddenly been muted. She fumbled in her pockets for her phone and turned on her own flashlight app. Sally scanned the walls but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. She knew that Terry was reckless but this seemed like a situation where something could go wrong and they would never be heard from again. She held the light out in front of her and slowly stepped over the loose rocks on the floor. “Terry… Where are you?” Sally wasn’t shouting now but the echo seemed to amplify her voice. There was still no answer. The cave sloped downwards ever so slightly but there didn’t seem to be an end. Sally could only see a few feet in front of her and she felt like something was about to jump out at her with every step she took. She tried not to think about the creepy-crawlies that must be all over the place. Sally felt herself walk through a spider’s web and she shivered. She thought about turning back but saw that the opening had seemingly disappeared into the darkness. She must’ve turned a corner because she was sure she should be able to see the forest still. Sally carried on heading forwards until she saw the walls either side of her suddenly open up into what must’ve been a large chamber. In the middle of the chamber there was a beam of light coming down from the ceiling, it illuminated a bunch of the room and Sally could see Terry standing in the middle of the room and staring at the ground. “Terry! Finally…” Sally turned off her flashlight and hurried over to her friend, “What’s going on? Can we get out of here?” “I… I don’t…” Terry knelt down with his face a perfect picture of shock. Sally looked down and saw exactly what had caused Terry’s reaction. There was a framed picture of Terry with his parents. Terry was still a baby in the picture, he couldn’t have been more than a couple of years old but and he was being held by both his parents who were beaming towards the camera. Around the photo frame there was a bunch of money. Just random notes laying scattered everywhere illuminated by a couple of small candles. The last thing on the ground was a very important looking legal document, Sally squinted as she crouched closer to it and saw that it was a last will and testament. “We leave all our money and assets to our son, Terry Sinclair.” Sally read the most important lines, “We ask he take what he needs until he is back on his feet and then use the rest for charity and kindness. We know he will make us proud.” “How the Hell did all this stuff get here!?” Terry exclaimed, “These are all things that were back at home. I don’t get it…” “Charity?” Sally asked as she read the will again, “Did you ever actually do that?” “Hell no!” Terry shook his head and even in the dark cave Sally could see that he looked disgusted at the thought, “That money was all mine!” Sally rolled her eyes. She was unsurprised that her friend was greedy but she could see that he had signed the document and essentially promised to give away a lot of the money he had inherited. Sally wasn’t a scrupulous person but even she thought it was a bit much to make a promise to your parents that you didn’t keep. “But you’re missing the point!” Terry snapped, “This is all stuff I keep locked up at home. How did it get here!?” “I… Don’t know.” Sally conceded, “Did someone break in?” “No.” Terry shook his head, “And even if they did these documents were hidden and locked. No one would know to look for them, they were in my parent’s old safe built into the floor.” “Maybe we should go back.” Sally said as a shiver went down her spine, “We should let the police know and…” “There is no way I want anyone to know about this document.” Terry replied quickly, “I know those lawyers and government people will want to take everything I have.” “I’m not sure tha-” Sally started. “We’re not leaving till we sort this out.” Terry’s voice made Sally know this wasn’t up for debate. Sally fell silent as Terry leaned in closer to the small shrine. He reached forwards and slowly moved his fingers towards the agreement. He took a step forward and has his hand touched the paper there was the sound of an explosion. The cave shook and then darkness overtook both of the cave’s intruders.

*sigh* Here I go again, beginning another story when my last ones are unfinished... however, I had to post this considering it's October! I've always wanted to post my own spooky story and it's finally my chance. Among the many years I've been anonymously reading Halloween stories when October hits, it's my pleasure to finally post my own. This is *supposedly* a short story, one I plan to finish at the end of the month. If there is a continuation, as in second book, expect it the following October to be posted. Anywho, enjoy! ?‍♀️?? Chapter 1: Beware of the Witch Marnie felt the crisp fall air flow through her black sheer cloak as she heard leaves crunch under her feet, stopping at the edge of the forest, “It’s witching season, witches.” She smiled to herself with her bright red lipstick and moss green eyes, anticipating another rewarding hunt. She walked towards the familiar Moore’s Crossing in the Knight Realm. A cold, mythical land with many powerful witches and warlocks between it’s interweaving castles and far-stretching woodsy forests. A few days before she had received a cauldron glow and placed the vapor into her cauldron wand that usually lit up bright white. The smokey swirls slowly turned dark purple in the bulb as her eyes cast in the new call for help. Her signs of urgently needed help were never called upon by a specific person, but a collection of souls in great danger from dark forces. Marnie immediately went to her crystal ball, searching for where the call resonated from. Her eyes narrowed in confusion, eye brows knitting together, “Moore's Crossing?” She asked herself, confused. Her memory serving her that Moore’s Crossings had many witch hunters and warlock protectors of all kinds. It was home of the 7 realms, the true protector of the Realm of Magic. Moore's Crossing didn’t need an independently contracted witch hunter! If Marnie had received the call, then they must have been in desperate need. She was a rookie witch hunter, but one of the best streak records around the 7 realms. She halted a lot of dark magic witches, alone at that. Many witchhunters fought the dark forces in groups, yet here Marnie was, on calls alone and the best among. Many people knew of her quickly, although she was new to the game, and many were easily annoyed by her cocky attitude and seemingly naïve ways. Marnie was a witch herself and a good one at that. The Realm of Magic had many good witches and warlocks, a rare sort, around. Among these, left many dark and, ugly -may Marnie add- witches who stole upon the young to regain beauty, elasticity and material gains at the expense of the innocent. The last witch Marnie had turned in to the Ghouls Oubliette was disheveled to a saggy bone-bag of a woman. Yuck! Marnie had her own nightmares of that one when she removed the hex off of the teenage girl she kept in her tower. She hadn’t been to Moore’s Crossing in ages. In fact, it had been almost five years since she’d been in the realm when she acquired her Magistry license, graduating early from GildWick’s School for Witches and Warlocks . She didn’t go to university, deciding that a magical gap year was what she truly needed. Little to say, she ditched the witch school entirely and explored the Realms, eventually starting her own craft of witch hunting. Her favorite subject had always been the dark arts. Although she didn’t want to practice, she was intrigued on the aftermath. Despicable, unforgivable things that they only had in the forbidden section of the library. After a few nights of stealing enchanted books from the restricted section of GildWick's, Marnie had read enough to set her into the path to become her own witch hunter, to help the vulnerable and weak. She knew, firsthand, how the Dark Forces of the Realms could spread and takeover, just like they had in her home Realm. Orne was once a beautiful realm, luscious with dark green foliage and mystical animals of every sort trotting around. It was abundant with fruits and creatures. Within a few months, the realm was swept with ravaging flames, dark clouds, and witches. The Dark Forces had hexed and swarmed the realm with poisonous smoke, debris and bugs. The sickening smog grew and choked those who breathed it. The ash of innocents flaked down on the soil of Orne, forever changing the land. As the White Witches of Orne protected the realm, it was not enough. The Dark Forces invaded so rapidly that the White Witches split up, some being poisoned by darkness, some murdered, and others taken by the Obscure. The Obscure were part of the Dark Forces, an ancient group of dark beings that stole witches for their own use. Legend has it, they used the White Witches as thralls, mesmerizing them into Dark Force numbers. Marnie was 13 when she awoke from her spell-induced coma. She was told her parents were lost in the flames and smoke that engulfed Orne. Marniee didn’t have any recollection of them, her family or life before. She had many dreams of this land, maybe past memories infused of what once was the land, yet she couldn’t remember any solid memories. Her memory was completely gone, as if lost in the smoke that encompassed the land. The Orne realm was now a forbidden place, inhabited by the Dark Forces. After graduating from GildWick, Marnie applied to join the Circle, which was missing a White Witch who burned on a stake in Orne during when the Dark took over. The Circle protected all 7 realms, with 7 warlocks and witches covering each Realm. Many of the Circle were immortal, ancient, wise and skilled warlocks. Together, their forces of good and power can halt any evil that can attack the Realm of Magic. With a missing link, the Circle was incomplete and that could cause imbalance among the Realms. Ever since Orne’s Circle member was murdered, the Realm has been vulnerable as the Dark Forces grow ever more powerful, quietly growing like a tumor from within. Marnie had a chip on her shoulder when she wasn’t even accepted into the trials for the Circle. They didn’t even consider her or see what she could do! The only thing she really lacked was… well, her ability to levitate or fly on a broomstick. As many times as she would try to raise off the ground, her magic wouldn’t allow her. She would stands for hours and hours holding her hand to her broomstick, chanting, “With love, light and magic I condemn you to rise.” Over and over, yet all she would get is a slight twitch of the wooden stick. She even bought multiple broomsticks, thinking that maybe one broomstick was cursed, yet, no luck. Indeed, it was naive for Marnie to even consider the thought of joining or even trialing for the Circle. To even trial for the Circle, you have to be able to check ‘yes’ for all seven wonders. Only the highest status witches and warlocks could even be considered for the trials. The trials were deadly, especially if you didn’t have the gift of life, but Marnie wanted purpose, a way to prove herself. She wanted to join the fight against the dark forces and joining the Circle was all that she wanted ever since awakening from her coma. Her other abilities were, well, average, but the girl had heart! She knew she lacked the power, but her witt made up for her lack of intensity of her spells. She was intelligent, reading many dark arts books, and practiced defensive magic for many years before she took up her witch hunting craft. It was a somewhat scary, yet thrilling job that she wouldn’t trade for anything. Although she wasn’t a part of the Circle, she was protecting the Realm of Magic in her own ways, even if the realms wouldn’t let her do it the legal way. She could have joined the Protectors, but that was a lost cause. Too many mindless tasks like writing reports and ticketing people for broom violations was not her cup of tea. She had greater plans for her magic and wanted to prove to the Circle that they messed up. Marnie walked through the gates of Moore’s Crossing, looking at the high brick walls that surrounded the far boundaries of the guarded town. As she walked through, freshly baked bread hit her nose with nostalgia. She remembered when her and her friends from GildWick would sneak out of their dorms to Moore’s Crossing for sight-seeing, shopping and witches brew. She could never forget seeing for the first time the high towers of the Realm of Magic’s castle that encompassed King and Queen of the 7 realms. King Peter and his Queen Belinda lived in the tower, ruling the realms. As Marnie looked across the many towers she couldn’t even begin to imagine how many stairs they’d have to climb a day! Marnie always wanted to fly around the castle on her broomstick, which was strictly prohibited and could end in arrest, yet, she saw protectors and even rebellious young witches and warlocks do it. She could only imagine how beautiful the view was from way up high. She had only heard rumors of dragons and mythical invisible creatures protecting the doors of the castle, but she had never stepped foot or flew above to see for herself. The castle’s doors and perimeter was heavily guarded with magic, witches and warlocks. Anyone of evil intention is said to be instantly paralyzed from entering until the spell is lifted and they are imprisoned for acts of malicious intent. However, Marnie heard the stories of dark forces casting spells to enter without a trace or using vehicles such as dogs, creatures or other people to enter. Marnie, herself, had a few spells that would allow her in, but she had no evil in her blood to even have an issue with entering. Marnie walked past the young kids ooohing at Beezle & Beetris Tricks Shop from the outside. She smiled, remembering that was the coolest young witches and warlock store to be in, even for the non-magic folk of the realm. That’s where her and her friends would spend most of their time, as Marnie tended to slip away to the Moore's Crossing Library which contained archives of lost books, nonsense books from the Mortal Realm, and, most intriguingly to Marnie, restricted, forbidden books. Marnie had attempted to get into the restricted section before, yet, all her attempts failed. To access, you had to have a form of identification and status in the Realms. Marnie was an ‘illegal’ witch hunter and, supposedly, she didn’t have access. She did have a wanted poster in the Halcyon Realm but, alas, it wasn’t important. Only the protectors, knights, high-status officials, the Circle members and select few around the Realms had access. It wasn’t fair, but Marnie had been working around ways to get in. Ever since Marnie knew her next call to her witch hunts led to the Knight Realm, she knew she had a alternative mission to get into the restricted section. It had been 5 years since she last tried and this time she was a much more experienced witch. Marnie’s eyes searched the store fronts, businesses and homes as she walked along the brick paths, beginning to go to the outskirts of Moore’s Crossing far from the castle. She was scoping the territory, eyeing the crowds to look for signs of dark forces, eerie or evil sightings. The nostalgia of the town hit her so deeply that she forgot that she was there on a task, not a vacation. The thick crowds of people she had walked through earlier cleared and some teen warlocks stood at the edge of a bridge, about to take flight. Oh, how she envied the flying! She had never been able too, and it was the one shame she had as a witch. She sauntered for a moment, watching the boys jumping to a takeoff and zooming circles in the air as they went far in the distance. Marnie smiled, feeling lonely for the first time in a long while. It was tough being a wanderer witch, with no home realm. She had a small tent she packed with her but it wasn’t a home, nor company for that matter. It was a lonely time, one she chose, but sometimes it reminded her of how alone she truly was. As Marnie stood in an alleyway, mesmerized by the sight and slightly jealous, she could smell chicken pot pie in the distance. Her nose wiggled as she began walking towards it, feeling hungry for dinner. She walked down a dimly lit path, towards light at the end of the narrow alleyway towards the scent. There were a few abandoned shops at the end of the path and, at the corner facing the tower, lay a hut-like shop, with a wooden sign, “Free Readings, taking anyone!” Marnie laughed quietly to herself, knowing that was a classic tell-tale sign of a black witch. This job will be easy, Marnie thought to herself. The potpie smell was even coming directly from the hut! How blatantly obvious could a wicked witch be? Marnie used a 3-edged rule for the wicked and downright ugly: First, they were usually deceitfully beautiful in some way but truly ugly and scary, second, they promised lies, and, third, they attracted people to them through smell, sight, and touch. She brought her black, disheveled and ripped satchel to her front hip, clamoring through it for her wand. Marnie shook her head, staring at her almost empty magic boost potion. She had needed it more and more as the months went by. It was as if her magic was gradually dwindling. Marnie tried to not think of it because her magic was something that made her, well, her. Without magic, Marnie would be nothing. It was something that ate at her core and she didn’t want to be equivalent to a non-magical commoner or human. It was a gift she could use to live and, without it, she’d be forced to get a 9 to 5 job at an office or store. If anything, she may consider becoming a brewista for Starbrew if her magic career ever vanished. Marnie pulled out the vial, swirling the silver glowing liquid that only had a few drops left. “Fuck.” She whispered, knowing she’d have to find ingredients soon for another brew. Marnie took out the dropper and stuck her tongue out, licking the icy sweet drop as it hit her taste buds. She took in a slow breath, feeling a tickle of magic in her fingertips underneath her wand, “Alright, let’s do this witch.” Marnie walked closer, seeing a warm orange glow from the webb covered windows. There was a sheer dark purple curtain that split in the middle as Marnie walked through, placing her wand in her black jean pencil skirt’s imperceptible wand pocket. As she entered, she went through a few layers of colorful beads and gem curtains. Already fucking hate this entrance, Marnie thought. “I’ve been expecting you, child.” A croaking voice spoke as Marnie finally was through the collection of beads, the noise sounding of rain as she entered, heart rate pulsing. Marnie almost wanted to roll her eyes, wow, haven’t heard that one before! Every ‘psychic witch’ that Marnie had came across has said the same line or two. If they really were psychic, then they wouldn’t have been so easily caught by Marnie. “Oh, wow! So you must be the real deal then.” Marnie smiled innocently, hopefully as if she were an actual customer. Her eyes met the witch’s cloudy cataract-forming ones. She was much uglier than the others Marnie had came across, that’s for sure! She was plump, morbidly obese with thick, puffy lips, a squat face, and bulging big eyes. The old, sagging woman had beads intertwined around her grey and red hair that came across her forehead, one bead stuck on the middle of her eyebrows like a gigantic red pimple. This witch looked like she was ready for another feasting of young naïve flesh, but not today or ever again. Marnie would make sure of it! The woman immediately smiled, “Have a seat, sweetie.” The chair in directly in front of Marnie scooted out with magic, awaiting her as the old witch stood, “You’re hungry, let me fix you something!” Without Marnie responding, the woman walked away, in large, loud thumps to her tiny kitchen nestled in the corner that smelled incredible. Marnie’s mouth watered as she sat, knowing she would not be taking a bite. She looked around the dark red painted room with glowing lanterns hanging around the walls. A crystal glass ball sat in the center and another beaded curtain lie behind where the psychic was sitting, which Marnie assumed was her room upstairs. The woman sauntered back in, steps heavy on the ground with a thump, thump, thump that drew close as she set down a pot pie and tea in front of Marnie, “Eat, it’s not poisoned, that’s a promise.” She smiled down, a thick bead of sweat running down her forehead. Marnie was surprised by the suddenly direct comment. She declined, “No thank you, I’m not hungry.” “Sure you aren’t!” The woman plopped down on her big bottom with a laugh as her dark purple fur cloak fanned in the air. She went quiet, studying Marnie, “I’m Madam Myriam. And you are…” Her eyes lit up, “Marnie Blairwitch?” Marnie was caught off guard, a ‘psychic’ witch had never been able to guess her real name! Marnie cast a pseudo spell to confuse any telepaths or mediums which meant only two things… it was wearing off or this witch may be very powerful? The spell last a month and she had just enchanted herself a week before… She felt a rush of blood and a magical itch in her hands. Maybe she was dealing with a more powerful witch than she presumed. Marnie nodded once, eyeing the witch’s cataract green eyes that bulged back at her, “How did you know that?” Madam Myrium’s eyes lit up as she smiled, “I thought you came into my hut for a reading? Is that not true?” She cocked her head at Marnie who felt a bad, dark feeling as the lights flickered, “Ah, I sense it’s not the reason you came in, hm?” Marnie shifted, hand on the back of her wand, ready to draw. Marnie smiled, eyebrows furrowing, “No- I mean, yes I came for the reading. I just wanted to make sure you were real.” Madam Myrium slammed her hands on the table, causing the pot pie to jump with Marnie, “Then take your hand off of the wand!” Madam Myrium yelled as Marnie’s eyes flashed, surprised she even knew that much. Marnie immediately stood, the chair toppling behind her as she drew her wand, pointing it to the ugly, despicable witch. “You are being arrested for dark magic of the malicious degree. Surrender to good now or I have do this the hard way, witch.” Silence filled the room as the witch’s eyes shifted to the tiny girl, amused. The witch began laughing loudly as Marnie stood there, annoyance appearing on the young girl’s face. “Take a seat, doll. You are not powerful enough for that, we both know that.” Madam Myrium said, gesturing for Marnie to sit. Her tone was degrading, as if Marnie wasn't even a witch at all. “Parasius.” Marnie said, her wand’s tip not lighting. She looked towards the witch, seeing she was smiling as if watching a cute sight. Marnie’s hand dropped the wand, her fingers going numb as the numbness crept up her arm, like a rapidly spreading viral infection. Marnie cursed, “Fuck, no, no.” She felt her legs becoming weak as the witch stood, watching Marnie crumble to the floor, frozen in loss of feeling. How did her spell rebound?! This was an act of dark magic! There was no other explanation. Marnie was paralyzed, from her own spell, as she looked at the ceiling of the wood-boarded hut's ceiling, anxiety immediately flooding through her thoughts. She couldn’t move and was entrapped by this disgusting old hag of a witch! How was she going to get out of this one? She couldn’t even gulp as she stared straight up, the witch leaning over and looking down at her, “Oh, my! We have some things to talk about, don’t we?” She kneeled, pinching the spell-paralyzed Marnie’s cheek who wanted to scream, but, due to her unfortunate circumstances, couldn't even twitch a muscle.

(Reuploading old stories as a lot went missing. This one is actually already complete so I will have the second part up soon. Its just a lot to post at once) Carissa glanced awkwardly around at the group of young women. Though they were in a group, each seemed to be standing alone, avoiding eye contact with the others and blushing if noticed.The source of their discomfort was fairly clear. They had each just been changed into a new set of clothes, all in the same room with the others around. While being dressed in front of strangers was bad in its own way, it was really the clothes themselves that caused embarrassment. Though there were some variations from girl to girl, they all seemed to be made along the same theme. Specifically, they were all designed for someone far younger than anyone in the group.Each girl wore a dress in light pink and white. Some of the dresses resembled school girl uniforms, with plaid skirts and neck ties, while others seemed like something a toddler might be put into before Sunday School, complete with matching bonnets. Many of them were decorated with flowers or little animals and cartoon characters. Despite their appearance, they were sized correctly for the people who wore them, even if the skirts were short. Carissa’s was of the Sunday School variety, complete with shoulder straps resembling a set of overalls, a picture of Minnie Mouse on the chest and, more embarrassingly, another just over her bum. Here light brown hair was tied into pigtails that ran down to her shoulders. While some of the shorter girls and those with rounder faces matched their clothing perfectly, Carissa was of average height and a narrow build, making the outfit appear even more out of place.Even worse than the dresses was what the girls wore underneath. Like the dresses, the underwear the girls were given was sized properly but clearly designed for someone much younger. The luckiest ones got off with thick white cotton briefs, more in line with training pants then actual underwear, and carried similar designs to the ones on the dresses. Carissa’s had pink frills around the legs, a lacy bow at the top, and pictures of Disney princesses, and a thickness and feel that made her question if they were intended as briefs or as pull ups. She considered herself one of the lucky ones. The crinkle of plastic coming from some of the more embarrassed looking girls left little doubt over whether or not they were in pull ups.These clothes, they were told, were the uniforms of the Chelsey Reformatory School. It was a place for young women who, in the words of its official statement “lacked the discipline and maturity to be adults,” which Carissa supposed explained the uniforms. Most of the girls were failed college students and repeat petty criminals who had taken this as an alternative to jail. Carissa herself had failed out of college and lost her job in the same year, then vandalize both buildings with eggs in an act of revenge. Her parents, employer, and the school all agreed this was a fair alternative to paying for the damage.A door opened, attracting the girls’ attention. In strode a tall woman with short cut dark brown hair and a stern looking face. Everything about her seemed designed to intimidate. She wore an all-black suit with gloves, and carried a stick she held like a riding crop. She marched rather then walked and constantly glared around her. Behind her was a group of woman, some dressed similarly to her, others in nurse outfits.“Hello to all of you, and welcome to Chelsey’s Reformatory School,” the woman began in a high but hard voice. “I am the headmistress, whom you can call Miss Victoria.”“You are all here for the same reason. You have proven that you do not have what it takes to be treated as adults. Whether due to an issue with your upbringing or your own failing, you never grew up and still behave as children. Therefore, as I’m sure you can already tell from your clothes, we will treat you as such. Our goal is to raise you as children a second time with proper discipline. If you behave, you may enjoy yourself and will be treated warmly. If you don’t, you will find yourself on the wrong end of my riding crop. In the end, the result should be the same. You will leave here when we consider you ready to take on the responsibilities of a grown, mature woman. Now, follow me to your chambers.”Carissa and the other inductees were surprised by the bluntness of her command, but followed the woman through the hallway, mulling over her words. They were all frightened by the speech, especially of the comment about the crop. At the same time, they wondered how it was exactly they were to be treated as children.They approached a door with the words "responsibility, humility, discipline" written over them. The headmistress opened the doors and lead them on. Carissa gasped openly when she saw the rooms they were brought too. This was nothing like she had thought it would be. Where she expected Spartan cots and plain white walls, she found bunks with thick mattresses and soft blankets. Where she had expected something akin to a jail cell, she found something anyone would be happy to have as a bedroom. The girls were left for a minute to explore their new home. It wasn’t only not a jail cell, it was borderline luxurious.The main chamber was a large room filled with couched, a large TV screen, and games. A line of doors lead to bedrooms, each of which had a bunk bed made for two people. Another door led to the bathroom, which came complete with individual showers. A little further down the hall was a dining room with several long tables.However, there was something odd about each of them. Like the clothes, the rooms seemed designed for people much younger than their occupants. The walls of the main room were pink, and the bedrooms were in a variety of bright pastel colors. Each room had a large picture painted onto the walls. The main room had unicorns running across a field with a Disney-esq fairy tale castle, and a rainbow over the entire design. The rooms continued this theme with various Disney princesses painted on the walls. The beds, though thick and comfortable, had short rails along the side and plastic covered mattresses. Little details in the rooms continued this theme, with clocks made to look like cats and night lights beside each bed. Some of the games, movies, and toys were the sort of thing the girls expected- video games, romance and action films, monopoly,- while others were things most hadn’t used in years –candy land, cartoons, various doll houses. Stranger still were a few other objects the girls eyed with curiosity, which they began to notice more and more after the initial excitement over seeing their rooms. One of the bedrooms contained a pair of cribs rather than bunk beds. Some of the toys were even more infantile then the doll houses, including rattles and suckling toys. A mesh playpen say in the common room, and included a strange post rising from its center. Several large high chairs stood beside the tables in the dining room. Finally, there was a plastic training potty in the bathroom. Beside it was a large padded table with multiple shelves. Some of the inductees stood around it wondering what it was until one gasped and whispered “it’s a changing table!” They quickly moved away from it, and none were brave enough to check what was inside the shelves.At the call of the headmistress the women gathered inside the main room. Most looked around nervously, trying to ignore the few out of place objects that suggested a different kind of occupant.Miss Victoria spoke. “Well, I’m sure you’ve all had a chance to see the rooms, and I hope you like them. As you can see, this isn’t a prison, it is a reformatory school. You aren’t here just to be punished, but to be reformed. We do not believe forcing you to be constantly uncomfortable will achieve this, so we have given you a nice place to live while you stay here. However, the décor was chosen to remind you that you will not be seen as full adults until you get through our training program. Now, as a welcoming gift, we have brought you nice little girls some candies. We hope you enjoy them.”The girls were all a bit taken aback by the strange offer, and the sudden way in which it was made. However, a bowl of individually wrapped candies was passed around, and each girl took one. The bowl came last to Carissa, who was left with a blue one. It was a hard candy, very sweet, and tasted somewhat like blueberry.The inductees each suckled on one of the candies while the headmistress and the other woman behind her all watched attentively. Finally, when the girls all appeared to be finished, the headmistress spoke again.“Did you all enjoy those candies little girls?” the ‘little girls’ nodded happily, though some blushed at continuously being referred to as such. “Every week you will each be given the same thing, though the different candies will be distributed randomly. This is not just for the taste. Three of those candies are special candies, and will play an important role in your training. Don’t worry too much about what it is that makes them special, it will become clear soon.” The inductees murmured and glanced nervously at one another.A gasp was heard coming from the center of the group, followed by a panicked squeal. Several of the inductees shouted and began moving away from one of the girls. “Well, it looks like we have our first winner!” the headmistress said.Carissa pushed her way into the group to see what had caused the commotion. All the inductees stood gaping in a circle around a tall, blond haired girl. Her hair was tied in pigtails similar to Carissa’s, and she wore a school girl style dress. Her face conveyed a mix of shock and struggle, and she stared down toward her waist where her hands were placed tightly against herself and her knees were buckled. It took Carissa a second to realize what was going on. The girl was wetting herself! He was trying to stop it, but seemed powerless to do so. The headmistress approached her. “What’s your name little girl?”The girl chocked back a sob. “Sarah,” she said.“Well, little Sarah, how does it feel to be the first winner?” “Not good! Please! What happened to me!?”“Aww, that’s too bad. All it did was make you incontinent for a little while. Don’t worry though, the other candies are worse, and you will each have your chance to try them all.” A few of the girls paled at that statement. “Now, let’s inspect the damage, shall we?” Sarah cringed and looked away as Miss Victoria lifted her skirt with the riding crop, revealing wet Hello Kitty pull ups. “Tsk tsk tsk. Soaked right through! And look at the mess you made!” She indicated the wet spots on Sarah’s skirt and the puddle underneath her with the crop. “And to think, someone thought it was a good idea to let you walk around in pull ups. I guess they are better than briefs, but clearly they weren’t enough! Well, we won’t make that mistake again, will we?” Carissa stared despairingly at her, then, seeing she was expected to answer, whispered a nervous “no.”“Good, I thought not.” She looked at one of the nurses. “Nurse Vicky? Would you go get little Sarah some more appropriate underwear? Oh, and perhaps some new clothes while you are at it, these ones are soaked. We will also need someone to clean up little Sarah’s mess.”One of the nurses walked toward the bathroom as the headmistress waited. Sarah held her face in her hands and stared downward, as if trying not to be seen by anyone. The headmistress put an arm around her and cooed. “There there, it’s not your fault little one,” she said in a sweet voice. The nurse returned pushing a bucket and a mop and holding a bundle of clothes. She began to mop up the wet spot as Miss Victoria removed Sarah’s clothes and lead her away and sat her on one of the couches.“Now, why don’t you settle down and get dressed little one? Nurse Vicky was very kind to bring you some nice, cosy new underwear that will help you with your little problem. I’m sure you can’t wait to try them on!”“Wha… What do you mean?” Sarah asked between sobs.“Well what do you think I mean silly Sarah? What would you do with a little girl who forgot how to use the potty?” To the shock of the other girls, the headmistress held up a thick, white diaper.“NO! No, you can’t do that! It’s just because of a stupid candy! I’m not wearing that! It’s your fault anyway!”“Hush, hush little girl. Trying to blame others for your mistakes is exactly the kind of immature behaviour that got you into this. Any mature adult would see that this is the only solution and do what needed to be done. So, we are going to let you have the choice of putting this on yourself. If you decide to act like a baby and refuse, then we can have the nurses hold you down and diaper you like a baby.”Sarah stared glumly at the headmistress for a moment, then looked down at the diaper. With a shudder, she held out her hand and was handed the garment, along with baby powder. She looked at the headmistress and whispered “here?” The headmistress nodded.Sarah gingerly took the infantile garment and lay it on the couch. She sat on it, then spread baby powder over her private area. She lifted it against herself and struggled for a moment with the tapes, prompting the headmistress to reach over and tape it on snugly as Sarah blushed and looked away. When she was done, Sarah reached down to feel the plastic padding around her, and stared at it as if in shock.The headmistress kissed Sarah on the forehead and spoke comfortingly to her. “There there, that isn’t so bad, is it? How does it feel? Be honest.”“Its… warm. And soft. Kind of cozy.”“Ahh, so not too bad? You like it a bit?”Sarah blushed and murmured “yes.”“Well then, why don’t you put on the rest of your clothes?” she indicated toward the pile on the couch, which resembled the nurse’s outfits but was much shorter. Sarah pulled it over her head and tried to pull it down to cover her diaper, but the material wasn’t long enough, and she gave up in despair.Carissa watched the scene with a mix of confusion and curiosity. She supposed this explained the changing table in the bathroom. She wondered what the other two candies would do. Would they be related to this? Miss Victoria said they would be worse…Suddenly she noticed a strange feeling in her mouth. It had started earlier, but she was too distracted by the scene to pay it any mind. However, it had gotten worse and worse until she could no longer ignore it. It felt like her entire throat and mouth had gone numb. She fingered her lips curiously.Suddenly, just as strangely as it started, the feeling was gone. It surprised her so much that she said “that was weird” out loud. Or, at least, she tried to say it. What came out was a slurred “Da was weiwd”, spoken in a much higher voice then she was used to.She let out a high pitched “eeeeep!” and covered her mouth. “Whas wong wit my voice?” She asked the air. A few of the girls around her giggled.“Well it looks like someone found the second candy!” the headmistress said. “And what’s your name little one?”“Me? I Cawissa!” she blushed at the sound of her own name spoken in an infantile voice. “Wha happen!? Wha oo do!?”“Well little Carissa, you’re our second winner. Don’t you just sound adorable?” the headmistress asked patronisingly, prompting the other girls to laugh. Carissa blushed at the laughter, then became angry. “Wha oo doo, Mistwess Vicotwia? ! I no wan dis! Oo a big meanie!” She had tried to sound as tough as possible, but it seemed even the words she spoke were becoming more childish. All that came from her efforts were more awws and giggles from the audience, causing Carissa to blush and get even angrier.The headmistress grabbed Carissa by the collar and lifted her up with surprising ease. Carissa struggled and cried out “puh me down! I wan down!”, but was ignored.“What you see here,” said the headmistress “ is the effect of the second pill. Adorable, isn’t it?” A few of the girls smiled and nodded, and Carissa blushed, pouted, and folded her arms in protest. “The effects are twofold. The first, and most obvious, is the change in the voice. Our little Carissa will spend the next week or so talking like a child. Really makes her protests seem silly, doesn’t it? The second is emotional. Her emotions will change more easily, and she will get strong feelings of pride. As you just witnessed, this will often lead to childish tantrums and other naughty behaviour when she feels embarrassed. Her voice will make this more frequent. At the same time, it will make certain types of punishment more effective, as she will be embarrassed easily. As part of her training, she will need to be constantly punished if she acts up. Sarah, as the first winner, that will be your job, though any of you little girls can help out. Now, as a demonstration of what I mean…”Carissa suddenly found herself upside down over the woman’s lap. Before she knew what was happening, the headmistress had lifted her skirt, pulled down her underwear, and began to spank her bare bottom in front of the laughing audience. The indignity! Carissa squirmed and shouted childish protests as her bum became redder and redder. The pain was bad enough, but what was worse was the humiliation of being punished like a child in front of the others.Finally the headmistress set Carissa down on the ground. She pulled up her underwear and rubbed her sore bum, glaring at the snickering faces around her. “Yous all meanies” she said.“Now, that was just a light punishment for her earlier tantrum. She will need a spanking every morning upon waking up, every night before bed, and of course every time she is naughty. Further punishments will become clear in a moment. But first, it seems that we have a third winner.

Millie stood alone at a poorly lit bus stop near the school she attended classes in. It was a late hour, most of the people who would be out and about right now were at home, comfy in their beds, or snuggled up to their loved ones watching netflix, with a few lucky ones doing other activities with their loved ones. Some were in clubs and bars, dancing or drinking the night into morning. Then there were the people like Millie, standing at a bus stop deep into the late hours of the night. Some of these standers were just waiting to get home from a long grinding day, others on their way to begin their day, and then their those like Millie. She had stayed late because one of her professors asked for help. She had not expected the project he needed help with was to see one of his best students naked, and then to stick his penis into her. Her curly red hair, the emerald green a-line dress, both showed some of the signs of her resistance. Her wool gray coat hid the rips to the dress, while also protecting her from the cold of the night. She didn't need to wait here, she was a gifted student, and could just as easily blink to her apartment, something she would of done any other night, but tonight, the young woman was afraid of a trace, or an intercept. She brushed one of her curls out of her face, which drew her attention to the crack in her glasses. She took the round glasses off, the silver frames were in good condition, which would make it hard to believe that they had been in her family for nearly 100 years. Her grandfather had worn them when he studied the hidden world of Japan, the first western magician to do so, with an invitation at least. The frames had absorbed some of the ghost magic of those regions, and had become valuable to Millie's family. The problem with them was that you needed to actually need glasses in order for them to work, which lead Millie to being a master of "life" as they liked to call the discipline, but was forced to keep the crappy eyes she was born with. The young woman popped the lens out of the frame, and held it up to the moon, then uttered a few short syllables, not words per say, but sounds that had been discovered the resonated with magical energies, and called forth the energies she then shaped with a few well practiced hand motions. The crack in the round lens was gone, and soon the glasses were all one piece, and returned to her freckled face, providing a thin glass barrier between her steel blue eyes and the world around her. The ghost sight, as her ancestor had called it, did not reveal ghosts as one might expect, instead it tapped into a realm in which the near future, present, and past, all blended, and with a skilled, and honed mind, someone who was always tapped into that realm could move forward and backward in brief snippets. That is what had saved her from her professor, he had successful fired his memory charm, but he had not accounted for the fact that Millie's mind, thanks to her glasses, was not completely in the present, but split between the present past and future. The charm was quickly broken, and Millie performed a simple gesture that send the professor flying into his own wall. Millie left before the professor got up from that. Which led her to standing here, in the cold, her feet dry only by the grace of knee high leather boots, and a ruined dress. What annoyed her most was that she had realized 10 minutes ago that their would be no more buses tonight, but she also realized that it didn't matter because she had no idea how to get from a back water town in Maine, to her home outside Boston with the public transit system anyways. That was the problem with magic, Millie decided. You get so used to the conveniences of it, that you forget how to function. She wished she could be like the blind, the normal people who never uttered their first chime, magic word, whatever you wanted to call it. She could've been one of those people, but she had to be born to a long line of magicians, ones that could point at legends and make a reasonable claim that that legend was about one of their ancestors. Nope, she didn't get to be a normal person. She never had a chance. With a sigh, Millie finally resigned herself to a quick blink. It was unlikely anyone was to follow her anyways, most magicians avoided shadow and phase magic at all costs. They were too new, and were not even a product of magical study, but a mistake made by blind scientists who had no idea what they were tapping into with their quantum physical studies. The Shadow in particular, a bad name for the practice of shifting gravitational forces in ways current science could not understand, to create spaces within spaces, was dangerous to most minds. It was Millie's ghost sight training that gave her the ability to maintain her sanity there. Of course, blinking was not shadow magic, just simple phase magic, a dimensional jaunt where she picked a point in another reality of this earth, one as close to the one she was in now, but her current location in that world would be her apartment, then it was like plucking a rubber band, pull the other reality into this one for just a moment, let it snap back, and then she just lets go before crosses over, and when things normalize, she is standing in her apartments living room. Sure sometimes she brings a gremlin, or a weird other-dimensional thing with her, but they rarely last more than a few minutes out of phase with their own reality. She took her coat off, and tossed it onto the couch in her living room, the lights detecting her movement and slowly turning themselves on. That was not a trick of magic, just simple technology. The same technology that turned her music on, turned her tea kettle on, and started reading the news headlines to her, all as she stripped her dress off, boots off, leggings off, and shook her hair out of its messy pony tail. In just a plain white bra, and equally plain white panties, she walked into her kitchen, her back marked with tattoos of a geometric shape, in which all the designs linked back to what looked like an Escher design tattooed into the small of her back. The tattoo itself was extremely colorful, and seemed to gradually shift, colors, shape, even position. In truth, it was always shifting because it was Millie's anchor into this reality, a complex magical structure she applied to herself allowing her to travel in and out of this reality, and not lose herself, nor lose the way back home. It was what got her into the school she currently attends. The Danford Academy of the Magical Sciences was one of the best places to study and perfect magic in the world. It was also one of the most dangerous places in the world, due to the whole learn by doing mentality the school took. This night was probably her last night there. Even though defending herself was justified, the spell she used was probably a mistake. If the professor even woke up from it, his mind would be schismed across multiple pocket dimensions that Millie had created on the fly. It wasn't that he didn't deserve that, but that the nature of the spell could of had serious repercussions, one of which being a collapse of reality in the area, or has physicists like to call it, a thermonuclear event. To be fair, Millie would be lucky if they just expelled her. The woman just poured herself a cup of tea from the kettle, and walked over to her glass kitchen table, her feet squishing into the thick, soft, wet carpet. Of course, her carpet was not supposed to be wet, but it still took her a moment to realize that something was off, and once she did, she realized her legs, and her panties were also wet. "Damn it, fucking bleedthrough," she muttered to herself, writing off the problem. In her mind, it was obvious, she flew to close to herself in another reality, and the two were bleeding through. Other reality Millie had just gone to the bathroom, and so this reality Millie peed her panties. Annoyed, Millie cast a small spell that wiped out the other Millie's bodily control, and than sealed her reality away, to prevent bleedthrough from continuing. *************************************** "Mills!," Christa shouted, seeing her red headed friend come out of the bathroom, then waved for Millie to come over to her. Christa was out hunting tonight, and the short hemline, and deep plunging neckline of her dress broadcasted that fact far and wide, although despite the blonde blue eyes, skinny body, and hooker dress, Christa was just striking out. Part of the problem was that the skinny body was not result of diet, but of intense exercise and personal fitness, and it turns out guys get turned off by girls with more visible muscle tone than they possess themselves. To Millie's credit, she was similarly built and toned, although she naturally carried her body fat in such away that she would never achieve those washboard abs, or perfect thighs, not without reducing the fat in her body into unhealthy extremes. "Any luck?" Millie said, plopping her purse on the table, pushing away the drink she had ordered before she left for the bathroom. She'd have to get another one now. "None at all," Christa replied, a little defeat in her eyes. "Maybe challenging them to an arm wrestling competition is the wrong approach?" she added, laughing at her own joke as she finished saying it. "Maybe tell them you are gymnast? That makes the guys jump after the girls in movies?" Millie said, a mirthful little smile on her freckled face. "By the time they figure out you are a champion Kung Fu master, it will be to late!" Christa gave her friend a sharp look, "Its Taakwondo, and you know that miss green belt." "Karata, kung fu... tomato tomato..." Millie continued on, still smiling, "I need to get a new drink Daniel-san, I will be right back." Millie grabbed her purse, and walked towards the bar before Christa could come up with a good comeback. Once Millie got the bar, she risked a glance back to Christa, who was staring daggers her direction. Millie just giggled, and told the bartender, "Sprite please, in a tumbler." "Trying to convince your friend you are drinking?" the bartender asked. "No, trying to convince these idiots," Millie responded, gesturing to the men in the bar, "That I am so that they will come hit on me and I can redirect them to my friend." "How is that working out for you?" the bartender said, filling the tumbler with sprite. "About as well as you would expect a sitcom set up to work in reality," Millie said, flashing the bartender a smile, and putting a ten dollar bill on the counter, before walking back to Christa, "Got a come back yet?" "Shut up," Christa said, then started to laugh, her blue eyes lighting up with mirth. Millie soon caved in and started laughing herself. "Ok, I am driving," Millie said, as Christa stumbled out of the bar, "Where are your keys?" Millie asked, as she searched through her friends purse. "Psh, you are as drunk as me," Christa said, "More drunk! I havn't pissed me pants yet!" she continued on, pointing to the growing puddle under Millie. Millie had felt herself start peeing, but she was far more concerned with something else that was happening in that moment, and she was very happy, and unhappy, that she had worn bicycle shorts under her dress. At least the mess was contained. She tried to stop it, pinch it off, but the more she tried, the more it seemed to push its way out, and when the smell finally hit Christa, Millie was already in tears. "Did you just..." Christa started to ask, and Millie just nodded. "It just... I don't know... I had nothing but sprite," Millie answered, now doing a waddle walk towards Christa's car, trying not to spread the mess around more. Christa sighed and tried to comfort her friend, "Maybe someone managed to slip something in your drink? There are a lot of weird fucks out there that would like to torture women? Did you ever lose track of one of your drinks?" Millie shook her head as they got to the Jeep that Christa drove around everywhere, despite complaining about its gas mileage, "Just the one from when I went to the bathroom, and I didn't touch that one." Christa shrugged, "Maybe just bad food then," then opened her side door, and pulled a towel out of the back of the jeep, tossing it to Millie, "Come on, put that down, and drive us home, we can get you cleaned up and some pepto, I am probably to drunk to remember this tomorrow, so shiny, right?" "You're not that drunk," Millie said, realizing that once she sits down, the mess is going to get a lot worse. "But thanks for the sentiment." Christa just nodded and climbed into the Jeep.

Hello! This will be my first post on this board! A friend of mine who is a regular suggested that an on-going story I have been working on might be a good fit for here, so I figured I would post the parts that I have so far. I hope you like it! Lily didn’t see the point of Math class. Well, not all Math classes universally, she didn’t feel remotely qualified to make such a sweeping claim. Somewhere out there could be a future Robert Oppenheimer or Mileva Maric who is seeing their first isosceles triangle and furiously scribbling in their notebook the first figures in a formula that will completely change the way humanity views the laws of reality, and that will ultimately carry us to the stars and all of the wonders contained therein—but that person was not Lily. And that class was not Mister Shigeki’s Intro to Differential Equations. Oh well. At least he was nice to look at, even if his accent was unexpected. She had always thought Scottish brogues were supposed to be sexy, but his just felt frustrating. Then again, the gods don’t give with both hands.As she began dissecting why that idiom doesn’t translate to polytheistic beliefs, a nub of pink chalk bounced off her forehead. Mister Shigeki had hit her right between the eyes from across the room, and now stood leaning against Marissa Adam’s desk in the front row. His beard was perfectly manicured to compliment his jawline, and the smirk on his face betrayed his frustration. “Miss Celeste. I don’t suppose you can tell me the answer to the question on the board?” Lily blinked several times as she processed his request. Her eyes darted to the question on the board and she sighed. There weren’t even any numbers in it, just random letters representing imaginary ones. “You know what Mister Shigeki? I really can’t. But it’s my fault, I thought this was going to be a Math class. If I realized this was linguistics I would have brought my other notebook.” She punctuated the last word by picking up the little red notebook and tapping it on her desk for affect. A murmur of exasperated snickers rustled amongst her classmates and Mister Shigeki rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. “If you don’t plan on paying attention, why don’t you just go home early?”Lily raised an eyebrow. “Aren’t you supposed to teach me?”“You can’t teach someone who doesn’t want to be taught. I have fifty minutes three times a week to teach a first year Math class to a room of students, the majority of whom do not care. If you decide that you want to get caught up, my office hours are always open. But I don’t need you setting precedent for people day-dreaming and getting away with it.” He paused. “Although I suppose half of the room only shows up to ogle you while you’re staring off into the void. Blood flushed to Lily’s cheeks, but the rest of the class was busy either grumbling indignantly of stifling laughter. She blacked out for a moment, and the next thing she knew she was standing outside the door to the Math room with her backpack slung over one shoulder. She started down the hallway to the stairs, feeling extremely self-conscious about how short her skirt was. She threw the front door of the STEM building open with both hands and galloped out into the sun, her ballet flats clicking on the pavement as she did. Lily hated everything about the STEM building, how stiflingly warm it was, how the third and fourth years seemed to linger everywhere like Gollum looking for a fish—she prided herself on how quickly she could get out of it. After such a mildly embarrassing experience she needed to not be around anyone, let alone leering engineering students. Thankfully the University campus was built alongside a dense greenbelt, and she made for the trees. While the edge of the trees was a popular hang-out spot for students, walking just ten minutes into the scratchy underbrush and decomposing autumn leaves virtually guaranteed her solitude. To her, the smell damp detritus was comforting.She kept walking until she couldn’t see any sign of the campus through the woods before finally leaning against a tree. Lily carefully lowered herself down onto one of its roots and took a deep breath. She thought back to what Mister Shigeki said. She didn’t want to be there. That was about all she did know. Halfway into her first semester of University and she still had no idea what she wanted to study, as well as having befriended a paltry two people: Marissa Adams from the Math class after she lent the other girl a pencil on the first day prior to moving to the back of the classroom; and Lily’s assigned roommate, Annie.Realistically, Annie was the only reason she had not dropped out yet. She actually felt like she could trust the other girl. Annie was in her second year and she had the confidence to show it. She had her whole daily schedule planned out, which fit into a weekly schedule, which fit into a monthly schedule, which fit into her five year plan. She colour-coded everything too, and prepared her meals in advance. She prepared her meals in advance! Lily didn’t even feel like an adult most days, and next to Annie she felt like a gods damned toddler.A noise nearby drew Lily’s attention. It sounded like a rabid housecat, then a desperate squeaking. She got to her feet and slowly slunk towards it, holding her bag in front of her as a shield. She peered around a tree into a clearly. A white rabbit with little purple wings was slowly backing up into a tree trunk, having been cornered by some kind of black lynx. The winged rabbit looked injured and terrified. The wildcat coiled as if it was about to pounce, and before she could so much as think Lily broke from cover and hurled her bag at it and prayed the weight of her Math book would be enough to scare the creature off. The bag struck with a heavy thud that knocked the cat off its paws and Lily shouted at it as she moved towards the rabbit. She still didn’t know what prompted her to act. She had never heard of a winged rabbit, so it was probably an endangered species and she couldn’t have extinction on her conscience. Her eyes went from the rabbit to the lynx and she froze. It had three eyes. Three red, angry eyes. And maybe it was because she was closer to it, but it seemed a lot bigger now. Panther big. Lily imposed herself between the ever-growing cat and the injured rabbit, wishing she still had her shield-backpack to maybe buy her thirty seconds more of life.“You are the one I’ve been looking for.”“Wha—“The voice was coming from inside her head, and despite the danger of her present situation it filled her with courage. A brilliant light erupted from the rabbit and she turned her head just in time to see it leap towards her. At the same time the enormous wildcat pounced at her. As the rabbit made contact she was enveloped by light and an invisible force erupted forth from her body and the wildcat was blasted away from her like a shot from a cannon.In her mind Lily saw a pink crystal star encapsulated by a green gem. She saw the star inside her own chest, in her heart, and felt power flow out from it and into her, transforming her. The light faded and Lily was left in the clearing. Her skirt and blouse had been transformed into low-cut tutu-like uniform with a bright purple blow emblazoned on her chest, with matching bows now tied into her hair. Her ballet flats had similarly been changed into knee-high boots, her knee socks had become pale pink thigh highs, and elbow-length frilly gloves had manifested on her arms. A weighty scepter with a pink star atop it was in her hand. But in all of this, the part of her outfit Lily noticed first was what had appeared between her legs: an impossibly large pink diaper, complete with bows and frills that matched the rest of her outfit. The padding was so thick that it descended to halfway down her thighs, and the frills of her new skirt did nothing to hide it. But she had no time to question the ensemble as an enraged yowl from across the clearing reminded her of her predicament. The wildcat pounced again, but this time she reacted faster—faster than she ever thought possible. Lily hopped aside and the three-eyed beast buried its claws into the tree roots in the spot she had stood a moment before. Moving on instinct more than anything else, she thrust her star scepter towards the beast and pink and green light erupted from it. The cat yowled again, but this time in pain as it was thrown into a tree trunk. It hit with a crack and it slumped to the forest floor.Lily stood her ground, not dropping her guard for a moment as she watched the cat’s furious red eyes. It blinked at her as it breathed slowly. Then its form began to change, the heavy black fur seeming to fade away into smoke. All that was left were the three glowing eyes, and then they were gone too. Lily sighed. Then she re-examined her new outfit. What the Hell was going on? And how was she supposed to get back to residence? *** Lily pinched the baby fat of her bicep. Ow. She pressed the bramble of a bush of fuchsia flowers against the inside of her thigh.Ow.She bit down on her tongue until tears welled in her eyes.Oooooooow.Okay. She was now reasonably certain she was not dreaming. Though the only other possibility was that she had lost her mind. Maybe the cat had pounced on her and was actually in the process of disemboweling her as it snapped her tiny neck and everything after the point of impact was an elaborate fantasy her mind had created to cope with the agony. Maybe she stepped on a hidden pressure plate on the forest floor that released a hallucinogenic gas that was developed by the government and she was actually rolling around on the forest floor tripping out like those kids in the DARE not to do drugs after school specials. Drugs seemed like the more likely option, because despite nearly dying a handful of minutes ago and being stuck in the most embarrassing outfit she could possibly imagine, she could not remember ever feeling better in her life.And oh yes, she was stuck. Once the shock of fighting (killing?) a wildcat the size of a small car faded, that was the first thing she tried. Everything was stuck in place, from the headband and ribbons, to the gloves and stockings, to the impossibly skimpy dress, to the diaper that hung almost to her knees. It wasn’t like any of it restricted her at all, beyond needing to waddle whenever she took a step. But the especially weird part of it was that even though she had next to no desire to go anywhere dressed this way. . . She also didn’t exactly have any desire to take it off. These clothes felt good. Safe. Like she was powerful.No amount of powerful-feeling ridiculous outfits were enough to give her any desire to stay in the woods once it got dark out. At night the University’s heavy metal club were known to go out into the forest to drink and blast music and those were the last group of people she wanted to run into. She squeezed her star scepter in both hands as if praying for courage and started in the direction of the campus. At least if she peed herself in fear she was properly equipped for it.Lily’s heart skipped a beat at the thought and she pushed it from her mind. There would be time to figure out whatever she was feeling once she was back in her room. Then maybe she could figure out how to change. Her first problem was making it to the safety of residence, which was located at roughly the opposite side of the campus.The walk to the edge of the forest was surprisingly quick. She had expected her padded predicament to slow her considerably, but the exaggerated sway of her hips didn’t appear to have any such effect. She even found herself smiling, and skipping once the underbrush thinned. The air had an enticingly sweet scent to it, probably from the fuchsia flower bushes coiled amongst the trees. Were they always there? For all of the time Lily had spent in the forest, she could not recall ever seeing them before. She considered stopping to examine them for a moment. . . Then glanced down at her frilly dress and bulging pink diaper and decided it was better to come back later. She was close enough to the edge of the forest that she had to be conscious of running into students sunning themselves between classes. She could make out the concrete of the STEM building through thinning trunks, and the forms of people moving. Classes must have just let out, which meant in a few minutes people would either be off to their next class or in the cafeteria for dinner. This was perfect. If she just waited for that to quiet down she could stealth her way clear across the quad and slip inside before anyone noticed her brightly-coloured ensemble. Just watch and wait. Watch and wait.Watch and wait.She blinked. As her eyes opened she realized how heavy her lids felt. Maybe waiting for a few more hours was a good thing. People less likely to see her in the dark. She could take a nap. The adrenaline was probably wearing off. Her body needed to rest and recover. Lily felt her body begin to sway gently. She could sit down. Just had to keep watching and waiting. Watching and waiting.Keeping her eyes forwards, she squatted down and let her padded rear touch down on a fallen log. She blinked again. Her head nodded forward once, twice, three times. One of the fuchsia flowers was between her boots. She hadn’t noticed it before just now, but it must have been there. Flowers don’t move on their own. Their vines don’t coil around your ankles and travel up your legs and—Lily leapt up from the log and to her amazement flew twenty feet vertically. She flailed her arms and legs in her surprise and managed to snag the branch of a yellow spruce. Lily hung there, one hand on the tree and the other gripping her scepter so hard it trembled. She looked below. The flower was still there, its vines coiled around the log and immobile.No waiting. She wanted out of these woods. Lily swayed her legs back and forth and on an upswing released the branch, sailing forward. She stuck the landing with only a slight stumble and transitioned into a nervous jog towards the edge of the woods. The moving forms through the trees had tapered off. Now was her best shot. As she approached the edge she picked up speed as much as she was willing with her waddle and bolted out onto campus. She made for the shadow of the STEM building and crouched low the way she did when she was playing hide-and-seek tag as a child. If someone looked out the window of one of the nearby buildings for more than a moment they would certainly see her, so she kept moving. She hugged the corner as she rounded it and the campus quad lay before her. It was empty, which is better than she possibly could have hoped. Taking a deep breath she broke out in a sprint diagonally across the field, aiming her trajectory so that the fountain in the centre could shield her from the greatest possible number of windows. As long as no one saw her face, no one would have any reason to suspect her. She passed the fountain, and the glass library, and the English and the art buildings. She crossed the road separating them from the residence and used the enormous and ancient trees that dotted the grass as cover as she skirted past the cafeteria. She could hear people nearby, possibly arriving late or finishing early or just wandering amongst the maze-like grey residence buildings, but it didn’t matter because she was almost home-free. She could see the door to her building, and she forced herself to contain a squeal of delight. She reached out to pull the door open and—She didn’t have her key. She froze on the spot, petrified by the realization. Her key had been in her backpack. Her backpack was still in the clearing, if it was intact at all. Lily had made it all this way only to be locked out. The voices were getting closer. Her legs trembled. Her throat felt tight, like she was on the verge of tears. Her reputation on campus was about to go from lazy smartass to diaper girl.The front door opened under someone else’s power. Annie stood in the threshold, one arm leaning against the metal from and the other propping the door open. She looked Lily up and down and raised an eyebrow.“So I see you finally found your Catalyst. Come on, get in here before anyone sees you.” She stepped back to allow Lily in.What? *** Lily had never been so happy to see her shitty cramped residence room. The hallways and stairwells leading up to their room had been mercifully empty, and Annie had not so much as snickered at her predicament before whisking her in.Lily dove straight for the covers of her bed and rolled herself into a comfortable little burrito. For a moment she hoped that she could forget that she was trapped in an enormous pink diaper, though that did not end up being the case. Annie locked their door and then went to sit next to Lily. She placed a comforting arm around her friend and began to stroke Lily’s cheek. Lily flinched, but then allowed it to happen. She realized that she had been running on adrenaline and not much else since the fight in the woods, and now she was too exhausted to even stand. She opened her mouth to speak but the words felt like mush.“Hush now, baby. Er, sorry,” Annie said, then shook her head with a chuckle. “I can only answer a few of your questions, but I will help however I can.”Confusion prodded at Lily’s mind, but she nodded and waited for Annie to continue.“Okay. The short version is that you are a magical girl.”“What. You mean like Sailor Moon?” “Yes! Sort of. These powers work differently, and there isn’t some team uniform.” “How do you know any of this?”“Well, because I’m one too.” Annie half-smiled and tilted her head to one side.Lily’s brow furrowed and she looked from Annie’s face to her waist.“Wah— No, I don’t have a diaper when I transform. That’s just you, at least I think it is.”“Well why do I look like an enormous child then!” Frustration tinged Lily’s voice.“Calm down, it’s okay,” Annie stroked Lily’s cheek. Lily’s eyes were still wet with tears on the verge of falling. “Okay. There are a few of us all over the world, at least as far as we can tell. We all have different powers and costumes, and generally we’re pretty spread out but occasionally we team up. As near as we have figured out, all of our powers were awakened when we came in contact with an unnatural animal.”“Unnatural like a dragon?”“For one of us, yeah. Mine was a snake with ram horns.” Annie used her hands to mimic curled horns on the side of her head for descriptive effect. “What was yours?”“A—A bunny. With wings.”“I’ll add that to our google doc.”“There’s a google doc? You started all of this organization stuff, didn’t you.”Annie suppressed a blush. “Maybe. We needed to organize to maximize our effectiveness! None of us even know what we’re fighting, just monsters that seem to prey on humans. Someone needs to start piecing it together so we can start to win.”“Alright, alright fine. But why can’t I change back? And, not to sound like a broken record, why am I wearing a diaper?”Annie sighed and took Lily’s hands in hers. “You can't change back because you didn't kill whatever you were fighting.”“The Hell I didn’t! I knocked that giant pussycat against a tree and it didn’t get up!”“Did it fade away like smoke?”“Yeah.”“Yeah. You didn’t kill it. You have to deliver a finishing blow. It’s still in the area, and it’s going to prey on the vulnerable to regain its power.”A cold shiver ran down Lily’s spine. It was still out there. “I have to go stop it.”Now Annie laughed. “No, you need to stay here and rest. You’re weak from your transformation and you don’t know how to use your power yet. I’m going to go finish it off.”Lily opened her mouth to argue, then closed it. Annie made sense. She knew how this stuff worked, so it was better to leave it to her.“Good. As for why you’re wearing a diaper: when we all came into contact with our animal, our Catalyst, they didn’t give us these powers. They just unlocked our potential. As near as we can figure, that’s why we all look different.”“So that means—““—that your potential is related to your youth or innocence or—““—or I’m a giant baby.”The girls let silence hang over them. Annie hugged her friend in what she hoped was comforting. For Lily it was impossible for it not to come off as being babied.Annie stood up. “Look, I’m going to go track down the monster. We’re going to get you turned back, and then we’re going to figure this out. Whatever is going on here, you aren’t alone, Lily. You’re part of a team now.” She offered a smile, then folded her hands over her breasts and closed her eyes. Green light enveloped her in a flash. When it cleared her tank top and short shorts had been replaced by a green bodysuit that looked like it had the same texture as a lizard’s scales. The suit completely covered her chest and neck, and formed a cowl with a set of horns that pushed back her red hair. She had thigh-high heeled boots, elbow-length gloves, and a domino mask. On her hip were a set of twin curved short swords.Lily was simultaneously in awe and painfully jealous. Annie looked like she had stepped straight out of a comic book. She was right, Lily would be no help in hunting down that monster. Annie shot her a wink and skipped to their window, pushing it open with one hand. “We’ll get you fixed up in no time, sweetie. Get some rest, I’ll grab you something to eat on my way back.” And with that she slid out into the night.Lily curled up on her mattress, still cocooned in her sheets. Sleep was a good idea. Just stay here and rest until Annie gets back. Just rest. Just rest. Just rest. On some level Lily became aware that the voice telling her to rest was not her own. In fact, it was the same one she had heard at the edge of the forest. She made to sit up but couldn’t. She couldn’t move anything. Panic began to set in and she tried to struggle, but something had coiled around her body and restricted her movements. She could feel it writhing around her arms and legs, beneath her dress and in her diaper.“Wha—“One of the magenta flowers from the woods came into view in front of her. How had it followed her? Did it stow away? The flower took up her entire field of vision, and the centre of it began to ripple like a mirage. Lily tried to turn away but it followed her every move, and the longer she looked at it the less she wanted to fight it. Everything was fine. No need to scream. This was fine. Just sleep. *** Despite the situation, Annie couldn’t stop herself from smiling. The evening air was growing colder and bit softly at her exposed cheeks as she descended from their shared window. She landed on one knee, then leapt with extraordinary power and grace back into the air. She had orchestrated being Lily’s roommate when her serpent eyes identified the magical potential she held. Annie had been piecing together documents on these Magical Girls since her own awakening and had done her best to establish a support network. She also took it upon herself to ensure potential candidates had a guardian until they found their Catalyst, and these measures had both helped their numbers to swell and kept young girls safe from the corruptive power of their enemies (whoever they were).Annie made contact with the side of one of the residence buildings and immediately bounced off, then ricocheted again and again from building to building. It was still light enough that she had to be quick and quiet, and stick to the periphery of people’s vision as she hunted to the creature. Lily’s reaction, to go with her and help hunt, was an admirable one. But she was tired, exhausted, and had only just acquired her new powers, to say nothing of her unorthodox outfit. Annie didn’t have time to babysit tonight.She gripped the edge of the campus observatory’s domed roof and vaulted onto it; it was the highest point that gave her a clear view of the surrounding area, and a clear view was what she needed to hunt. Annie closed her eyes and focused on the power deep within her. It was coiled around her heart, binding her while protecting her. It was a snake constricting her so tightly that it was impossible to discern where one began and the other ended. The snake opened its eyes and so did Annie, and now they saw the world as one predator. Colours of mundane objects, of buildings and students, were a muted grey. The tainted trail of the creature that Lily had fought was magnified to an unnatural vibrancy. Annie looked towards the woods, to where the cat had entered the campus and to the clearing where Lily had fought it. The trail had a brilliant green aura to it that shone through the trees. There was another glowing colour too, but this one seemed to be spread at random throughout the forest; pink lines woven throughout the underbrush like a hastily-woven web. Annie squinted and her view magnified and zoomed in on one of the neon pink strands. They looked like . . . Vines? With bulbs or flowers. Were they a new weapon? Annie had never seen them before. She would have to examine them more closely after the hunt, and inform the others to beware of strange plant life. A flash of green at the far end of the woods caught her eye. The creature must have reformed, and it was moving fast around the outer edge of campus. Annie took a running leap off the rooftop and aimed to intercept the beast if it stayed on its current trajectory. It was dark enough now that she didn’t need to do this quiet anymore, but the beasts were more powerful at night. She had to stop this now, before it found a staff member or student to feed on.She landed on the ground a dozen stories below in a forward roll and immediately transitioned into sprinting, her heels clicking on the pavement in such rapid succession that any casual observer would see a blur of green and red and hear a constant, steady noise. In the span of a blink she was in the woods, and in the span of another she had closed in on the panther-like creature. Annie drew her blades and wove through the trees to come in low from its flank. With one blade in a fore grip, she jabbed it between the beast’s ribs with enough force to take its paws off the forest floor. Then in a smooth spin she flipped the other blade into a reverse grip and aimed a vertical cut at its meaty neck. The speed of her attack, combined with the speed she had been travelling, was more than enough to part the beast’s head from its shoulders. There were a pair of thuds, one light and the other much heavier as its now two parts landed several yards away, in the direction it had been running. Annie alternated spinning her knives in each hand as she strode over to the beast’s three-eyed head. It still snarled at her despite what would have been a lethal wound to any normal animal. With clinical precision, Annie sunk the tip of her knife into its third eye. It shrieked as rays of light erupted from every orifice and it imploded in the spot. Annie checked over her shoulder just in time to see the beast’s body fade out as if it were sketch being erased by a frustrated artist. That was easier than she had expected. She turned and walked in the direction of vines she had seen before. At this rate she would be finished here before Lily even woke up. *** Lily felt like she was floating. Everything was heavy, as if her perceptions were moving through water. Warm fluid swaddled her, filled her nostrils and covered her eyes. It embraced her inside and out. She didn’t know how she got here, or even where “here” was for that matter. She could see, but she could only see nothingness. Deep down part of her knew this wasn’t real, or it was but that she was really still in her dorm room. Whatever this place was, it was very real, just not in the way her bed or the campus or the trees or Annie were. Annie had gone somewhere. Would she be able to find Lily? Was Lily findable? She became aware of a ripple passing through the fluid that suspended her. The fluid reoriented her in the direction of the source. Something formless, like the void that surrounded her while simultaneously being much deeper. The formlessness shifted almost imperceptibly, then it began to move. It accelerated faster and faster; Lily could feel the velocity tearing at her, and yet she also didn’t move. She screamed but there was no sound, or maybe there was a cacophony all around her and it all became the same thing as the pressure grew to be unbearable—Light burst forth from her chest and formed a field around her. Lily could see colour, and the weight all around her receded. The void rumbled again like angry thunder and then it too was gone and Lily was lying in her bed.The vines of the magenta flower still bound her tightly, and its petals formed a tight mask around her face. She screamed and an omni-direction energy blast burst forth from her, forcibly stretching the vines and the flower squealed like a wounded animal. It released her and slithered away from the bed like a cephalopod on the ocean floor. Lily threw back her blanket. Her Star Scepter appeared in her hand and she fired a series of blasts, but the flower skittered them. It seemed to flatten itself out and slip through an air vent.Lily sat on the edge of her bed, stock-still and arm still outstretched. Slowly, she forced herself to take deep breaths. Her heartrate slowed. It was gone. Maybe she wasn’t safe (she was still transformed afterall), but she was safe-er. It was dark out her window. How long had that thing had her trapped? Annie should have been back by now, right?Annie had gone out to hunt the creature she had failed to kill. The last time Lily had seen the creature was in the woods. The woods were full of those flowers. Annie might not know about them, or if she did she didn’t mention. If they trapped her out there then she could be in serious trouble.Lily gripped her knee until her knuckles trembled, then stood up. She examined her outfit: elbow length gloves and stockings, uncomfortably short and low-cut baby-dress, ribbons and ruffles all over, and a comically large diaper that she could not hope to conceal. Annie carried herself like someone who knew what she was doing—heck, apparently she was the most organized Magical Girl on the planet! She probably knew all about the flowers. And if she already knew about them then Lily would being risking social suicide for nothing. She closed her eyes, then walked out into the hallway. Her best bet was to start where she had last seen the creature. *** With the exception of a handful of late-night study groups and some intoxicated individuals near the campus pub, the campus was relatively deserted. Lily considered that one of her first real turns of good fortune all day. Though, she supposed the ease with which she was able to move in her transformed state could also be counted as lucky. If you had told her yesterday that she would be faster and more poised than ever before while wearing high heels and an impossibly thick diaper she probably would have laughed politely, then backed away slowly and made a note to avoid you in the future. Then again, she wouldn’t have believed very much about what had happened to her today. In fact the only thing that made a strange amount of sense was that Anna was a superhero. Something about the way she had carried herself in the brief time that Lily knew her just had a certain nobility, righteousness even in the mundane. Anna’s fastidiousness and reliability was such that Lily was already second guessing going after her roommate at all. She had not even left the shadow of her residence building, and truthfully was huddled behind one of the exterior bushes. Even if Anna didn’t know about the flower, surely she could handle it. She seemed beyond ready to handle the beast that had nearly killed Lily in a straight fight, and while the flower had posed a threat when Lily was asleep it didn’t seem particularly dangerous once she awoke. Though, the feeling of the vines crawling all over her, of the flower’s hypnotic stare—Lily shivered and shifted her weight from foot to foot. No, she couldn’t let her fear control her, whether it was fear of being attacked or fear of being seen. Anna wasn’t the only superhero now, and it was time for Lily to do her part. She inhaled deeply, held her breath, and exhaled. Then she tensed her legs and leapt forward with all her strength, flying several stories up and into the air. Her breath caught in her lungs for a moment in surprise at her own strength, but there was no time for that now, since she still had to stick the landing. Her toe set down ever so lightly on the lawn and she kicked off again, into the air and covering ground faster than she could have ever imagined. She held her breath for an instant as she saw she would land within eyesight of a group of drunk college bros out for air and she fought to keep the redness from her face. She leapt again, and if any of them had seen her she was gone before she heard the reaction.In a fraction of the time that her absolutely terrifying run home in the afternoon had taken she reached the edge of the woods and was barely even winded, though the next problem quickly became apparent: she could not see in the dark. But she wasn’t worried now, as if something brave and sure deep within her knew what to do. Not really knowing what she was doing, Lily raised her wand up like a torch and a soft pink light emanated forth from its star and as the light washed over her she became absolutely sure that she had chosen correctly. She started off in the direction that she had seen the flowers in earlier that day, trusting the light of her scepter to guide her. And it wasn’t long before she found exactly what she had been worried of: a tightly wound mass of green vines and pink flower, approximately the size of a person. The curved knives Anna had carried lay nearby in the underbrush, forgotten and evidently useless.“Anna—“ Lily cried out and started forward, but her voice and momentum died as quickly as they began as she found those same vines tangle her ankles and wrap around her mouth. One of the flower slithered over her shoulder, and trembled as if in satisfaction. Had the one from the residence building hitched a ride on her? Her cry was muffled, and she struggled in vain as it reasserted it’s earlier control over her, it’s hypnotic center taking up her entire field of view. She felt the inky void calling out for her, comforting. It missed her and wanted her back. Someone in it wanted her back.She wouldn’t go so easily. An omni-directional wave of magical energy burst forth from her chest and ripped the flower away with a piteous squeal. Lily scrambled upright leveled her scepter at the flower nearest where Anna’s face would be and fired. The kinetic blast ripped it away from the mass of vines and revealed Anna’s still-dazed face. Momentarily surprised at the effectiveness of own attack, Lily continued with a flurry of at the heads of the various flowers trapping her friend.“Anna!”Lily’s roommate blinked at the sound of her own name and seemed to come to, quickly tearing the weakened vines away before retrieving her blades. She dashed towards Lily and the two stood back to back.“I told you to wait in the room.”“Bet you’re glad that I didn’t.”“My ass and I are both very grateful for your poor listening skills, but perhaps we can continue this later.” The flowers, though still injured form Lily’s assault, had abandoned any semblance of camouflage and now moved like enormous knotted spiders to surround the two. “I’m not in great shape right now, so I don’t suppose you have a plan?”“More of a hunch.” Lily seized Anna around the hips with one arm, aimed her scepter towards the ground, and fired. The blast lifted both women into the air like a rocket, launching them clear of the trees just as the flowers were about to close in. She angled the stream of energy to carry them away from the forest and back to the relative safety of the campus. They landed in a twisted heap of limbs, sore but safe.As the two extricated themselves from around each other, Lily helped Anna to her feet. “So I think I need to know a little more about this whole magical girl thing.” *** The two exhausted magical girls made their way back across campus, hopefully for the final time that day. Lily still carried a fragment of her earlier anxiety at being seen, but it was much diminished. Perhaps it was because of the terrifying battles with an eldritch blackness on another plane of existence she had experienced twice now today, but she suspected that having her arm around Annie was also a big factor. Something about her friend being there was comforting. Even if her friend seemed the worse for wear.Annie’s eyes were distant, unfocused. The speed and power with which she had moved earlier that night was also diminished. She barely focused on where they were going, instead letting Lily lead her. How could she have let herself be captured so easily? She knew how to fight these monsters and how to smell a trap. How did flowers get the drop on her? And why could she not shake this feeling; it was like the vines were still present, still tangled around her limbs. She felt some weighty darkness pulling at her, something that she had never known before and yet that felt uncomfortably familiar. The night air gave her a sense of unease that she simply could not shake.Despite their physical state, they made it home together without incident. This time Lily was especially cautious of being followed, as she was not about to let the same flower trap her as easily again. Back in the safety of their room, they slumped to the floor, leaning against each other for support in the process. Lily still gripped her scepter so tightly that her knuckles trembled, but the fight was over. At least for now.“Annie. Annie,” Lily stroked her roommate’s hand gently.“Mmm.”“Annie.”“I’m okay, I’m here.”“What is going on?” Lily placed special emphasis on each word, letting their significance impress itself.“We’re magical girls—““Not that part, I got that.” She gestured at the way the two of them were dressed, from Annie’s latex-like catsuit and horned cowl, to Lily’s enormous pink diaper and uncomfortably short dress. “What were those things? Where did they take us?”Annie blinked slowly as if she did not understand the question.“Annie. . . You felt it, right? When the flower trapped me it. . . Brought me somewhere. I felt something.”Annie said nothing.“I’m not crazy, right? That happened, right?” The agitation in her voice was audible.Annie still said nothing.Lily put her hands on her friend’s shoulders and turned her so that their eyes met. “Annie!”Annie gripped Lily’s wrists firmly. “I’m here.”Lily recoiled slightly, but allowed herself a slight smirk as she felt her friend returning."So?”“I don’t know what that was. I don’t remember.” She shifted into a more comfortable sitting position. “Each one of us have different strengths and weaknesses. If whatever those things did was magical— I’m highly vulnerable to magic attacks. I think if you were able to break out it means that—““—It means that I’m not.”“Right. Which means you could be the best person for fighting whatever that thing you sensed was.”The bottom of Lily’s stomach fell out and the emptiness in her gut chilled her. How could she possibly face that thing again? Annie stroked her friend’s cheek as she had earlier that night. “Don’t worry, hun. That doesn’t mean you have to do it alone. You’re part of a team now.”Lily could feel her friend’s words. They warmed her heart, and the complicated font of emotions within her caused her to tear up. “Okay. One more question?”Annie wiped the tears from Lily’s face with her finger. “Yeah?”“How do we change back?” *** Lily yawned and stretched her arms above her. She blinked groggily and grunted as she felt the stiffness in her neck. Why was she sitting up? She had fallen asleep in front of their bedroom door, in the same place that she and Annie had slumped over yesterday when—Holy shit was it real?“Annie!” Her voice came out in a sleepy rasp. She sprung to her feet and immediately regretted it as the stiffness in her neck blossomed into a cramp.“Good morning, sleepyhead.” Annie called over from the far side of the room. She was seated at her desk across the room with her computer open. Two mugs, one shaped as Winnie the Pooh and the other with a My Little Pony logo on it sat next her, steam coiling off of them. “Coffee?” Lily took one of the two mugs and sipped from it—strong black coffee—and let her eyes linger on Annie for a moment longer than usual. The green catsuit was gone. She was dressed in her pajama pants and a white t-shirt, the set she wore every Thursday night. She checked herself too. She was wearing the enormous pink sweatshirt that she slept in every night. Most importantly was what she was not wearing: a diaper. She opened her mouth to vocalize the thought perched on her tongue.“So—““Yes. Yes it’s real. Everything. The monster, the flowers, the bunny, the magic. . .”“The costume?”“The costume.”Lily sighed and leaned against the desk as she gripped the mug in both hands to leach off its warmth. She felt Annie grasp her thigh reassuringly.“I know this seems like a lot right now. I mean, it is a lot.” Annie jiggled the high-end mouse hooked up to her computer to bring the screen to life and opened a file titled ‘Crystal Magic.’ “I’ve seen several first transformations, and it’s never easy. Lord knows mine wasn’t.”“What, did you used to have a giant diaper too?” Lily spat the words. She knew she would regret the venom behind them later. But while she was glad to have her friend here for this, there was a very small, very nasty part of her that resented her roommate.Annie tilted her head in recognition of Lily’s point. “No, that was a first for me.”“Oh good, I’m special.”“But you are special,” she said as she grasped Lily’s hand. “Each of us is. We all went through our own struggle when we met our Catalyst. You remember how fast I can more, right?”Lily paused. “Yeah,” she said sulkily.“The first time I changed, I couldn’t control it. I was completely disjointed from space and time as you recognize it. It was—Invigorating, to say the least.” Annie’s eyes took on a far-off look, one that equally reflected fascination and pain.“Oh. . . How long did that last?”“Three days.” She put special emphasis on each syllable. The two girls let the weight of the words fill the room for a time. Lily tried to imagine her own experience lasting that long. The terror at every new predicament, but also at the power that filled her up unlike anything else she had ever known. “I’m sorry.” Lily looked Annie in the eye for the first time since the night before. “I didn’t know. I’m just—““Scared?”Lily sighed. “Yeah. I’m scared. Not even just the monsters and the plants and whatever that. . . Blackness was. I’m scared about what this means for me. What does this say about me?”Annie smirked. “It means you’re a hero. Anything else is just a side dish.” She then opened a blank document with shocking speed and formatted its margins with minute precision. She titled it ‘Lily Celeste,” and her fingers flashed across the keyboard as she filled it in. “We’ll have to think of codename for you soon. Hey, you don’t have any classes today, right?”“Yeeeah, why?”“Because you have class now.” Annie drained her still-hot coffee in a series of gulps, wiped her mouth, and got to her feet. “Get dressed.” She paused. “And don’t wear anything you like.” *** Lily shivered in the dawn chill. She wrapped her hoody more tightly around herself and leaned against the wall next to the front door of their building, just on the edge of where the light fell. The hoody was two sizes too big, a “boyfriend hoody” according to some, but she didn’t feel right calling it that as she had never actually had one (a boyfriend, that is), not unless you counted high school mistakes that ended before they even began. She hoped that it and the two pairs of leggings she had layered would be enough. Training meant physical activity after all, and that meant they would be moving around. Probably. The expired packet of instant oatmeal she had foraged from the common room sat like a brick in her stomach. Maybe the sad, grey paste could have been appetizing if she had more than a shoddy microwave and tap water available to prepare it, but she did not and thus it was quite bad. Lily already regretted eating it at all. But the cafeteria wasn’t open this early, and neither she nor Annie had been to get groceries for the past few days. She had meant to after Math class, on the day when her whole world went crazy and she fought hypno hydrangeas and a fairytale monster while wearing a giant pink diaper. Ever since all that she hadn’t felt much like going outside. Not alone at the very least.Lily examined her own body. She ran a hand across her thigh. It was the same thigh it had been last week, the same as it had been for as long as she could remember. And yet not the same. It felt different. Her whole body felt did.At that moment Annie bounced down the stairs, a duffle bag slung over one shoulder.“Ready to go?”Lily dropped her hand with a start and did her best to make it look like she had not just been feeling herself up. “Yup, so ready. Just lead the way. I am very, very ready.”Annie gave her a look somewhere between maternal care and condescension. She held out her hand as if she wanted Lily to take it, which she did. Then with a flourish of her other hand Annie summoned one of the two curved blades Lily had seen her use before. There was a blur of motion and light and the air itself opened into a narrow slit, like Annie had made a gash in space itself and the guts of the universe were about to be laid bare. Annie winked at Lily then stepped through, pulling Lily with her.Lily was a petrified by panic and wonder and she was certain that for a moment her heart stopped and the breath froze in her lungs and then the apartment was gone and Lily was standing next to Annie, still clutching her roommate’s hand and standing in a meadow that she had never seen before.Annie tossed the blade and it did a neat spin in the air before vanishing. She coughed once and glanced at their still-clasped hands.“Do you mind?”Lily released her death-grip and the motion broke her form her stupor. “What just happened!”“We warped,” Annie said as she set about unpacking her duffle bag. She extracted a stack of clay disks and a small pneumatic device with a slit on one side and a plastic cylinder on top that looked roughly the same diameter as the discs. “Well warp, teleport, instant transmission, whatever term you like really. Most of us have some ability that serves a similar purpose, but it kind of varies depending on the specific powers.”Through the haze of the day of her first transformation Lily remembered Annie mentioning others. She wondered for a moment where they were and when she would meet any them.“But we can talk about my powers later. Right now we’re going to focus on yours.” Annie loaded the disks into the cylinder and clicked a switch on its side. The device breathed to life. “Let’s see how your aim is.” She pulled a remote control from her pocket and clicked a button on it. The device revved and one of the clay disks shot out up into the air—And kept going off into the horizon.Annie glanced at Lily from the corner of her eye. “You were supposed to shoot it.”“Shoot it with what? I don’t even know how to transform.”“Ah! That’s an excellent point. Okay. We should go over some basics.” Annie pulled out a well-loved notebook with the words ‘CM BASICS’ written on it in careful calligraphy. She opened it to a page and held the book up to Lily. There were a series of graphs and numbers, some of which she could recognize from sight but others so complicated that even trying to process them made her head hurt. “Don’t worry, we’re gonna go slowly,” Annie said. She pointed to the first graph, one that Lily could understand. It was a scatterplot. “This graph represents a hypothetical two dimensional reality. Those two dimensions are the two axes of the graph,” Annie said, indicating it with her finger. She pointed to the one next to it. “And this one represents our three dimensional reality. It has a third axis, so the same data we had represented on the previous graph is going to look different by virtue of adding that in.” Sure enough, upon closer inspection the two graphs did contain the same information. The new metric of measurement took the handful of datapoints and cast them adrift from what had been their point of origin.Annie pointed at the final graph, the one that made Lily’s brain hurt to look at. “And this graph represents a reality that has four dimensions. It changes that same data even more, so that it is virtually unrecognizable from before.” Lily tried yet again just to process the thing she was looking at, but looking at it longer brought the graph from merely painful to totally confounding. She couldn’t even imagine a way to sensibly present it in three dimensional space.Lily closed her eyes and rubbed at her temples. “Okay, I guess I’m following you. But I don’t see what this has to do with me.”“Well, you remember how I called that animal you touched your Catalyst? It created a reaction in you with components that already existed, and it was specific to you. As far as I know, the catalyst of one magical girl could not activate another. The one thing that we all have in common, though, is that we all appear to be pieces of a fourth dimensional reality.” Annie paused to let her words sink in. “Your Catalyst reintroduced your fourth axis. From the moment you touched it you have been transformed, changed into your true form. Even right now you are transformed.”Lily blinked several times, then looked down at her body in confusion. Same hoody and leggings she remembered putting on this morning.Annie rubbed her chin with one hand. “I’ll try to break this down even more. You know those shows like Power Rangers or Sailor Moon where they have a transformation sequence every episode?”Lily nodded.“We don’t have that. Our physical form just changes when we use our powers. And when we don’t use them we appear, at least to most people, as we would in this three dimensional reality. We appear the same way we did before we changed.”“I still don’t really get it,” Lily said deliberately. “But I think I get the important part? There’s no ‘Morphin Time.’”“Yes.”“But how do we turn back?” Lily paused for a beat. “Well not turn back but you know.” She gestured around her hips.“The short and horribly unhelpful answer is practice,” Annie said with a shrug. “You just have to figure out what works for you.”Lily sighed in frustration. “Alright, fine. But this all seems pretty. . . High-concept for basics.”“Ah,” Annie stammered. She blushed and looked intently at a spot on the ground. “I don’t get many chances to share my theories with anyone. I guess I just got excited.”Lily stared at her for a long, unbroken second. Then she burst out laughing, so hard that tears formed in her eyes and her abs ached, so hard that she felt like she might pee, which honestly would be the perfect thing to happen since apparently she was a big old magical baby at heart. This was the first moment in the entire time she had known Annie that the veneer of fastidious perfection slipped. Annie was just as confused and alone as Lily was. And at some point Annie started laughing too, until the two girls were exhausted, sweating, and slumped against each other on the dry grass. The two sat in silence, enjoying the emotional release of everything they had both been through over the past few days. Lily looked out into the sky, and the smile that lingered on her lips began to fade slightly.“So if I’m understanding your theory,” Lily said. “I’m always transformed. But when I use my powers that becomes, uh, apparent.”Annie nodded vigorously, pleased that Lily had followed her explanation.“So I’m actually always wearing a diaper.”Annie stopped nodding and squeezed her eyes shut as if Lily had just hit on something she hoped would go unnoticed. “Yeah. According to my theory, at least. That is your true form, or at least as close to your true for as can be conveyed in three dimensional space.”Lily felt around her hips again, searching for any sign of the padding. “Are you okay?” Annie asked hesitantly.“Yeah. Honestly the part that scares me is how okay with it I am. It’s like, I never would have described myself as being uncomfortable in my skin before. But then I experienced that change and I can’t imagine wanting to go back to how I was.”Annie’s eyes sparkled. “I felt the same way about my change.”“I mean obviously it’s still going to take some getting used to but. . . I think I can do this.”“Yeah,” Annie said, squeezing Lily’s hand in her own. “I’m pretty sure you can.”Pieces of another reality. Lily had always felt like she didn’t really fit in, like she was one small fragment of a mosaic that was not meant to be, a piece of coloured glass whose hue and texture clashed with those that surrounded it. But she had decided long ago everyone probably felt that way, that disillusionment was standard. It was the only way she had found to survive. But now, apparently, there really was more to that feeling. She belonged to a space and a time and an existence beyond the one she had always known and that thought filled her with equal parts warmth and sheer terror. And that terror caused a thought to percolate in her.“So those monsters from before,” she said. “They must be from the same reality as we are.”Bewilderment crossed Annie’s face. “I suppose it’s possible. I haven’t had the chance to study them.”“Wait, you mean you didn’t immediately catch one and dissect it?” Lily nudged her in the ribs.“I guess I got caught up in the whole ‘fight evil’ thing. I mean it’s not every day you find out you’re a superhero.”“Okay, well. When I started walking through the woods, I didn’t see any of those flowers. Maybe I’m just kinda dumb—don’t say anything—but if we go by your theory—““—Then you only started seeing them when they became apparent in this reality,” Annie’s eyes lit up. “Lily you’re brilliant. I can’t believe I didn’t think of that. If we’re pieces of another reality then it stands to reason that there could be other pieces too.”“If we can figure out what they’re doing and why they’re here—““—then we can figure out where all of this is coming from. Including us.” Annie looked ready to explode from pure elation. She sprung to her feet and offered a hand to help Lily up. “But first we’re going to get some use out of this launcher. Do you have any idea how upset the phys. Ed. Department gets when I take this thing?”“Annie—you stole it?” Lily’s brow knit together and her mouth gaped, the face of someone who had never stolen anything since she had been punished in elementary school for taking Macey Johnson’s eraser because it was shaped like an ice cream cone. Annie raised an eyebrow at her.“What? Did you think they were going to let me sign it out for magical girl practice?” ***

This story is complete and is available on Kindle. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07WN7H42M/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i4 WITCH'S BREW by Cute Kitten Joshua poked at the chocolate cereal puffs and marshmallow bats floating in the milk puddle on his highchair tray. His cheeks and chin were wet with milk; a couple of mushy bats stuck to his face. His plastic bib was as messy as his tray. He wore most of his food instead of eating it, despite his efforts to the contrary. He poked at another cereal puff, trying to pinch it between his fingers. The soggy cereal smooshed under his uncooperative fingers. He puffed his cheeks out in frustration, staring down at his hands and the delicate, silvery webbing of scars on his porcelain skin. His skin was so pale the scars were barely visible. He turned his wrist and the spidery, thin lines shimmered with a pearly sheen. Normal scars were varying shades of pink, red, and white. Not pearl and silver and covering nearly his entire body. The odd scars were souvenirs from a necromantic witch who had slowly burned and destroyed his nerves. He'd been very close to death. Aunt Gertrude saved him just in time. She even brewed him a potion distilled from the Font of Youth, to regrow and restore his injured body. Recovery was not magically instantaneous; his body was like that of a baby, and he had to relearn all over again. Hence his infantile lack of fine motor skills and barely controlled gross motor skills. And Auntie Gertrude raising him like he was an oversized baby. Physically, he was a baby. He couldn't even manage to feed himself yet. Josh puffed his cheeks out and smacked one hand into the milk puddle on his tray. His fingers accidentally hit the rim of the bowl; milk and cereal arched through the air and splattered onto the floor. He froze, eyes going wide as he realized just how big his mess was. He was in so much trouble; Aunt Gertrude would be furious. He wasn't supposed to feed himself; he wasn't ready for that yet. Aunt Gertrude had told his big half-sister Tabitha to feed him, but Tabi had snuck down into Aunt Gertrude's liquor cellar. So Josh had taken the opportunity to prove he was a big boy who could feed himself. He'd failed. Claws clicked on the tiled floor then a snuffling noise near the high chair legs. Josh looked down to see a monstrous, fluffy black dog-like creature lapping up the milk and cereal. Pandora, Aunt Gertrude's familiar. Even at peace, Dora was terrifying. She was slightly larger than a Great Dane, bulky, and fluffier than a Tibetan Mastiff. Her cat-like claws and teeth were made for ripping into the flesh of her prey. She was a barghest, a hellhound; a beast who could only be controlled by a powerful witch. Her massive pink tongue swept out, licking up the last of the spilled breakfast. Dora raised her massive head and started licking the highchair tray. Josh giggled in relief, patting the thick black fur with his clean hand. Orange ribbon was tied in a bow by each ear, making her look pretty for Halloween. Plastic bowl and rubber coated baby spoon clattered to the floor as Dora pushed them out of her way. Finished with the tray, she moved on to Josh's milk-sticky hand then his face. Joshua giggled some more, squirming helplessly as her rough tongue tickled his baby soft, delicate skin. He kicked his feet, his soggy diaper crinkling audibly. A wave of warmth engulfed his crotch as he wet himself but he barely paid any attention. He was too busy being tickle-attacked by Dora's monstrous tongue. "Pipe down. You're gonna attract the old bat with all that racket." Tabitha crept silently out of the basement. She scowled at her little half-brother. They had the same father but different witch mothers. Just looking at him annoyed her. He was so damn pretty; a soft, lovely, delicate baby doll she often just wanted to smash. She felt like an ungainly sow in comparison. "S-sowwy." Josh gasped out in a toddler lisp. His lungs ached from laughing. Pandora sat on her haunches, licking the milk and marshmallows off her muzzle. "Doggy tickles." Shaggy, pale blonde bangs fell into his big green eyes as he ducked his head, looking down at his tray that smelled of doggy slobber. He poked at the mess on his bib. He hated making his big sister mad; it reminded him too much of all the times his mother had been upset with him. "Whatever. Just don't start blubbering." Tabitha snorted, tossing her frizzy dark brown ringlets over her shoulder. She didn't even glance at his tray or bowl on the floor; she turned and went straight to the kitchen cabinet above the sink to fetch a glass. She held up the pilfered bottle to the autumn morning sun streaming through the window. The light caught the pale amber liquid, making it sparkle and shimmer. The bottle should have been brown; instead it was clear to show off the liquor. A homemade label decorated with drawings of pumpkins covered in spider webs. She read the squiggly handwriting. "Spider Cider." She snorted. "Cute. How appropriate for Auntie's Halloween party." She sat the bottle down and turned to Joshua, who still sat quietly in his highchair. "You know, I'm 21. I'm finally old enough to go to the Samhain Feast. Become a full-fledged coven member. Instead, my Halloween is stuck here changing your diapers and handing out candy to filthy brats." "Sowwy." Josh whispered softly, not daring to look up at her. Instead he looked around for his binky. He didn't see it, so he slipped his thumb in his mouth instead and started to suck. Pandora's wet nose bumped into his bare calf and he smiled a little at the ticklish sensation. The barghest stood in front of the highchair and just stared Tabitha down. She didn't growl or bare her teeth; she just stared at the girl. "Dowa, dat not nice." Josh lisped at the barghest. That dead stare trapped her like a cornered rabbit. It was the look of a dog that was considering attacking. Pandora often gave Tabitha that look. She found it almost as annoying as Aunt Gertrude's reprimands. Pandora never attacked her yet, but often looked at her like the damn mutt was thinking about it. Tabi tried to give the familiar a wide berth; all it took was one time, one incident. A barghest attack was hard to survive, and with her sealed magic it was almost impossible. "I'm not scared of you." Defiance laced her tone. Her limbs were stiff and her knees shook. "Anyway, since this Halloween's gonna suck, I might as well have some fun while I can. The least Auntie can do is spare me one lousy bottle of her brew." She slowly, intentionally turned her back on the beast and tried to open the bottle. Her hands trembled and she waited with baited breath to hear a growl in her ear, pain erupt as teeth sank into her shoulder. When no attack came, she let out her breath, hitched on a smirk and slowly, cautiously turned around. "Hey, baby pants, you want a sip?" She waved the bottle, amber liquid sloshing around. "No, he doesn't. You aren't having one, either." A calm, firm voice filled the kitchen.

Hi friends! If you're a fan of either of our work, we have a feeling you're going to enjoy this. It's not a Kimmy story, it's not a Sophie story, it's not a Sophie && Pudding story... it's something entirely new! It's a Sophie & Kimmy story! Welcome to Amulette, a land of magic and witches, demons and diapers, faeries and familiars. We've been writing on this one for a while, and we aren't done yet, but we think it's time to share it! Sophie is going to be posting odd-numbered chapters and Kimmy will be posting the even-numbered chapters. We hope you enjoy it and make sure to leave us lots of Likes and Comments! Also, if Amulette really grabs you, please feel free to write your own stories in this world. Thanks for reading. @Sophie ♥ & @bbykimmy ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Colors of Amulette Chapter 1: Dust To Dust Smoke hung heavy in the room; the spell had gone awry and Jade was highly irritated... bordering on livid. Tapping her finger on the table, she waved the acrid, purple smoke away from her face with the other hand. Her long violet nails clicked on the dark oak tabletop, as she sneered - she should be able see her reflection in the shine, but it was filthy, it looked like it hadn't been dusted in days. She swept her eyes across the room, her private workroom was decorated entirely in burgundy and shades of violet, illuminated by faelights and candles in equal measure, her black gown shimmering just so. It was a dark room with a dark purpose, and it was her pride and joy. Jade's sanctum was extravagant - not every witch in the Keep got a private sanctum, but being the daughter of a particularly powerful witch definitely had its perks. She was a member of the most powerful bloodline in the realm… though she wasn’t terribly skilled herself. She had her own quarters as well, no mere dorm like the lesser witches. No, Jade was used to the finer things in life, and she expected things to go her way. She scowled at the purple haze descending over the room, soiling her precious belongings, tainting pristine white pages with the violet smoke. The spell had been a disaster, and the mess was staggering. She knew the failure was her own fault, deep down... but she was furious at her servant for it regardless. And she would find some reason to blame her for it. "Paige!" she roared, hands moving to her hips as a sneer curled her purple-painted lips. Her natural color was a pale green, but she hated green. She dyed that pale green hair black regularly, and performed a charm every morning to turn her soft green eyes a brilliant purple. Lips, however, were tricky - so she resorted to mundane means. She loathed her mother's choice of name for her, but names had power and to change a given name in her world was to give up a great deal of it. "Paige! Get in here now!" Great, Paige thought, in trouble for something I didn't do, no doubt... She sighed and got up from her desk and fixed her dress. She wanted robes. She wanted a cute hat. Acting as a witch's Apprentice wasn't anything like she thought it would be. And it didn't help that Miss Jade always called her a servant... Paige was twenty-eight years old, but like most women in Amulette - the World of Witches - she looked a lot younger. Large, puffy cheeks. A button nose. Bright shimmering yellow eyes. Her long summer-blonde hair curled over her shoulders and down her back - a very easy spell she had learned ages ago. Looking nice was important for someone in her position. She was the niece of a First Circle member - there wasn't room for failure. And nonetheless, Jade treated her like a common street urchin. It was so frustrating. One step into her office and Paige knew she was in trouble. Her eyes scanned the bookshelves, ensuring everything was properly put away. The curtains were closed. The lamps were polished. What had she done? What had she forgotten? "Yes, Miss Jade?" Paige asked quietly, stepping into her office. The carpet was plush beneath her bare feet. She felt the energy in the air. Electric. Magical. Paige loved Jade's sanctum... The scowling witch’s eyes narrowed further at the lazy girl sauntering into the room, as if Jade had invited her for a casual tea. Paige fancied herself well on the road to being Promoted, despite only having served as a Apprentice for a measly three years. The girl hadn't even earned the title "Apprentice" in Jade's opinion - she needed to learn humility, servility, silence. And so she didn't use the title. The difference in appearance between the two of them was night and day. Jade Mazzi was sharp lines and harsh angles, pencil thin and severe. Her skin was milky-pale and clashed horribly with her choice of makeup - her natural shades of green softened those lines, softened her look… but she covered it all up with blacks and violets. She stood over Paige, sneering, her angular self a stark contrast to soft and inviting Paige, the friendly Apprentice, the kind girl. It made her sick. "Yes Miss Jade?" she repeated mockingly. "Do you see something wrong with my sanctum, Paige? Hmm? Anything? Anything at all?" The girl was so disgustingly adorable, Jade couldn't stand it. It was so unfair that she had been saddled with this brat. But she would bring the girl low - ostensibly to build her back up - but the Mentoring witch wasn’t exactly honest with her own motivations. Jade had taken her shoes a week ago, just as she had taken the novice robes her servant was not entitled to. She would continue to strip Paige of her comforts until she learned her place, and if that didn't do it, she would do what some of her Order did and strip her adulthood as well... but there could be consequences. No. No matter how Paige screwed up, she was safe from that fate. Paige was so blasted cute as it was, Jade wondered if she would even notice. She drummed her fingers irritably on the table as she waited for an answer, glaring through the purple smoke. Paige wasn't dumb. She had been practicing magic since she was a little girl. But, unfortunately, without a witch's blessing, she wasn't going to make anything of herself. Apprenticeship came first. In Jade's sanctum, she was careful to polish everything by hand. One wrong spell and something could break... Paige shivered at the thought. But she wasn't dumb. Jade was hot tempered, quick to start placing blame. So Paige did what was most logical: she examined the contents of the table between them. A scrying orb. An advanced text in a language Paige couldn't read. Lots of purple smoke. Purple smoke, purple smoke... "Uh, you used the wrong catalyst?" The words had slipped out. She hadn't meant to say them out loud. It was a thought that reached her mouth before her brain could stop her. Paige had been working for Jade for nearly three years, and never did anything good come from assuming Jade had made a mistake. Jade pursed her lips as the girl’s foolish words sent raw, red rage coursing through her. Why did I have to get a human? she lamented, I could have bought a fae-servant, or a demon. But no, I needed the prestige of initiating a new witch. "Excuse me?" she seethed. "Are you implying that I, your Mentor, your owner," it was technically true, she owned Paige until she received the blessing, "am responsible for this? Doesn't it seem a little more likely that you FAILED TO CLEAN THE BRAZIER?" Jade knew the girl was right and that made it even worse. Green sparks crackled at the fingers of her right hand, magic leaping from fingertip to fingertip as she struggled to keep from hexing her stupid Apprentice right there. "You will clean up this mess. Properly. And then you will report to my quarters for your Demotion, servant." Demotion?! Paige's eyes went wide and she shook her head in disbelief. Over something this stupid?! Absolutely not! "No way! I cleaned that thing yesterday!" Paige had been meticulous, thorough. She moved every book on the shelves. She lifted every artifact and ingredient and placed them back in the exact same spot. She'd washed all the tubs and the braziers with the stuff Jade had given her. And Paige hated cleaning! All month she had been trying so hard. Frustration bubbled up in her chest. "This isn't fair! I've been helping you for years and I should be learning magic by now! Not cleaning up your sanctum! When are you going to teach me some real spells? When do I get to do something fun?!" "Not fair?" Jade scoffed. Paige just didn't know when to stop talking! "Not fair!? I served as an Apprentice for fifty-two years, you whining whelp! You've belonged to me for three, and I've been incredibly lenient despite your constant incompetence." She slid a finger along the worktable, holding it up and showing the non-existent dust mingled with the residue from her failed spell. "When do you get to do something fun? When you learn your place." Jade stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her and returning to her quarters. Her gorgeous, luxurious quarters, which were hers by virtue of her station. She was Third Sword in the Order of the Manticore, though she aimed to be Second Scepter before the end of the year. She strode through her sitting room, past the bedroom, and entered her private study. She unceremoniously flopped down in the enormous overstuffed recliner and set her communication crystal on the table, tapping it and chanting a few words. "She's finally done it," she growled to Rosa the moment their crystals linked. "She's finally pushed me too far, I'm going to Demote her." "What did she do?" her best friend asked, obviously eating something - which was distressingly poor communication etiquette - but she wasn't going to alienate her oldest friend. "She's demanding to begin spellwork after three measley years, Rosa! I am weary of her impertinence." "Why are you keeping her?" Rosa asked, her voice full of scorn. "Just kick her out, buy a familiar - my little fae is so precious, you should get one." "I can't," Jade sighed. "I'm stuck with her. She's the great-niece of a First Circle member... if I kicked her out, she'd complain to mother and- " "That would be bad," she could practically hear the grimace on Rosa's face. Nobody crossed the High Manticore, not even her own daughter, and certainly not said daughter's best friend. Jade sighed a weary, put-upon sigh, covering her face with her hand dramatically and taking a very purposeful cleansing breath. "You keep your fae diapered, right? Where do you buy the diapers?" "I'll port you some," Rosa offered, ever the kind friend. "They should fit, pernicious Paige is on the small side, right? And worse case, you can enlarge them a bit. Do you want the normal daytime ones, or the humiliating night-time ones?" "Oh the night-time ones, for certain. Those will be her daytime diapers." *** Paige continued to clean up Jade's sanctum, muttering to herself. She really hadn't done anything wrong - there was barely any dust on the desk at all! But she shouldn't have spoken to Jade like that either. Paige's impatience was no excuse for her outburst and she knew it. Demoted... Paige didn't know a lot about demotion, but she knew it was a terrible fate for Apprentices. It changed all the time - in her father's day, a Demoted would wear an enchanted collar. Everyone knew. She shuddered at the thought, rubbing the back of her neck. She was a great Apprentice! Jade just never gave her the chance. Either way, Paige thought, maybe I could make that soup she likes... She had to get on Jade's good side.

Charli burst out from the barrier, her heavy suitcase pushed ahead on a trolley, a pink backpack bouncing behind her as she slowed down, the sight of the Hogwarts Express, in all it’s scarlet glory, coming into view. She caught her breath after that short sprint, the barrier had rejected her each time she tried the more subtle art of side-stepping during the previous years. Learning her lesson she threw caution to the wind after kissing her parents goodbye, making sure her skirt was aligned, before breaking into a steady jog at the dividing barrier between platforms 9 and 10. She looked over the crowded scene before her. Over seven years nothing had changed: a multicoloured crowd of children, teenagers, parents, porters, even the odd magical pet that had been let loose… or escaped a careless owner. Charli ducked a little as a particularly fat barn owl wooshed over her head, feathers almost brushing her hair as a fourth year chased after it, arms outstretched. Ordinarily Charli would be seeking her friends and classmates, catching up on wizarding news and summertime gossip. Not this time. Charli’s final year would start off in with constant vigilance, throwing looks over her shoulder, one hand pushing the trolley, her other making sure her light skirt remained in place as she sidled as nonchalantly as she could through several dozen parents in the middle of an animated boast about each of their children’s accomplishments. As she slid past the gleaming engine, a jet of warm steam billowed out over her legs, her skirt getting caught for a moment. Her heart jumped as she attempted to keep her cool, pulling it down as firmly as she could, hoping no one saw anything. ‘Just need to worry about being seen,’ she thought to herself, looking around feverishly. ‘No one will hear it, not here, way too noisy. Just keep this damn skirt from giving me away!’ The skirt had not been her idea. No way. Had she had her own choice she’d be in secure trousers all the way, maybe a loose pair of shorts, baggy enough that they hid whatever underneath. So what if they wouldn’t look good? Stealth is the key here, and I’ve got too much to lose. Charli heaved her case to the nearest open door. Lugging the massive container, she manhandled it up the steps and into the cramped corridor. She yanked her backpack more securely onto her shoulders, before wheeling her case down the carriage. Like the platform outside, the inside of the train was buzzing with laughing, screaming, and chattering of hundreds of people. She had a fine job squeezing past others also attempting to move their own luggage around the train, having to press right up against the wall on more than one occasion. Had this been any other year Charli would have gone straight to her friends, or maybe even the prefect compartment, having been made a Gryffindor prefect the previous year. No… she’d have to bite her lip and find somewhere safer. Somewhere she wouldn’t be disturbed. After nearly ten minutes she found a vacant compartment very close to the end of the last carriage. A littler smaller, only just big enough for four passengers, but it came with working blinds on the door and inner windows, plus she could utilize a locking spell. It’ll be perfect. Sliding the door shut, she took a deep breath, lifting her giant suitcase onto the rack opposite her. After a few close calls of it nearly slipping, she secured it, flopping down on the seat to catch her breath. As she panted, she quickly checked that the close was clear, before carefully pulling her skirt up. Meeting her gaze, smiling innocently back at her between her thighs was a particularly thick disposable diaper. White in colour, cuffs around the leg holes, four tapes holding it on. It was a diaper, no getting around it. ‘I am on a train filled with hundreds of teenagers and I’m sitting here literally in the thicket nappy my parents could find. Great...’ she grumbled to herself, giving the poof a tentative poke. ‘Warm already. So I did have an accident in the car, ughh!’ Charli thought back to the fifteen minutes she spent driving through London in the back of a taxi with her mum and dad. Just a quarter of an hour and she’d wet herself then too! She had thought she felt the warmth of the ‘incident’ but it was getting harder and harder to feel it these days. ‘If this keeps up I won’t feel it at all!’ Charli threw her skirt back in place and folded her arms with a huff, kicking her feet out onto the seat in front, pouting to no one but herself. Charli was a pretty small girl, to be perfectly honest. Small, bespectacled, and (if she thought so herself) pretty cute. Her hair was a darkish brown, shoulder length, and almost black, except for the odd rogue greyish-white hair that stood out no matter how much she plucked at them. Currently she sported a light summery cardigan over a dress of duck-egg green colour, a pair of casual trainers on her feet. She fiddled with her glasses a little, trying to get comfier. In the relative quiet of her compartment she could hear the diaper crinkle with every other little move she made. Shifting her bum, moving her legs, even leaning over to peer out the window a plasticy noise called to her from under the skirt mockingly. ‘You can do it, Charli,’ she tried to reassure herself again. ‘Just ride it out, visit the Hospital Wing the moment you get to Hogwarts, and everything will be fine...’ The train whistle blew overheard, she heard the sound of porters shouting for students to board. She put on her best glare that she could muster as people peered in, going as far to fetch her prefect badge from her rucksack, pushing the neatly folded stack of diapers aside to find it at the bottom. Pinning it to her cardigan she flashed it threateningly whenever a student didn’t take the glare seriously. ‘Not exactly prefect behaviour...’ She thought to herself, the girl she shooed away looking dejected. ‘But I can’t take the risk, even if it is a first or second year who doesn’t know me. Heck, or might not even end up in Gryffindor house at all.’ She felt another trickle as the train began to move. She bit her lip, lifting herself a little off the seat as more warmth spread inside, absorbing into the material around her. She felt it grow warmer and warmer, squishier and thicker. She settled gingerly back down with another crinkle, the poof surrounding her down below. As she watched the tall buildings of capital city start to move past, she griped the arm rests of her seat tightly, hoping that the journey, hours long, would pass without incident…

An original story about a twenty five year old woman who visits her best friend. Did her friend party too hard and fry her brain? Why has she decided to give up on being an adult and become a baby? Is it possible that something beyond her comprehension has forced her to be a baby? Find out below. Lauren stepped out of her car and looked at her friend's house or, more correctly, her friend's mother's house. It had been over a week since the young woman of twenty four had heard from her friend. Typically, they exchanged phone calls frequently throughout the week, supplementing the gaps in between with texts about various subjects and what not. However, Abbigail had stopped answering her phone and numerous texts were ignored during the last five days or so. The girls used to work at the same office until Abbigail had lost her job about a month ago and, while she was being a downer, for obvious reasons, she always maintained some semblance of contact with her best friend. This period of silence between the two unnerved the usually upbeat and confident young woman. Hell, she would've stopped by sooner, but a major project at the office had been dumped in her lap. Thankfully, Lauren had wrapped it up and used her first day off, in what seemed like forever, to check in on her friend. "She better be okay." The young lady in her small denim jacket and blue jeans muttered to herself as she walked up the driveway. One thing stood out to Lauren: Abbigail's car no longer occupied the patch of pavement in front of the Tudor style household. 'Had she just up and moved? Maybe she was out looking for another job or cruising around, smoking a joint?' A multitude of possibilities rushed through the young professional's mind, but one slightly significant detail did go unnoticed: a large, pink carseat occupied the backseat of the black Mercedes Benz SUV. *Knock* *Knock* An older Asian woman opened the door. This kind yet firm woman was none other than Mrs. Yoshikawa. Lauren knew the older lady well enough from her youthful days of playing with Abbigail and numerous nights filled with sleepovers. "Hello, Lauren!" She smiled and welcomed the petite girl in. "I wasn't expecting you to stop by." "I decided to stop by and see if Abbigail was in. I haven't heard from her in over a week." Lauren stated, facing Mrs. Yoshikawa in the foyer, her back turned to the hallway which led to the living room. "You sure picked a bad time to stop by." Mrs. Yoshikawa replied. "Why?!" Lauren exclaimed, noting the surprised look on the older woman's face, lowering her tone of voice as she continued her questioning. "What happened to Abbigail?" "Aside from a nasty dirty diaper this morning? Nothing." Mrs. Yoshikawa chuckled, walking away from the stunned girl by the door. "Dirty diaper?" Lauren muttered, following behind the middle aged woman. "Is she sick?" "No, my little Abbie is just fine. See for yourself!" With that said, the two women entered the living room. Blankets were placed randomly, toys strewn about haphazardly and the remnants of a few empty baby bottles littered the carpeted floor. However, all of this paled in comparison to the main attraction of this infantile circus: Abbigail suspended in a giant baby swing, legs dangling due to the massive, plastic bulk between in her legs. "Abbie, sweetie!" Mrs. Yoshikawa called out to the baby woman in the baby swing. "Your friend, Lauren is here!" "Abbigail!? What the hell are you- Is that a diaper?!" Lauren ran over to her friend, dodging the toys scattered about the floor as if they were landmines. Abbigail, or Abbie, grinned at her friend, like she was missing the punchline of a joke. "I'm a baby now." The diapered girl punctuated the statement with a nice spit bubble that instantly popped, sending spittle down her cute little chin. "I see a twenty five year old pot head, wearing a diaper while seated in some kind of bondage swing!" Lauren stated bluntly. "Look, it's better like this. No more stress, no more drama, no more icky jobs or boys. Just mommy and my binky." Abbigail reached her hand into her oversized pamper and plucked a pacifier from within the moist confines of it. Unbeknownst to Lauren, the glistening sheen on the bulb on the plastic teat was from her friend's pussy. The best part of her newfound babyhood was the way her diapers made her feel: constantly aroused! "You're not going to put that in your mouth are you? Abbigail giggled, nodding like a naughty girl, pushing the wet oversized bulb into her mouth. Savoring the flavor of her womanly essence. She loved swirling the pacifier around in her mouth, her tongue encircling it and drawing it in past her lips repeatedly, suckling it for all it was worth. It felt great against the roof of her mouth and against the gaps that were starting to form in her once perfect smile. "Look, you can't just give up being an adult." Lauren stared straight into Abbigail's eyes, ready to make a passionate argument about the beauty of adulthood. However, she faltered, unable to really find anything worth arguing about. Her childhood was pretty great after all, but she knew of two things her lifelong friend couldn't live without. "What about pot? I don't know many two year olds that can smoke." "Dun, needid." Abbie muttered behind her pacifier, a steady stream of drool starting to cascade down her chin. "Fine, what about cock?" Lauren knew that Abbigail couldn't last without a man in her life. The girl had been boy crazy since middle school. "What guy is going to want to fuck a twenty five year old girl who wears pissy pampers, huh?" Abbie spat the pacifier right at Lauren's face, the hard plastic shield bouncing off the other girl's forehead. "Oww, you bitch!" Lauren raised her hands up to the point of impact, rubbing the spot due to instinct. It honestly surprised her more than anything. "Pfffttt! Stop bothering me! I'm a baby now, got it?!" "No! Not until you get out of that diaper and get out of, whatever the hell that thing is that you're bouncing around in." "Mooommm!" Abbigail cried out. "I want milk!" Mrs. Yoshikawa came walking over to her twenty five year old baby, lifting her up from the big baby swing, setting the topless adult onto her hip. "It's time for little Abbie's feeding, yes it is!" The woman in her late forties proclaimed in a tone of voice best reserved for toddlers. Lauren could only marvel in morbid fascination at the display of strength displayed by Mrs. Yoshikawa. Abbigail was no porker, but she was still a full grown woman, weighing in at about one twenty while her mother probably only weighed twenty pounds more than her. Regardless, of weight or size, the mother carried her adult baby daughter with ease. "Abbigail, how is your mom so strong? Is she a weightlifter or something?" Lauren asked, feeling stupid by trying to justify how a middle-aged house wife could possibly bench press her twenty five year old daughter. "Don't be silly, Lauren. She's my mom." Abbie replied, as she was sat on the couch. Her mother adjusted the girl's position until she was in just the right spot. Mrs. Yoshikawa rapidly unbuttoned her top, revealing her nursing bra, each nipple purple and in pain, engorged and leaking white milk. "Latch on, Abbie. Drain mommy dry." Mrs. Yoshikawa encouraged the twenty five year old. "You've got to be kidding me!" Lauren said in a disgusted tone, standing about five feet away from the bizarre spectacle which assaulted her eyes. Meanwhile, Abbie was in utter bliss, enraptured by the rich, creamy ambrosia flowing into her mouth with each suckling. She barely even noticed that what remained of her teeth had disappeared, receded into her gums, leaving them sore and aching for relief. Only the pain which her toothless maw emitted told the twenty five year old that something was wrong. Luckily, for Abbie, the milk slowly soothed her gums. "Abbigail! You have to stop!" Lauren screamed, but it was too late for her friend. Abbigail was drunk on the infantile euphoria produced by her mother's magical breast milk. She paused her suckles for just the briefest of moments and looked at Lauren with a scowl. "Imm twing ta dwink mai boobie milk! Gidda hew od of hew!" Abbie lisped in the most angry voice she could utter. "Such a fussy baby, I think it's time for your nap." Mrs. Yoshikawa pulled Abbigail from thr other breast and pushed a large pacifier into her mouth. She then proceeded to wrap her diapered adult newborn into a large fleece blanket. She slowly lifted the baby woman from her lap, carrying the pacifier suckling twenty five year old newborn, swaddled up in the pink blanket past Lauren and up the stairs. "Can you close the door on your way out? Thanks!" The young, professional business woman was absolutely flabbergasted by the chain of events she had witnessed from within the Yoshikawa household. Unsure of whether this was a bad dream, drug trip or something more ethereal, she left out the front door as she was instructed. She didn't want to join Abbigail and had to admit defeat. However, no matter how Abbigail ended up like that, one thing was certainly crystal clear: she didn't want to be an adult anymore. To be continued... If you enjoyed this type of story, then please check out my Patreon for other wild tales of diapers and adult babyhood! https://www.patreon.com/user?u=6660213

A story about Raven trapped in a world of Mother Mae Eye's creation. Will the Gothic super hero escape? Find out in future installments or check out the rest of the chapters on my Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/user?u=6660213 Raven rolled over in her bed, torn from her deep sleep by the alarm going off, calling the Titans' attention. The Gothic teen quickly joined her team of teens. They all congregated in their living room/command post as Robin, their leader, noted several emergencies happening simultaneously across the city. Each demanding their attention, but there was no way that they could be in three places at once. Robin decided to break the group up into small erase teams: Beast Boy would tend to the lowest priority issue while Robin and Cyborg raced out to the first national Bank to stop a group of Hive villains from robbing it. This left Starfire and Raven to look into a strange call coming from the orphanage on the edge of town. Starfire thought about her friends and worried slightly about them as the orange skinned alien flew alongside her pale teammate. Below her, the city's streetlights pulsed ominously, turning off and on every few seconds. "I worry about the others. Friend Raven, do you think they'll be okay?" "Cyborg and Robin can handle the Hive hooligans and I'm confident that Beast Boy will find whoever is disrupting the power grid." Starfire nodded. "I believe that you are right." It was a fairly short flight to the edge of town where a dormicile building stood shrouded in darkness. For whatever reason, this structure was powered by Jump City's electrical grid. Still, eerily green flashes of energy illuminated a bank of windows on the side of the dorm. This light show caught the female Titans' attention as they landed in the front of the dark building. "Let's get in there." Raven used her teleconetic powers to fling the large oak doors open. The two Titans hovered just above the ground, slowly but surely proceeding down the long hallway while lights flicked all around them. Shadows were casting strange shapes on the walls while the hallway lamps blinked on and off. Raven deduced that the lights were coming to life randomly thanks to the pulses of energy coming from deep within the dormitory. Soon the duo of magic welding super heroins came up to a three way junction, one hallway ending while another led off towards the east and west sides of the building. The third direction was a large pair of door standing right in front of the girls. "What way is best to go?" Starfire asked her Gothic comrade. Before Raven could answer, a powerful blast of green aura burst through the doors in front of them. The ladies shielded their eyes in surprise until the light dissipated. A loud cackling caught them slightly off guard. Starfire and Raven lowered their arms and noticed who their foe was. "You again!?" Raven called out, in an annoyed tone. "Yes, it is the evil mother once again." Starfire added as if Raven couldn't see that for herself. "My children have returned to me!" The voice belonged to a short, fat, old woman who wore a red dress, a white shawl, and a pink apron which was lined by white frills. A red hat covered in pink polka dots with a white bow tied around it sat a top her head. "Seems as though you forgot to bring my boys, though." The strange elderly lady added, seemingly dismayed. "Our friends are busy enough without having to deal with you, but they left you for us to handle. Isn't that right, friend Raven?" Starfire looked to her pale comrade for confirmation. "I couldn't of said that any better myself. Let's blast this old hag back to oblivion!" Raven and Starfire flew into battle, side by side, charging the wicked old woman. "Now that's not very polite. A little girl like you shouldn't use such vulgar words to describe me!" Mother Mae Eye lifted her old staff and shot a green ray at Raven. A barrel roll saved the Gothic girl from being hit by the beam of energy."Nice try, but you got to do better than that." "You've seen nothing yet, child!" Mother Mae Eye boasted, transforming into her true form: A sickly green hue appeared across her flesh as her clothes turned purple. The decrepit old sorceress was my finished yet. She jammed the butt of her staff on the ground, summoning a light so bright that it practically blinded Raven and Starfire. "Damn it!" Raven cursed, her hands once more trying to futile shield her eyes from the light. However, the damage was already done, little dancing stars covered her closed eyes. After a few moments, she opened her eyes slowly, only to see a wall of hypnotized eyes which had surrounded the female Titans. "Oh, shit!" Raven shouted before locking eyes with a pair of the swirling eyes. She found herself in a deep trance within a matter of minutes. Unbeknownst to Raven, Starfire hadn't avoided the hypnotic gaze of the eyes either. Both girls fell to the floor of the cafeteria inside the dorm.

Warning: This story contains blood, gore, death, violence, and Witches. I am not going to put a trigger warning for every bit of violence in the story, but I'll still give out trigger warnings for really heinous things. This whole story has a violence/blood/gore trigger warning. It's not my usual sweet, kind, loving, romantic fare. It's a dystopia. Chapter One The moon hung full and bloated above the city skyline. It was late August and the silvery light was washed out in the thick haze and noise and steady burn of the citylights, but Rachel didn't need blackness or moonlight to finish her job. She was a consummate professional in that regard - get in, get it done, get out without a trace. She was a mystery, the boogeyman for monsters, and in her world the best way to banish monsters was to be a worse one. There. Finally, movement in the window. Rachel shifted slightly, one eye pressed to her scope and chewed her lower lip in quiet contemplation. Sarah Trippoli had a schedule, a routine - stupid for a mob boss, but Sarah had grown decadent and lazy in her old age - one that Rachel had full intentions of taking advantage of. She'd drop her keys in the bowl by the door, kick off the Manolo Blahniks, shimmy out of her bra, and let her hair down. Literally. Her white hair would cascade over her shoulders, she'd breathe a visible sigh of relief, and the White Witch of Winchester would cross her penthouse to turn on her gas fireplace, flip on some jazz, and pour herself the first glass of sherry before ordering her nightly meal. Rachel tensed all her muscles and then released them in order as Sarah moved through her routine. She slowed her heartbeat, relaxed as deeply as she could, and blinked slowly through her scope. When her finger squeezed the trigger it was as it always was - Rachel wasn't Rachel anymore, she was the infamous Witchhunter, and her job was nearly done. When Sarah toppled, Rachel should have been up and out - breaking down her rifle and escaping. Strip off the mottled black clothing, stuff it into the garbage bag with her hat and shoes, ready to dump in the donation bin at the end of the alley. Beneath, she had a much more unassuming outfit, something a human who wasn’t part of the Resistance would wear - a slinky silver shirt and a red skirt that was currently rolled up around her waist above the skintight black pants like a belt. She'd drop it, slip on the sandals she had laying beside her on the tarpaper roof, and shake out her own red hair. She'd stash her gun at the drop point and vanish into the crowd. She’d walk casually, blending in with all the others who lived under the thumb of the Witches. Like any other job. Like every other job. Except she hesitated for a bare second longer than normal, her eye pressed to the scope. The Witch dropped. Fine. Dandy. Normal. But then a flash, a light turning on. Two windows over. Sarah had the penthouse and she lived alone. Oh shit, is there someone there?! A maid? Fuck! Witches broke apart about two hours after death. All that was ever left was ash and grease. Rachel was always extremely careful about timing her jobs so that the Witch in question was alone and would be for the rest of the night. Otherwise everyone and their Familiar would be scrambling over the body, trying to figure out what was going on, who did it, etc. Messy, in other words. "Fuck," Rachel breathed, holding a hand to her forehead as she watched. Oh god, I fucked up bad. Bad-bad-super-bad. Faye was confused by the sound in the other room - it was a bang and a thump. Something in the back of her mind, what was left of her mind, told her that it was a bad sound, a scary sound, that she should run... but the thought was fuzzy and distant. The red glow that held her leash to the wall had disappeared, letting the thin chain drop to the ground the same way it did when she was released. She waddled over to the door, the crinkle of every step destroying the silence of the empty room as she pushed the switch up the same way the white-haired woman did. The lights came on with the same magic they always did, filling the room with the brightness of daylight even though the sun had long set. Faye remembered the sun vaguely, that it made her skin feel warm just by being in its light, not the same as the magic light of this place. Her leash made a soft scratching sound as it dragged on the floor, the rings on her cuffs tinkling as she pushed the door open. "Owner?" she called softly. "Mommy?" She wasn't sure which word she was supposed to use here, the rules were all so confusing. There was a draft in the room, a chill, and the hairs on her arms stood up as her nipples grew pointy and hard. It was uncomfortable but she wasn't sure what she was supposed to do about it. The woman whose face occupied nearly every memory she had lay lifeless on the ground, blood seeping from a hole in her forehead. That wasn't supposed to be there, she was sure of it. Faye felt her bladder release into the waiting padding taped around her. Her Owner liked that, praised her for it. Faye hoped that it would help her get up. The Whisper thrilled at her lack of control and she felt a wave of pleasure rush through her body as the diaper grew warm around her. She walked as best she could to her Mommy, falling to her knees beside her, nudging her gently. This woman, her Owner, her Mommy, was her entire life. Every moment was either spent in the box, or the cage, or the dark room... except when she was with her Owner. Learning. Feeling. "I exist only to serve you," she said quietly, gently shaking her Owner. "How may I serve you?" Why was she asleep now? She stuck to her allowed words, she had learned quickly that her Owner did not appreciate deviation. As she watched the blood creep across the floor, licking at her knees, she felt some of the woman's magic let go... the muddled and murky memory of meeting her Owner for the first time came to her. She had been a servant of some kind, offering food... she had been wearing clothes then, so it was different than now, but she had apparently always been a servant. How she had come home with her Owner, though she couldn't remember why, she just remembered that she had always been unable to refuse the woman. She remembered the knife cutting away her clothes. Remembered her own blood being spilled as the magic took hold and hollowed out a place inside her soul, a place where the Whisper now lived, a part of her. Nothing existed before serving Mommy that night, and the memories that followed were a mix of intense, mind-bending pleasure and terrifying, agonizing pain. Pleasure when she pleased her Mommy, pain when she angered her Owner. She knew she was stupid, her Owner had told her that so many times. But she knew that she was sweet, her Mommy had told her that just as many. The Whisper loved both the pleasure and the pain. Even in the agony, she felt its joy... but nothing made it - and thus her - feel as good as serving, following her Owner's wishes, being her Owner's toy. "Owner," she whispered to the rapidly cooling corpse, not understanding why she didn't respond the way she always did, "I want to please you. How may I please you?" Rachel looked around the scope, just to make sure her eyes weren’t deceiving her before looking through it again, watching the small blonde girl. She moved tentatively, timidly, but she walked straight for the White Witch’s corpse. It didn’t make sense. Sarah had never had a familiar. Not in seventy years of torturing and killing, of kidnapping and abusing. But there she was, sure enough. A tiny blonde thing, wearing a collar and leash, cuffs, a diaper and nothing else. Brand new, or she wouldn't need the leash. How did I fuck up this job so bad, she moaned inwardly. Of course, it wasn't entirely her fault - the Winchester Witch-bitch had been vocally disdainful of Familiars for decades. Any Witch who needed a Familiar was a lesser Witch - Sarah's opinion had been well known. This, of course, ignored the fact that many Witches kidnapped or purchased Familiars for reasons other than power, but so far as the vicious mob boss had been concerned, power was the end-all, be-all. Problem was... Familiars were helpless. Most of the time they were enslaved humans magically turned Little - it made them easier to control and abuse and hollow out. Others were natural born Littles - nobody was sure when Littles had first started appearing in the human population - they were mostly human, just smaller, more naturally docile. They had big eyes and big hearts and they rarely grew above four feet. A Little being born to a family was a bittersweet event - they almost never remained free through adulthood… more often than not they were sold to the Witches by the family. It could be seen as a blessing. Though Rachel didn’t see it that way. On very rare occasion, Rachel had seen a Familiar from the Other Place - the incubi, the succubi, the cherubs and ishim - but they were expensive and difficult to control, few Witches could deal with it. They were powerful, sure - Rachel had a scar on her left leg from a fight with a succubus - but challenging for any but the most experienced of Mages. If the Familiar Rachel spied through her scope had been one of those she could've happily packed up and left, not giving the Familiar a second thought. A powerful Familiar would eventually figure out a way out of its own bondage without a Witch constantly checking in and keeping them in line. A Little, however... Groaning, Rachel rose to her knees and began breaking down her rifle. She'd have to figure out a way to sneak into the highest security building in the fucking city, get up to the penthouse without a key, somehow break open undoubtedly warded door, and then... steal the Familiar? Rescue her? And then what? Deliver her to Oliver and his crew - or someone else who could take care of her, Rachel supposed. There was hope for a rescued Familiar, depending on how bad the damage was. They could live normal-ish lives… in hiding. If this girl had been fully human once, there was no hope of undoing the transformation, but as long as she was still new... The Familiar was kneeling over the dead body, a heartbreakingly confused expression on her face. Yep. Definitely new. Still new enough that she had some sense of self left, at least. A better Familiar - one who'd been ground into unthinking obedience already - wouldn't have left their room. Wouldn’t have turned on a light. Wouldn't have moved without the Witch's say-so. Would've died of dehydration before shifting an iota. What the Witches did to those poor souls was unforgivable. "Damn it all to hell," Rachel cursed and shimmied her skirt down, dropping her “street” clothes into the donation bag rather than her stealth outfit. This wasn’t how tonight was supposed to go. If she had any fucking sense she'd let the girl starve. Why in the fuck was she risking her neck to rescue... No. She knew why. "I'm an idiot," Rachel sighed and finished changing. Oh well, if I get caught I had a good run, right? All I have to do is get past two dozen lesser Witches, goons, and assembled assholes and then figure out a way to kidnap a Familiar who may or may not be suicidal. Sure. No problem. Easy peasy.

(this is a fixed/updated version. I would like to thank R682 for helping me with spellcheck.) Dropped in a New World Chapter 1 'I cursed bitterly, screaming out my frustration as I ran through a sea of trees. Behind me were a pack of beasts chasing me. “They're catching up!” the small girl strapped to my back yelled. “I know that Bab!” I yelled at her as I continued to run. The beasts weren't that strong, but fighting a pack of them was a different story. They could quickly surround us and kill us before we could do anything. “Why in the hell did you attack the whole pack!?” I yelled to Bab as I jumped over a log. “I thought there were only three of them. Watch your left!” she yelled. “FROST!” I yelled, extending my left hand to blast the beast with ice magic. It was only knocked back and soon was chasing us again. “Any ideas?” “Ya don't stop running!” she yelled, which really didn't help. It wasn't long however before I had to stop in front of a cliff, A raging current surged below us, and a wild pack of beasts were charging up behind us. We were out of options. I couldn't use my sword. Our mana was getting low... And I could feel Bab’s diaper leaking on my back again! “You trust me?” I asked Bab. “Right now? No!” she told me, already knowing what I was going to do. “Good, neither do I,” I told her, before jumping off the cliff. Both of us screaming on our way down, the only thing I could think about was how I got here in the first place. * * * I was just some average guy. Single, working and saving money to start college in a year or two. The luckiest thing to happen to me in the last three years was getting a ticket for a hiking trip my friend won in a contest. Sadly his grandma passed away and was going to her funeral. To not waste a ticket, he gave it to me. To be honest, while I was having fun, I really didn't pack well for it. I didn't know much about hiking, and the clothes I bought weren't the best. Just three t-shirts, pants, socks, underwear, and a warm jacket. Luckily, I did get myself some hiking boots, but I also brought my regular pair for when we set camp, and I could be more comfortable. The rest of the gear I got from my friend who was already prepared for himself. Camping Travel Cooking Utensils Set (cooking scissor, blender spatula, meat knife, cutting board, soup spoon, stainless steel turner, cook fork and a tongs); TETON Sports Mountain Adventurer 4000 Backpack; Double Sleeping Bag; Sundome 2 Person Tent; SURVIVAL Traveller First Aid Kit; Magnesium Flints Scraper Stone (3); Pocket knife; Flashlight; 12 Survivors - Hand Pump Water Purifier; Extra rope; FiveJoy Military Folding Shovel Multi-Tool. I was all set for the trip. But after the second day, something strange happened. A freak storm hit us in the middle of the hike. None of us knew what was going on until suddenly I saw a flash of light and the storm was gone. When I opened my eyes, I was inside what looked like ruins. Behind me was an altar with some glowing dust scattered all around it. I was so freaked out about all of this that I ran towards the only exit I could see, and into a small town. People who looked like they were from a renaissance fair just stared wide-eyed at me. To make a long story short, I freaked out. It took the townspeople two days to explain to me what had happened and why I was here. I was no longer on Earth, but a place called Caruma. almost everything we know about fantasy is from here. “A long time ago two gods fought over an empty world, but their fight always led to a draw. So they decided if they couldn't decide on the winner with their own power, they would try something else.” the elder of the village told me on the first night. “They created fifteen crystals and hid them around Caruma. Each crystal summons something from another world: Poruma, the black god, summoned monsters; Rilla, the white god, summoned warriors.” “Wait, i'm not a fighter. Heck i've never even shot anything stronger than a BB gun.” i told them. “While we say warrior, in actuality it just random people summoned from earth to fight the black gods monsters.” the elder told me. “Why?” i asked. And the elder just shrugged. “Who knows.” he told me. “Each crystal could summon one warrior every ten years. The first god to destroy all the crystals would be the winner. Over the next three thousand years, the world was populated by man and monster. Humans built towns and temples around the summoning crystals. Out of the fifteen, seven white crystals have been destroyed, while five dark crystals have been destroyed.” “But there wasn't a crystal. How was i summoned?” i asked. “To be honest, we don't know.” the elder told me. “Thirty one years prior, the town was attacked by monsters, and they destroyed the crystal. But if i had to guess, because it was already about to summon a hero, the remaining pieces must have spent the last thirty years collecting power to summon you here before the crystal died.” Next they then told me how I could go back home. The crystals work as a two-way door. On this side, they gather energy, and in ten years they pull someone over. However, if you bring enough magical power to them, you can have them send you back home. The problem with this is that it usually takes a lot of magic to do so, and there aren't many people who have that type of magic here. So they suggested I go to a city and see if I could find any magic users to send me back. That's when we reached our final problem. I had no way to get there. When the village was destroyed all those years ago, most people left, and the ones who stayed were now too old or too young to take me. The only exception was a farm boy named John, who was sixteen: two years younger than me. But for him to take me, I had to first make a contract with him... In this world, the heroes learned how to tap into magic, but it came with a curse. Each person had to wear a unique bracelet and form a contract with another person. This unlocked the power to use magic. However, both people were cursed to never be away from each other for long. Should they be away from each other for six hours they will both die. If one dies, the other has six hours to find someone else to form a bond with or they die as well. The curse can be lifted once the pair complete one of a few select quests, and the bracelets can be removed, while still granting the person the ability to use magic. The reason John wanted to form a bond is that it would make travelling through the woods a lot easier. He said there aren't many powerful monsters there, but it was better to be safe than sorry. I had to wait a few more days before the contract could be made. John needed to finish some stuff and prepare before we leave. During that time some people let me stay at their houses, despite knowing I had nothing to offer other than some small work. On my final night there I was staying at an orphanage. There were only five kids there: two boys, three girls, and a women who took care of them. She asked me to stay with them for the night, as the kids wanted to see what a person from another world looked like. The kids staying there were from parents who had either died, left for adventure, or just left their children behind, without any idea where their parents now were. It was sad, but the kids enjoyed playing with me. All except one, who only stared at me. The women later told me 'Ema' was the girl's name, and that while she was 14, her body was short and looked more like a 10-year-old. Also, she had some problems. For one, she couldn't speak. Anything that came out of her mouth sounded like gibberish. Next, her hands couldn't hold onto things well, so she was forced to use baby bottles. Lastly, she had to wear diapers: for some reason, her bladder and bowles was just too weak. I honestly felt terrible for her. By the sounds of it, she would have to be taken care of for the rest of her life. Early in the morning, I said my goodbyes to the kids and followed John into the woods. When a contract was made it would make a bright flash, so we were in the woods so as not to disturb anyone and get a head start toward the next town. “Ok this should be good,” John said, once we were pretty far from everyone. “Now then, let's begin.” He then began to chant something, and both of our bracelets began glowing. We both raised our hands ready to form the contract, but stopped when we heard something. The contract ended as we looked around the find what it was. Upon investigating, we found one of the kids spying on us. It was the Ema girl? Not far from us we heard the orphanage caretaker Alice yelling for the girl. Apparently, Ema chased after us after we left, without telling the Alice. After a brief talk with the Alice, she was about to take Ema home, when Ema ran up to me. “Be jvy ruwvj ox jvy woz, gy bojv hog c bozupw,” Ema said, as she grabbed my hand, wanting me to kneel in front of her. “What’s wrong?” I asked her. “Wuhy ik jvy nogyl op oil toilpye cpz gy xuwvj xol jvy luwvj,” she said. Suddenly my bracelet began to glow again. “NO!” John yelled and tried to stop it, but it was too late. A bright flash hit my eyes, and for a few moments, I couldn't see anything! I just heard the same thing being repeated. “YES YES YES!” a girl cried out in excitement. “EMA! What did you do!” the women yelled, and when I could finally see, I saw the Ema girl jumping up and down with excitement. “I finally did it! I'll finally be free!” Ema said, until Alice grabbed her by the hand. “What did you do!?” Alice yelled at Ema. “She just formed a contract. How did she even do that?” John asked. That's when I looked at the girl's arm and saw a smaller bracelet on her. “Yep, and now I can finally get out of here,” Ema said with a sly smile on her face. “How did you even get a bracelet in the first place? And how did you activate the spell?” John asked her. “I stole it from Miss dumb-cunt here,” Ema said and nodded at Alice. “And anyone who knows magic knows that simple spell.” “I think the bracelet is mine,” Alice told John. “My husband was an adventurer.” “But that still doesn't explain how she knew the spell,” he replied. “Wait, didn't she just say she already knew the spell?” I asked, and everyone looked at me. “Wait, you can understand me!” Ema yelled surprised. “Of course I can, you're not speaking gibberish anymore,” I told her confused. “What are you talking about?” Alice asked. “She’s still talking the same,” John told me. “Just gibberish.” “The bracelets! You can understand me because of the bracelets!” Ema yelled. “What do you mean? How can the bracelets do that?” I asked and looked at John who seemed very confused. “Enough of this nonsense I'm taking you home Ema, and you're now grounded!” Alice grabbed the girl and started pulling her away. “Stop! My name isn't Ema, it's Bab! And I'm not going anywhere!” she yelled as she tried to resist the much bigger woman. “Wait, I need to figure this out,” I told Alice. “I'm sorry, but she needs to go home. I think all this stimulant is just being too much for Ema,” she told me. “I'M NOT EMA!” the girl screamed, as the women jumped when electricity popped out of the girl's hands. Once let go, she ran over and got behind me. “She can already use magic!” John said in amazement. “Ema, it's time to come home.” Alice told her again. “I'm not Ema, I'm Bab. Tell her!” the girl yelled at me. “She said her name’s not Ema but Bab,” I told Alice, and Bab nodded in agreement. “Could she be speaking another language and it's only after the contract was formed that you can understand her?” John asked me. After this, it just became a back and forth discussion about me understanding Bab. We had to prove I could understand her and after a long time, we finally came to the conclusion that I could. But shortly after that, we got into the central and most prominent problem. I was now connected to a tiny child, and I still needed to leave! After a lengthy discussion about everything, it was finally decided I had to take Bab with me. Because of the curse, we couldn't be more than forty feet from each other for more than six hours, and I couldn't stay in the town. I had to find a way home. So i had to make the most important decision of my life! “Ok, as soon as you sign this you will have officially adopted Ema.” Alice told me. “BAB!” Bab yelled. “Its Bab, remember?” I asked as i sign the last of the paperwork. “Oh, right. Sorry i'm still not use to that name yet.” Alice told me as she sits in her office chair. So, I wound up having to adopt Bab, and forced to take her with me on my journey. Sadly, because of her John could no longer come with us. The plan was to use the magic to get through safely, but without it, it just became too much of a risk, when he would have to come back alone. With the paperwork out of the way, we decided it would be best to stay one last day and let Bab get ready. Tomorrow we will leave in the morning. Throughout the day Bab was being bombarded with questions from the other kids, but she just tried to ignore them. She was too busy packing clothes in what looked like a pink school backpack. It wasn't that big but amazing she fit 3 pairs of pants, 3 shirts, and 3 pairs of socks. Along with a spare blanket and a pillow. “Are you sure that's all you want to bring?” I asked Bab. but she ignored me too. “Ok kids, it's time for bed,” Alice told the kids. I watched as she went to each kid and tucked them in and saying their goodnights before her and I went downstairs to have a little chat. “Are you positive you have to go?” Alice asked me. “If I don't then I can't go back home. I have family and friends I need to get back to.” I tell Alice who made us tea. “But going out there with a child, I still think it's too dangerous,” she told me. “I know that. But what am I supposed to do?” I asked Alice and took a sip of my tea and nearly spit it out. I really don't like tea. “I know this village isn't much, but you could still have a good life. Just the two of you,” she told me. “I do know about that. But I still need to go. How would you feel if you suddenly went to my world and you could never see your friends, family, or kids?” I asked her. “I would do anything to get back to them,” Alice told me. “But Bab is still small and helpless.” “I know she has her problems. Which is why I'll do what I can to protect her.” I tell Alice who just shakes her head. “It's not just protecting her. It's everything else. I don't even think she thought it out when she formed this bond. No one else can understand her but you. Her hands are messed up and can barely hold objects with 2 hands. her small body means she can't walk or run as fast as you can and she gets tired more easily.” Alice told me. “I can translate for her, I can feed her, and I don't mind walking slower, or I can just carry her,” I tell Alice, but again she shook her head at me. “There's still one last problem,” she told me. “What's that?” I asked. “You'll see,” she told me before she went to bed. I slept in the guest room again, and luckily it was still in the safe within 20 feet from Bab that the curse wouldn't affect us. I was awoken the next morning by a knock on the door. “Are you decent?” Alice asked. I was, and she came into the room with Bab. “Whats up?” I asked with a loud yawn. “It's time to see the big problem,” Alice told me. Confused I looked over to Bab who face was bright red and didn't want to look at me. Alice then grabbed Bab’s Pants and had them fall to the ground exposing a very full diaper. That's when it hit me that I would have to be the one to change this girls diapers and my face got red. “If you still insist on going you are going to at least know this much,” she told me and places a small mat on my bed and had Bab sit on it. Bab was then forced to lay down, and she covered her face in embarrassment. I guess she really didn't think this through. Alice then told me I had to be the one to change her diaper, telling me she would walk me thru it. First, I unfastened the tabs on the dirty diaper and pulled down the front half of the dirty diaper. There the sight and smell nearly made me gag. I was then told to use the front half of the diaper to wipe the bulk of the mess off of Bab's bottom. Next to fold the dirty diaper in half under her, with the clean side up. I was then handed a damp cloth and told to wipe from front to back as this helps keep bacteria from causing an infection. Then I took the dirty diaper and wrapped it up and placed it off to the sided. It really stinks, but at least the worst was over. Finally, I placed a clean diaper under Bab and sprinkled the baby powder over her area before taping the diaper shut, Alice even told me the diaper should be snug but not so tight that it pinches. Bab was now in a clean diaper but looked like she was close to crying after having her diaper changed by a not only a stranger but a guy. “What do you say to Alex for changing you?” Alice asked Bab who for the first time today finally looked at me. “Thank you,” she said in a meek voice before running off somewhere. “My offer still stands. You can still stay here if you want and I can still help with taking care of Ema, sorry Bab.” Alice told me. “I know this is going to be hard but I think we will be alright,” I tell her. Alice could only sigh and give me a diaper bag full of supplies I would need for Bab. with enough diapers to last us quite a while. I strapped the diaper bag to the bottom of my own to make it easier to carry. After an excellent breakfast, we said our goodbyes. The kids were crying that Bab was leaving and even Alice looked like she was about to start crying. “Please be good now Ema, sorry force of habit, I mean Bab,” Alice told Bab before embracing her in a hug. “I will,” Bab told her, and I translated. They watched as we walked away from the orphanage before disappearing behind the trees. “Please stay safe.” Alice whispered. In the end, this is where our adventure began: dropped in a new world. (ill be doing character bios attached to this new updated story. but will be doing them on DA.) https://redwelch2222.deviantart.com/art/DiaNW-Character-bio-Alexander-March-741388919 https://redwelch2222.deviantart.com/art/DiaNW-Character-bio-Bab-Ados-741389109 https://redwelch2222.deviantart.com/art/DiaNW-Character-bio-John-nile-741389234?ga_submit_new=10%3A1524290287

Want to see the entire first part? Check out my Patreon. For just a dollar you can see numerous stories that won't be seen anywhere else. Check it out! https://www.patreon.com/user?u=6660213 Chapter 1: Better Left Lost We join our heroes high up in the hills near Mount Chimney where they currently seemed to have lost their way. The gang had been hiking for hours since they had left the fertile agrarian town of Fallabor earlier in the morning. "You guys, I'm pretty sure sure that we should've gotten there by now." Ash stated as he stretched out his arms over his head, keeping a steady pace. "I think we're lost." May added. "Max, what does the PokeNav say?" Brock asked the youngest member of the party. "Umm, looks like we are out of the PokéNav's service area." The group sighs in unison. "How about we just keep going down this trail? It's got to lead somewhere." Brock offered.. "Fine, but I want to find some new pokemon to battle." "I'm sure we'll find some soon, Ash. I just hope we find a place to sleep tonight." May continued hiking up the hill behind Ash, who lead the way, she was flanked by Brock and her brother. As always Ash was filled with energy and determination. He'd been lost many times before and never let it get to him. After all, being lost had sometimes proved to be very beneficial to his training. "Woah, look at that!" Ash pointed to a very old, medieval looking structure that sat on an outcropping of stone. The ancient castle, perched precariously on a cliff, was calling out to him. Begging to be explored. "I've never seen anything like it." May shielded her eyes from the sun with her right hand, hoping to get a better look at the castle and block out the sun's rays. "Neither have I." Brock stared at the imposing stone fortress with his crew. "As far as I can tell, it's not on the map." Max said, looking at his trusty map. "Well then, let's go check it out!" Ash ran off towards the old ruins before anyone could say anything else to dissuade him. The young man had always been head strong and looking for an adventure. His friends did their best to keep up with him as the whole group was being watched by a familiar trio. "Looks like the twerps have found a castle." James lowered his binoculars. "Yes. And wherever there's a castle, there's usually treasure!" Jessie started daydreaming about vast wealth, piles of gold and other riches while seated upon a throne, surrounded by an army of speedo clad boy toys. "Let's get there before they do!" Meowth jumped up from cleaning his gold trinket and the trio was off in hot pursuit of our heroes. -------At the front of the Castle------ "It's even bigger than I thought." Ash stood before the Gatehouse which was the center piece of the massive fortification which protected the structure from invaders. Walls stretched in both directions, away from the only visible entrance and wrapped around the castle. The battlements appeared to be in decent enough shape save for a few cracks, gaps and missing stones every few meters. Brock, May and Max stood behind Ash, marvelling at the colossal engineering feat. It could have been quite the destination for tourists had it not been on top of a secluded hill, surrounded by a forest. After a few moments, an awestruck May spoke up. "I don't know if we should go in there. We're already lost as it is." "Don't you want to explore it?" Ash asked. "We could just take a look around before it gets dark." Max quickly cut into the conversation. "Well, the sun is going to set soon. So, maybe we can find some rooms inside and call it a night?" "That's a good idea, Brock." Ash grinned,winning the opportunity to at least enter the castle. "Alright, it's better than sleeping in the woods I guess." May had to admit that she'd slept in worse places since starting her quest. "Then it's settled. We'll find a place inside to lay out our sleeping bags and then we can explore the castle properly." Brock declared. Meanwhile, Team Rocket was struggling to close the gap. The castle stood atop the hill, with a zigzagging path leading up to it. Staying off the trail was key to remaining unseen, but the slope and trees made traversing the forest difficult. Luckily for the bumbling band of criminals, they came across a tattered and decrepit looking building which was built into the hillside. "I bet that's the escape tunnel for the castle." Meowth pointed to the building. "Huh, how convenient. James, lead the way." "But Jessie, it's so dark in there!" James whined loudly. "Do I have to drag you in?!" Jessie starred at her partner with a throbbing vein on her forehead. "No, I'll go. I'll go." James relented and entered the dusty, cobblestone lined tunnel. Jessie and Meowth followed him into the dark, cramp corridor. Instantly, the trio wished that they had a fire type Pokemon to illuminate their path. Deeper they journeyed into the catacombs under the castle, fighting their way through the spider webs and various other hindrances. Jessie sighed. "This tunnel goes on forever!" "Well, it wasn't my idea to go into this damp, dark hole in the ground." "Me neither." Both thieves instantly turned around and starred at Meowth with red eyes, anger evident as they both pummeled him with cartoon mallets. "I'm taking a break." Jessie stated, putting away her mallet and sitting on an obtuse, stone bench. "I don't want to sit in the dark." James pouted. Both Meowth and the lavender haired crook were surprised when no angry response was fired back at them. Each one rapidly looked around for the redheaded fireball, but she was no where to be seen. "This ain't funny, Jessie." Meowth stated, nervously. "Yeah, where did you go?" James added. Unbeknownst to her friends, Jessie taking a seat on the stone bench had activated a swiveling wall segment which dumped her into a hidden passage way. No matter how hard the young woman pounded on the walls or how loudly she yelled, no one could hear her from behind the wall. "This is just great. Now what am I going to do?" The redhead could only hope that she would be able to find her way of out of this labyrinth and reunite with her friends. Jessie decided to do the only thing that she could: Follow the secret passageway. After a few hundred steps, the corridor emptied into a massive library filled with books and cobwebs. "What's an old library doing in a place like this?" Jessie wondered aloud while walking through the aisles of literature. Coming to the center of the ancient book depository she noticed a strange, glowing light emanating from one of the books on a nearby table. Her curiosity peaked, Jessie walked up to the table, drawn to the pulsating tome, and picked up the aura enveloped book. "This crazy book has a lock on it." Thinking on her toes, Jessie smacks the binding against the table, breaking the lock and freeing the energy imprisoned within. "What the-?!" The redhead shreiks, but is instantly enveloped by dark magic. Her entire body being invaded by a sensation that is beyond her comprehension. Instantly, everything went black for Jessie. "Finally, I'm free!" A deep voice came from the slender female thief. Stretching her arms and looking down slightly, admiring her new body, she smiled. "Quite a good body too on this airhead." ----Meanwhile, in the throne room of the Castle---- "Hey, Ash!" Max called out. "Look at this!" "Huh, what did you find?" Ash wandered over to where Max stood and immediately realized what the boy wanted him to see. Hanging in the center of the large wall was a striking painting of himself and May. Actually, they couldn't have been of the two Pokemon trainers, since the painting was centuries old. However, there was no denying that the two inhabitants of the painting looked just like Ash and May. The only difference was that the boy in the painting wore a regal looking blue twin tailed coat, white vest and white slacks while May was dressed in an elegant, flowing pink dress. Both had crowns atop their heads. "What do you make of this, Ash?" "I dunno, but it's definitely strange." "Looks like you married my sister to me." Max chuckled. Before Ash could retort, Brock and May entered the royal chamber. "We've been looking for you two for a while now. Didn't I say that we were all going to explore together?" Brock admonished. "Yeah, don't go wandering off like that." May added. "But May! Look at this weird picture we found!" Max called out. May took a few steps closer to the image, not entirely sure what she was looking at. "IIs that me?!" "Sure looks like you and Ash, but from the middle ages." Brock clarified. Suddenly a green fog spread across the floor of the royal hall and a neon green portal opened. All eyes were on this startling development. Was it a rare pokemon? A ghost or psychic type causing mischief? As if providing an answer to these questions, Jessie appeared from within the portal and with a snap of her fingers, it vanished as quickly as it appeared. "Team Rocket!" Ash hollered. "What are you doing here?!" May added. "Something doesn't seem right, her eyes are glowing." "The tall one is very astute. Shame he'll just be another servant tending to an overgrown brat!" Jessie declared as she pointed at May. "What are you talking about?!" Ash demanded. "You'll find out soon enough, my Prince." Jessie snapped her fingers on her right hand while holding open a book with her left. Instantaneously, a series of ripples ripped the fabric of space and time, pulling the young group of travelers into the book. The last thing that any of our heroes heard was a loud, cackling laughter which sounded like it was all around them. And then, everything went black.

I finished brushing my teeth with the new "sonic" toothbrush that Gloria bought me. I didn't see what was so fancy about it, but I wasn't going to object. The past few days had been amazing. I had been so afraid to tell her my secret.. I had carried it for almost twenty years. How do you tell the woman you just moved in with that you like to wear diapers? I didn't need them, I just liked them. And yet, here I was, standing in our bathroom in a lime green onesie and nothing else, a thick diaper barely hidden by the snap-crotch. Pink plastic peeked out on either side and the bulge was very clearly there. I was still in shock, honestly. I had finally given my tear-stained confession three weeks ago, we'd been dating for a little over two years and had moved in together about a month ago.. and then the packages started appearing. It was more than I could have dreamed. Every day was like Christmas. That night, Gloria had told me that she also had a confession, but it took some courage to work up to as well. She said she'd tell me soon. I swore to myself I'd be as accepting and loving about whatever she had to tell me as she had been for my dark secret.She had told me that she'd be home late tonight, but she expected me to be in the crib when she got home. One of the packages had been an inflatable crib, we blew it up and put it in the master bedroom, in the corner. It stood to my chest, I could crawl through the "bars" easily and climb over it, but there was something wonderful about it. Tonight was going to be my first night sleeping in it, I had no idea if it would actually be comfortable or not, but when I had laid down in it the first time and she stared down at me... I was in heaven. I crawled in through the bars and laid down, hugging my stuffed unicorn tightly. I grabbed the amazingly large paci she'd bought, it was red with a white ring - the package it came in said it was from Germany - and clipped the pacifier clip to my onesie and popped the nipple in my mouth. I laid down to watch a show on my phone, I was madly in love with Steven Universe - I'd seen this episode 3 times already, but it was wonderful. Garnet was so inspiring, how she was who she was regardless of what anyone thought.Just as the episode was finishing and I was singing along with the closing lyrics as best I could around the paci, I heard the front door open."Jackie sweetie, I hope you're in your crib!""I am! I'm a good girl!" I called back, letting the paci dangle on the clip. I climbed to my knees to stare over the crib bars at her, sinking into the inflatable mattress."You are a good girl, you're mommy's good girl," she cooed at me and set my heart aflutter. I knew she wasn't physically attracted to me this way, but this love was just as special. It was still a romantic love, I wouldn't want to share this particular feeling with anyone else on the planet, but it wasn't a sexual love. "Okay, I know I've been holding off on my part of the confession for a while, I wanted to make sure you felt loved and accepted before I spilled my dark secret, too. You need your paci right now," She paused to stroke my hair and pop my paci back in my mouth. I swear there was a glint of light as she tapped the shield, but it had to be my imagination. "There's nothing wrong with you, sweetie. There's nothing wrong with wanting to wear a diaper and sit in a crib, there's nothing wrong with wanting to be taken care of, to be made to feel small and protected. You know that, right?"I nodded, tears forming unbidden in the corners of my eyes. She was saying the words I had been wanting to hear since I was a child. I had always wanted to wear a diaper, I had no idea why. I had asked my mother when I was young, I was 5 or 6, and she had mocked me and told me everyone would make fun of me. She had made me wear one of my little sister's diapers and stood me in front of the mirror, making me wet it while I stared at myself... the whole while she told me that it was wrong for me to want to be a baby, wrong and shameful. I felt the fear and shame grip my heart as I was suddenly 5 years old again in my mind's eye, but Gloria's soft touch brought me back to reality."There's nothing wrong with you," she continued, "I like it when you're Little. You have this innocent sweetness about you that I never knew I wanted. You're so darling and fragile. Your emotions are so close to the surface, your sad, your happy.. and your emotions feel stronger this way. I love it. I love you. I'm happy you trust me enough to share this part of yourself. I'm happy to put you in a diaper and make you my little girl."She sat on the corner of the bed and stared at me, her dark brown eyes shining with love. She smoothed down a wrinkle in her hospital scrubs and pulled the tie out of her auburn hair, letting it fall past her shoulders. I loved it when she let her hair down, she was gorgeous. Gloria was a little heavy set, she had some insecurities around that, but I loved her anyway. We were about the same height but she had a few pounds on me, I was almost too thin, you could count my ribs when I stretched. She also had DD cups to my B cups. Hers wouldn't look good on me though.. and they were amazing on her. People were mean to her a lot about her size, especially her family, but I was always there to help pick up the pieces. It wasn't from a lack of trying on her part, we'd done the same diet together... she just couldn't seem to lose the weight. It actually caused a little bit of static between us, because I lost 15 pounds in a month trying her diet, while she struggled to lose 5. I felt badly for her, not because of how she looked - she was gorgeous to me - but because of how other people made her feel."There's a secret I have kept from you too," she said softly, "It's going to sound stupid, but I swear it's the truth. Everyone I've ever told has left me.. so I've been afraid to tell you. I love you a lot, Jackie." I reached for the paci to tell her I loved her too, but she put a finger to the shield, "Shh.. let me talk. You're too little to talk right now, just listen." The words sent a shiver down my spine. "I'm.. bruja," she said, looking down, "It skips generations in my family... it skipped my mother and grandmother, they thought it was gone forever.. but.. " Gloria looked like she was about to cry. I tried to spit out the paci to console her, but it wouldn't budge... trying to spit it out just led to me sucking on it. "It'll be good for us. I have to get this energy out somehow and this way, you get to experience a little something extra." She stroked my cheek, "You're too little to get out of your crib alone." She said with a smile, and I knew I saw some light on her fingertips this time. "I want to show you we can have fun with this, it's not all bad," she scooted back on our queen-sized bed, "Come to mommy." She held her arms out to me.I had no idea what she was talking about, I had no idea what bruja meant, but I knew I would love her no matter what. I stood up to climb over the inflatable railing of the crib.. but I couldn't. I couldn't lift my leg high enough. Gloria smiled at me."Come on, sweetie, come to mommy," her arms were so inviting, I tried to sit down and crawl through the bars, but I just couldn't. It was like something was stopping me from leaving the crib. I sat back on my diapered butt, confused. Gloria came back to the crib and leaned down, helping me up by my armpits. With her hands under my arms, I was able to swing a leg out of the crib and stand next to her. I tried to ask her how... but I still couldn't talk around the paci, nor could I spit it out. I was actually starting to get a little scared. She pulled me down on top of her on the bed and hugged me. "It's okay sweetie, be a big girl and use your words," she said as she pulled my paci from my lips."Gloria... what just happened?" I asked, my voice thick with fear."I told you sweetie, I'm bruja. A witch. I have the power to make people believe things that aren't true, make it real for them for just a little bit. Actually, I have to. If I don't, I get sick. We're going to find out if using it to make you happy has the same effect on me as... what I normally need to do with it. That's my secret. Do you still love me?""I... wha.. you're a witch? Like seriously? Hocus pocus and broomsticks and all that? That's not real, Gloria. Are you making fun of the secret I shared with you?" Why would she make light of this? I bared a piece of my soul to her. If she couldn't take it seriously... I don't know what I'd do. This wasn't a joke to me.But it didn't look like it was a joke to her either, her lips tightened with hurt and the smile faded from her eyes as she helped me back into the crib. I didn't resist, my emotions were in turmoil."No, Jackie, I'm not making fun of you. This is really hard for me to talk about," she frowned, "Let's assume I'm 100% telling the truth. Would you love me if I were a witch?" She was serious. Completely and totally serious. As I gazed into her gorgeous eyes, I could see the fear of rejection there. That feeling I knew all too well, I had shared my secret before and been mocked. Sharing it with Gloria had been terrifying and painful, but she loved me even though the desire I shared was... ridiculous. I promised myself that I would go into this with love and acceptance, just as she had.. and I was failing."Of course I would still love you." I looked her straight in the eyes and professed my love with all the sincerity I had in my body. I would never do anything to hurt this woman, the first person who ever really saw me for me. A tiny flame of fear kindled in my heart that I was causing her the very pain I was terrified of myself."Do you need to go to the potty?" she asked me, not breaking the eye contact. "A little bit," I confessed. This was a little frustrating, we were having a serious conversation - this wasn't the time to play our Little game. I needed her to know that I was there for her, I didn't want her to hide behind my Little feelings. I wanted her to know that she was loved in equal measure, "but this is serious, Gloria. I don't want to hurt your feelings. I love you deeply, and if you're serious about this, I want you to know that I'm there for you.""Shh," she stroked my cheek and the light was on her fingers again, "You're too little for the potty, use your diaper." I felt a tingle where she touched me, that traced its way down my body... into my diaper."What?" I asked.. and felt that my diaper was growing warm. I put my hand between my legs and felt the padding swelling up under the onesie, "Did I just?""You're too little to stand by yourself," she booped me on the nose and my legs collapsed. I stared up at her from the inflatable mattress of the crib. The glow was still fading from her fingertip.. there was a faint red hue to the light. I tried to stand up but my legs wouldn't listen. I started to panic. I couldn't stand!"Gloria, what's going on? Why can't I stand up?" I couldn't keep the panic from showing in my voice, but she looked completely calm.. the fear was fading from her face, she was Gloria again."Because you're so little, silly. You're just my tiny, little, baby girl. Isn't that what you always wanted? You like being Little.""I do like being Little... are you saying you can take away my bladder control? My ability to walk? You can make me your baby?" I couldn't believe the words that were spilling from my lips, but I could feel that nervous joy growing in my stomach. Butterflies. It was impossible... but I wanted it so badly."Yes, sweetie. How does that make you feel?" She was probing, her tiny core was vulnerable, she was serious about what she was sharing. This... was real. The possibilites were incredibly exciting and terrifying at the same time. But in her question, there was fear. If I responded with fear as well, it would break her."Can.. can I stop you?" I couldn't keep the tremor from my voice entirely, nor could I keep the blush from my cheeks. I didn't honestly know how I wanted her to respond."Do you want to?" There was a touch of sadness in her voice, that fear of rejection. She was placing her secret heart in my hands and hoping against hope that I didn't crush it.I sat on my squishy bottom and thought about the implications of her supposed power. My diaper was warm and comfy and I didn't have to struggle to wet it. It was electric, my heart was pounding in my chest. I had wet a diaper for the first time just two days ago.. it was so hard! I had to imagine I was sitting on the toilet for minutes before I could finally go. Gloria had teased me about it as she changed me. Having her touch me and then just wetting... even if it wasn't magic, it was magical. It was hard to believe.. but it was hard to deny too."No," I grinned, "But.. if I wanted to, could I? Or can you use it as a punishment?""Ohhh, someone wants to be bratty, huh?" A smile spread across her face as well, with a glint of playfulness in her eye. She saw me. Of course she saw me, Gloria knew me better than any other person on the planet. She loved me, despite all my imperfections. She saw me for who I was, in a way that no one ever had before. And she accepted me."Maybe... may I please?" My heart surged in my chest. For some reason, I wanted her to make me Little. I didn't understand the desire, but it felt amazing."Let's see, you already can't get out of your crib, you can't stand up or walk, and you have no bladder control... what else do you want to lose?""Can you take my words?" My pulse was racing, this was too good to be true. If I was dreaming, I didn't want to wake up."If your tantrums get out of control, yes I can. I can render you completely mute or I can leave you with just a few words. Is someone feeling fussy?", Gloria reached forward and pinched my cheek playfully, "I'm going to make a big bottle for you to drink and you're going to drink the whole thing without fuss, right?""No!" I shouted, though I couldn't keep the grin from my face, "I'm not thirsty! I don't want a bottle!" I laid down on the mattress and kicked my feet, flailing my arms, "No no no no no!""Sweet girl," Gloria smiled, "Someone is too little to speak, no words from you." She tapped my forehead with a glowing finger.. and my words were gone."Waaah!" I yelled, finishing my tantrum with a grin. "Yaa!" I giggled and clapped my hands. I had never felt this little before. I was trapped in a crib, in a wet diaper, and I couldn't say a word until my lady love allowed it. I laid down and sucked on my paci and hugged my unicorn while I waited for my bottle. She came back with it and I sat up, reaching for the bottle and opening and closing my hands."Does someone want their bottle now? Is my little princess going to be a good girl?""Aaa," I let the paci drop from my lips and nodded."Drink it all gone, or I'll make you," Gloria smiled. "I expect that diaper to be nice and wet for me. Show me how little you are, princess."The feelings were amazing as I lay back and drained the bottle. Peach water, she had added a sweetener to the cold, cold water. It was delicious. This was my fantasy come true. I didn't have to ask for it, I didn't have to pretend. I really was Gloria's Little this way. I had no choice. There was no shame in something I had no control over. I was completely trapped... and free to enjoy it.And that made it all the sweeter.

Hello everyone, I haven’t had a chance to work on my major stories for a while, because my computer has been in the shop. So I decided to write this as a kind of bedtime story for all the babies here who might want one. My goal was to write something that sounded like an old fable, with some diaper content for good measure. I hope you enjoy! As always, questions and comments are wonderful. The Fairies’ Gifts - by Selpharia Once upon a time, in a faraway land, there was a little village that sat on the edge of a forest. All of the people who lived in the village were very kind and good. The adults helped one another when they needed it, and the children all played happily together. And they all remembered to put out gifts for the fairies that lived in the forest, who made sure that the sun kept shining and the bushes were full of sweet red berries, and made the villagers clothes and shoes to keep warm in the cold, cold winter. And everyone was very happy. Everyone, that is, except Annabelle. Annabelle lived in the big stone house at the top of the hill. Her mama and papa had given her all she ever wanted, and everyone did whatever she said. She had toys that whistled and whirred, a pretty riding pony, and beautiful dresses made of silk and satin. But all that didn’t matter, Annabelle still wasn’t happy. She looked around her big stone house, at her toys that whistled and whirred, her pretty riding pony, and her beautiful dresses of silk and satin, and said, “This is not enough! I want more!” And so Annabelle tossed aside her toys and rode on her pony down to the village. When she got to the village, though, she saw all the gifts that the villagers had laid out for the fairies. For Sparkle, who made sure that the sun kept shining bright, the villagers had found a beautiful red stone that sparkled and shined. For Lychee, who kept the bushes full of sweet red berries, they wove a thimble-sized basket of golden straw to carry things in. For clever Cobble, who made them clothes and shoes to keep them warm in the cold, cold winter, they made a soft feathery cushion to rest on when she was tired from all that work. Annabelle looked at all these gifts and said to the villagers. “Why are you giving all these things to the fairies? I want them, and I am much more important than any fairy.” The villagers pleaded with Annabelle. “Miss, we can give you something else later, please don’t take the gifts for the fairies! Otherwise they’ll get angry, and who knows what they’ll do?” But Annabelle didn’t care. She grabbed up the beautiful red stone that sparkled and shined, the thimble-sized basket of golden straw to carry things in, and the feathery cushion to rest your head on, and brought them back to her big stone house on the hill. The villagers didn’t say anything. They were very upset, but they didn’t dare fight with Annabelle’s parents Later that night, the fairies came out of their forest, and saw the villagers beside themselves with sadness. “What’s the matter?” asked Sparkle, straightening her tiny red hat. “Is something wrong?” asked Lychee, smoothing her tiny green dress “It looks like something’s missing,” said Cobble, twirling her tiny brown coat “Oh fairies,” the villagers cried, “we’re so sorry! We had three lovely gifts for you, but Miss Annabelle took them away to her big stone house on the hill.” “Well then, that’s no problem.” said Sparkle. “Since she’s a big girl, we’ll just ask her nicely to return them.” said Lychee. “And then everything will be fine.” said Cobble. The fairies fluttered their wings and flew up to the big stone house on the hill. They squeezed their way under the door, and saw Annabelle sleeping right next to all the villagers’ lovely gifts. When the fairies came in, Annabelle woke up, and saw them standing there. But she wasn’t afraid, they barely came up to her ankle. “What are you doing here?” she asked angrily. “You stole our gifts!” said Sparkle “Please give them back!” said Lychee. “Or we’ll take something from you!” said Cobble. But Annabelle wouldn’t. “All these things are mine now” she said defiantly, “And there’s nothing you can do about it!” “We’ll see about that.” all three fairies said together. But before Annabelle could wonder what they meant, her eyes got heavy and she fell fast asleep in her big, soft bed. Annabelle woke up the next morning, and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She looked around her big stone house and let out a gasp of surprise. The fairies’ gifts, the beautiful red stone that sparkled and shined, the thimble-sized basket of golden straw to carry things in, and the feathery pillow to rest your head on, every single one of them was twice the size they were the night before. But that wasn’t all. All her things that she loved so much had changed too. Her toys that whistled and whirred were replaced by wooden blocks, with letters of the alphabet painted on in bright, happy colors. And next to them was a rocking horse of cherry wood, whose blocky mane and tail looked just like the ones her pretty riding pony had. And last of all, her beautiful clothes of silk and satin were no more. Instead, a cornflower-blue cotton dress, with frilly lace and puffy sleeves, hung in her open dresser. Annabelle scowled a deep, deep scowl, and kicked her her suddenly teeny tiny feet in a terrible tantrum. “How could those stupid little fairies do this to me?” she shrieked. “I’ll teach them not to take my precious things!” She put on her frilly new clothes with a pout, and kicked the rest of her toys out of her way in a huff. Then, she stormed out of her big stone house and started to make her way down the hill to the village. But she was so small now that it was hard going. By the time she made it halfway down the hill, she was all tuckered out. In fact, the only reason she made it to the village at all, was that One of her maids, a sweet girl named Cecily, saw Annabelle toddling along and offered her a hand. “Little Miss Annabelle!”’ she exclaimed. “It’s dangerous for little girls like you to go into the village alone. I’ll go with you, and make sure you stay safe.” “How dare you?” Annabelle replied, glowering the kind of glower that only a little girl subject to the worst of tyrannies, like bathtimes or bedtimes, or no-dessert times, could muster. “I am not a little girl! I am very big, and can walk as far as I want, all by myself!” She stomped off again pridefully, while Cecily let out a little sigh and followed, looking knowingly at her little mistress. Soon enough, Annabelle was so tired that she had no choice but to command Cecily to carry her the rest of the way. “I’m tired. I can walk myself, but I want you to carry me now,” she demanded. Cecily certainly couldn’t refuse without getting in trouble, so she picked up the mistress in her arms, and they entered the village with a sleepy Annabelle cuddled against her maid’s white smock. When they entered the village, though, Annabelle was woken right up by the sound of music. The villagers were playing bright and happy songs to thank the fairies for all that they did. For Sparkle, who made sure that the sun kept shining bright, they played a big brass horn that went “bomp ba da bomp” For Lychee, who kept the bushes full of sweet red berries, they played a tight little drum that went “pat pata pat” And for clever Cobble, who made them clothes and shoes to keep them warm in the cold, cold winter, they played lovely wooden pipes that went “toot doodle oot.” Annabelle listened to all this music and said to the villagers, “Why are you playing all this music for the fairies?” I want you to play for me, and I’m far more important than any fairy.” The villagers pleaded with Annabelle, “Little Miss, we can play something else for you later, but don’t make us stop playing for the fairies. Otherwise, they’ll get angry, and who knows what they’ll do.” But Annabelle didn’t care. She yelled and stomped, until the villagers playing the big brass horn that went “bomp bada bomp,” the tight little drum that went “pat pata pat,” and the lovely wooden pipes that went “toot doodle oot,” agreed to play for her. They played for hours and hours, until they were so tired they couldn’t play anymore. Finally, Annabelle was satisfied, and commanded Cecily to bring her back to her big stone house on the hill. The villagers didn’t say anything. They were very upset, but they didn’t dare fight with Annabelle’s parents. Later that night, the fairies came out of the forest, and saw the villagers beside themselves with sadness. “What’s the matter?” asked Sparkle, straightening her tiny red hat. “Is something wrong?” asked Lychee, smoothing her tiny green dress. “Sounds like something’s missing,” said Cobble, twirling her tiny brown coat. “Oh fairies,” the villagers cried “We’re so sorry! We had three wonderful instruments to play beautiful music for you. But Little Miss Annabelle made us play for hours and hours, until we were so tired we couldn’t play anymore. Then she went back to her big stone house on the hill.” “Well then, that’s no problem,” said Sparkle. “Since she’s a little girl, we’ll just ask her to play with us instead,” said Lychee. “And then everything will be fine,” said Cobble. The fairies fluttered their wings and flew up to the big stone house on the hill. They squeezed their way under the door, and saw Annabelle sleeping right next to a pile of the villagers’ lovely gifts, murmuring snatches of the beautiful music that the villagers had meant for them. When the fairies came in, Annabelle woke up, and saw them standing there. But she wasn’t afraid, they barely came up to her waist. “What are you doing here?” she asked angrily. “You stole our music!” said Sparkle. “Please play with us instead!” said Lychee. “Or we’ll take something from you!” said Cobble. But Annabelle wouldn’t. “All that music is mine now,” she said defiantly. “And there’s nothing you can do about it!” “We’ll see about that,” all three fairies said together. But before Annabelle could wonder what they meant, her eyes got heavy and she fell fast asleep in her big, soft bed. Annabelle woke up the next morning and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She looked around her big stone house and let out a wail of distress. The fairies’ gifts, the beautiful red stone that sparkled and shined, the thimble-sized basket of golden straw to carry things in, and the feathery pillow to rest your head on, every single one of them was twice as big as they were the night before. But that wasn’t all. All her things that she loved so much had changed too. Her toys that whistled and whirred had changed again. Instead of wooden blocks with letters of the alphabet painted on in bright, happy letters, there was a white pacifier, its front shaped like a cheerful butterfly. Beside it was a rattly rattle with rings on the end. And next to them sat a plush horse with a squishy body whose mane and tail looked like the mane and tail her pretty riding pony had. Her beautiful clothes of silk and satin were still the cornflower blue cotton dress with frilly lace and puffy sleeves. But now a matching bonnet had joined the pile, along with the unmistakable cloud-white cloth of a diaper. What’s more, her big soft bed had become a crib, with bars so big she could barely peek over. Annabelle scowled a deep deep scowl, and kicked her suddenly teenier, tinier feet in a terrible tantrum. “Dumb fairies! This is no fair! No fair!” She screamed and cried until Cecily came rushing in. Her maid was so much taller than she’d been yesterday. She towered over Annabelle, and plucked her from her crib with ease. Cecily held Annabelle as effortlessly as she held a stack of dishes. “Baby Annabelle, what’s wrong?” Cecily cooed. “Not a baby!” Annabelle whined in protest. Her whine became an indignant shriek as Cecily stuck two cold fingers down the back of her diaper. “I knew it, somebody’s cranky because she’s a wet little miss, isn’t she?” the maid said in a singsong voice. Only after Cecily mentioned it did Annabelle realize how soggy and saggy her diaper was. But how could a big girl like she was possibly not have noticed? Surely this was the fairies’ fault too. But there was no way such tiny fairies could have such powerful magic, was there? This thought distracted her so much that she forgot to fuss as Cecily brought her to a changing table, (which Annabelle was sure had been a desk recently) removed her wet diaper and wiped her clean. Annabelle only noticed what had happened after her maid had finished pinning on her fresh new diaper. It really did feel much better, and immediately, she knew what she had to do. “I wanna go to the village!” she announced. She tried to wriggle free of Cecily’s grasp, but she couldn’t. “All right, baby girl,” Cecily said. “Let’s get you in your pram, and we’ll go for a walk.” “No!” Annabelle yelled, her face turning cherry red. “I wanna walk myself!” “Maybe when you’re older, cutie pie.”’ Cecily paid no heed to Annabelle’s defiant cries, and ignored her as she flailed her little feet. Soon, Annabelle found herself riding in the stroller down the hill to the village. It trundled along, rattling just a little at every bump in the road. Annabelle was still very angry, especially at those awful fairies, but the gentle motion of her pram quickly lulled her back to sleep. When they got to the village though, Annabelle was woken right up by the smell of baking. The villagers had made fresh, delicious pies to thank the fairies for all that they did. For Sparkle, who made sure that the sun kept shining bright, they baked an apple pie with the crispest apples they had ever grown. For Lychee, who kept the bushes full of sweet red berries, they baked a lemon pie with cream that was the fluffiest they had ever whipped. For Cobble who made them clothes and shoes to keep them warm in the cold, cold winter, they baked a pecan pie, with molasses that was the ooeyest, gooeyest molasses they had ever made. But Annabelle smelled all these delicious pies and said to the villagers, “ Don’t give any yummy pies to the fairies. Mine!” The villagers pleaded with Annabelle. “Baby girl, we can make something else yummy for you later. But don’t eat the pies we baked for the fairies. Otherwise, they’ll get angry, and who knows what they’ll do?” But Annabelle didn’t care. She leapt out of the pram, and used her bare hands to take a big scoop right out of all three pies. She took from the apple pie, with the apples that were the freshest they’d ever grown, from the lemon pie with the cream that was the fluffiest they’d ever whipped, and the pecan pie with the ooeyest, gooeyest molassses they’d ever made. She stuffed heaping helpings of each into her mouth, so big that she couldn’t fit them all at once. By the time she was done, her mouth was covered in sticky crumbs. When Annabelle was finally satisfied, she ordered Cecily to take her back to her big house on the hill. The villagers didn’t say anything. They were very upset, but they didn’t dare fight with Annabelle’s parents. Later that night, the fairies came out of the forest, and saw the villagers beside themselves with sadness. “What’s the matter?” asked Sparkle, straightening her tiny red hat. “Is something wrong?” asked Lychee, smoothing her tiny green dress. “Smells like something’s missing,” said Cobble, twirling her tiny brown coat. “Oh fairies,” the villagers cried, “we’re so sorry! We had three delicious pies for you to eat. But Baby Annabelle came and gobbled them all up. Then she went back to her big stone house on the hill.” “Well, that’s no problem,” said Sparkle. “Since she’s just a baby, we’ll ask her to say sorry,” said Lychee. “And then everything will be fine,” said Cobble. The fairies fluttered their wings and flew up to the big stone house on the hill. They squeezed their way under the door, and found Annabelle asleep next to a pile of the villagers’ lovely gifts, pacifier in her mouth, and her tummy full of the pies the villagers had meant for them. When the fairies came in, Annabelle woke up and saw them standing there. This time, she was a little afraid. They were all now as tall as she was. “Go away!” Annnabelle said angrily, spitting out her binky. “You stole our pies!” said Sparkle. “Please say you’re sorry!” said Lychee. “Or we’ll take something from you!” said Cobble. But Annabelle wouldn’t. “All my pies. Nyah-Nyah!” she said defiantly, sticking out her tongue. “We’ll see about that,” all three fairies said together. But before Annabelle could wonder what they meant, her eyes got heavy and she fell asleep in her big, soft crib. The next morning, Annabelle woke up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She was no longer in her big stone house on the hill. Instead, she found herself on a bed of soft ferns, in the middle of a mushroom circle deep in the forest. Annabelle was about to cry, but before she could, Sparkle put a binky that sparkled and shined in her mouth. The fairy was as tall as Cecily had been yesterday. “There there, baby, don’t cry,” said Sparkle. “We’ll take good care of you,” said Lychee. She popped one of her sweet red berries in Annabelle’s hands. “And we’ll do a better job than those silly humans did. No more being such a spoiled brat” finished Cobble, with a playful swat at Annabelle’s padded behind. She pulled a dress made of gossamer and dew over Annabelle’s puffy diaper, and sprinkled a bit of magic dust on her forehead. The fairies set about their work, making sure the sun kept shining bright, keeping the bushes full of sweet red berries, and making clothes and shoes to keep the villagers warm in the cold, cold winter. As they did, Annabelle floated along happily behind them, giggling. And as the years went by, Annabelle stayed under the fairies’ firm but loving care. She never got quite as big as the fairies, and they still treated her like their little baby. But once she got big enough, the fairies let her help them with their work. Shine let Annabelle hold her beautiful red stone that sparkled and shined, so she could tell exactly where to put the sun in the morning by how the light bounced off it. Lychee let Annabelle hold her thimble-sized basket of golden straw where she kept the sweet red berries for the bushes. And with Annabelle’s help, Cobble made better clothes and shoes than ever before. To the fairies’ surprise, Annabelle was glad to do all these things. They made her feel important, and she liked seeing her mommies happy. When they all went out of the forest to receive gifts, none of the villagers recognized that the baby fairy was Annabelle. They called her Crinkle after the sound she made as she zipped through the air with her three fairy mommies, and were always delighted to see her. And so, finally, everyone in the small village and the forest was happy. Especially Annabelle. The End

“SPIDER!” my little sister Annabelle screamed at the top of her lungs. “STOP SCREAMING!” I screamed back at her before running over and killing the damn spider. “Look, just go downstairs and look through some of the stuff down there!” Annabelle was 8 years old and had a very high pitched scream that I absolutely could not stand. So far that had been her 4th time screaming her head off and I would rather clear out this attic myself than to hear her scream near me one more time. Why are we cleaning the attic? Well because we're selling my grandmas house. About 5 months ago my grandma got really sick and died just 2 weeks later. It was a very sad time for us all. Anyway, my mom couldn't afford to keep both our hose and my grandma's house so she decided to get everything out and go through it. Some stuff we are selling, some were giving to goodwill, and some were keeping. My sister was in tears after I yelled at her but what do you expect? A 16-year-old brother can only handle so much screaming. But Annabelle did climb down the ladder leading to the attic crying so it wouldn't be so bad. Mom might be a little mad at me for yelling at her but even she knows how much of a pain it can be to hear my sister scream. I was about to get back to taking stuff down the ladder when I suddenly heard something slam shut. Looking back I could see the door to the attic had closed shut. Shit! I went over and tried to reopen the door but it wouldn't budge. Whoever made it, made it so that it can only be opened from the outside. “Perfect,” I whisper as I pulled out my phone to text my mom. She had a few things to do today so she left the two of us here to clear out the attic. ‘Hi mom, Annabelle’s screaming was getting on my nerves so I sent her downstairs. She must have accidentally knocked the ladder and now I'm stuck up here.’ I texted my mom. ‘Ok, I'm almost done with my shopping and I'll be back in 30 minutes.” she texted me back. great, stuck up here with nothing to do. My grandma doesn't have internet and my phone doesn't have any apps so I'm already bored. Not long after that, I hired the phone ring downstairs. Most likely mom checking on Anna. I take a look over at the boxes still up here and I decided to open a few and see whats inside. Maybe I could find something cool and call dibs on it. the first box had nothing but clothes in it, the next had old photos, and finally the last I checked actually had stuff in it! Most of it was old junk that I wouldn't have any use for. But it was still neat to look at some of it. Then I noticed something, a little pink box. I grabbed it and just looked at it. Out of everything in the box this one looked a little out of place. As I opened it, I let out a small giggle. It was a pink diaper with the word ‘princess’ on the front. On the back was just a large red hart. “Why was this up here?” I asked myself before tossing the diaper and continued to look through my grandma's stuff. But then I heard something, a small rustling sound, was it a rat!? I quickly turn around to see nothing. Then I hear the rustling again and I turned to look at the attic door. But again nothing was there, well except for the diaper. Just then I realized the rustling sound must have been the diaper. but what I didn't realize was it wasn't in the spot I tossed it at. I decided I should actually pick it up and put it back in the box before mom gets back. As I walk over and try to pick it up however the diaper suddenly leaps into the air and clamped onto my face! What the fuck! I immediately start fracking out as I try to pull the diaper off my face when I suddenly fall down. “Ow,” I say as I rub my head and release the diaper is off my face but notice it's trying to make its way into my pants! I immediately grab onto it and tried as hard as I could to pull on it, but It just would not budge! I might be scrawny but I can't be this week! But my hands slip and the diaper went right into my pants. I quickly stand up as I feel the diaper moving around in my underwear! I immediately pull down both my pants and underwear just as the diaper tapes itself onto me and started releasing a thick pink smoke! “What the hell!” I yell out before I start coughing and I close my eyes. With my eyes closed, I didn't see my clothes began to disappear and soon replaced by different clothes. When I finally was able to open my eyes I screamed as I looked down. I now had knee-length socks and black shoes. My pants were gone and I was now wearing a pink frilly skirt that only covered half of the pink diaper. My shirt was replaced with a short-sleeved pink shirt that didn't even cover my bellybutton with a red vest red ribbons over it. And if I had a mirror I would see that my dark hair has turned into a light pink color with a small ow sicking out the side of my head! “W-w-what the…” I said weakly as my body starts shaking slightly. "What the hell was going on here!" I then began pulling at everything, trying as hard as I can to remove any of it! “You can't take me off.” I heard someone say and I immediately jumped and began looking around. “Who said that?” I asked as I saw no one else around me. “I am Pardie,” the voice said again. “Where are you!” I asked. “Look down.” the voice said and when I did all I could see was the diaper. “What do you mean? All I see is the diaper.” I tell the voice. Suddenly the diaper began to swell and get bigger forcing my legs apart! “I am the diaper.” the voice said before deflating back to the original size. (the name pardie is diaper with the letters changed around) “T-this can't be happening,” I say as I really start to freak out. “Ow, but it is princess, and now it's time for you to save your kingdom,” Pardie told me and suddenly the diaper began letting out even more smoke. “NOT AGAIN!” I yelled as I closed my eyes and began coughing again. When the smoke finally subsided and I was finally able to breathe again I opened my eyes to see I was no longer in the attic anymore. “WHAT THE HELL!” I screamed as I began to freak out. “THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING! I was now inside an empty room with only a single window and a door. “Welcome to you castle princess,” Pardie said to me. “IM A BOY NOT A PRINCESS!” I screamed at the diaper and realized I'm losing my mind. There's no way I'm screaming at a talking diaper, or magically been taken somewhere else. “This has to be a dream. Ya, I must have slipped when I was picking up the diaper and hit my head.” I told myself. “You still don't believe this is real?” pardie asked. “Of course not!” I screamed. “Who in their right mind would think diapers could talk!” Suddenly I felt the diaper suddenly get really tight as it began shrinking! At first, it wasn't that bad, hell I figured it would just pop off as soon as it got small enough. But no, it soon felt like there was a vise clamped onto my nuts! Soon I was screaming in pain. “Do you believe this is real now princess?” pardie asked. “YES!” I screamed just wanting the pain to be over and thankfully the diaper went back to normal. “What is going on here?” I asked the diaper as soon as the pain in my crotch went away. “You are here to save your kingdom princess.” pardie told me. “What kingdom?” I asked and suddenly heard screaming coming from outside the window. I immediately ran over to the window and looked outside and my jaw dropped. I was in some sort of tower looking down at a vast beautiful city. But with a closer look, I could see people running around screaming as buildings were lit on fire. Then I saw the case of the fire, a large lion with goat horns was breathing fire! “Princes, it's time for you to save your kingdom,” Pardie told me as I nearly pissed my diaper. ____________ hi! ^.^ I hope you like this first chapter. I've been pretty busy so I haven't had much time to write but I've been wanting to post this for a while. I want to give a shout out to skipek1 (from DeviantArt) who asked me to make a transformation story. and to Redwelch2222 who helped me with a little bit of the world building that will be in the next chapter. this is my first real original story not based on anything already. hope you all like it!

JUNE 20 - ADDED A HAND-FULL OF BREAK POINTS TO MAKE IT EASIER TO READ THIS FIRST PART Loose papers, file folders, thick books and numerous legal pads were scattered across the boardroom table. At the head of the table, an older man leaned on the polished oak, looking down at a small pile of documents in front of him. He reached down and flipped open one of the file folders, pulled a post-it note from where it had been stuck. Not looking up he said, “Miss St. James.” “Yes, Mr Cotton?” He looked up then, grey eyes seeking out the young woman. “Go down to the library, I need you to check all the cases from 1986.” Kristine St. James nodded at the tall Oscar Cotton. “Yes sir. What do you want me to find?” He looked at the post-it note again and then said, “You’ll know it when you find it.” Several of the other people in the room, all young men and women, rolled their eyes, and one dark-haired man gave her a sympathetic look. However, Kristine only said, “Yes sir.” Oscar nodded and then began to shift through the documents in front of him. By the door was a polished aluminium coat rack on which hung some expensive suit jackets, mostly blue and black. Kristine took a jacket of dark red, worsted wool and slipped it over a white blouse, open at the collar. Before leaving she grabbed a messenger bag, heavy with the laptop within. Beyond the boardroom was a large, open office space, the perimeter made up of other such boardrooms and offices for the lawyers. She paused, looked around, promised herself she would have one of those offices in two years. As she walked to the elevators the two-inch heels of her pumps clicked on the office's hardwood floor. Hardwood floors were just one of those things that the law firm of Cotton and Black used to set itself apart from the others. The elevator took her down to the lobby, and she crossed the tiled floors, towards the stairs. She was a young woman, looked more or less her twenty-five years, average across the board, maybe a little pretty. No one gave her any more attention than anyone else. She walked down two flights of stairs, into the sub-basement. Cotton and Black had space down there, for storage and the library. Her security key got her into the room. She reached out and flipped on the lights. The fluorescents came on with a quiet but pervasive ‘hum’ and a barely perceptible flicker. “Too bad the clients don’t come down here,” she said, walking over to one of the scarred wooden tables and placing her bag on it. The cases for 1986 occupied their own shelf. Books of past cases and the legal precedents set in them. She pulled several down, carried the heavy armful back to the table, placed them down on one end. From her bag, she brought out a beat up, old laptop, and several pads of legal paper. “Okay, let’s go fishing,” she said, and then pulled a book towards her, sat down, and flipped it open. Time passed. She ran numerous searched on her laptop, filled almost an entire pad with notes and photocopied nearly one hundred pages. Feeling she had found everything she (and Oscar) wanted Kristine put the books back in place and then left the library, snapping off the lights behind her. She had been there for almost four hours, and it was a little after seven in the evening. The offices of Cotton and Black were not empty, but most everyone had gone home. Kristine might have gone home herself, but she really wanted to get things finished up. She sat at her cubicle, a far cry from the office she wanted, logged into the desktop computer and then began to write up the document. It was almost ten when she finally finished putting everything in order. All the precedents neatly organised, from the ones that had the most relevance to the case to the ones that had the least. There were a few good ones there, but nothing that she would have considered a home-run in the case. She could only hope she got what Oscar Cotton had wanted. While the computer logged off, she stretched in her chair, arms above her head. Flopping bonelessly she slumped in her chair, eyes closed. So simple to just fall asleep in the chair. She would feel like hell tomorrow. Standing she took her jacket from the back of the chair, then slipped her arms into it, pulling it straight. Grabbing her messenger bag up she walked through the nearly empty room, towards the elevators. She almost ran into someone coming out of one of the offices. “Oh, sorry,” Kristine said, jumping back. The other woman started, took a step back, then shook her head. “No problem. Here late?” “Yes Mrs Kirk.” Linda Kirk looked at Kristine for a few seconds. “You’re working with Oscar.” “Yes Mrs Kirk.” “St. Just?” “St. James.” “Sorry.” Kristine smiled. “No problem.” Linda nodded and started towards the elevators. She walked slowly, and Kristine took that as an invitation to fall in beside her. Linda was a little taller than average, and her three-inch heels made her stand taller than Kristine. She was a beautiful blonde, blue-eyed woman, looking to be in her late thirties, but probably older than that. Married, as Kristine understood it. Not happily, according to office gossip. Kristine tried not to pay attention to such gossip. Linda was the kind of lawyer that Kristine wanted to be, minus the wedding. “You’ve been here for about six months,” Linda said. “Yes. Came in around April.” “Do you like it here?” She and Linda had arrived at the elevators and Linda reached out and pressed the call button. “I do,” Kristine said. “Are you hoping for a job?” Kristine knew what Linda meant. “Yes.” “Work hours like this and you’ll probably get it.” “Thank you.” “Don’t let it take over your life though.” “Pardon?” “You’re a young woman. I suspect some of the other people articling are out having some fun. God knows I did a few times.” “I’ll remember that, but,” she paused, “I like the job.” Linda looked down at her, not that there was that great of a difference in their heights. “I suppose you do, but still…” The elevator ‘dinged’ and the doors opened. They both stepped in. Kristine reached out and pressed the button for the lobby. As the doors closed, Linda said, “Just don’t burn yourself out.” “I won’t,” Kristine said. They ended up riding down in silence. Kristine looked at the muddy reflection in the dull silver doors. All she could really make out was her dark hair, brown, worn to her shoulders. Different from Linda’s long, blonde hair. “It was nice to speak with you,” Linda said as the elevator doors opened on the lobby, then walked out. “You too,” Linda said, following. Linda’s longer strides made it clear that their conversation was over. Still, she followed Linda across the lobby and out of the building. They went different ways a few steps later, with Linda stopping by the side of the road to hail a taxi while Kristine turned and walked down the block towards the subway entrance. When she reached the platform, she took a moment to check her phone. There was a message from Daniel, the dark-haired young man from earlier in the day. He and the others had gone out for drinks, wanted to know if she was going to come. She considered it for a moment but chose not to, sending him a text message telling him she’d go out drinking tomorrow night. Friday night. Tonight she’d get some sleep and be ready for a busy day tomorrow. In another place a busty woman with cat ears sat in a booth, several women with rabbit ears tight around her, hugging her, pouring her drinks, laughing with her, sharing kisses. The cat-eared woman laughed loud and drank deep. “Another round,” she called out. The rabbit-eared women cheered. “Tac is so generous,” a bunny girl with ridiculously huge breasts said. “Of course I am my sweet little hare, the party never ends,” Tac said. She was well dressed, in a tuxedo cut to flatter her feminine curves, her black hair cut in a short bob that called attention to a long, feminine neck. The waiter came by with a new bottle. He coughed, as if uncomfortable. “You’ve run out of money ma’am.” Tac produced a card from her jacket and handed it to the waiter. “Of course, put another fortune for my tab, and twenty percent for tips across the board!” “Of course ma’am.” The rabbit girls squealed happily, fighting to throw their arms around Tac as the waiter nearly skipped off. “Oh, my life is good!” Tac crowed. A new glass of alcohol (a catnip whisky) had been poured, and Tac was slipping her hands under the clothing of her table mate. “I’m a pussy that knows my stuff,” she told one of the rabbit girls as she slipped a hand between her legs. Someone coughed loudly. Tac looked over her shoulder. Behind her was an older woman, dressed in a severe but beautiful dress. Her lower body was that of a snake. “What is it mama-san?” Tac asked. “Do you have a new girl you want me to meet.” The woman smiled, though it did not touch her eyes. “I am afraid that your card has been denied.” She placed the card on the table. Tac straightened. “Impossible.” She reached for the card. “I am afraid it is true. Do you have another form of payment?” Tac looked at the card, then shook her head. “Only barbarians carry cash.” “Enjoy the bottle, it is your last. Girls.” “Awww, sorry Tac,” one of the girls said as she and the others slipped from the booth. Tac sighed and slipped the card into her jacket. “Share a glass with me Mama-san?” she asked, holding up the still mostly full bottle. “For old times sake,” she replied, slipping the upper part of her body into the booth, leaving her tail to the side. “To the good old days,” Tac said, lifting her glass after she had poured two full tumblers. “You have spent the good old days here,” the snake woman said as she tapped the rim of her glass against Tac’s. “You jest,” Tac said and took a drink. “Why I have hardly been here…” she looked at her watch. “Wow! No wonder they cancelled my card.” “I wish you well,” the snake woman said, finishing the drink. “When you are rolling in money again, you are of course welcome.” “You’ve got a heart of gold Mama-san.” “If that were true I would have cut it out long ago.” That said she slithered off, leaving Tac alone. She poured herself one last drink, then corked the bottle. She had paid for it so she would take it with her. After knocking back the generous measure, she got up and walked with the exaggerated and affected grace of one very drunk. Outside the bar, it was daylight. Bright daylight. Tac’s green cat eyes narrowed, and she raised her free hand up to shade her face. “This sort of day is obscene,” Tac said. “There is only one obscene thing here, and that is you.” Tac turned to the speaker. “Gorgeous,” she said as if the word tasted like ashes. Not entirely living up to her name, the rail-thin Gorgeous with soft brown skin, kohl-lined eyes and perked up Anubis ears seemed a pretty Egyptian princess. “You are an embarrassment,” Gorgeous said. “A sexy embarrassment, with cat class and cat style,” Tac smiled, taking her hand away from her brow to place it across her chest. Gorgeous’ lips twitched into scowl for a moment. “You’ve left your job undone.” “What? You told me to take a couple of years break before starting up work again.” Voice expressing insult as eyes widened in surprise. “A couple of years! Two! Like a married couple. You’ve been in that bar for twenty-three!” “Your definition of marriage seems both heteronormative and supporting only monogamous pairings. In some cultures I am easily married to many of the women in that club,” she took her hand from her chest and made a gesture, pointing behind her with a thumb, “and our ‘couple’ is much larger than two.” “Really? That’s your answer. Twenty-three years in a club and all you can do is argue that you have a different definition of a word? You aren’t even going to act embarrassed that you have been spending a fortune of the organisation’s money on a party?” “So it was you that got my card cancelled. That’s low even for you.” Tac took a few steps forward and stood nearly nose to nose with Gorgeous. “You owe me an apology.” Gorgeous seemed exceptionally off-put by Tac’s attack, and stammered out, “But it was you…” She took a deep breath, threw her shoulders back and puffed out her chest. “If you want your card reactivated you had better do your job. There is a candidate that you have to take care of.” Tac shuffled a step back, realising that she had lost the opportunity to claim the moral high ground. “But it has been twenty-three years, surely that is too late. Maybe it is time I got shuffled into an office job?” “Oh? Now twenty-three years seems too long?” “Well, for the job. The candidate is probably dead right? Humans only live about fifteen years, right?” “You know that is not true!” Gorgeous snapped angrily, taking a step forward. Tac skipped back several steps. “But you got to admit, it is like too late. I mean, what adult would ever accept the deal?” Gorgeous smiled. Tac did not like that smile. “Well, that is your problem now. You want your account reactivated, you get your candidate to accept the contract. And until you do, you are persona-non-grata at the organisation. And don’t expect to get any sort of reference from us if you just decide to quit and seek a new job.” “Well, shit,” Tac said. “Kristine, good work on that report,” Oscar Cotton said as he came into the boardroom. Kristine and the other people assigned to work with Oscar had come in earlier, had been working for about twenty minutes already. “Thank you, Mr Cotton. So I found the precedent you want?” “Not at all,” he told her, smiling. “But it was good work, and it reminded me of what I was looking for.” He held up a law journal and then tossed it onto the table. “I want you to all go through the marked pages,” he told them, “give me your impressions. That is what we will be basing our defence on.” With a focus for their work, Kristine and the others set down to get all of the details hammered out while Oscar put it all together in a cohesive whole. “Miss St. James,” Oscar said near the middle of the day, “would you like to join me in court on Monday?” “Me Mr Cotton?” A moment of modesty, just not to seem too opportunistic. “Yes. I would appreciate it.” But it helped to seem a little opportunistic. “Very good. Okay, let’s dot our i’s and cross our t’s,” he told the rest of the team, smiling. Kristine knew there would be a little bad-blood that she was going to assist Mr Cotton at the trial, but she knew it would not last. She had nursed short-lived grudges about the same thing. A little before six in the evening Oscar pronounced them ready. “Get some rest, have a little fun.” Dismissed they gathered up their things to head out. Daniel fell in beside her as they entered the elevator, Olivia Smoke on her other side. “Going to sit in the big seat,” Olivia teased. Dark hair, dark skinned, handsome, Olivia stood out in all the right ways. “Will you remember us little people?” Daniel asked her. “Just like you remembered us when Mrs Kirk had you help you on the Rafter case?” “I did enjoy lording it over all you peons,” he said, striking an arrogant pose. Kristine and Olivia laughed. “You heard the boss,” Olivia said as she hooked an arm through Kristine’s. “Let’s go and have some fun.” Daniel put a hand on Kristine’s shoulder. “You did promise me to go out drinking tonight.” Kristine laughed as the three of them strode out of the elevator as it opened on the lobby. “Then let’s enjoy a night of debauchery.” Close by were some upper-class bars, very expensive. They stopped in one for a few drinks, letting themselves enjoy the finer things. “For practice when we are all big shot lawyers,” Kristine said. However money did not go far there, and they piled into the subway, heading downtown to less genteel but much cheaper options. They drank heavily, in celebration, for another week done. Daniel handled his booze better than the other two, and watched over them, even when drunk, knocking over glasses that had been left unattended and sending them to get fresh drinks, staying close to them, so they were not bothered too much. Kristine liked him. She liked Olivia more. The two of them, she and Olivia, ended up in a stall in the woman’s bathroom, their hands in each other’s panties. Near last call, Daniel saw them both into taxi cabs. Sending them off to their homes. Kristine sobered up a little on the ride back to her apartment. She stretched lazily in the back seat, and the taxi driver kept up a stream of what sounded like meaningless conversation. One thought dominated her thoughts. On Monday she would be in court. It was going to be an excellent opportunity to learn. The cab dropped her off at a nothing special high-rise, close to the university. Not a bad part of town, but loud students made it less desirable for older people and those with families. Kristine could just afford the small bachelors apartment she rented, with a little left over after food to enjoy a few nights out each week. She passed through the security door, and into the lobby. Took the elevator up to the fourteenth floor. She walked stockinged foot along the faded, slightly ratty carpet with the blue and gold pattern, her heels in her hand. When she reached the door to her apartment, a cat waited for her, sitting right in her way. “What’s up?” the cat asked. Kristine frowned. She was nowhere near drunk enough that she should be hallucinating. It was unlikely anyone had slipped her anything. Which meant she was facing a talking animal. “Get the hell out of here,” she told the cat, kicking at it. She did not think to connect, but the cat jumped away from the kick and from the door, and Kristine quickly unlocked it and slid inside. “Damn magic animals,” she said as she pushed the door closed and locked it. “That was hardly nice.” Kristine looked over her shoulder. That cat sat on the floor behind her. “Of course.” She turned and slid down the door, so she was sitting on the floor. “Don’t you have to be invited in?” “You are thinking of vampires.” She closed her eyes. Took a deep breath. “What do you want?” “Become a Magical Girl.” “Fuck no!” She said, opening her eyes, straightening to her feet. The cat was gone. In its place was a beautiful woman in a tuxedo, cat ears upon her head. She understood, intellectually, that cat and woman were the same, but it surprised her none the less, and she swayed on her feet. “Come on, don’t be like that?” The woman stepped closer. “I’m Tac. You’re Kristine. Introductions over.” She put a hand on Kristine’s bare hand. “Now become a Magical Girl.” Kristine shivered at the touch and pulled back. “No.” She pushed past Tac and into the centre of the small apartment, between the couch and the TV. “Every girl wants to be a Magical Girl,” Tac told her. “Exactly, every girl. No woman. I’m a woman.” “Don’t I know it,” Tac said with a smile that made Kristine feel as if she were naked. And realise that she might not mind it if she were naked. “Then why ask me? Find some actual girl.” “You’re my target. Sorry. Become a Magical Girl. You’ll be a superhero. What’s so bad about that?” Kristine shook her head, then reached for the TV remote. With a beep, the TV came on. She flipped through the channels until she found what she was looking for. “There. That’s a Magical Girl.” There was some kind of panel show on the TV. One of the guests was a young woman in an extravagant pink mini dress, pink hair done up in an impossible style. “Hey, that Magical Parfait, one of the Baker’s Dozen,” Tac said. “Been forever since I saw them. She’s looking well.” Kristine nodded. “I know who she is. She or some other pathetic once was are always on late night TV, being an embarrassment. That’s what happens to Magical Girls, now that there is nothing left to fight. Why would I become one of those people? It would be embarrassing, becoming a joke, hell I think my employment contract says I can’t become magical.” “You make a few good points, but I don’t really care. Let’s fuck and then you can become a magical girl.” Kristine almost said, ‘Yes to the first part, no to the second.’ Instead, she said, “Get out or I am calling the cops.” Tac took a step back, holding up her hands. “Okay, okay. I’m going, but think about it.” Before Kristine could tell Tac that there was nothing that needed to be thought about, Tac was gone. “God damn magic,” Kristine muttered. BREAK POINT#1 Morning came. Kristine woke in her bed (a folding couch), looking up at her room’s ceiling. She wondered it a magical animal had actually offered her the opportunity to become a magical girl. It seemed like something that should be a dream. But it did not feel like a dream. Well, she had refused it, and that was what mattered the most. She went about her morning routines, then chores. The small apartment made it easy to clean. She held up her suit from the previous night. Partying and bathroom sex had done a bit of a number on it. The suit and a few other things got folded into a bag, to be dropped off at the dry cleaners, different clothes got stuffed in a mesh laundry bag. She would take them down to the building’s laundry room later. Dressing in faded jeans and a smart, cream, peasant blouse, she took up her purse and the bag of clothing and headed out. Standing outside of her door, waiting for her, was the cat. She looked back and forth, to make sure she was alone, then said to the cat, “Go to hell.” “Come on. Become a Magical Girl.” “Go to hell,” she said again, enunciating each word. Then she turned and walked towards the elevators. “You get magic, you’ll be really strong and fast. You won’t ever get a cold again,” the cat told her, following at her heels. “There is not really a downside.” “What part of go to hell don’t you understand,” Kristine asked, looking down at the cat she walked. “Is it the ‘hell’ part? It can’t be the ‘go’ part.” “The part where you won’t become a Magical Girl.” Kristine stopped at the elevators, she jabbed the down button then turned and grabbed the cat, picking it up by its scruff. “Hey, hands off the fur.” Ignoring the outburst she lifted it up, so it was hanging in front of her face, and they were eye to eye. “Get this kitty. I will never become a Magical Girl. Never, ever. If you keep bothering me, I’ll find a magical violin maker and tell them there is some magical catgut around here and they can come and get it.” “Oh real nice. How’d you like it if people were making things out of human organs?” “Don’t bother me again. The answer is and will always be no.” There was the sound of the elevator door opening. Kristine dropped the cat and stepped back into the, fortunately, empty elevator car. The cat did not follow her. Watching the doors closed Tac’s feline eyes narrowed. “If you want to play rough, I can play rough lady. Oh, I can play very rough.” Maybe once the room had been something more. Maybe once it had been clean, and sunlit, where decent people gathered. But that did not seem likely. A handful of lights made the shadows all that deeper. The walls and the floor were bare cement. It smelt of mould, stale vomit, piss and beer. The clientele often smelled just as bad. At the bar, a large figure sat. Swathed in a long overcoat and wide-brimmed hat, seeming to carry a cloud of shadows about itself. Every now and then the bartender would place a glass, filled from an unlabelled bottle, in front of the figure and the figure would throw some tattered bills on the bar. When Tac entered the bar almost every pair of eyes (in a few cases a single eye and in some more than two) was turned towards her. She was obviously out of place, with grace and style that was discordant with the general atmosphere of malignant neglect. A few watchers licked lips or gripped groins, but most identified Tac as bad news and looked away. Tac, after placing a handkerchief on the stool, took a seat beside the large figure. The figure was one of the few who had not looked towards her. “General Hemlock, the First Lance of the Rose Empress… how the mighty have fallen.” Slowly the figure turned its head towards Tac. The brim of the hat cast most of the face in shadow, buy toxic green eyes shone out. “You were with those bitches.” “The Charms, Princess Calliope. She was the one who killed Empress Rose at the end. She was the one that beat you, then left you. She thought she was kind.” The glass Hemlock’s hand shattered. “Yeah, it’s sad. You didn’t die in battle, and you didn’t protect your Empress. And you can’t go home, and you can’t do anything here, except drink.” Hemlock stood, towering over Tac. “Oh dear,” Tac said carelessly. “Are you going to kill me?” For a moment Hemlock stood there, then his shoulders sagged, and he seemed to shrink in on himself. He dropped back onto his stool, turned away from Tac, back to the bar. A few bills were tossed onto the bar, for another drink. “That’s what I thought,” Tac said with a smile. “Still, maybe there is an opportunity. You see, there is a brand new Magical Girl out there. Just maybe you could kill her. Kill a Magical Girl, and you could probably return home, little bit of honour instead of disgrace.” Hemlock’s head dipped, perhaps he was nodding. “Or she kills you, but you die like the great warrior you are.” The bartender placed a new drink in front of Hemlock. Hemlock picked it up and drank most of it in one gulp. “Tell me more,” Hemlock said. Kristine enjoyed a cup of coffee in a small cafe. She had a shopping bag on the seat beside her; her dry cleaning had been dropped off earlier. There was a little more shopping she needed to do but was happy to take a small rest. On Monday she would be in court. That was what mattered. Not some stupid cat who wanted her to become a ridiculous Magical Girl. She finished her coffee, dropped a handful of change beside the empty cup, then left the cafe at a leisurely walk. She looked around, trying to decide where to go first. She saw the people staring before she saw what they were staring at. She followed their gazes and spotted what had attracted so much attention. A ridiculously large figure, dressed in a trench coat, wearing a wide-brimmed hat. Was it some kind stunt, she wondered? Her mind on how unbelievable the figure was it took her a moment to realise it was heading towards her. She turned, looked both ways, then dashed across the street as soon as there was an opening. Having a road between her and the strange giant in black made her feel a bit better. The sound of tires screeching and horns honking made her turn. The large figure had stepped onto the road, and even as she watched, one of the cars slammed into him with a metal crunching sound. Knocked forward the figure flew through the air for a few feet and then hit the ground, losing its hat in the process. Kristine’s mouth was open in shock. Then the figure got to its feet. Without the hat an inhuman face was visible, looking more like the rough bark of a tree, with small, glowing green eyes and a simple black slash across the lower part for a mouth. It got to its feet and, ignoring the car, continued forward. Right at Kristine. When she realised it was coming right at her, she turned to run. However, with impossibly long arms it reached out and grabbed her. “Where is she?” the thing screamed at her, drawing her close. Kristine stared at it, fear wide eyes showing white all around. “Where is she?” The words were punctuated with a shake that made muscles hurt. “I don’t know what you are talking about,” Kristine almost babbled. It slammed her against the pole of a street light. Kristine was sure bones had broken. “Come out and fight me!” it screamed, then hurled Kristine through a shop window. She was certain something snapped when she hit the glass, then the glass shattered and cut her as she went crashing into a clothing shop. I am going to die. The thought was clear. “Things don’t look good for you.” Kristine shifted her gaze, towards the voice. Tac, as a cat, sat nearby. “What…” “Some monster is going to kill you, sad,” Tac told her. “Help…” “I’d love to, but I am a lover, not a fighter. But you could be a fighter. Want to become a Magical Girl? Better than dying.” There was the sound of glass being crushed, something breaking. That thing was coming after her. She knew this was wrong, but there was too much pain, and her head was ringing. She could hardly think. But she did not want to die. “Okay,” she said, giving up. The cat’s eyes glowed. “Say the words,” it said. The words? What words? Then she knew. The words that would seal the covenant. By the Power of Innocence, I am Nursery Knight Kristine. Those were the words. Those were what she said. She was almost certain what she heard was, ‘By the Powa of Innothenthe, I’m Nurthwy Knight Kwithy’. However at the moment what she heard was not as important as what was happening. The pain faded, the cuts closed up, and bruises disappeared. Her clothing changed, though she could not see, and it felt weird. Something was happening to her hair like someone was combing it and styling it. As she stood, she felt something weigh her hand down and looked to see she was holding some odd looking, giant plastic looking mace. It looked like… “You!” She turned towards the monster. “You are the Magical Girl!” “I guethh I am,” she said and wondered again at what she heard. The monster charged her. Without thinking she swung the mace out to crash into the monster. The blow lifted it from its feet and hurled it out the window. Wow! She was strong. “You better finish it off before anyone gets hurt,” Tac said. Kristine did not want to finish anything off, but if she did not then, it might very well hurt others. And it might come after her again. So she went out, leaping through the smashed window, onto the street. The monster was getting up from where it had landed, in the middle of the street. “I am the late Empress Rose’s General Hemlock, and I dedicate your death to her memory and honour!” it screamed. Words again flashed through her mind, “Innothent Wattle Thaker!” Leaping forward she swung the mace around, bringing it down on the monster’s head. The force of the blow drove General Hemlock to his knees, and the asphalt under it cracked. Its head was twisted over to the side. “Ah, still too weak,” it said sadly. “Finish me Mag…” Kristine hit it again, hard as she could. It did not move. Stepping back she thought she should be breathing heavily, thought her heart should be beating like a drum, but neither of those things were true. She felt perfectly fine. Perfectly calm. “Good job,” Tac said from where she had leapt up onto the broken windowsill. Kristine tuned towards the cat. She noticed people around her had lifted their phones, were taking pictures or videos. They seemed amused. “Don’t worry,” Tac said, “no one can get a good picture of you.” A few people started laughing, laughing at her. She moved, fast, faster than anyone might expect. She was not even sure how she did it, she just did. A man stumbled back from her, but she took his phone from him before he could stop her. He did not seem to think things were so funny. She turned it around and looked at the picture. The face was blurry, and there was something indistinct about the picture. Likely what Tac had meant when he said no one could get a good picture of her. But she could see enough to know why people were laughing. The girl in the picture was dressed in a ridiculous baby blue, child’s party dress, with a puffy skirt and puffed sleeves and a big bow in the back. And the puffy skirt was short enough to make it evident that the girl was wearing a diaper. Carrying a comically colossal rattle (her mace) with a pacifier clipped to the dress, hanging off a white ribbon. Oh, and her hair was done up in pigtails. “Cat, what the hell ith thith!?” “Magical Girl Nursery Knight Kristie,” the cat said. “What do you think a Nursery Knight would wear?” Kristine looked around. People were watching her, still taking pictures. She hated it, hated that they were looking at her like some kind of joke. Without thinking about it, she snapped up the pacifier and put it in her mouth. I just want this to all go away, she thought. It did not, but the people looked surprised. They lowered the phones they had been using to take her picture, looked around in confusion. “The pacifier makes you invisible to almost anyone but me, and probably soothes you as well,” Tac said, walking towards her. “No, don’t take it out of your mouth, not if you don’t want everyone staring at you. Why don’t you give the nice man back his phone and then we’ll take a walk.” Kristine nodded and slid the phone into the man’s pocket, as quick as she had taken it from him. He made a sound of surprise, looking around. “Come on,” Tac said. Kristine followed, the pacifier in her mouth, waddling slightly because of the bulk between her legs. It was humiliating. At least no one could see her now. And no one would be able to identify her from the pictures. The cat led the way down the street and into an alley. She jumped up on a dumpster and turned to give Kristine a look over. “Very nice,” Tac said after a few seconds. “Extraordinarily cute. Just what I would expect of a Nursery Knight.” Kristine wanted to take the pacifier from her mouth and swear a blue streak at the cat but did not want to risk becoming visible again. She shifted from foot to foot in agitation. “Well, let’s start your lessons. So, you have a mace, solid weapon, looks like a Silver 7 special version, so you can teleport.” “Tewepot?” she mumbled around the pacifier. “Right. Let’s start simple. Turn around, see that big building there? Look up at the edge of the roof, and just kind of will yourself there.” She turned, looked as she had been told. She felt Tac’s weight land on her shoulder. Well, it was magic. She focused on the edge and pictured herself appearing there. There was a momentary sensation of vertigo, and she felt as if she had just gone over the first drop of a rollercoaster. Then she realised she was standing on the edge of the roof, about twenty stories up. “Am’zing,” she said, the pacifier coming out of her mouth, dropping down to fall the length of the ribbon. She stepped forward, completely onto the roof. Tac jumped from her shoulder. “Excellent for a first try. With enough practice, you’ll be able to go anywhere.” Momentarily stunned by the wonder of it all she nodded, and then shook her head in denial. “I am dwethed like a fucking toddwer.” “Yes,” Tac said with a nod. “You are. Very cute too, thought the swearing ruins the effect really.” “I don’t care that thwearing… No. Not going to be thidetwacked. Magical Girlth are thupposed to look like thripper cheerleaderth, or hooker waitretheth, or bondage nunth, or naughty thchool girlth. They’re not thuppothed to look like toddwerth.” “Well one,” Tac said, “not all magical girls are short skirted stripper types, it’s rude to group them all like that.” “I don’t care.” “And second, you are a Nursery Knight. Nursery Knights were all girls six and under who fought the Nightmare King. What would you expect them to be dressed like?” There was a lot in that and Kristine had a great deal of difficulty processing it, but she said, “I am in diapeeth!” “Well, who knew if girls that age would be fully potty trained? Better to have them in diapers, just in case I suppose.” “Thith ith inthane.” The cat nodded. “Yes, somewhat. The entire Nursery Knight thing was ill-conceived if you ask me. A pet project of some middle management type I've heard. But here we are, you dressed as a toddler and wearing a diaper and me having to teach you to be a Magical Girl. Best we get on with this and then put it all behind us, right?” Kristine started at the cat for several second, gripping the huge, rattle/mace tight. She wondered if that cat would make a squeaking sound were she to hit it. “You thet me up,” she said after a second. “That is a serious accusation, and seeing as you killed the only possible witness, not one that you can prove.” Kristine found herself making a growling sound. “You’d have to prove it, right,” the cat said with a smile (a good trick). “If you could be certain you’d try to pound me into kitty pate paste, but you can’t, so you won’t.” She loosened her grip on the mace. “I learn what you teach. You go away, and I never have to twanthform again?” “You learn what I have to teach, I go away, and if you chose to never transform again that is your business, but you keep the benefits of longevity, durability and the ridiculous heath of those touched by this magic. A pretty good deal, don’t you think?” “Just thtart the lessonth cat. Thooner we finithh the thooner I can get back to my life.” “Okay, very well.” The cat turned into a woman. “Let’s start with banishing and summoning your weapon, Magical Girl 101.” Kristine sighed. “All right, what do I do?” “Just focus on your weapon and imagine it being somewhere else, a closet or a room, or under a tree you know well.” Kristine took a deep breath. She imagined the mace as being in the closet in her old dorm room. The weapon was gone. “Oh.” “Good job.” “Did it weally go where I ‘magined it?” “No,” Tac said, shaking her head. “It was just important you pictured it being somewhere else. Now for summoning, just imagine yourself reaching out and grabbing it.” Kristine could not help but be a little excited by this. While she genuinely had no desire to be a Magical Girl, there had been a time, when she was younger, when she had fantasised about that very thing. And now she was doing magic. Reaching out with her hand she closed her fingers around the empty air. The mace appeared in her hand as if she had just grabbed it. “I did it.” “You are picking this up fast. I’d say you’re a natural.” Tac’s voice and tone cut through the euphoria of magic, reminding Kristine that she had not wanted this, had been forced into it. Completely soured the experience. Tac, seemingly unaware of the change in atmosphere said, “Okay, let’s practice something a little more advanced.” “What?” Kristine hoped it was some offensive magic that would let her smash the grin off of Tac’s face. “Teleportation to a place you cannot see,” Tac announced. Kristine nodded. She could see the value in that. “Okay, picture your apartment, see it in your mind. Close your eyes if it helps.” Kristine closed her eyes, thought about her apartment. She could see it in her mind. She felt something land on her shoulder. Assumed that Tac was a cat again. Right in her ear, Tac said, “Once you can see it, just imagine yourself there.” She felt that sense of vertigo, of the roller coaster drop again, and then, when she opened her eyes, she was in her apartment, standing on her coffee table. The table legs creaked slightly beneath her. “Good job,” Tac said, jumping down from her shoulder. Kristine stepped down from the table. Again, there was that feeling of amazement. She had to keep herself from shouting, ‘This is Magic.’ “What next,” she asked as if teleporting was something that had already become old hat. “Well,” Tac the cat said, turning to look at her, “how about you change back?” “Finally. What do I have to do? Thout out thomething?” “Not for turning back. Just picture yourself untransformed.” “There ith a lot of vithualithation to this magic.” “It was made so non-magic types could master it easily. Very point and click, if you get my meaning.” Kristine thought she should be insulted, but she closed her eyes and pictured herself back to normal. Seeing in her mind the young, twenty-something woman in jeans and a blouse. The thickness between her legs disappeared, the sense of bare skin and fluffy petticoats, of hair, pulled back into pigtails, all faded. So much better. Then her jeans slipped down to her ankles, and her panties to her knees. “What the hell?” she said, eyes open, looking down. Her legs were skinnier than she recalled, smoother. “Well that was unexpected,” Tac said. She almost tripped on her pants as she ran for the washroom. Her panties were kicked off along the way. In the mirror she was looking at a familiar stranger. In the pictures she had seen the blurred out face and the ridiculous outfit had made it hard to notice. In the mirror was the child she had once been. She spun to stare at Tac, feeling the far too big bra shifting loosely on her. “What the hell?” “As I said, unexpected.” “What is this?” “Well, you were supposed to get this magic when you were three or four. You were about twenty-five when you did get it. I suppose the magic split difference.” “Split the difference?” “Split the difference,” the cat said with a nod. Kristine screamed. She reached down and snatched up the cat. “My life is ruined,” she yelled into its cat face. “Your life is ruined? What about me?” “What about you?” “I love to have sex with the magical girls I guide, and was looking forward to conquering you, but you’re right out of my strike zone now. It is a real disappointment.” Kristine made a few strangled sound of outrage before hurling the cat across the room. As soon as she did it, she felt terrible. She was not the sort of monster to hurt an animal. Tac hit the far wall with a thump, slid down to the floor. “Oh my god, oh my god,” she said, stepping hesitantly across the floor, afraid of what she would see. The cat bobbed up, leaping on the back of the couch. “I’m fine, take more than that to hurt me.” She dropped to her knees. “I’m sorry, that was terrible. I mean, you’re a jerk, but you did not deserve that.” Her earlier anger had all drained away leaving her exhausted. “I’m not a jerk. I am quite nice.” “Nice?” “Don’t shoot the messenger. The Nursery Knights were not my idea, and I certainly did not come up with the uniform.” She dropped her head forward. “This is a mess. My life is ruined. I don’t even have an identity anymore.” “Sure you do.” She shook her head, not looking up. “I don’t. I look like the little sister I never had. Kristine St. James might as well be dead.” “Okay, first, the identity stuff can be taken care of.” Kristine looked up. “And second, you’re pissing yourself.” She looked down. There was a puddle of urine under her. “What the hell?” she looked up helplessly at the cat. Tac seemed to shrug her shoulders. “I guess someone thought the Nursery Knights should be using those diapers.” “Fuck,” Kristine yelled, jumping to her feet, the socks on her feet absorbing some of the urine. The tails of her blouse were wet. “What the hell am I supposed to do? Am I going to be pissing myself all the time now?” She paused, eyes widening. “Am I going to shit myself?” Tac’s cat shoulders gave a shrug again. “Hell if I know. Maybe?” “Oh god.” Her knees went weak, and she almost fell onto the floor. “Okay, there is something we can do,” Tac said, jumping down from the back of the couch onto couch itself. “Really?” she felt her hopes soar. “Not that you won’t be wetting yourself, but we can manage it.” Her hopes plummeted. “Hey, buck up. Now, first thing lets summon your Magic Bag.” “Magic Bag?” She was still standing in her own pee, the inside of her thighs damp, but if there was something she could do… “All Magical Girls can summon their Magic Bag, it holds various things they need. And summoning it is a good lesson.” She stepped out of the puddle, shucking off her loose socks. If there were something in this Magic Bag that could help, then she would summon it. “How do I do it?” “Just like you called your weapon back to you,” Tac said. Visualize it and then picture yourself having it. Kristine nodded. She pictured a bag. She reached out for it. Nothing happened. She tried again. Still nothing. “It’s not working,” she said, blushing when she heard how winey her tone sounded, so close to tears. “You’re picturing the bag in your mind?” “Yes,” Kristine said with a nod. “What does the bag look like?” “Pardon?” “What kind of bag are you picturing?” Tac asked. Kristine looked over towards the apartment’s front door. “Like the messenger bag I use for work.” “Do you think a Nursery Knight would have a bag like that?” Kristine thought about it. “I don’t know?” “Well, they wouldn’t. Think of a colour that matches your uniform. Add some frills to it.” Kristine nodded, closed her eyes. She pictured the messenger bag, but in pastel colours, with a little bit of frill. She reached out, closed her hand on it. She felt something heavy settle in her grip. She opened her eyes. In her hand was the padded strap of a large bag, baby blue, quilted, big pockets on the outside, a kitty face appliqué on it. “This,” she paused, “is a diaper bag.” “Which is exactly the kind of bag a Nursery Knight would have.” Kristine held it at arm's length like it was a dead rat. “You have to open it,” Tac said as if Kristine were a little slow. Having a cat cast aspersions on her intelligence was a new low in a day of lows. Sighing loudly she put the bag on the floor, avoiding the puddle, and bent down to open it. It was filled with disposable diapers and training panties, powders and creams. There was a folded, quilted changing pad, plastic and rubber panties, wipes, bottles, a sippy cup, jars of baby food nested in a collection of bibs. And there was a teddy bear with a light blue ribbon around its neck and a few more things she could see but did not bother to try to identify. She made a grunt of derision. “There is a lot of things in there,” Tac said, jumping close and looking into the bag. “Grab a pair of training panties and put them off to the side. Kristine did, pulling a pair of the thick panties from the bag, there was a soft crinkling sound of the plastic under the faux material covering. “The bag will always have supplies in it, no matter how much you take from it, so at least you won’t have to buy diapers and stuff. That’s good, right?” She stared at the cat. The hand holding the training panty tightening into a first, making the plastic rustle and the padding squeak. “Tough crowd.” She threw the training panties onto the coffee table. “Okay, so I got a pair of training panties for the next time,” her face grew warm, “I piss myself, is that it?” She could not believe she had just said. “Of course not. This is magic. Pick up the teddy bear and say, ‘I need your help Mr Bear.’” Kristine looked at the bear, frowned, then reached in and took it from the bag. It had the solid feeling of a well-made thing, with incredibly soft fur. If she were the kind of woman, who liked teddy bears she was pretty certain she would like this one. “I need your help Mr Bear.” Nothing happened. She looked at Tac. The cat gave her another of those pitying looks that suggested she was slow. “Is that how a Nursery Knight would talk?” It took her a few seconds to get what Tac meant. She blushed. “I need your help Mithter Bear.” The bear twisted out of her hands, landed on the floor close by and then, with a pop of displaced air, became a stuffed bear, probably a little over six feet tall. Kristine made an expression of surprise and fell backwards onto her bottom. The bear looked around, glittering eyes pausing on the puddle of urine, and then on Kristine. “What is this cat?” “It is your Mr Bear.” “My…” she started, but suddenly Mr Bear had stepped close, grabbed her (somehow with those stuffed bear paws) and lifted her to her feet. With a blur of motion it had her blouse off, leaving her only in her ill-fitting bra. “What the…” The bear tossed the blouse and bra into her laundry hamper (she swore she saw it look at the laundry label first) then had a t-shirt from her dresser and was back by Kristine’s side before she finished her thought. With an upsweep of its fluffy arms its lifted Kristine’s arms above her head, and with a down sweep had the t-shirt on her. “…hell….” Mr Bear put a giant paw across her mouth. Kristine got the idea that it did not approve of such language. Then it was blurring off again, to the bathroom, coming back with a towel and some cleaning supplies. In a moment the urine puddle was cleaned up. She had to admit that was helpful. “So what, it cleans up messes?” she asked Tac. “Among other things.” “Among what…” Again she was kept from finishing her sentence as Mr Bear scooped her up, put her on the couch, and reached into the diaper bag for one of the very thick diapers. “How do I stop this?” Kristen asked as the bear secured her ankles and lifted her bottom off the couch. “Say ‘Thank you Mr Bear, I love you.’” “Tank you Mithter Bear, I wuv you,” she said, not having to be told to lisp. With another pop of displaced air the bear returned to its original size and then it, and the diaper fell neatly back into the diaper bag. Kristine scrambled off the couch, closed the bag, and without being told how sent the bag away. With a sigh she collapsed bonelessly to her knees. “What the hell?” “Your Mr Bear is your caretaker,” Tac said as she jumped back onto the couch. “Remember, the Nursery Knights were all to be pre-schoolers. They would need help. Mr Bear would clean up their messes, change them, feed them, comfort them and if they were bad punish them.” “Bad? Punish them?” “They were little girls given a stupid amount of magical offensive power. It was a pretty certain thing they would abuse that power. So, Mr Bear would deal with that.” “Great, I’m a twenty-five-year-old woman who looks like an eleven-year-old girl with a magical teddy bear that will treat me like I am two… that is the shape of things, right?” “More or less. Oh, Mr Bear can show up on its own.” She stared at the cat. “What?” “Well, you couldn’t trust a little girl to know when she needed help.” “So you’re saying I could just be walking along and suddenly a six-foot-tall teddy bear will show up and… what, change me?” “Or give you a bottle, or put you down for a nap, or spank you if you are naughty.” “Fu… Now I’m afraid to swear.” “Swearing is a bad habit. Mr Bear will help you deal with other bad habits if you have any.” “Just drinking to excess and bathroom sex,” she muttered. “Those are great bad habits to have,” Tac told her, “if you did not look like a child. I would suggest you avoid them as I am pretty sure Mr Bear would intervene.” “You think?” “Your lucky sarcasm is not naughty.” Kristine looked over at the training panty on the coffee table. She grabbed it, stood up, and pulled it on. It slid up her legs and over her bottom, the padding nestling up to her groin, feeling impossible soft, evident in its thickness. She placed her hands on it, noting it fit perfectly. Angrily she pulled down on the bottom of her t-shirt to make sure it was hidden. “Okay, now I don’t have to worry about making a mess.” She tried not to sound embarrassed, but the warmth in her cheeks told her that her body had betrayed her. “Now let’s hear about how I get my life back.” “Last time I was around here the internet was starting to take off. You still have that?” “Yes.” She wondered when the last time Tac had been in the mortal world. “Alright. So you can find stuff on that. You’ll want to search for government support of magical issues.” Kristine went and got her phone and took a seat on her couch. “Where’s your computer? What are you doing with that?” “This is my phone, and it can do everything a computer can.” “Really,” the cat moved in close to look. “Well I’ll be darned. You manage to do pretty well without magic.” “We try,” Kristine said in a snarky tone as she searched for what she had been told. It did not take her long to find a government site and a phone number for magical issues. She got a phone robot that asked her to state what she was calling about. “I became a Magical Girl, and now I don’t look like myself.” There was a pause, and then the system said, “It sounds like you have undergone some kind of transformation. Is this true?” “Yes.” A few more questions which she answered. Then it asked if she had a liaison. “Do I have a liaison?” she asked Tac. “That’s me,” the cat told her. “Yes,” she told the robot. “Please give your liaison’s code,” the robot asked. “Code?” she looked at Tac. Tac gave her a series of numbers and letters. She spoke them back into her phone. “Just a moment,” the robot said, and there was a click. Then a real person said, “Magical Issue Support, you have undergone a transformation?” “Yes, I have. I became a Magical Girl, and after I transformed back, I looked totally different.” “I understand,” the woman said as if she heard such calls all the time. “Can you tell me where you live?” Kristine did. The woman gave her an address, asked if she could make it there. Kristine checked and then said, “Yes, in about an hour I guess.” “Please go to that address, bring all the identification you have. Someone will be there. Ask for Mr Green.” “Mr Green, I understand.” She was given a case code, told to quote it if she had to call back, then the woman hung up. “That was not too bad for a government agency,” she said, hanging up. “The magical realm makes sure there is good support available.” She put her phone aside and got up, realising she needed something to wear. It did not take her long to realise there was nothing that would fit her. She found a pair of shorts, used a belt to cinch them up tight around her skinny waist. A pair of sandals, the straps pulled as tight as she could get them, gave her something for her feet. Then she gathered up her various ID cars, credit cards, bank cards, her passport and everything else she had that identified her. Tac watched her but said nothing. She had everything she needed. “Are you coming with me?” she asked the cat. She was a little nervous about some magic related government agency and though she was not going to say that she hoped Tac might take the hint. “Sure.” She left her apartment, Tac riding on her shoulder. BREAK POINT#2 The taxi that Kristine had called dropped her off in front of a nondescript government building in the downtown core. She stood there, looking about, noting that a few people were taking note of her. She told herself that was because she was dressed in a ridiculous manner and not because they knew she was wearing training panties. Still, it was hard not to think that they were somehow showing, or they were making her walk a little different, or there was a soft rustle of plastic, or that she had wet them and they were leaking. She could not stop herself from surreptitiously checking her shorts for damp spots. Taking a deep breath, she walked into the building. It had an old look, with clean but dull black and white tiles on the floor, and high ceiling of much-patched plaster. No one was in the lobby except for a single security guard sitting at a desk near the elevators. He did not look up when she entered, his attention on the book he was reading. When she got closer he looked up from the book and asked, “Can I help you?” He did not get up from behind his desk. “Uh, yes. I was told to come here, to ask for Mr Green.” “Take the elevator up to the ninth floor, third door on your right,” he told her. “Thanks.” She crossed the floor to the elevators. The guard had gone back to reading his book. The doors opened a moment after she pressed the button. She took a surprised step back, wondering how someone had known to have it waiting. Then she realised she was stupid. It was a weekend. No one was there, and likely all the elevators were just stopped at the ground floor. She stepped in and pressed the button for the ninth floor. The interior walls were polished, metal mirrors. Tac jumped from her shoulder and was once more a woman. “This place has a classic feel,” Tac said, looking at her reflection. She reached into the pocket of her suit jacket and took out a lipstick tube. “As do I.” She touched up her makeup. Kristine had already gotten a good look at herself, and the mirrored walls showed her nothing she did not already know (except for maybe making it clear how much a ragamuffin she looked). However, standing beside the sexy Tac, the changes were brought into stark relief. She was a child, well, she looked like one. When they had first met Kristine figured she was a near equal in the looks department to Tac. Now, of course, it was no contest. As she was there was no way she could compete. Before she could think on that much more the doors opened. She stepped out, leaving the mirrors and their brutal truths behind. Third door on her right. A slab of wood, no windows, old, metal doorknob. She tried it. The door opened. There was an empty reception counter behind it, beyond which a waiting room. Six doors, one an obvious bathroom. One of the doors opened. An older man stepped out. Thinning black hair, tanned skin, gold-rimmed glasses and a blue suit. “I’m Mr Green,” he said, looking her up and down. “Kristine St. James.” “You have your ID?” “Yes.” “Please.” He stepped aside and indicated that she should enter the office. Kristine walked around the counter and into the room beyond, Tac at her heels. It was an office, with a big oak desk and a single visitor chair. Kristine took that seat. Tac became a cat and jumped onto her knee. Mr Green stepped beside her. “Your ID?” She reached into her bag and brought it all out. Taking it, he went and sat down behind the desk. “That is a rather large change,” he told her as he looked through everything she had given him. “I know.” “Well, this is all simple enough.” “What?” She could not believe anything about what had happened was simple. “We’ll give you bridging ID, as well as new ID, all of it will allow you to prove to people who you are. Do you want a new identity?” Kristine thought about that for a moment, then asked, “What good would a new identity do me?” “Depends. If there is anyone after you, creditors, ex-boyfriends, that sort of thing, a new identity can be useful.” She frowned. “Do other magical girls get new identities?” “Not often at first, after several months it is more common.” “I’ll keep it in mind.” “Very well.” Mr Green stood. “This way.” In one of the other offices, there was a camera and several impressive looking printers. Mr Green took her picture and then printed out several pieces of ID. The bridging ID, as he had called it, mated her old ID with new, while the new ID just showed her as she now looked. It took about thirty minutes, then he handed the bundle of ID to her. “I’ve put in a request for a new passport, that should be delivered to you soon. If you need anything else call this number.” He handed her a card. “Like a new identity?” “Or legal assistance. It sometimes happens.” She did not say she was a lawyer (or almost one) but took his card. “Thank you.” “Good luck Miss St. James.” “Thank you.” She stepped from the room, then looked back at Mr Green. “Can I use the bathroom?” “Feel free.” She nodded. The washroom was small, with a toilet and a urinal as well as a sink. The tiling on the floor was old, faded and cracked in a few places, but the bathroom was clean. She reached through the leg of her shorts, felt the training panties. As she suspected they were warm, the padding swelled up with a wetting. “Damn,” she said softly as she loosened her belt. Summoning the diaper bag was easy. Kristine was a little worried Mr Bear might jump out, but the teddy bear remained a toy, and she took out a new training panty and dismissed the bag. Changed into a fresh pair of the absorbent panties she left the bathroom. Cat Tac was waiting for her. No sign of Mr Green. She left the office without looking for him. In the lobby, the guard was still reading his book. He did not look up as he wished her a good afternoon. Before going home, Kristine went to do some shopping. Tac came with her, in human form, though she was soon off in stores and parts of stores that Kristine knew she would look ridiculous were she to shop in. She had to try on a few things to get her new size figured out, and she needed to rethink her old style choices. That was made clear when a pair of tight jeans, which was just the kind of thing she would have bought before, made the padding of her training pants visible. She found a pair of denim overalls, lose enough in the seat to hide any puffiness from undergarments that she thought looked okay for her new body type. Paired with a white, long-sleeved shirt and a pair of running shoes she thought she looked good. Well, she looked like a girl, but at least a girl who did not dress too childlike. She bought a few more things, using cash. In theory with her bridging ID, she could use her credit cards, but she did not want to deal with that. Her final stop was to buy some training bras. She did not think she actually needed a bra, but she had been wearing one for long enough she was not willing to give it up. Tac came with her and seemed to make a point of looking at sexy bras in large cup sizes. The woman at the shop was kind and helpful, though from her look Kristine was pretty certain that she was of the opinion Kristine did not actually need one. Kristine walked out of the store with three training bras that were really just cotton vests with a bra like design. Like a little girl being sent out with some to salve a childish bit of vanity. Getting home, she dropped her shopping bags at the door and went to her bathroom to check her training panties. They were wet. Of course. “Fuck,” she said softly, then, with her coveralls and training panties around her ankles, sat on the toilet. Maybe she could re-potty train herself if she just made an attempt. “Hey, did you fall in?” she heard Tac call from the other side of the door several minutes later. “I didn’t fall in,” she retorted as she got off the toilet. She bent down and pulled up the training pants. The now cool, wet padding pressed uncomfortably against her, but she would put up with it. She was still buttoning the strap of her overalls when she came out to find Tac the cat sitting on the coffee table. “Now that you are finished in there we need to talk about work.” “Work? What does the law firm have to do with anything?” “Not your mundane and boring work that does not matter. Your work as a Magical Girl.” “What do you mean it does not matter?” “You said it yourself. No magic, and it is not like the little girl you are now can go to work after all.” “You’re asking to be picked up and thrown again,” Kristine said snapped as she went over to get her phone. “What are you doing?” Tac asked her. “Sending Mr Cotton an email. You’re right, damn it, I can’t go to work like this, but I have to let him know what happened.” She paused. How was she going to explain what happened? What could she tell him? The truth. Well, at least as much as the truth as he needed. The email was simple to write. Kristine told him she had encountered magic, had been changed by it, and could not be present at work, but would like to speak with him about it, to explain in detail. It was short and left so much unsaid, but it was good enough. She sent it and then tossed the phone onto the couch, dropped down beside where it landed. Her training panties ‘squelched’ unpleasantly around her bottom. “Finished with your pointless mundane job issues?” Tac asked. “Fuck off.” “Little girls that talk like that get their mouths washed out… assuming they still do that.” “Child abuse,” Kristine said, putting her elbows on her knees and her chin in her hands. “Well, your Mr Bear probably does not know that, so watch your tone. And I would love to fuck off, and I can say it because I am a mature adult, but until I finish training you, I can’t leave. So let’s talk about your real job, the one you accepted when you accepted your Magical Girl powers.” Kristine said nothing for a few seconds, then in a despondent tone said, “Fine, but what am I supposed to do? Didn’t you say the Nursery Knights,” she hated that name, “defeated their enemy?” “The Nightmare King, and yes, he was defeated, so I can’t train you fighting him and his minions, but there are always useful enough targets for you to focus on.” “Like what?” “Smugglers.” “Smugglers?” If you could line of sight teleport, you could move across the city quite fast. It was exhilarating, the roller coaster stomach drop of each jump, appearing on the top of some building’s roof, looking out over the sea of skyscrapers for the next jump, and then it repeated. For moments Kristine could forget she was outfitted as an overgrown toddler, with a thick diaper pushing her thighs apart. A diaper that for all she knew might already be wet. In those moments she felt powerful. Faster than any car might have covered the distance, perhaps as fast as a helicopter might have, Kristine reached the edge of the city, where the buildings became smaller but sprawled more, warehouses that took up entire city blocks. They were near the docks, though not close to the well lit, busy sections, where huge cranes moved cargo containers. They were on the edge, where warehouses gave away to empty factories, a part of the city where things had started to decay, where dreams had faded. “Down there,” Tac told her from where the cat rode on her shoulder. Tac held out a paw, pointing towards a warehouse on the water’s edge, where a ruined quay was half sunk into the water. “And put your pacifier in your mouth so you’ll be invisible.” She grabbed the pacifier from where it hung on the ribbon, popped it into her mouth and began to suckle on it. As before it made her feel better. She hoped it was not addictive. Focusing on the low roof of a warehouse below she once more crossed the distance in a moment, ended up standing on the edge of a roof, looking down at cracked asphalt apron in front of the shuttered loading dock. There were a large number of men down there, carrying travelling trunk sized crates out of the warehouse and loading them into several rental trucks. They worked by the light of red filtered flashlights, kept their voices down. “They have gotten armour from the magical realm. It’s old crap where I come from, but here it will stop even heavy armour piercing rounds,” Tac said into her ear. “Why do I haf to thtop thmugglerth?” she asked around her pacifier. “Well, the magical realm really should have stopped this stuff from being exported, so it falls on agents like you to deal with it. And this is good training. They don’t have any weapons that could stop you.” “Weally?” Kristine asked. “The armour of your outfit could probably stop a tank round. They are just going to have handguns.” Handguns? “Wiwl thith outfit weally pwotect me?” It left her arms and face and almost all her legs bare. “Trust me,” Tac said. She hated the fact she had to trust Tac. “Just jump down there and tell them you are here to punish them as Nursery Night Krissy.” “I don’t wanna. Can’t I jutht thtay invithible and walk awound hittin’ dem on da head?” “No. You are a magical girl, not some nocturnal mammal themed vigilante. You are a symbol of the power of innocence, and you don’t get to be a symbol by hiding. You don’t want to throw your magic off. It might not work.” “Tho, it might not pwotect me?” “Well, it won’t fail you completely, but it is likely to hurt a lot more.” “Fine,” she sighed through the pacifier, then she spat it out and jumped down onto one of the truck’s roof, calling up her mace as she fell. She landed with a creaking of heavy suspension and crunching of metal as the roof cratered and cracked around her. That was crazy, she thought, she just jumped down two stories. No time to overthink on that. Stepping to the edge of the truck’s roof, looking down at the smugglers, she said, “I am Nurthewy Knight Kwithy! Thwow down your weaponth and thuwender or I will punith you.” Punish? Ugh. What a terrible choice of words. The men below her swore and expressed shock, fear, confusion. Some looked like they were ready to run. Other pulled out the pistols that Tac had mentioned. She jumped down from the truck, landing on one of the crates. It shattered beneath her feet. She pointed the mace at one of the smugglers. “Thuwender.” The man shot her. Guarantee of protection or not, the sight of the gun being fired, the boom of the shot, it made her scream, and she fell backwards, landing on her diapered bottom. She did not have time to think about it, but she was certain that fear had ensured the diaper was well used at that moment. Something had touched her head. That was the best way to explain how it felt, a gentle touch. Something rolled down the side of her face. She looked. It seemed to be a flattened bullet. “What are you doing?” Tac yelled from the roof. “You can’t be scared of a little pistol.” “Fine,” Kristine yelled as she jumped to her feet, swinging the mace out, even as the man was shooting her. The heavy mace smacked into his hand, knocking the gun aside with a crunch of breaking bones. The man screamed in pain, falling to the ground, clutching his ruined hand. “What are you doing?” Tac yelled from the roof. “You can’t hit them that hard. Use a little control. You're an adorable Nursery Knight, not some bone breaking vigilante.” “Thith ith tho annoying,” she shouted, as several more men fired at her and several others made to escape. She moved fast, even though she was waddling, and struck with as much control as she could manage. She used the handle of her mace to knock weapons from hands, to jab into guts and sweep feet. No more broken bones, just bruises and pokes that took the fight and the flight out of them. When it was over about a minute later she stood among the moaning men who lay on the ground about her. Tac had jumped down onto the roof of one of the trucks. “Now secure them so the police can come and pick them up.” “Thecure them?” “Handcuffs or the like, Just envision it and then call out the magic that comes to you.” Handcuffs, okay. Just picture them all with their arms cuffed behind their backs, except for the one whose hand and wrist she had broken. She imagined more of a sling type cast on him. She held up her mace and called out the words the came to her. “Naughty Boyth thhut up and thtay thtill,” she yelled. Those were not the words she had expected to come out of her mouth. Around the men sparking light appeared, falling around them, lifting them, and then coalescing into… wheeled chairs with various restraint straps. Oh hell, they were all large strollers, she thought. Around their hands formed pink mittens that fastened the men's hands behind their backs with pink ribbons. And pacifier gags. Well, she supposed they were going to stay still and shut up, but really. “What the hell is wrong with you?” Tac asked. “I jutht did what you thaid,” Kristine yelled as she turned on Tac. “I pictured them rethtwained, with handcuffth. It ith the thtupid magic.” “What a mess. I mean, it’s like your some kind of bondage pervert.” “I’m not a bondage pewvert,” she yelled up at Tac. “Well, that’s not… Look out!” “What…” Pain. Like fire painted in a line across her back. She fell forward onto her knees. Behind her, the sound of metal scraping across the ground. No thought. She raised the mace above her head. Something hit it with a crash. The force of it feeling as if it would dislocate her shoulders. She rolled forward, her back flaming in fresh pain as it moved across the ground. Up on her feet. Facing her attacker. A man, in armour, holding a sword. “That sword is from the Magical Realm,” Tac called out. “It can hurt you.” “No thit,” Kristine said as she parried another sword strike. The man was relentless, coming at her fast, forcing her entirely on the defence. Several times the tip of the blade traced out red lines on her arms and legs, even cutting her clothing. The laceration on her back bled freely. She could feel the blood running down her back, likely into her diaper. What a mess that would be. Tac shouted out less than useful advice as Kristine tried to find a way to attack. What was some crook with a magical sword doing beating her? She was a Magical Girl. She was a Magical Girl. “Innothent Wattle Thaker!” Swinging out her mace she slammed it into the sword. The sword shattered under the blow. She swung the mace back, driving it into her attacker’s side. He was wearing armour, she was certain he would be fine. And if he was not, well, the pain in her back made it hard to care. The armour all but shattered from his body, and the force of the blow sent him into the air and then down, hard, onto the ground. Still, she was pretty confident she had heard no bones break. “Naughty Boy cowner time.” The magic again came in glittering lights that lifted the man up, and the coalesced out into the mitten restraints and the pacifier gag, but instead of a stroller, he was secured to a stool, pants around his ankles, his nose pressed up against a wall. “I mean really,” Tac said as she jumped down onto Kristine’s shoulder. “This is too much.” “It’th your thtupid magic.” “Just call the police and let’s go.” Kirstine scowled, but she looked among the smugglers until she found a cell phone she could use. She called 911, reported that she had heard shots, then dropped the phone without hanging up. She picked up one of the fallen pistols and fired several shots into the air. “Nice touch,” Tac told her. “Thut up.” A moment later both cat and magical girl were gone, teleported away. Tac told Kristine not to transform back when they arrived at the apartment. “Get your magic bag, have some of the healing food and drink.” She did so. She also got Mr Bear, who stripped her dress off her so he could mend it, as well as dressing her wound. He also changed a very soiled diaper, though she fought against him on that. Somehow in all that the fur on his paws remained clean. During all that Tac took her leave. She glowered at the big stuffed animal as she ate two jars of the baby food while watching as it stitched up the rip in the dress, cleaning the blood from the material at the same time. She had no idea how it did that. She was drinking from a sippy cup (she could not remove the top from it) when Mr Bear finished his work and quickly got her back into the dress. Then he pulled her down onto his big, soft lap, took the bottle from the bag, and proceeded to try to feed it to her. Keeping her lips closed and turning her head she did her best to avoid the nipple. She turned her head and said, “Tank you Mithter Bear, I…” And then he got the nipple securely placed in her mouth. When it became clear he was not going to give up until she drank she sucked on the nipple until the bottle was empty. It refilled itself, but Mr Bear put the bottle back in the bag. “Tank you Mithter Bear, I wuv you,” she got out quickly. Mr Bear returned to toy size and dropped into the bag. Kristine gabbed a couple of training panties from the bag and then dismissed it. “God damn I hate that thing.” She transformed back, thankfully losing the diaper, replaced by the training panties she had been wearing when she had transformed earlier. She dropped into the couch and reached for the TV remote, turning it on and flipping through channels until something caught her attention and she left it. Not really paying attention to what she was watching Kristine grabbed her laptop and turned it on. After powering up and logging on, she saw she had email. Oscar had sent her a message. She had almost forgotten the message she had earlier sent him. He wanted to see her. The next day, at a cafe she knew. She replied, said she would be there. Nervous fingers made spelling mistakes, it took twice as long to type it as it should have. She read it over and then sent it. That was done. Noise from the TV made her look up. A cartoon was on. She had been watching a cartoon? Grabbing the remote, she flipped channels until she found the news. She was presented with a shaky cell phone video of a girl in a short dress and a diaper. Her. Hell. Kristine turned the TV off and went to get ready for bed. The next morning Kristine woke to an orgasm that left her lying in her sweat-soaked sheets, breathing heavily. She could not recall the last time an erotic dream had left her so flustered. Probably when she had been a teen. For a time she lay there, breathing deeply as the warm glow faded. It was perhaps a minute or two after she had woken that she realised she was wearing a diaper. She knew she had gone to bed in a training panty. “Fuck,” she said softly, wondering if the training panty had magically become a diaper, or if Mr Bear had visited her in the night. Neither possibility pleased her. The diaper, she discovered, as she got out of bed, was quite wet. The sheets, except for the sweat, were very dry. She had to admit, given the options, she preferred the damp diaper to wet sheets. Though of course having neither problem would be most preferable of all. She walked to the bathroom, tearing the wet diaper off as she went. There where, Kristine noted as the diaper landed in the trash, several training panties already in the trash. Was she going to have the throw out garbage bags full of diapers and training panties every week? And shouldn’t the magic deal with them in a more environmentally friendly manner? Why was she evening thinking such things? Sighing she went into her bathroom to shower. Later, in a fresh pair of training panties and an oversized t-shirt, Kristine ate her breakfast at the small kitchen counter, while browsing the web. She was looking for information about herself. There were some pictures of her from when she had first transformed, various stories about her, all of them made up of suppositions and outright lies. There was a story about the smugglers she had caught the other night, but no mention of the way she had left them. Had the magic faded, or were the police just keeping quiet about how they had found them? At least no one was suggesting a connection between her Magical Girl persona and the smugglers. Not yet at least. For the morning she treated the day like any lazy Sunday. She read a book while drinking a cup of coffee, or she tried. The coffee tasted terrible. She made two more cups before she decided that it was not the coffee but her. Coffee tasted terrible to her now. That sucked. Instead of reading she went through her kitchen and tried different things. Some teas were all right, as was milk, and the almost expired carton of orange juice she could drink. However, she found that alcohol tasted unpleasant and several fancy kinds of cheese that she had liked no longer suited her. When she catalogued what she liked she found the menu options to be somewhat, well, juvenile. Really, it was bad enough she had to wear training panties and diapers, did she really now need to subsist on a diet of peanut butter sandwiches and milk? Getting a handle on her new palate took up much of the morning, and by the time she cleaned up, it was getting close to her meeting time. The day before while shopping, she had picked up a few more pieces of clothing than just the denim overalls and blouse. A pair of grey slacks and a light blue blouse gave her, well, not a professional look, she thought looking in a mirror, but at least a well turned out appearance. She had found a pair of shiny black loafers with tassels over the toe. They were cheap, she doubted that they would last longer than a month of constant wear, but they looked decent enough. So dressed she grabbed her work bag, shoved a few more pairs of training panties into it, then headed out. Just outside of her apartment building she was met by Tac who sat, lounging on a bench. “What are you doing?” Kristine asked her. “Enjoying the sun,” the woman said. “It’s a cat thing. You going to that work thing.” “I’m going to talk to a man I worked for.” “I’ll tag along,” she said, standing, becoming a cat, then leaping onto Kristine’s shoulder. “Why are you coming?” “Boredom mostly. This might be funny.” “I’m going to throw you into traffic,” Kristine muttered, but she let the cat ride on her shoulder. As she rode on the subway, she wondered what Oscar would say to her. She wondered if she could keep her job. She did recall the part of the contract that said no magical people could work at the law firm, but she hoped that they would make an exception. Being a lawyer was what she had wanted for years. Looking down at her small feet she wondered what sort of career she could have. Could she go to court, looking like a girl? She shifted on the seat, squirming a little, trying to judge how wet the padding under her bottom might be. It did feel a bit wet, but she thought likely just damp rather than soaked. What a thing to have gotten used to, she thought, and in only less than a day. How soon before she was just wearing the diapers that Mr Bear seemed to want her in? She shook her head, the action attracting Tac’s attention. “What is it?” the cat asked. “Nothing, just a thought I want out of my head.” “Weird.” “I don’t want to hear that from you.” Tac remained silent, and Kristine sat there for the rest of the ride, mind going around in unproductive circles. She got off one stop sooner than she usually did when going to work. The coffee shop was about two blocks away from the subway station. The area, mostly business office towers and the like, was quiet on a Sunday afternoon. The ‘Smart Bean’ was an upscale little shop, often crowded during the week but very nearly empty now. She saw Oscar Cotton sitting at one of the tables near the back of the shop. He had looked up from his phone when she had come in, looked at her, then went back to his phone. He did not recognise me, she thought. She walked across the floor, went to stand up beside the table that he sat at. “Mr Cotton,” she said. He looked up from the phone. He looked at her. “Can I help you?” He looked confused. She produced her bridging ID and handed it to him. He looked at it, the confusion in his expression growing. Finally, he looked at her. “Miss St. James?” “Yes sir.” “Magic,” he said, sounding disgusted as he handed her back the ID. “May I have a seat?” she asked. He nodded at the seat opposite to him. She sat, her feet not quite touching the ground. Tac jumped down from her shoulder and into her lap. “I got you a coffee,” he told her, indicating the cup in front of her. “Thank you,” she said, taking it. She loved Smart Bean coffee, the rich dark roast, of course, black. It was bitter and awful to her changed taste buds, but she kept her expression neutral as she took a drink. “What happened?” he asked her. She told him, most of it, leaving out the part about diapers and baby themed stuff, but covering the basics. Kristine finished with, “It was not what I wanted. I never would have made the decision, but I was going to die.” “I understand,” he told her. “I want to continue working with Cotton and Black. I’m a victim. I know that there is a clause in the contract about magic, but it’s not fair.” She blushed realising how childish she sounded. He did not answer her immediately, instead picking up his coffee cup and drinking from it. He put it down when he finished the contents and asked, “Did you study magical law in law school?” The question confused her a little, and she thought back to law school, not so much about the classes she took, but the ones she did not. “I don’t remember anything about magical law,” she told him. “Just some details about the nature of the treaties between the worlds.” “Do you know how the law works in the Magical Realm?” She shook her head. “If you are accused of a crime you are brought before one of the most powerful magic users in the area. They cast a truth spell and you are asked if you did what you were accused of. Once you answer you either go free or are punished.” Kristine did not say anything for a few seconds, and then, “But that is incriminating yourself.” “No such protection in the Magical Realm.” “But what if there are witnesses?” “No witnesses are ever called.” “What if the accused has magic powerful enough to trick the spell?” “Might makes right.” “But…” Oscar held up a hand, stopping Kristine’s words. “I am not here to debate the nature of the Magical Realm's law or lack thereof. That is how it works because that is how it has to work. Magic complicates things. Witnesses might have seen an illusion, or be under a spell of compulsion. Evidence may be summoned out of nothing. In a world like that, they use the simplest way to deal with it. That is why you never saw any courses concerning magical law. That is why you can no longer work at Cotton and Black. “In fact, I am going to have to call the opposing lawyers and tell them that a person articling with us has become a Magical Girl. Likely they will ask for an extension while they make sure nothing in our case has been magically tampered with, they might even ask that the judge simply rule for them seeing as the case is now tainted.” “But I just became Magical Girl yesterday.” “And you have a witness to that?” “Sure she does,” Tac said, speaking up. Oscar looked surprised for a moment at the talking animal, but only a moment. “That will help, I might need to call you to tell your story to the judge.” “Anything to help,” Kristine answered without thinking. Oscar nodded. “I appreciate it. Did you bring your work ID, keys, laptop?” “What? No. Why?” “I’ll need the keys and ID, and I’ll need to have one of our IT people take a look at your personal laptop.” Well, that was a sign that her time with Cotton and Black were over. “I’ll have to go home and get all that. It will take about an hour, maybe a little longer. I guess I can take a taxi.” “No need. I will drive you to your home. We can take care of all of that as soon as possible.” “As soon as possible,” Kristine echoed back. He nodded. She stood, dumping Tac from her lap. “I got to go to the bathroom,” she said and headed to the back of the coffee shop. She did not have to go to the bathroom, or maybe she did, she no longer knew, but she was not about to sit in someone’s car without checking to make sure her training panties were not about to leak. In the stall, the somewhat complicated task of getting her pants off made her decide it was possible skirts would be a large part of her future wardrobe. The training panties were wet, though not sodden. She would not to take a chance and changed into a dry pair. Fortunately, there was no one else in the bathroom to see her toss the wet training panties into the garbage before she washed her hands. On leaving the bathroom, she found Oscar at standing at the front door, talking to a familiar looking blonde woman. She was tall, Kristine thought, probably equal in height to Oscar, and in her heels, she stood taller. Long blonde hair, fair skin, pretty. Oscar noticed Kristine as she approached. “Kristine, this is Emily Black, of the IT department.” That explained why she had looked familiar. “Black?” she asked. “My Uncle is Oscar’s partner, but don’t worry, I did not get the job due to nepotism.” Oscar laughed at what was probably a private joke, then said, “Emily will have to check your laptop, you understand.” Not pleased, Kristine nodded. “Of course.” “Let’s go,” he said and led them from the cafe. His car was only a few blocks away, a dark blue Lexus, four doors. Emily took the front seat, leaving the back for Kristine. Seeing the leather interior, she was glad she had changed her training panties. In the front seat, Oscar and Emily talked business, the IT side of things. Kristine’s computer knowledge was not as in-depth as that of Emily’s, but she thought she might be able to join in. However, she got the feeling that she was not expected to take part in the conversation. Neither made any effort to include her. She sat quietly in the back, petting Tac who slept in her lap. About twenty minutes later Oscar pulled into her apartment’s visitor parking lot. His car looked a little out of place, and he parked some distance from the other vehicles. As Kristine got out, she looked at the building, suddenly feeling that she did not want either of these people to see how she lived. She knew it was ridiculous. She was a recent graduate, no one would expect her to be living in any sort of luxury. She squared her shoulders and said, “This way.” Kristine led them into the building and up into her apartment. Could they smell the used diapers she had been throwing out? Would they see them? “Where’s your laptop?” Emily asked, breaking Kristine out of her thoughts. “Here,” she walked across the room and got the laptop, bringing it back to Emily. As Emily set up Kristine went and got her work ID and various security keys which she presented to Oscar. “Can I get you to log in?” Emily asked her. She had the laptop on, and it had booted up. Oscar stood near the door, waiting patiently, as Kristine logged into the laptop. “This won’t take long,” Emily said as she went to work. “Just going to remove the VPN software and proprietary data, check for any files from the firm.” Kristine nodded. As promised it did not take long for Emily to finish up with the laptop. She plugged a USB key into the computer, fingers typing rapidly. Kristine looked towards Oscar, but he had his smartphone out, looking at that. He was not interested in talking. And what would they say to each other anyway? About a minute later Emily pulled the USB key out of the laptop. “It’s clean.” Oscar looked away from the phone. “Good. Thank you for working on a Sunday.” Emily smiled at Kristine and then looked to Oscar and said, “This was a special case, so no problem.” “Miss St. James, again, I am sorry. You might have become a good lawyer.” “Thank you,” Kristine said. It was the only thing she could say. They left, talking again about the firm’s IT requirements. She was no longer on their minds. She closed her apartment door and went back to the couch, flopping down and looking at her laptop. Shifting forward, feeling her training panties squelch under her, she worked on the computer, checking to see what had been removed, making sure that her pictures and a few other things she would not want to lose were still there. “Damn,” she said, slumping down. “What’s the problem there?” Tac asked, jumping onto the back of the couch. Kristine looked up at the cat. “There are so many answers to that.” “Got one that I might care about?” She mumbled something unflattering under her breath and then said, “I am out of a job.” “I am aware. Don’t care.” “Well, you should, cause I am going to be out on the street soon.” “I don’t see how you being out on the street is a problem for me, but I will point out that you are stupid?” “Stupid? That I need money is stupid? That I still got student loans is stupid? That I can’t even afford to buy new clothes is stupid?” “Those things seem more on the sad side than stupid,” Tac told her. “What is stupid is that you have forgotten you got a magic bag that has almost everything you need.” “What? It has money in it?” She could not believe that. “Why not summon it and find out,” Tac paused, “stupid.” She sat up straight, making certain to knock Tac off the back of the couch as she did not. “Not cool,” Tac said as she fell. Holding her hands out in front of her she pictured the bag and it dropped out into her arms. She placed it beside her and opened it up. She found the familiar diapers and training panties, food and drink and baby care products and Mr Bear, but no money. “Well?” she asked Tac, who had jumped up beside her. She grabbed a couple of pair of training panties, knowing she was going to need them. “Open up the zippered, front pocket.” She did. Inside she found an envelope. Written on it was ‘for clothes’. Opening it, she found a stack of twenty and fifty dollar bills, even some hundreds. Counting it revealed there to be about four thousand dollars. “Where did this come from?” she demanded of Tac. “Where do you think? Banks.” “Is it…” “Stolen? Don’t be stupid. There is trade between the Magic and the Mundane Realms. The Magic Realm enjoys a huge trade surplus, but we don’t have use for your money, so we leave it here. When an agent, like you, needs money, you get money.” She looked at all the bills. “I don’t have to work anymore.” “You don’t.” “If I want a bigger apartment? A house.” “You’d get it.” “A sports car?” “Can you reach the pedals.” “Shut up.” “You won’t be getting any mansions unless you need one, and probably not any of those fancy Italian sports cars,” Tac paused, “do they still have them?” After Kristine nodded Tac continued, “or diamond studded golden back scratchers, but you’ll have what you need for a comfortable, easy life. Magic Girls have it good.” She did not have to work. “I wanted to be a lawyer.” “I wanted to be a rich princess who never had to travel to the Mundane Realm. I did not get that,” Tac told her. “Life is unfair. Suck it up. We’re going hunting tonight.” “Hunting?” “I am going to teach you to track minor magical threats. An important skill for a Magical Girl.” “Yay for me,” Kristine said sarcastically. Several hours of hunting down, and in some cases killing, small magical beings (goblins and such) left Kristine tired and wet. Returning to her apartment, she dismissed her magical outfit and then went to take a shower. Clean, in a dry pair of training panties, she took a seat on her couch and turned on her laptop. She just wanted to stream some movies and relax, maybe check out some real estate as well. As the laptop booted up, she reached for her phone. There was a message. From Oscar. She played it. His recorded voice came from the phone. ‘Miss St. James, I want you to come to the courthouse tomorrow. Call me.’ She stared at the phone for a few seconds. It did not make any sense to her. She had been certain she would never hear from him again. After several seconds she hit the icon to call him back. After a few rings, it was answered. “Miss St. James,” Oscar said. “You wanted to speak with me Mr Cotton?” He was silent for a few seconds, then said, “I would appreciate it if you showed up at court tomorrow, at 9am. I have a meeting with the judge, and I want you to be there.” Her eyes widened as, for a moment, she imagined that he would be making a case for her to remain part of the case, but only for a moment. That was stupid. “Why?” she asked, sounding a little more bitter than she wanted. “I want to get the judge’s ruling as to whether your recent change compromises the case. The judge will have questions, it would be best if you were there.” “I understand. I’ll help.” She paused and then said, “I have nothing to wear for court.” Oscar did not tell her not to worry. He would never tell her that. The right clothing was an essential part of one’s presentation in court. After a short silence, he said, “I’ll bring something, Don’t worry.” She took a deep breath. “Okay, I will be there.” “Thank you Miss St. James, I appreciate it.” “I am glad to help,” she answered. “I will see you tomorrow.” He hung up. She looked at her phone for a few seconds and then tapped the hangup icon. Gently chewing on her bottom lip, she wondered what tomorrow would be like. Would she be a professional in the room, or would be she like some weird piece of evidence. It worried at her all night, and she crawled into bed early, setting her alarm before she pulled the covers over her head. BREAK POINT#3 Kristine woke not to the beeping of her alarm but to another orgasm from another terribly erotic dream. She lay on her bed, breathing deeply, squirming, slim chest rising and falling with each gasping breath. She finally got control of herself, wiping at her damp forehead. “What the hell,” she said softly. Her alarm started beeping. As she sat up, she felt something heavy and wet slide about in the back of the diaper that she was wearing. Eyes wide she reached behind her and put her hand on the back of the plastic. The mass within the diaper shifted and spread out as she pushed against the padding. “Oh no,” she said. She shifted forward, taking the weight off her bottom. The mess slithered forward as she got up on her hands and knees. How was she going to clean up that mess? She’d have to get into her shower, take the heavily soiled diaper off. And then what? Could she flush it? And she would have to clean herself up, the mess that she felt stuck to her bottom. Just the thought of doing so made her feel ill. She should just be able to magic this away. Then a thought occurred to her. “Mr Bear, help.” She blushed even as she said it out loud, not entirely certain about what she was doing. A moment later the giant teddy bear was at her side. She did not have to give any instructions, the bear grabbed her up from the bed, cleared some space, and put her on the floor. She blushed as the bear pulled her legs up and untaped her diaper, then began to clean her up. The bear was fast, efficient, in extremely short order she was clean, the area around her was clean, the dirty diaper and the wipes having disappeared, even Mr Bear was clean. Of course, the bear then proceeded to put a new diaper on her, acting so fast she could hardly resist. He creamed her bottom, rubbing it across her butt and between her thighs, sending a shock of unexpected pleasure through her that made her gasp. Then he rained sweet smelling powder across her before pulling a thick diaper up between her legs and tapping it snug around her. He lifted her up from the floor, grabbing her under her arms, then placed her on her feet and patted her head. She blushed at the gentle touch, then lisped out her ‘thank you’ sending him away. Standing there, in the middle of her apartment, in just a diaper and her t-shirt, she sighed. “What the hell,” she said, then sat down on her couch. “Tac?” she called out softly. The cat did not appear. Well, she supposed that was for the best. She was not really sure how to ask the cat why she was having crazy erotic wet dreams, waking up in diapers that were damp for reasons other than piss. Was it part of the magic, or, as she was afraid of, was she just some kind of pervert? It was probably the magic. She hoped. Thinking of magic and the cat she summoned up her magic bag. She opened the small zippered pocket she had found the money in the night before. Within were two envelopes, neither feeling as if it were stuffed with cash. In one was a letter, informing her that all her student loans would be paid off by the end of the business day. The other letter showed that all her credit cards, as well as her line of credit, had all been paid off. She was completely out of debt. “Well, that’s something,” she said, tossing the letters on her coffee table and then dismissing the diaper bag. Standing she tore the expertly taped diaper from around her waist and tossed it, heading into her bathroom. Tac showed up when she left her apartment. She was dressed in the same outfit she had worn the day before, the slacks and the blouse. “Where you going?” the cat asked. “To court. Oscar wants my help,” she said, feeling happy for saying that. “Your help?” Tac asked incredulously. “Yes, my help,” she said, sounding far more defensive than she had intended. “Some kind of monster thing?” “No, legal matters,” she said, tilting her chin up as she walked towards the elevator. “This I got to see.” Kristine paused, wondering if she should tell the cat it could not come. Of course, she did not expect that Tac would do something just because she had ordered, and she supposed having an obvious magical animal might help things along in some manner or another. “Do as you want,” she said, and resumed her walk. Seeing as she was debt free and flush with cash (she had the money for clothing in her messenger bag) she decided to take a taxi. “How much more do you need to do to finish with me?” she asked Tac as she did up her seatbelt. “A few more nights and you’ll have all the basics down. You’re not as stupid as what I was expecting.” “Is that one of those magical animals?” the taxi driver asked, looking back at her in the rearview mirror. “Is that a problem?” Kristine asked. “I can toss her out of the cab, no problem if we are moving fast.” “Rude,” Tac said. “No, no, just never saw one before.” He pulled away from the curb and merged into traffic. “So,” the driver asked, “you one of those Magical Girls?” “Yeah, I’m one of those Magical Girls.” “You look a little young for it.” She laughed loudly. “I say something funny?” “Hilarious, but don’t worry about it.” “We’re not going to get attacked by monsters, are we?” “I don’t think so.” She looked at Tac. “A monster attack against a mundane is a pretty unlikely thing,” the cat sat smugly. “Is it now?” Kristine turned her gaze on Tac. “I don’t think my statement can in anyway be used to infer any wrongdoing on my part.” “And if I got one of those truth spells Oscar mentioned?” “Well, you don’t have one.” “You don’t seem to be all that friendly,” the driver said. “Tell me about it,” Kristine answered. “Aren’t you magical girls and your talking pets supposed to be all friendly like?” “Pets?” Tac sounded offended. “I am beginning to suspect that is just PR.” “Pets?” “So how did you become a magical girl, if you don’t mind me asking?” “Desperate measures,” Kristine said. “Either that or I die.” “So you didn’t want to be one.” “Of course not. Why would I?” “I bet it beats driving a cab.” Kristine was about to argue that, seeing as she was pretty sure driving a cab did not require diapers, but she decided not to. And she thought about the letters from the morning, the money in her bag. Probably a lot of people would think the benefits outweighed the costs. “It still was not what I thought I wanted to be doing with my life?” “Oh, what did you want to do with your life?” “I was going to be a lawyer.” The driver was silent for a few seconds. “You ask me the world needs more Magical Girls than lawyers.” “Did I ask you?” she snapped at him. “Don’t be so catty,” Tac told her. “I don’t want to hear that from you,” she told the cat. “Listen, I’m just saying that society is too litigious as it stands and fewer lawyers might not be a bad thing. Maybe people would talk things out and not tie up the courts with nuisance lawsuits and real legal change could happen.” “What, are you a professor of sociology or something?” “Philosophy.” “A philosopher cab driver, this is getting good,” Tac said. “You’re a professor of philosophy?” “Masters degree. Working on my doctorate.” Kristine frowned. “Are you driving for money or is this your thesis?” “Welcome to my lab, Magical Girl.” “Oh, crap.” “Do you have a card? Cause I think I want to ride in your cab more often," Tac said. “So, do you think you can do more to make the world just if you were a lawyer than you could be being a magical girl.” “I did not get into law because of justice,” Kristine said, exasperated, and then, “No, wait, I mean, justice is important, but the law is complex and beautiful.” “Really?” “Well, it’s complex.” “So, if you were interested in justice, would you find it easier to make a difference as a lawyer or a Magical Girl.” Kristine squirmed in her seat, thought the padding of her training panties felt both warm and wet but was not sure. And she could not check. “I suppose if I was only interested in justice that a Magical Girl has more options.” “But Magical Girls are not agents of justice,” Tac said as she jumped up onto the back of the front, passenger seat. “At least not necessarily.” “But do they have the freedom to become so?” “Probably,” Tac said. “So Magical Girl, do you feel that if you cannot practice law that you are required to uphold justice? Does your power require you to act.” “Hell no,” Kristine said. “Power does not equate to responsibility.” “Interesting.” “Listen, can you just drive.” “Sure,” he said, and then asked Tac, “so you offer power to these girls?” “That is right.” Tac sounded pleased with herself. “And you don’t feel that there is a problem with that? It’s like you are creating child soldiers.” “No like about it. But young girls have the purity and innocence to wield magic. Their pure hearts and pure dreams protect them from the corrupting taint of magic.” “Bullshit!” Kristine said from the back. “I was twenty-five, and you still picked me.” “Twenty-five?” the driver asked, looking at her in the mirror again. Kristine wished she had kept her mouth shut. “You were immature for your age,” Tac said by way of explanation. She smacked the cat from the back of the seat hard enough that it hit the interior windshield. “Hey, watch it,” the driver said. “The cat’s fine.” “My feelings can be hurt you know,” Tac said, jumping down from the dashboard. “Good to know. I’ll try to be more emotionally cruel.”
 The driver looked at her in the mirror, then down at Tac. He asked no more questions. Kristine felt a little bad about that but did not want to start up the conversation again. When she was dropped off at the courthouse, she tipped the driver well, by way of apology, then walked up the steps towards the large entranceway. She was near the doors when she was met by Oscar’s assistant. Yvonne Clark was an older woman, brown hair striped with grey, dressed conservatively. She had some garment bags hung over her shoulder. “Kristine?” she asked hesitantly. “Yes. Mr Cotton wanted me here.” Of course, Yvonne had to know that. What a stupid and obvious thing to say. “Yes. Come on. I have some clothing for you.” He held up the garment bags a little higher. At least Kristine was not the only one stating the obvious. Yvonne led her to a bathroom where she could change. Kristine went in on her own, carrying the three bags. She left them on a small bench inside the room by the door and went right for a stall. Her training panty was not too wet, but she cleaned herself up and put on a new one, not wanting to take a chance of staining any of the clothing she was going to borrow. There were three dresses within the bags, as well as a few packaged sundries. She wondered if they belonged to Oscar’s daughters or granddaughters. Perhaps young nieces? She did not really know much about his family other than he did have children. One of the dresses looked like a little girl’s Sunday dress. A bit too much frou-frou and pink for her tastes. Another was a surprisingly mature looking dress in a pale blue, clingy. Kristine was certain the bulk of her training panties would be visible. She went with the third, a dark blue dress, with a pleated skirt that dropped below her knees and short, wide sleeves that fell just above her elbows. The skirt was loose enough that there was no chance of her training panties showing through and it looked conservative. There was a pair of white tights, still in the package, along with the dress. She tore the bag open and put them on. The cotton tights were a little too small, and the dress a bit tight across her slim chest, but, looking at herself, she saw that none of that showed. Good enough. She gathered up everything and left the bathroom. Yvonne and Tac were waiting nearby. Yvonne looked Kristine up and down and nodded. “Good. Come on.” Tac jumped up onto her shoulder. Yvonne led Kristine up the main stairs, where the too small tights and slightly too tight dress made themselves a little more obvious. She felt a little corseted as she could not breathe as deeply as she wished, and the tights were sliding down a little, and she had to resist the urge to try to pull them up. Down a hall, deeper into the building, to a small waiting room where Oscar, and to her surprise and no small amount of embarrassment, Daniel were waiting. Daniel was staring at her, shock obvious on his face. She noted two others, a woman and man, well dressed. The man she recognised as Wendal Pine, the lead lawyer for the other side. “Miss St. James, thank you for coming,” Oscar said to her. “You’re welcome Mr Black.” Daniel schooled his expression to something more professional and nodded a hello to her. “Kristine,” he said. She returned the informal greeting with a “Daniel. You’re assisting with the case? Good job.” He looked a little uncomfortable, for they both knew that she was supposed to be here. “Thank you,” he said, almost sounding himself. Wendal and his companion were openly staring at her. She ignored them, deciding she would let someone else handle introductions if they were required. “Is there anything else Mr Cotton?” Yvonne asked. “Not at the moment Yvonne, thank you.” Yvonne nodded and then left them. There were several seconds of an uncomfortable silence in the room before Oscar said, “Let’s go.” He walked to one of the doors, knocked and then pushed it open. Kristine started towards the doors, but the others, with their longer strides (not hampered by trying to keep cotton tights from sliding down over a pair of training panties), put everyone else in the room, and she had to wait to enter last. There was a small office beyond. The five of them filled it. A woman behind a desk was talking to Oscar. “Go in,” she said, “Judge Morrison is waiting for you.” They all filed through the secretaries office into the much more significant office of the judge. Bernard Morrison was a tall man, big, shaved head, wrinkles around his eyes and mouth. He was standing, waiting for them. “Sit,” he ordered, pointing at a table in front of his desk. Everyone sat. Kristine found the chair too big for her, wished she could kneel on it, so she was not so low. Bernard went and sat at his desk. “Let’s make this fast.” He looked at Kristine. “Kristine St. James.” “Yes sir,” she said, hating how her voice seemed to squeak. “Papers?” She reached into her bag, pulled out her ID. She was about to get off the chair when Tac jumped to the floor and became the tuxedo-clad, cat-eared beauty that was her other form. There were a few expressions of surprise. With a smile Tac took the various documents from Kristine and walked to the judge’s desk, handing them to him. He looked through them, turning the bridging ID back and forth, staring at Kristine. She felt her cheeks grow warm under his scrutiny. He gave the documents back to Tac. “Thank you.” “Of course,” Tac said, and walked back, putting the documents on the table, in front of Kristine, just far enough from her that Kristine had to reach to get them. The cat-eared woman took a seat beside Kristine, smiling at the other people. “Tell me how you came to this position,” Judge Morrison said to Kristine. So Kristine told him of her meeting with Tac Friday evening and of her accepting the contract the next day. She kept it simple, to the point. Tac confirmed her story when asked. “When was the last time you worked on this case,” he asked her. “Friday evening, about 5pm.” “Anything since then?” “No sir.” “Have you had any contact with anyone involved in the case since then?” “Just Mr Cotton. I let him know what happened, and met with him yesterday too, well, officially end my employment with the firm.” “Did you talk about the case?” She shook her head. “No sir.” Wendal shifted forward in his chair. “Any witnesses to this?” “I was there,” Tac said. At the same time, Oscar said, “Emily Black from our IT department was there. She can be a witness as to our conversation. Shall I ask her to come by? I have a signed statement from her.” He brought an envelope from his jacket. “Give it here.” Oscar did so, and Bernard looked it over. “Good enough,” he finally said. “I would like a ruling now as to if Miss St. James unfortunate situation in any way reflects on this case,” Oscar said. The judge looked at Wendal and his companion. “Are you requesting a stay in procedures?” Wendal did not answer immediately, but finally said, “Not at this time.” “Your honour, if not at this time than if I may be permitted to say, than not at all,” Oscar said. “More information could come up later in the case,” Wendal replied, a little heated. “We may need to request a stay or delay later.” “If things start to go bad for you,” Oscar said. Kristine had suspected but now knew why Oscar had requested her presence there. “Enough,” Bernard said, loudly. No one else said anything. “Mr Pine, if you do not see a reason to delay proceedings at this time, based on what we know, I will not allow you to request a later delay. Unless of course, you put further evidence in front of me that puts into question Miss St. James' statement that she has had nothing to do with the case since her unfortunate transformation.” “Very well,” Wendal said. He did not sound happy about it. “All right, then this meeting is done. I will see you in court in,” he looked at his watch, “twenty minutes.” It was a dismissal that everyone recognised. They left the office. Out in the waiting room, everyone started walking away. Daniel paused, looked at her, back at the others who were all watching, and then said, “I’m sorry this happened to you.” He walked off. Not about to taint the case by being seen associating with her. She was alone. She found Yvonne, down the hall, waiting for her. She returned to the bathroom on the first floor, changing back into her own clothing. She held up the tights, making sure there were no telltale stains on the white cotton, then shoved them into the garment bag with the dress. “Thank you,” she said as she handed the bag back to Yvonne outside of the bathroom. “You’re welcome,” she said with a smile before turning and walking away. “Now what?” Tac asked from where she lazily leaned on a wall. “I guess I’ll go shopping.” “Good, I like shopping.” Kristine supposed some retail therapy was a way to not think of things. Or maybe not think that there was nothing left to really think about. She was a Magical Girl, and it seemed that was all she would be. All she could be. So letting her mind focus on buying a new wardrobe was welcome. She looked for quality, triple stitching, good materials, nothing that looked like it had been made in a sweatshop. Since training panties and, not that she wanted to admit it, diapers, were going to be a constant she looked for skirts and dresses mostly, to make changing easier. She bought some slacks and loose jeans, but they made up only a small part of her new and growing wardrobe. Quality and conservative were her watchwords. She soon had several bags full of clothing. Tac had to help her carry them. Some training bras were added to her purchases. As she had the day before Kristine got the idea that most of the salespeople who sold them to her were ultimately humouring her. What she did not need (assuming she was not going to chance a mess) were panties, but she bought them anyway. She did not want anyone thinking about why she would not be buying them. It was mid-afternoon when she decided to go home. She and Tac stuffed a taxi’s trunk full of clothing of all sorts, and the back seat was pretty full too. They did not get a driver who wanted to speak, so Kristine sat in the back seat, feeling tired and wet, hoping her training panties did not leak. Fortunately, she made it back to her apartment leaving the seat behind her dry. She and Tac hauled everything up to her apartment and Kristine went to change. She had leaked a little on her way up, small damp spots on the seat of her slacks. After changing into a dry pair of training panties, she tossed the pants into the laundry hamper and then, in only her socks, blouse and training panty, began to unpack her purchases. She was not sure at first what to do with all her old clothing, but after a few minutes of looking through her wardrobe, she decided it had to go. There was no point in keeping it around, other than to torture herself. She found some boxes and used the bags all her new things had come in and packed away all her old things. She would donate them to some charity, or better yet a woman’s shelter. Maybe her suits would do someone some good. As she finished boxing the last of the old things up, she felt odd, as if something were off. She found herself walking about the apartment, looking onto corners, opening things up. As small as the apartment was her actions did not go unnoticed. “What are you doing?” Tac asked her. Kristine looked at the cat. “Something feels off, but I don’t know what.” “Probably just because you are being watched.” “What?” Tac, in cat form again, stretched out. “Yeah. Not long after we got back.” “Where?” she asked, starting towards the windows. “Stop, don’t be stupid,” the cat told her. “Pardon?” she looked back at Tac. “You don’t want them to know you spotted them. That’s like tradecraft 101.” “Tradecraft?” She shook her head. “What should I do?” “Stop being stupid?” “Aren’t you supposed to help me?” “If I can make you stop being stupid that would help a lot.” “You make me want to kick you.” “Transform. Put your pacifier in your pie hole and teleport down there.” Kristine wanted to say something snide, but the cat was right. “Thank you,” she said softly. “What was that?” “I said thank you,” she snapped, and then before Tac might say anything else she transformed. Teleporting about, being invisible, it was all pretty amazing. It almost made being a Magical Girl worthwhile. Though not the diapers. She stood beside the car, not seen by the occupants, looking into the windows. It did not take her long to figure out who they were. There was a file, open in the back seat, with some stationary with the Pine law firm letterhead on it. So they were looking for proof that she was still somehow involved in the case. Good luck on finding that, she thought as she teleported up onto the roof of a nearby high-rise. She took the pacifier from her mouth. “Annoying.” “I will teach you a spell to chase them away,” Tac said. “Chase them away?” “Sure. Magic Girls need to make the mundanes scatter, stay away from dangerous places. Nice simple spell. You envision something unpleasant and focus it… Though with your weird ways of casting spells who know how it will work. Still, it is simple enough.” “No.” “No what?” “I’m not going to cast it. They are just doing their jobs, and it is not like they are going to see anything that will be a problem for Cotton and Black. I’ll just ignore them.” “But this is a teachable moment.” “I don’t care.” She teleported back to her apartment and ended her magical girl transformation. Tac had jumped from her shoulder. “Boring.” “I can learn that spell later,” she told the cat as she picked up the packed boxes and stacked them next to the door. Tac shook her cat head and then went and curled up on the couch. Kristine went and cleaned everything up, considering what she might do if she got a house. That all she needed to do was to want one and she would be given one seemed so unlikely. It was like she had won a lottery. And in a way she supposed she had. Just not a lottery that she would have bought a ticket for. She had everything sorted out and cleaned up when she heard someone knocking on her door. Not expecting any visitors she went to the door, stood up on her toes, and looked out the peephole. On her doorstep stood the handsome Olivia. “What the hell?” she asked aloud even as she unlocked the door. “Olivia, you can’t be here, there…” That was all she got before Oliva had her wrapped in her arms, her lips pressed against Kristine’s, her tongue slipping into Kristine’s mouth. It was like the night they had last seen each other. That was one of her thoughts at that moment. She also recalled that their hands had been in each other panties, and she worried that Olivia’s hands would slide down from her shoulders and discover what she wore instead of panties. That was another of her thoughts. She also was a little surprised at the tongue in her mouth. It seemed strange and well, the only word that came to her mind, strangely was, gross. It seemed a little gross. Then suddenly before Kristine could think of anything Oliva pushed her away, she herself stumbling a few steps back to fall against the door jamb. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Oliva said, crying. Kristine stared at Olivia, her mouth hanging open. She closed her mouth, then asked, “Sorry? What? Why?” “I heard, I thought, it didn’t matter. I was in love with you. I was sure it didn’t matter what you looked like, but it felt so wrong. I’m sorry.” “Olivia?” She took a step forward, then stopped. “You love me?” She was surprised. She liked Olivia, a lot, but in love? “Oh,” Kristine said. Of course, she loved Olivia as well. Why had she not seen it? “I…” “I don’t love you anymore,” Olivia cried and wiped at her eyes, smearing eyeliner. “What?” “You’re a child, when I look at you, I feel nothing. When I kissed you I just felt like a monster.” She straightened. “I never should have come here. I have to leave.” “Olivia…” Kristine took a step forward. “No, Kristine, I can’t be near you. It’s tearing me up.” Kristine stopped. “Goodbye.” She turned and fled the apartment. “Olivia,” Kristine said softly and took a step forward. She would just be torturing Olivia if she followed. “Well that was some nice drama,” Tac said as she jumped down from the couch. Kristine turned on the cat. “Shut up.” “That’s hardly nice. And here I am going to help you out.” “Help me out?” Tac saying anything like that seemed so foreign. She did not think the cat was capable of helping her. “I am going to take care of those guys in the car, so they don’t remember seeing your friend coming in here, cause that is probably important, then I am going to talk to your friend and make sure she doesn’t hurt herself.” “Oh,” Kristine said, suddenly feeling bad for her earlier thought. “And then I am going to get her on the rebound and fuck her until she can’t even remember your name.” “What?” The cat looked up at her. “She’s got a nice figure, and I am one horny kitty.” “Listen you damn cat I’ll pick you up by the scruff o the neck and shake the sh…” Tac was suddenly the buxom, tall woman in a tuxedo. She moved fast, grabbing Kristine and yanking the smaller girl across her lap as she dropped onto the couch. Skirt flipped up, training panties yanked down, she proceeded to wail on Kristine’s bottom, in the middle of the apartment, with the door to the hallway wide opened. It was humiliating. And it hurt a lot. “You Listen. I put up with a lot of crap from you cause you are cute, but you don’t get to tell me who I fuck.” Kristine was squirming, trying to break free, biting down on screams and sobs, worried someone could come and look into her apartment. Then suddenly she was on the floor, dumped from Tac’s lap, and Tac was heading out the door. “Don’t wait up,” Tac called back with a cruel smile as she left. Kristine watched her go, wiped her eyes, then stumbled to her feet, and with the training panties around her ankles, stumbled to the door and closed it. She bent down, pulled the training panties up. As they slid over her well-spanked bottom, she hissed at how much it had hurt. Had that bitch Tac used claws when she spanked her? Well, she would show Tac, she would… What would she do?
 Chase after Tac, tell her to leave Olivia alone? Scream ‘don’t have sex with my ex-girlfriend’? It was ridiculous. Olivia was not stupid, no easy lay. If Tac could seduce her, it would be because it was what Olivia wanted, at least at that moment. She sat down on the couch. Jumped up with a cry of pain. What sort of crazy magical spanking had Tac given her? She stood there, still sniffing, thinking about her friend and her life and her very adulthood which had all been snatched away for some stupid reason. She thought about how helpless she felt about it all. She thought about how there was nothing she could do about any of it. “Mr Bear,” she cried. And then the bear was there, and she threw herself into its warm, soft hug. She cried into the fur, and Mr Bear gently patted her bottom, easing the pain there. She felt completely pathetic, and at the same time completely safe. BREAK POINT#4 And now the new part that has not beeN posted yet Later, sprawled on her couch, in a too big t-shirt, the padding of a training panty a subtle but unforgettable presence, stared at the TV. She was not really watching what was on it, it was the background for her thoughts. Olivia, and what she represented. Things had been happening so quickly that she had not really considered what her life was going to be like. Saturday morning she had woken up, and everything was normal. It was now Monday evening, and she had lost her job, probably her friends, a girlfriend she had not realised was her girlfriend, her potty skills and her maturity. Things had been happening too fast. She had not really thought about it. Now that she was thinking about it Kristine did not like it. She sniffed, suddenly worried she might start crying. She rubbed at her eyes, took a deep breath. “I can turn this around,” she said out loud. It made her better to hear that, but what followed was the silent question, ‘how?’ Pulling her knees up to her chest she considered what she would need to do to fix things. She did not think she could break the magic that had changed her. She had, under duress as it had been, accepted a contract. There was something sacrosanct to that. Magical rules that had been established that would not be broken. The sticking point was that she was a child. It did not matter that she had a bridging ID, the fact that anyone who looked at her was going to see a little girl. And if she were not careful they would see a little girl in diapers. Jobs, relationships, even leisure activities would all be denied to her. Suddenly she was depressed again. She recalled, only a few days before, flipping through the channels until she could present to Tac a magical girl: Magical Parfait of the Baker’s Dozen she recalled. She could be, she realised, a joke. She could go on TV, or maybe get jobs performing. A cute little girl who was not really a little girl. Her knowledge of entertainment law was sketchy, but she seemed to remember that there was a limit on how much children could work. An apparent little girl, who was really an adult, would probably be useful. She supposed had she ever wanted to go into entertainment than this might be the best thing that ever happened to her. But while she had wanted to stand in front of a court as a lawyer, standing in front of an audience as a performer had never occurred to her. A professional joke, just like Magical Parfait, and other magical girls like her. No, she realised, she would be even a bigger joke because of the theme of her magic, and the diapers. Exhausted by her depressing thoughts, she turned off the TV, unfolded her couch, pulled her blankets over her head. She just wanted to sleep. Morning came, as it had since her transformation, with a wet dream and a messy diaper. She lay there, breathing heavily, waiting for the sensation to pass, and kind of wishing it would not. Then she called for Mr Bear so he could clear her up. It was just so much easier. After Mr Bear had her in a fresh diaper, she dismissed him. Sitting up on her fold out bed she wondered if all the Nursery Knights had to deal with that. And then she smacked her hand into her forehead. She could find them, talk to them, get them to tell her what the deal was, how they might have dealt with it. No dealing with Tac, who she really did not want to speak to, and certainly did not want to confide in. Staying in her diaper, she went to her laptop, turned it on, waited for it to boot up. It took so long. She summoned her magic bag, wrote a note that she wanted a new computer and a tablet. The message went into the side pocket, the bag dismissed. Once her computer was running, she opened a browser window and began to search. Terms like ‘Nursery Knights’, ‘magical baby girls’, ‘diaper magical girls’ got her some results, but she only found a handful of useful articles. There was a magical sighting page, with an entry on the Nursery Knights. It had not been updated in more than fifteen years. They had been active in Sacramento about twenty years prior. Kristine’s family had lived in Sacramento, but they had moved north to Seattle shortly before the Nursery Knights had been active. Had Tac shown up when she had been supposed to, would Kristine's family have moved? The Magical Realm certainly had access to money. Her father had taken them to Seattle because he had a new job there. She could envision Tac using the Magic Realm's money to keep her and her family in Sacramento. Or perhaps her teleporting power was to allow for the commute. Putting such thoughts aside she read what information was available. There was mention of a few battles, one in the downtown core. No record of any civilian casualties. Kristine found a few stories of people found asleep, unable to wake for a few months. She supposed that made sense for something that had been called the Nightmare King. Then the Nursery Knights all but disappeared. She spent about an hour reading through various sites but found nothing online that really helped her. Shutting her computer off she leaned back. Her padding felt damp on her bottom, and the diaper crinkled. Shaking her head, Kristine got up from her bed and went to the bathroom to clean up. It was still early when Kristine left her apartment. She had a small bag, loaded with a few extra training pants and an envelope full of computer money. Her outfit was all her new clothing, a black, designer A-line dress, with a skirt that hid her padding. She had paired it with a faded jean jacket. Out in front of her building, she decided not to call a cab but went for a walk instead. Kristine used to like going for walks. With school and the working at the law firm, she had had less time for that. Now she had nothing but time. She sighed loudly as she stood on a street corner, waiting for a break in the traffic. “Something wrong sweetie?” The person asking a question was a school crossing guard. An older woman with a kind smile. Kristine had not even noticed her, but it had been a long time since she had needed crossing guard’s help. “I’m just tried,” Kristine said, not even thinking to explain her problems. “You should get lots of sleep sweetie,” she told Kristine, then, a break in the traffic presenting itself, put her whistle to her lips, raised her sign, and stepped out into the crosswalk. Kristine mumbled a thank you as she crossed. Several other children, who Christine had not really noticed either, were louder in their thanks. There sure were a lot of kids around, she thought. Of course, because they were going to school. Kids were walking, almost always with an adult, though. Walking past a school, she noticed how many were being dropped off by parents. It looked like children had grown a lot less independent than she was a child. Kids a few years from being teenagers seemed to be treated more like they were children half their age, or so Kristine thought. It made Kristine rethink her earlier concerns about looking like a child. It was worse than she had thought if this was the new normal for children. “Goddamn depressing,” she said softly. No one tried to stop her, no truant officers or police demanding to know what she was doing, but she saw curious gazes turned her way. She really did not want deal with anyone asking her questions. The morning grew late, children and commuters disappeared from the streets. She watched the cars going by, supposed that people were out shopping, like her. Kristine had been walking for a while, but she was not tired, no ache in her leg muscles. Recalling what Tac had said she could only assume that she was enjoying another of the benefits of being a magical girl. Even untransformed it appeared she enjoyed a stronger body. Almost two hours after she had set off she reached the shopping mall she had wanted to visit. It had not been open for long, and it was not too crowded. In an electronic store, Kristine went to the computer isle and looked around. She had educated herself about computers, enough to know what she wanted. Before price had always been a concern, but now she had money waiting to be spent. It took her about twenty minutes to decide between the three computers she had been considering, and then she stood around for several minutes, waiting for someone to come up and ask to help her. She was a little surprised that the salespeople had left her alone so long. Then she remembered. She was a kid. Of course, they were ignoring her. They probably thought she was screwing around while her parents were shopping somewhere else. “Excuse me, I’d like to buy this,” she called to a middle-aged man who passed close by. He paused, looked around, and then, Kristine was sure he sighed, he walked over to her. “What is it you want young lady?” “This,” she put her hand on the laptop she had chosen. He looked at it, then her. “Is your mother around?” “I’ll pay for it,” she told him. He looked at her for a few seconds, she guessed he was trying to decide if she was serious if he was about to get a commission out of the sale. “Okay, we’ll ring it up.” He reached under the shelf, grabbing one of the boxes. She paused on their way to the cash registers and pointed at a tablet. “And one of those.” Again he looked at her, thoughtfully, perhaps taking in her clothing. Then he grabbed another box. When they reached the cash register, he said, “All right, so where is your mother, or father?” She reached into her bag and took out the envelope with the cash in it. She had already figured out the cost, so she put the hundred dollar bills and fifty dollar bills in front of him. “I am paying for it myself. I am really spoiled.” Kristine was not sure what the salesman had been expecting, but probably not a large wad of cash. She wondered why she had not used her credit card. It probably would have been easier. Had she wanted to flash her money around? Seemed more than a little childish to her. “I’m joking,” she told him and pulled her bridging ID out. “It’s really okay. I’m older than I look.” She smiled as she held out the card. He took it from her, looked at it, flipped it over, read what was there. “You’re from the Magical Realm?” “Well, not really.” She did not want to say she was a Magical Girl. “It’s complicated.” The ID fell from his hands to the counter. “You’re a Magical Girl,” he said, nervously, looking around. “Look, I don’t…” “Fuck, is some monster going to show up? You’re going to get us all killed.” He was not shouting, but he was loud, and a few people were looking towards him. She had heard that some people were afraid of all things magical. She had never seen it before. “Listen, just take my money and give me my receipt and my stuff and I will be out of here. I’ll never come back.” “Fuck you,” he said quite loudly. “Dan, is there a problem?” A middle-aged man in a shirt and tie had approached. “She’s a fucking Magical Girl.” “Dan, go, take your break.” “But…” “Go to the break room.” Dan stared at the man, shook his head, and then almost ran away. The manager, Kristine assumed, quietly rang her up, looked at her ID once, then took her money. He did not ask her to come again. No one asked if she had found everything she wanted. People were staring at her. “Fuck,” Kristine muttered as she left. She should have shopped online. Who knew she would have to deal with such crap. She had planned to shop a little more but had no stomach for it. Leaving the mall, she hailed a taxi. As she got in with her purchases, she said to the driver, “Take me to the downtown branch of the library.” The driver pulled away from the mall. He did not want to talk, which was okay with Kristine. Kristine had excellent research skills. However, she was in no way a professional. Librarians were professionals, which was why she had come to the library. An older woman, probably around fifty, looked down at Kristine. “The Nursery Knights?” Kristine nodded. “Yes. I want to find out what I can about them.” “I see,” she simply said, and then, “come along.” She led Kristine to her desk where she sat down and started her search. She did not invite Kristine to take a seat, there was not even a chair there for visitors. However, she was not left standing for long. Perhaps after a minute or two, the librarian scribbled down some notes and then stood up, once more asking Kristine to follow. It was a pleasure to watch a professional at work, Kristine often thought. They went to an old-fashioned card catalogue, though they only stayed there a few moments. Then there was a short stop at an old microfiche machine. Kristine was not even sure she would know how to use that device. That done the woman began to pull books and old periodicals from various shelves. In less than an hour, Kristine was looking at a stack of material sitting on a table. “Thank you,” she said. “You’re welcome. Most of that material cannot be taken from the library. Leave it on the table when you are finished, we’ll get it shelved.” She turned and walked away. Kristine began to read. There was a book on the various teams of Magical Girls who had operated on the West Coast for the past thirty years. There was a full chapter on the Nursery Knights, though much of it was the author’s supposition about why a team of little girls had been chosen, and that magic must be related to innocence. It was still interesting. She put that aside, picked up a book of photography, found several pictures of the Nursery Knights within. Faces were blurry, but she would make out the little girls wearing the same style of outfits she wore when transformed. The diapers were embarrassingly obvious. A scholarly book about magical girls in general mentioned the Nursery Knights a few times, and how as a group composed of small children they represented an example of how irresponsible the Magical Realm was. “Preaching to the choir sister,” Kristine said softly as she put the book aside. She read more books, magazine articles, even an interview done with Nursery Knight Becca. Not that Becca, probably Rebecca, had a lot to say. Kristine guessed that Becca was perhaps about eight at the time, but the person doing to story assumed an age of about half that. Christine had been making notes of when the Nursery Knights had first appeared and when they had disappeared. The interview with Becca was one of the last times anyone saw one of the Nursery Knights. She had been at her research for a couple of hours. Straightening up, amazed at the fact her back did not hurt, she was aware of the wet, squishy feeling around her bottom from a soaked training panty. Hoping that she was not leaking she nearly ran to the bathroom. The inside of her dress’s skirt was just a little damp, and it did not show, fortunately. Her training panty was heavy with her pee, and she tossed it into the garbage once she had changed. Back at the table she looked through the few remaining books and magazines but was not able to add to her knowledge of the Nursery Knights. They had been much like most magical girl teams, but for their youth. But unlike those other groups, when they had finished their fight they had disappeared completely. Where had they gone? She left the books and magazines on the table as she had been told. On the way out she paused near a donation box, a sign over it reading, ‘Help Support Our Library’. She had a few hundred dollars left after her purchase of the laptop and tablet. Most of it went into the donation box, but for enough left for her cab ride home. Tac came into Kristine's apartment in her cat form. It was early evening. Kristine had set up her laptop and told herself she was still doing research, but she was really just playing around with all the new features the better computer and OS had given her. The cat jumped up onto the coffee table. “Let’s go, we have some more training to do.” Kristine almost told Tac to go to hell, but instead, she stood up and lisped out her transformation chant. She stood in her uniform, suddenly feeling more embarrassed by it. Having seen pictures of the Nursery Knights wearing that outfit, the juvenile costume felt even more so. The short skirt, the puffy sleeves, the lace trim, the ribbon on which her pacifier hung, the rattle shaped mace, and of course the thick diaper. Tac jumped up onto her shoulder. “There’s a big park west of here, do you know it?” “Yeth, I know it.” “Teleport us there for the next lesson.” Kristine did so, appearing on the roof of a medium-sized building that looked down on several acres of green space. People were enjoying the end of the day, a soccer game and a baseball game was going on at either side of the park, and people moving around between. “Okay,” Tac said. “When a Magical Girl needs to fight she should do her best to keep people from getting hurt?” “What about pwopety?” “Property damage is not a problem. We got the money to pay for it.” Kristine supposed that made sense based on what she had learned that day. Tac continued. “You need to be able to make people leave an area, so they don’t get hurt.” “How do I do that?” “It was like I was telling you. If you want to chase someone away from a place you envision something unpleasant, though not frightening, and focus on an area, then push that feeling into that area.” “Thomething unpleathant?” “A feeling of being too cool, or too hot, or an annoying sound.” “Okay.” “Clear everyone from about a hundred feet in every direction of the fountain.” Kristine nodded, stepped to the edge of the building. She looked down at the space Tac had defined, she let the words come to her as they had before. “Dirty Diaper Diaper Pail,” she said, and then, “Fuck cat.” “Hey, I don’t make this crap up.” She wanted to be angry, but when she saw what was happening below, she could only be amazed. People were leaving the area she had envisioned. They were not running, they did not even seem to be aware of it, but they evacuated the space in an orderly manner liked it had been well planned and practised. It could not have taken more than twenty seconds before the space around the fountain was deserted. People had redistributed themselves around the park, apparently unaware of their actions. What was more was that people were walking the long way around, again seeming not to notice that anything was weird in they did. They were, on further observation, actively not looking towards the space around the fountain. “Weird.” “Jump down there,” Tac told her. Kristine judged the distance and then took a few steps back. She then ran up to the edge and leapt. She sailed across the distance between, landing close to the fountain, hitting the brickwork, her shoes leaving scratches on the surface. “Oopthieth,” she said looking back at the damage. Tac made a rude sound. “That’s not an oops level of damage, trust me.” She jumped from Kristine’s shoulder to the fountain side. “No one will care.” Kristine looked around and then walked towards the edge of the space she had envisioned. No one was looking at her, no one had seen her land, heard her land. She stood, about two feet away from a man who was talking on his cell phone. She could hear what he was saying, but he did not seem to notice her. “Weird.” She walked back towards the fountain. “But what happenth if the monthter weaveth the spathe?” “Why do you think Magical Girls are in teams? A few girls working together can contain the monsters.” “I thee.” “But let’s assume you need to keep a monster contained when it is really trying to get away. Or you want to avoid accidents and not just the type you have in your diapers.” “Hey!” Ignoring her outburst, Tac continued, “You don’t want someone tripping and falling into the area, or maybe a piece of a destroyed building goes flying out. If that is likely, you need to firm up the barrier, so it does not let anything pass through.” Kristine nodded. “So, now I want you to envision the barrier becoming something that will keep people out. Visualize it and say the words.” “Okay,” Kristine told Tac, then looked around. Prison cell. Sheets of thick plastic. Steel walls. Chainlink fences. Wood slats, gaily painted, safely rounded with no sharp edges. “Cwib time thafe thpathe,” she said aloud, and all around her appeared crib like bars. “Fuck,” she said again. “How cute,” Tac said in syrupy tones. She kicked the cat into the fountain. Splashing and sputtering the cat thrashed about in the water for a few seconds before turning into a woman. Tac, the woman, splashed out of the knee-deep water. She was soaked, so her ordinarily tight clothing was obscenely clinging to her. Kristine tried to tell herself she was not all jealous and was careful not to look down at her own lack of curves. Stepping out of the fountain Tac stood over her, glaring down at her. “Do you want another spanking already little girl?” Recalling the spanking of only the night before Kristine took a step back. Her lip trembled as she shook her head. “Don’t mix cats with water you overgrown toddler.” “I’m not…” she said, but looking up at Tac’s angry face killed the rest of the words in her mouth. Tac snapped her fingers. Water exploded away from her. A mist of it hit Kristine in the face, leaving her lightly drenched. Perfectly dry Tac stood there, imperious for a moment, then the woman was gone, and the cat was back. The cat leapt back up onto the fountain edge and stared at Kristine, almost as if she was daring Kristine to try something. Kristine did not take up that dare. Some water dripped from her hair. With the impossibly smug look that only a cat was capable of Tac said, “Now you have your safe crib space. That will stop most things from getting in and out, but a determined or a powerful monster might break it.” Kristine nodded, still feeling scared and not trusting her voice. “Or perhaps the monster has minions. Either way, you may need some extra help.” “What about the other Magical Girlth?” Kristine asked. “You might be fighting on your own, or they might be just as busy. Fortunately, you got Mr Bear to give you a hand.” “Mithter Bear?” “Consider if you had an army of your Bear? Each one ready to knock a monster away from the barrier, or form a wall of fur to keep the barrier safe.” Kristine nodded, seeing the point. “So, picture an army of your Mr Bears, and then, call them.” Kristine closed her eyes and did just that. She imagined an army of giant teddy bears. She opened her eyes. “Todayth the day the teddy bearth haf their pi’nic,” she called out. Well, that was not quite as bad as the other things she had to say. Around her formed shadows, and those shadows began to clump together. “Looks good so far,” Tac said. In seconds there stood about fifty or sixty shadowy forms all around her. Then, with a sound like a pop, those forms became giant teddy bears. They looked a lot like Mr Bear, though they lacked his more distinct features. They had an unfinished look to them. The close to sixty bear heads all turned towards her. It was a little creepy. “What now?” she asked Tac. “Now, think about what you want them to do.” Kristine started at them for several seconds. Then she giggled as every bear suddenly pushed its hip forward and grabbed its crotch with a big paw. “Real mature,” Tac said. Kristine ignored the cat as the bears started doing the thriller dance. “A magical army and thy best she can think to do with it is play,” Tac said. Kristine pretended the cat was not there, just watching her dancing bears. She could see that there was a lot that might be done with the bears. They could handle crowd control, probably lock enemies down she so could hit them, even just stand a perimeter guard as Tac had earlier suggested. Or she could make her very own teddy bear flash mob. The bears had been dancing for a few minutes (she felt sorry for everyone on the other side of the barrier who could not see the show) when Kristine suddenly felt dizzy. “Oh my,” she said, stumbling back a few steps before sitting slowly on the edge of the fountain. The bears all stopped moving. As she sat there, taking deep breaths, Kristine felt her diaper grow warm under her as she wet it without control. “Wha’ happen?” she asked. “It takes a lot of magical energy to summon and maintain your bears,” Tac told her in a tone that suggested she thought that Kristine should have known that. “Teddy bearth ta bed,” Kristine said, and the bears disappeared. As soon as they were gone, she felt better. “You need to work on your magical stamina,” Tac told her. “Magical thtamina?” “Your ability to channel and hold the magical power. The more magic you use, the better you’ll get. Normally, of course, you are working with a team, and each girl can handle a different thing. Still, a Magical Girl never knows when she’ll have to fight on her own.” “I would like to meet the other Magical Girls,” Kristine said, seeing an opportunity. “What?” “The other Nursery Knights. I would like to talk to them.” “I’ll see what I can do,” Tac told her. Glad that Tac had not asked why Kristine got unsteadily to her feet. Her soaked diaper sagged under the weight of her pee. “One more thing and then we’ll call it a night.” “One more?” Kristine asked. She wanted to teleport home and get a fresh diaper, or training panty. As long as it was dry. “If things are terrible, then you want to take the area you are fighting in out of the world.” “Out of the worl’?” “Think about it as moving the area to another dimension.” “Another dimenthion?” “Are you a parrot?” Kristine was about to say, ‘Parrot,’ but shut her mouth on the word. “How?” “Visualize it. Think about this space sinking away.” Kristine looked around, thought about the ground under her becoming water, the entire area sinking away, going somewhere else. “Into the dark toy box and clothe the lid,” she said, sweeping her hand out. The barrier went black. Suddenly all around her was darkness. It was as if the temperature suddenly dropped, and she shivered, her diaper growing cold and clammy around her hips. There was an indirect light, and there were long shadows all around her. Turning in place, she started open mouth. “I’m really somewhere elthe.” “You are,” Tac told her. “Did I leave a hole in the worl’?” “No. Its as if this space no longer exists, the space it took up no longer there.” Kristine thought about that and shivered again. “Okay, take us back out.” Kristine nodded. Without being told she visualised the area returning to the world and said, “Open the toy box.” It became warm and brighter, and around her, the park returned. “That’s enough for today,” Tac said as she jumped up onto Kristine’s shoulder. “Back up to the roof.” Kristine tried to teleport, but her concentration failed, and she felt as if the world stuttered around her. Her hand tightened on the mace, and she almost hurled it at the ground. She felt tears in her eyes. It was all so hard, and she was so tired. She realised her emotions were suddenly out of control with exhaustion and she had been about to throw a tantrum because of it. I am not a baby, she told herself and focused. Kristine successfully teleported on her second attempt. Standing on the roof she followed Tac’s direction, dropping the barrier and then the exclusion field. From above she watched as people began to move back into the space she had earlier driven them from. Again they did not seem to notice that they were returning to the area, just as they had not been aware they had been leaving it. Within a few minutes it was as if it had never happened. Magic was amazing, Kristine thought. She teleported back to her apartment. Tac left her for some other business. Kristine made sure not to ask if that other business was Olivia. She sat down on her couch, her diaper squishing beneath her. She just wanted to rest a moment, then she would change back, but she was asleep in seconds. BREAK POINT#5 Someone, probably Mr Bear, had unfolded her couch, undressed her, changed her, and put her in the bed, sheets tucked in around her. While the magical bear could do all that to her and not wake her up was a little disconcerting, there was something about it that her still sleepy mind found comforting. Knowing that there was always going to be something that would take care of her. Closing her eyes she tried to go back to sleep, but after only a few seconds she opened her eyes and turned her head towards the clock in the room. She had been asleep for a few hours, and it was not too late in the evening. Kristine did not think she would get back to sleep. Sitting up, the sheets slipping off her, she found herself dressed in one of the pyjama tops she had bought. Mr Bear had not bother putting the bottoms on her. She got up from the bed, felt too lazy to hunt up the pyjama pants or switch from the thick diaper to a pair of training pants. She got her new laptop and tablet, setting them up on the coffee table as she sat down on the sofa bed. At first, she was not sure what to do, then she decided to search for a house. She suddenly wanted a bedroom, with a real bed. That search kept her busy until she felt tired enough to go back to sleep. Morning. Waking up from an orgasmic wet dream. Messy diaper. Mr Bear cleaning her up. She doubted she would ever get used to it. At the very least the sweaty, panting, twitchy, wet and wonderful feeling of the wet dream was something that would never get dull. Well, she hoped. Tac was not around. She sat on her folded up couch, wondering what she was going to do. Kristine thought that there was nothing more she could learn in researching the Nursery Knights. She would have to wait until Tac got back to her. Shopping was out. Leaning back on the couch, diaper crinkling under her, TV tuned to a local news station, what to do with the day occupied her thoughts. Sitting around the apartment sounded dull. Tac had said she needed to work on her magical stamina. That seemed like a good idea. Lisping out her transformation phrase left Nursery Knight Krisy standing in the apartment. She grabbed her a bag for her tablet, hung it over her shoulder, then tucked her tablet into it. Looking at herself in the mirror she giggled at how incongruous the black bag looked with the baby style dress. Then she disappeared, teleporting away. Kristine looked at houses. She practised putting up exclusion fields, making everyone leave the house. Then she would teleport in and look around. After getting a feel for the place, she would teleport out and then drop the field, watching as people went back in. It was kind of fun. By the end of the day she was feeling tired. She had been using her magic pretty heavily. Still, she felt kind of good about it, as if she was making progress. Back in her apartment she transformed back to her regular self, changed out of the wet diaper and into a set of dry training pants. She looked over the list of houses, considered what she had seen, then wrote a note explaining that she wanted to know more about one of the houses. She summoned her magic bag, put the letter in it, then dismissed the bag. Afterwards, Kristine made her dinner and was about to eat it when Tac came into the room. “Eat up, we have more training to do tonight. We’ll be working on scrying and remote viewing.” “All right,” Kristine said, then asked, “have you found anything out about the other Nursery Knights?” Tac shook her cat head. “Not yet.” Kristine nodded, not yet wanting to push, not wanting Tac asking more questions. So she ate quickly and then transformed. She and Tac headed out into the night for more practice. The next day Kristine found a set of papers in her magic bag. They were what turned out to be papers from someone who had performed a magical inspection on the house. Without the property owner’s knowledge apparently. As a lawyer, well, as someone who wanted to be one, that seemed a little wrong. As someone who was considering moving into that house she found she did not mind much. Along with the inspection results were a list of spells that could be used to repair the problems that the inspector had found. There was a report on the neighbourhood and the neighbours. Finally, there were the details of the offer that might be made. She read it over. She was not going to have to spend the money, but it still seemed like a big deal. The house was pleasant, not a big home, but it was on a big lot a lot of privacy. It had three bedrooms, the master unusually large with an east facing window. She picked up a pen and scrawled on the bottom of the page that she wanted the house. Then she returned it to her magic bag and dismissed it. Now what, she asked herself. What was she going to do? She wished she could talk to her friends, but all her friends were working for law firms. She could not contact any of them. Kristine really wanted to contact Olivia, but she knew she could not. She was also afraid of what she might learn if she did. After several minutes of sitting there she knew she had to do something. Transforming she teleported from her apartment. Standing on a windowsill, pacifier in her mouth, so she was invisible, Kristine looked in at the classroom. Perhaps she could go back to school. Relive her childhood. People always dreamed of that. It did not take her long to decide it would be more a nightmare than a dream. Classes looked boring. Worse for her as she knew everything they were teaching, or at least vaguely recalled it. And she was pretty sure that being a student in training pants or diapers would not be in anyway fun. After about an hour of watching she teleported away. There were rumours that the police had magical girls on the payroll. Being a police officer would let her still be part of the legal system. She stood in a corner, invisible, investigating the city’s central police station, trying to see what it might be to work there. Being invisible offered her a lot of opportunities see how the officers behaved. It seemed the female officers were subject to a fair amount of low-level harassment. It was coached as good-natured ribbing, but the female staff took a lot more of it. She saw no evidence that there was any magical staff there. Kristine suspected if there were any they were made to keep a low key. Harassment and being treated like an embarrassment. Kristine teleported away. The fire department seemed like a better work environment. As long as you did your work it looked like they gave everyone the same amount of respect. Hard work, but it looked rewarding. And the fire engines looked cool. It would be something to look into. Later. She teleported away. There was one more area where Kristine thought that she might get a job, The entertainment industry. She had thought about that earlier and been dismissive of it, but there were reasons to consider it. Kristine had learned that there was filming going on in the city, she teleported over to watch. As she stood invisible among the crew, she considered what it would be like to work in such an environment. Magical Girls had a certain cachet, and she was pretty cute. If she was not going to grow older, and she hoped it was not the case, but if it was, she was the type of child actress that the industry probably wanted. One that would not get older and age out of the part. Honestly, after watching for a few hours, she thought it looked a little dull. However, she could not deny that everyone seemed to be working hard. When Kristine teleported away, she decided she was willing to consider entertainment. “Have you found out about the other Nursery Knights?” Kristine asked Tac. “I am working on it,” Tac said. She sounded cross, and her hair stood up along her spine. “Well, work harder.” “Why is it so important to you?” The day had given Kristine an answer other than, ‘I want to know if they wake up with orgasms and wet diapers’. What she said was, “I want to know what to do with my life. They might have some ideas.” “Fine,” Tac said. “I’ll look deeper, but tonight we have to practice.” “I want to work on repair spells,” Kristine said, and then named some of the spells she had learned of that morning. “Repairs?” “I can? Can’t I?” “Well, you can, but why?” “I want to, and how to shield people and place from heat and fire.” “The fire shields are useful.” “And the repairs.” “Fine,” Tac told her. “Let’s go.” Kristine had fun that night. She and Tac teleported around the city, fixing things. A street covered in potholes and cracks left like new. A large number of street lights shining brightly again. Graffiti wiped away. She especially liked cleaning the graffiti, a wave of her hand, a lisping command, and walls were left unmarked. She also practised fire shields, though that was a little harder because there were no significant fires to work with. When Kristine returned home, she felt tired but pleased. “Okay, tomorrow night you can practice on your own. Fill in some more potholes.” “What are you going to do?” “I am going to find out about the other Nursery Knights before you throw a tantrum.” “I’m not going to throw a tantrum.” “Which is exactly what I would expect a toddler about to have a meltdown to say.” “Just shut up.” “Make sure you practice,” Tac said, and then was gone. “Stupid cat,” Kristine said. A large number of countries and cities had asked that the Magical Realm set up its central embassy in their territory. The diplomatic branch of the Magical Realm had decided to ignore all those requests and dump their embassy in the middle of the Antarctic. Tac usually thought that was pretty funny, but when she had to make her way to the embassy, she had to admit it was a little inconvenient. Even for a cat who walked through walls and played the Schrodinger game to be where she should not, it still took some time to get there. Which was why she had told Kristine to practice on her own. Tac figured she’s be gone at least a full twenty-four hours. The Antarctic was cold, even for a cat with as fabulous fur as she had. One of the first things the Magic Realm had done on setting up was to chill the continent back down to its proper temperature. No global warming allowed there anymore. It was showing off to the mundanes in part, but the staff were the type to like the cold. As Tac glided into the embassy on two legs, wrapped in a thick fur coat, she was greeted by a pair of ice warriors who looked her up and down and then stood aside so she could pass. “Thanks, boys,” she said, walking further into the ice palace. She passed through public areas and moved into the offices where the real work happened. Down, several levels below the ice was a room that looked like a mission control sort of place. Staff watched floating crystal balls, staring at the events taking place. Scrying in a world where almost no one knew how to put up a ward was one of the easiest ways to gather intelligence. Tac looked about and then walked up to a woman with white skin and blue hair, wearing a black suit that did all the right things for her. “Hey sweet stuff, looking for details on the Nursery Knights, Magical Girl team. Got a location?” The woman smiled. “Nursery Knights huh?” She spun the globe in front of her. Tac could have sworn she saw snowflakes in it. “Hmmm, I think you need to talk to Controller White Out.” She looked up towards one of the highest levels of the control centre. Tac followed her gaze, saw that the woman was looking at another white skinned, blue-haired beauty. “Well, happy to talk to the Controller. Thanks, sweetheart.” She left the first woman behind and climbed the stairs to where Controller White Out worked. “Hey Controller, I need some help finding some Magical Girls. Got time for a fellow working girl.” The woman called White Out looked at Tac for several seconds. “You don’t look the type who actually works that much.” “Guilty as charged, it’s the cat in me.” White Out smiled. “Well, one can’t be blamed for their nature I always say. Magical Girls?” “A team called the Nursery Knights.” White Out pursed her lips. “That sounds familiar.” She turned to her globe, spinning it about. “Hmm, I actually have a recent spike.” “That would probably be Kristine. I recently activated her.” White Out looked away from the globe towards Tac. “The Nursery Knights were active about twenty years ago.” “Yeah, I was a little late.” “A little?” “The cat in me.” White Out actually smiled. “All right, let’s ignore the recent activity.” She went back to the globe, turning it, running her hands over it. “Okay, now I remember. We started getting activity on them about twenty years ago, pretty consistent for about two years.” “Sounds right. It took the Nursery Knights about two years to take down the Nightmare King as I understand it.” “After that, there was consistent, low-level activity, about what you would expect from Magical Girls who are no longer active.” “Okay. So do you have any recent activity from them?” “No,” White Out said. “No?” “They went dark almost sixteen years ago.” “Went dark? Like they never transformed again?” “No. Even an untransformed Magical Girl occasionally gives off energy.” “So they’re dead?” White Out shook her head. “No, we would have picked up their deaths.” “How does a Magical Girl go dark then?” “It’s difficult. The girls have to actively mask themselves in the world. It takes a lot of work.” “Does it happen often?” “No.” “Has an entire team ever gone dark?” “No.” Tac said nothing for several seconds. “Well, that is weird.” “Yes. It is why I remembered them.” “Well, I am going to have to speak to those in the know.” “Who is that?” “That,” Tac said and smiled, “is first the coordinator of that team, and then their liaisons.” “Ah.” White Out nodded. “But, that being said, are you like all cold, or do you think I can warm you up. I got a talented cat’s tongue, but I don’t want it freezing to anything.” After her usual morning wake-up pleasure and mess Kristine had planned on spending the day fixing stuff to practice her magic, and then she had planned on talking to someone in the fire department. There was a note from Tac in the front pocket of her magic bag, telling her to keep practising. That made the idea of popping around and repairing things seem even better. However, she ended up on the roof of a building across from the courthouse, pacifier in her mouth, using the scrying spells that she had learned to watch the court proceedings. Oscar was a pleasure to watch, and she could see that Daniel was working hard to keep up. He seemed to be enjoying himself. She could not help but feel a stab of envy. Sitting on the edge of the roof, sucking on her pacifier, watching the trial, hours passed before a recess was called. During that time her diaper had grown wet. Something she only noticed when she stood and felt it sag. “Thith ith getting ridiculouth,” she mumbled aloud. She reached under her skirt, checking the diaper. It did not seem too wet yet. How had the actual Nursery Knights dealt with their wet diapers? Had their Mr Bears been continually changing them? After another check of her diaper, she decided she did not need to change it yet. She teleported away from the court, to the roof of the building in which Cotton and Black had their offices. On the roof, she called up her scrying spell and scanned the office for Olivia. It felt a little creepy, spying on her ex, but she wanted to know how Olivia was doing. Kristine found Olivia at her desk, working. Through the scrying spell she watched Olivia as she worked, trying to discern how she was doing. The face that had grown so familiar looked much like it had in the time Kristine had known her. Was she looking sad, or happy? Were their dark circles under her eyes, as if she had not been sleeping? And if she had not been sleeping was that because she was spending her nights crying over love lost, or because Tac was keeping her awake. Was that far off look because she was thinking of Kristine, or Tac, or was she just wondering what she was going to have for dinner? Two other women came up to Olivia. Kristine recognised them both, though she only knew one of them, Wendy Davis, another articling student. The other woman was a secretary, but Kristine had never known her name. They asked Olivia for some help with research in the library. Olivia agreed and went with them. The same smiles, the same tone of voice, Kirstine would be hard pressed to find anything that suggested that Olivia was in any way distressed. What did it mean? Olivia seemed pretty friendly with the secretary, who name Kristine learned was ‘Bethany’. Was Bethany Kristine’s replacement? No, she told herself, Olivia would not just jump into a new relationship. Kristine was sure of that. However, after that every smile had Kristine wondering. Maybe Tac had done something? Maybe Tac had made Olivia forget about her. Though Tac had said she wanted to catch Olivia on the rebound, so she could not have made Olivia forget. Kristine ran her hands through her hair and let a small cry of exasperation around her pacifier. It was so hard. She just wanted to know what Olivia was thinking. Was there a spell for that? She would have to ask Tac. “No,” she growled. Bad enough she was watching Olivia, but to try to read her mind? That would push her well into the creepy territory. Kristine was somewhat aware that she needed to poop, but she ignored it. She could hold it, and she was still trying to understand what Olivia was feeling. Someone mentioned Kristine, wondering if it was true what they had heard. Kristine focused on Oliva’s face, trying to figure out what her expression meant. Was it a sad smile? A frown? Was she about to say something, tell them it was true? Then Kristine was distracted by the feeling in her diaper. The warm, bulky mess that was filling the seat. The scrying spell collapsed, and Kristine opened her mouth in an ‘O’ of surprise. Her pacifier fell from her mouth, jerked to a stop by the ribbon. She reached behind herself, put her hands on the seat of her diaper. There was a weight in the back, and she pushed at it, feeling the warm, almost hot, poop squish again her. She gasped at the strange feeling, kept pressing it against her, even as the continued to fill her diaper. She was squatting down, pushing more of the poop into her diaper. She could not stop herself as she continued to rub the mess against her bottom. What was she doing? What was she feeling? It occurred to her she was visible, for the pacifier was not in her mouth, rubbing the back of her messy diaper. “No,” she grunted, and snatched up the pacifier, putting it back in her mouth. She stood, the mess shifting. Envisioning her apartment, she teleported home. “Mithter Bear,” she cried out. Mr Bear showed up, with her magic bag over his shoulder. Within in moments, the bear had a changing pad on the floor and Kristine on her back. He had her messy diaper off in about twenty seconds and began to clean her up. Soon her bottom was clean, oiled up and powdered. Mister Bear had slid a new diaper under her bottom, lowered her onto it and taped it up around her. Kristine was so glad to be clean, happy that she was no longer tempted by a messy diaper. She thanked Mr Bear and sent him away. Lying on the changing bad, legs spread, the magic bag full of diapers and training pants beside her, Kristine wondered what she was going to do. Would she end up rubbing a messy diaper all over her bottom every time she messed herself? Was she going to mess herself more often? Kristine sat up and grabbed up the changing pad, folding it up and stuffing it into her magic bag. She checked the zippered pocket, seeing if there were any new messages. Dismissing the bag, she reversed her transformation. Back in her clothing from the morning, she realised she was still in a diaper. She had not taken it off from when Mr Bear had changed her that morning. “I should have put on the training pants,” she told herself. However, she did not change out of the diaper. She unfolded her couch, sat down on the thin mattress, and pulled the blankets over her head. Tac was glad to be back in the Magic Realm. She breathed in deeply of the air rich in magical energy. “Good to be home,” she said to herself. “Be better if my expense account was reactivated.” Around her was the Great City, built around the gate that led to the mundane world. Ever since she had started dealing with the Magical Girl program, the city had been Tac’s home. While she would have preferred to make her way straight to the entertainment district, the lack of an expense account would make such a trip nothing but depressing. Instead, she made her way across the city, forced to rely on public transport. Not that she paid for it of course. A cat can sit on top of a tram car, and no one ever notices. If you circled the city, always counter widdershins, after always twenty minutes, one would find themselves looking out at a lake that was an impossible blue. Above the lake was a vast globe of polished silver, the impossible colour of the water reflected in it. The globe was the Office of Magic in the Mundane and handled, among many other things, the deployment of Magical Girls. Switching back to her human form after jumping down from the tram, ignoring an angry call from the tram driver, she stepped up on one of the entry portals. There was a sense of movement for a moment, then she was standing in the central foyer of the Office of Magic in the Mundane. Tac did not bother talking to the receptionist golems (cute as they were made, they gave her a significant ‘Uncanny Valley’ vibe). Her job had brought her to the office many times in the past, and she knew where she wanted to go. In the admin section of Magical Girl processing Tac chatted up a pretty little filing clerk and got her to pull the information on who had been in charge of the Nursery Knight’s project. After a bit of bite (the clerk had some mouse in her, and as a cat, Tac had to nip) and tickle Tac was on her way to the office of one Umon Derrypiz. Umon was, unfortunately, as far as Tac was concerned, male. Tac was pretty good with getting on the right side of women. She had a knack for it. With Umon she was just going to have to be professional. That was annoying. She entered his office, decent size, midlevel paper-pusher type of place. There was a man behind a desk. She assumed Umon. He looked up from whatever he had been working on. “Yes?” “Umon Derrypiz?” “Yes. Who are you?” “Tac, Magical Girl liaison, second class.” “I see. How can I help you?” It seemed to be going well. With a smile, Tac crossed the room. “I’m looking for information on the Magical Girl team the Nursery Knights. I understand you are the coordinator of that team.” “I am the coordinator of a lot of teams. I don’t know why you would expect me to be able to help.” Tac was taken aback. She wondered what had happened that made him get all prickly. Maybe he did not like cats. “I suppose,” she said, “but this team was all little girls, around four or five, kind of unique.” “All Magical Girl teams are unique. That is the point.” Again Tac felt as if she had missed something. “Well, the Nursery Knights as a whole went dark about fifteen years ago, which is weird, so I was hoping to get some details about them. Maybe something about their mission required them to disappear?” “Why are you wasting my time with this?” he demanded, pounding a closed fist on his desk. Were they speaking two different languages that only sounded the same? Tac wondered if she was insulting him. She would have to explain things. “I recently activated the last of the Nursery Knights you see. And she wants to meet the other Knights, to get an idea of what is going on. Poor girl, all lost and alone.” Tac decided to play the sympathy card. “You activated the sixth Nursery Knight?” he asked her. He seemed surprised, maybe. “I’ll admit that I was little late,” Tac said, assuming that was the cause of his surprise. “The sixth Nursery Knight is active, has become a Magical Girl?” Same shocked expression. Tac could not figure it. “Yes. Nice girl. Named Kristine.” “I have to go,” Umon said as he stood up. “What? But what about the Nursery Knights?” “Look them up in the records,” he told her as he started towards the door, almost knocking Tac over. “When are you going to be back? I really wanted to talk to you about this?” “I don’t know, urgent business,” he called back to her as he left the room. “Well, that is just great,” Tac said as she left the office as well. “Now I got to look up records. Maybe mousey will help me.” With his quick pace, almost a run really, Umon left her behind. Tac ambled, as was her way, back towards the admin section. She was about halfway there when someone suddenly grabbed her by the shoulder and spun her around. Tac found herself facing an angry looking Gorgeous. Though as far as Tac was concerned Gorgeous could only look angry, so it really meant nothing to her. “What are you doing back here?” Gorgeous demanded. “Hi Gorgeous, good to see you. Did not miss me?” Gorgeous actually growled, showing teeth. Tac raised her hands. “Now Gorgeous, calm down. I’m here working, for my Magical Girl.” That gave Gorgeous pause, and she stopped showing teeth. “What do you mean?” “She wants to meet the other Nursery Knights, perfectly sensible right.” Gorgeous narrowed her eyes. “Why are you here then?” “Cause I can’t find them for her, and she's really a bitch about constantly asking.” Gorgeous frowned. “What do you mean you can’t find them?” “Just that I can’t. I talked to the monitoring station people at the embassy. I met a really nice lady who while looking like an ice queen melted rather nicely when I…” “Tac!” “Right, sorry. Anyway White Out told me that the Nursery Knights had all gone dark about fifteen years ago.” “What?” Gorgeous’ eyes widened. “Yeah, it is odd, right? I came here to speak to the team’s coordinator to see if I could find out anything, for all the good that did me. Acted like he had never heard of the Nursery Knights and then when I told him I was trying to find them for Kristine he was all surprised and then ran off. I mean, I admit I was a little late but…” “Shut up Tac.” Tac took a step back. “Well excuse me.” Gorgeous was frowning, there was a line between her eyes from concentration. “The team went dark, all at the same time?” “Yes. That is what I said.” Tac sighed. “And you came here, and the coordinator got defensive when you mentioned the Nursery Knights?” “I suppose that might be one way of looking at it.” “And as soon as you mentioned the sixth Nursery Knight was active he suddenly had to leave?” Tac nodded. “Yes. Do you want to state the obvious some more Gorgeous?” “Are you that self-absorbed or are you just stupid?” “I think we both know that I'm just that self-absorbed. It's kind of my thing.” Gorgeous shook her head. “Cats,” she muttered softly, and then said, “This coordinator was responsible for the disappearance of the Nursery Knights, or if not responsible played a part in it. And now that he has learned the sixth Knight is active he has run off to arrange her disappearance.” Tac’s eyes widened. “Hey, that makes sense. That bastard.” “Go, go back to the Mundane Realm. You have my permission to use one of the speed passes.” “But what about Umon, and the other Liaisons?” “I’ll look into that. You get back and see to the protection of your Magical Girl.” “Fine,” Tac said, “I’m going.” She paused. “Don’t suppose you might activate my expense account again? Just so I can get a little pick me up before I go?” “Get out of here,” Gorgeous almost screamed. “Man, calm down,” Tac said as she turned and walked off in the direction of the exit. “Don’t see why you are worried. Kristine is probably just fine.” Kristine was not fine. She was sitting on her bed, blankets pulled over her head, wishing she had never become a magical girl. The money and all the other things seemed little compensation for the fact she had been squatting on a roof, rubbing her messy diaper against her bottom. And just maybe she had enjoyed it. She shook her head angrily in denial. Hours had passed, and the room had grown dark around her. She might have sat under her blankets all night if there had not been a knock on her door. At first, she ignored it, but when the knocking turned to a louder pounding, she tossed off the blanket and stood. “What do you want?” she demanded loudly, walking towards the door, slapping the light on. She looked out the peephole. Two men stood at the threshold of the apartment. Both wore suits, the smaller one in dark grey, the taller, heavier one in dark red. “Hello Miss,” the smaller one said, appearing as if he was trying to look back through the peephole. “We’d like to speak to you about your little friend Tac.” Kristine frowned. Had Tac found out something and sent these two as messengers? She made sure the chain was in place and then opened the door, peeking out. “What about Tac?” she asked. She had a better look at the two men than through the peephole. Their suits looked cheap, smelled of mothballs. The smaller one smiled, showing a mouthful of pointy, yellow teeth. “Ah, your little friend is in trouble. Needs you to help her she does. Isn’t that right Mr Badger?” he looked towards the large man. “Most true Mr Rat. Mewling sadly she was, desperate need of saving. Said she loves you she did.” “You’ve never met Tac,” Kristine said, slamming the door closed, bolting it and jumping back. She had no idea who those men were, but if Tac wanted her help, she was pretty sure she would demand it, and there would be no statements of love. “Now Miss, don’t be like that,” Mr Rat said from the other side of the door. The doorknob rattled, and there was a thump as something heavy hit it. Kristine transformed into a Nursery Knight and jammed her pacifier into her mouth, becoming invisible. A moment later the door came free of its hinges and fell in. Mr Badger entered, followed by Mr Rat. Kristine stepped back towards the wall, ready to teleport away. Mr Badger looked around the main room from his place near the door. Mr Rat looked into her kitchen and then the bathroom. “It looks like she's done a runner Mr Badger,” Mr rat said. “Her profile pegged her a teleporter. She could be anywhere now Mr Rat.” “That is rather unfortunate I'm thinking.” “That is so Mr Rat, but were she a time jumper she could be anywhen. You got to look on the positive side.” “You are correct about that Mr Badger. Should we wait here, in case she comes back?” “I think Mr Rat we had best tell his Loftiness about this.” “He won’t be pleased about it Mr Badger.” “That is most certain Mr Rat, but we do ourselves no favours by putting it off.” “Then let us go Mr Badger.” The two left together. Kristine, still invisible, watched them walk down the hall, towards the elevator. She waited until she heard the elevator arrive, listened to the sound of the door closing. She then stepped into the centre of the room, waved her mace at the broken door. It swung up into place, the twisted hinges mostly righting themselves. Good enough for now, she thought and teleported to the front of the building. About thirty seconds later she saw Mr Rat and Mr Badger exit her building and walk to the parking lot. There they got into a beat up old muscle car and then drove away. Kristine followed them, teleporting from rooftop to rooftop. They drove towards the old manufacturing district. While much of the area had been gentrified, old manufacturing buildings turned to condos, the car stopped in one of the regions that had so far avoided renewal. Parking in the lot of an old foundry the two men left their car and entered the building. Kristine followed them. On the first floor was a room that had probably once served as offices. Now it was empty, but for a throne-like chair on which a man with blue skin, dressed in luxe clothing, grey and red and silver. There were several women there, fawning over the man. Kristine noted that all the woman had blank expressions and glassy eyes. “Where is the girl?” he demanded as Mr Rat and Mr Badger entered. He pushed the woman sitting on his lap to the floor as he stood. “Spooked, she teleported away,” Mr Rat said. “Hardly cared about her little cat friend it seems,” Mr Badger said. “What?” the blue man asked. “She looked older than the other Nursery Knights, didn’t she Mr Badger.” “As you say Mr Rat. Less trusting I would say.” “More mature.” “Damn,” the blue man said. “The Duke will not be pleased.” “One would expect,” Mr Rat said. “We’re returning to the Magical Realm. We’ll get a tracker. Best not to let the Duke know of this.” “Most wise, that is,” Mr Badger said. The blue man reached into his jacket, brought out a gem the size of a chicken egg. It glittered and shone with its own inner light. The light grew, Kristine had to look away. When the glow faded, the three men were done. The women all seemed to come to their senses, looked around, confused, scared. Kristine stayed close to them, waited for them to sort themselves out, followed them from the building and watched over them, still invisible, until they had got to the well lit and safer gentrified area. Satisfied that they would be okay, she teleported back to her apartment. There she found Tac, who looked a little relieved when Kristine showed up. “I saw the damaged door and was worried.” Kristine was a little surprised that Tac could be worried. She waved her mace at the door, completing the repairs to it. Then she told Tac what had happened. Tac told her what she had learned. “Thomeone kidnapped the Nurthery Knightth?” “It does look that way,” Tac said. “And now they want me?” “Complete set I would say. Collectors are like that.” “What the hell? What am I thuppothed to do?” “Ah, good question.” “That’th why I athked it.” Tac nodded. “Well, you could try hiding, but you did say they were going to get a tracker.” “That’th what they thaid.” “Right. Well, if they get a true tracker there is no hiding it. It will find you, but they probably won’t get a true tracker.” “Why?” “Cause they are expensive and most end up killing what they are tracking.” “What?” Kristine’s eyes widened. “Well, why else track something?” Kristine had no answer. “So they are probably going to get a lesser tracker. You might be able to hide from that, but you will constantly be on the move.” “I can’t keep running.” Though she thought about it and realised there was nothing in her life that really required her to stay in one place. That might have depressed her were she not worried about the things hunting her. “Well, there is a place you can go where they won’t be able to track you.” “Where?” “The Magical Realm. Whoever is after you might waste weeks hunting the Mundane Realm before they figure you ran to the Magical Realm. And you’ll be a lot harder to track in the Magical Realm. Plus, that’s where we can find out who is behind all this, maybe even stop it.” “Maybe even stop it? Maybe?” “You said they mentioned a Duke. Duke’s can be powerful. I’m not about to stick my tail into a mess like that.” “Thankth a lot,” Kristine said, the lisp taking the edge off the sarcasm. “Listen, Gorgeous seems to care about this, and while she is a pain in my most amazing ass, she does know her stuff. So just trust me. Come to the Magical Realm and maybe we get this sorted out to your benefit. And, most importantly, as I will be doing official work there, they will probably reactivate my expense account.” “Why thould I care about your expenthe account?” “I don’t understand the question,” Tac said after a few seconds. Kristine sighed. “Fine, let’th go to the Magical Realm.”

because the original got corrupted I will be reuploading my stories one chapter at a time every hour. I was up to chapter 16 when the corruption started and have made 3 more chapters since then. also, the first 3 chapters are a little slow but pick up after that. ********************* Chapter 1 “FUCK!” I yelled as I ran true a sea of trees. Behind me was a pack of beasts chasing me. “They're catching up!” the small girl strapped to my back yelled. “I know that Bab!” I yell at her as I continue to run. The beasts aren't that strong but fighting a pack of them is a different story. They could easily surround us and kill us before we could do anything. “Why in the hell did you attack the whole pack!” I yelled to Bab as I jumped over a log. “I thought there was only 3 of them,” she told me “left!” “FROST!” I yelled extending my left hand to blast the beast with cold ice magic. It was only knocked back and soon was chasing us again. “Any ideas?” “Ya don't stop running!” she yelled which really didn't help. It wasn't long however before I had to stop in front of a cliff. A raging current below us and a wild pack of beast behind us. We were out of options. I didn't have my sword. Our mana was getting low. And I can feel Bab’s diaper leaking on my back again!. “You trust me?” I asked bab. “Right now? No!” she told me already knowing what I was going to do. “Good, neither do I,” I tell her before jumping off the cliff. Both Of us screaming on our way down, the only thing I could think about was how I got here in the first place. I was just some average guy. Single, working and saving anything extra to start college in a year or two. The luckiest thing to happen to me in the last 3 years was getting a ticket for a hiking trip my friend won in a contest. Sadly his grandma passed away and was going to her funeral. So as to not waste a ticket he gave it to me. And to be honest, while I was having fun I really didn't pack well for it. I didn't know much about hiking and the clothes I bought weren't the best. Just 3 t-shirts, pants, socks, underwear, and a warm jacket. Luckily I did get myself some hiking boots but I also brought my regular pair for when we set camp and I could be more comfortable. The rest of the gear I got from my friend who was already prepared for himself. Camping Travel Cooking Utensils Set (cooking scissor, blender spatula, meat knife, cutting board, soup spoon, stainless steel turner, cook fork and a tongs,) TETON Sports Mountain Adventurer 4000 Backpack Double Sleeping Bag Sundome 2 Person Tent SURVIVAL Traveller First Aid Kit Magnesium Flints Scraper Stone (3) Pocket knife Flashlight 12 Survivors - Hand Pump Water Purifier Extra rope FiveJoy Military Folding Shovel Multi-Tool I was all set for the trip. But after the second day, something strange happens. A freak storm hit us in the middle of the hike. None of us knew what was going on until suddenly I saw a flash of light and the storm was gone. When I opened my eyes I was inside what looked like ruins. Behind me was an altar with some glowing dust scattered all around it. I was too freaked out about all of this that I ran towards the only exit I could see and into a small town. People who looked like they ware from a renaissance fair just stared wide-eyed at me. To make a long story short, I freaked out. It took the townspeople 2 days to explain to me what had happened and why I was here. I was no longer on earth but a place called Caruma. Here everything we know about fantasy is from here. A long time ago two gods fought over an empty world but their fight always lead to a draw. So they decided if they couldn't decide on the winner with their power they would use something else. They created 15 castles and hid them around Caruma. Each crystal summons something from another world. Poruma the black god summoned monsters. Rilla the wight god summoned warriors. Each crystal could summon 1 warrior every 10 years. And the first to destroy all the crystals would be the winner. Over the next 3000 years, the world was populated by man and monster. Humans built towns and temples around the summoning crystals. Out of the 15, 7 white crystals have been destroyed. While 5 dark crystals have been destroyed. When I asked about how I got here they could only give a guess. 31 years prior the town was attacked by monsters and they destroyed the crystal. But because it was already about to summon a hero the remaining pieces must have spent the last 30 years collecting power to summon me here before the crystal died. They then told me who I could go back. The crystals work as a two-way door. On this side, they gather energy and in 10 years they pull someone over. However, if you bring enough magical energy to them you can have them send you back home. The problem with this, it normally takes a lot of magic to do so and there aren't many people who have that type of magic here. So they suggested I go to a city and see if I could find any magic users to send me back. That's when we reached our final problem. I had no way to get them. When the village was destroyed all those years ago most people left and the ones who stayed are now too old or too young to take me. The only exception is a farm boy named John who was 16 2 years younger than me. But in order for him to take me, I had to first make a contract with him. In this world, the heroes learned how to tap into magic but it came with a curse. Each person had to wear a special bracelet and form a contract with another person. This unlocked the power to use magic. However, both people were cursed to never be away from each other long. Should they be away from each other for 6 hours they both will die. If one dies the other has 6 hours to find someone else to form a bond with or they will die as well. The curse can be lifted once the pair completely one of 3 quests and the bracelets can be removed while still granting the person to use magic. The reason he wants to form a bond is that it would make traveling a lot easier through the woods. He said there aren't many strong monsters here but it's better safe than sorry. I had to wait 3 more days before the contract could be made. During that time I the people let me stay with them knowing I had nothing to offer other than some small work. On my final night there I was staying at an orphanage. There were only 5 kids there. 2 boys 3 girls and women who took care of them. She asked me to stay with them for the night as the kids wanted to see what a person from another world looked like. The kids staying here are from parents who either died, left for adventure, or was just left with no idea who the parents were. It was sad but the kids enjoyed playing with me. All except one who only stared at me. The women later told me Ema was the girl's name and that while she was 14 her body was short and looked more like a 10-year-old. Also, she had some problems. For one she couldn't speak. Anything that came out of her mouth sounded like gibberish. Next, her hands couldn't hold onto things well. So she's been forced to use baby bottles. And lastly, she had to wear diapers. For some reason, her bladder was just too weak. I honestly felt bad for her. By the sounds of it, she would have to be taken care of for the rest of her life. Later that night I said my goodbyes to the kids and followed John into the woods. The contract could only be made during a full moon and when it’s made it will make a bright flash so were in the woods so as to not disturb anyone. “Ok this should be good,” he said as we were pretty far from everyone. “Now then let's begin.” He then began to chant something and soon both of our bracelets were glowing. We both raised our hands to form the contract but stopped when we heard something. The contract stopped as we looked around the forest and heard something. Upon investigating we found one of the kids spying on us. Behind them the woman yelling for the girl. Apparently, she chased after us after we left without telling the women. After a brief talk with the women, she was taking the Ema girl when she ran up to me. “be jvy ruwvj ox jvy woz, gy bojv hog c bozupw.” Ema said. As she grabbed my hand wanting me to kneel in front of her. “What’s wrong,” I asked her. “wuhy ik jvy nogyl op oil toilpye cpz gy xuwvj xol jvy luwvj.” she said. suddenly my bracelet began to glow again. “NO!” John yelled. But it was too late. A bright flash hit my eyes and for a few moments, I couldn't see. I just heard the same thing be repeated. “YES YES YES!” a girl cried out in excitement. “EMA! What did you do!” the women yelled and when I could finally see I saw the Ema girl jumping up and down with excitement. “I finally did it! I'll finally be free!” Ema said until the women grabbed her by the hand. “What did you do!?” the women yelled at Ema. “She just formed a contract. How did she even do that?” John asked. That's when I looked at the girl's arm and saw a smaller bracelet on. “Yep and now I can finally get out of here,” Ema said. “How did you even get a bracelet in the first place. And how did you activate the spell?” John asked. “I stole it from miss dumb cunt here.” Ema said and nodded at the women. “And anyone who knows magick knows that spell.” “I think the bracelets mine.” the women told John. “my husband was an adventure.” “But that still doesn't explain how she knew the spell.” he replied. “Wait, didn't she just say she already knew the spell?” I asked and everyone looked at me. “Wait you can understand me!” Ema yelled. “Of cores I can, you're not speaking gibberish anymore,” I tell her. “What are you talking about?” the women asked. “She’s still talking the same,” John told me. “The bracelets! You can understand me because of the bracelets!” Ema yelled. “What do you mean? How can the bracelets do that?” I asked and looked at John who looked very confused. “Enough of this nonsense I'm taking you home Ema and you're going to be grounded!” the women grabbed the girl and started pulling her away. “Stop! My name isn't Ema it's Bab! And I'm not going anywhere!” she said as she tried to resist the much bigger women. “Wait I need to figure this out,” I tell the women. “I'm sorry but she needs to go home. I think all this stimulant is just being too much for Ema.” she tells me. “IM NOT EMA!” the girl screamed as the women jumped when electricity popped out of the girl's hands. Once let go she ran over and got behind me. “She can already use magic!” John said in amazement. “Ema it's time to come home.” the women told her again. “I'm not Ema, I'm Bab. tell her!” the girl said to me. “She said her name’s not Ema but Bab.” I tell the women and Bab nodded in agreement. “Could she be speaking another language and it's only after the contract was formed that you can understand her.” John asked me. After this, it just became a back and forth discussion about me understanding her. We had to prove I could understand her and after a long time, we finally came to the conclusion that I could. But shortly after that, we got into the main and biggest problem. I was now connected to a tiny child and I still needed to leave! After a long discussion about everything, it was finally decided I had to take Bab with me. Because of the curse, we couldn't be more than 40 feet from each other for more than 6 hours and I couldn't stay in the town. I had to find a way home. So, I wound up adopting Bab and forced to take her with me on my journey. Sadly because of her, John could no longer come with us. The plan was to use the magic to get through safely but without it, it just becomes too much of a risk when he would have to come back alone. Before we left the women gave me a bag full of things for Bab. while her backpack had things like clothing, a pillow, blanket, and a few random things. The bag the women gave me had her more ‘personal’ things. Such as 3 bottles, a changing mat, wipes, baby powder, and a lot of diapers. She even had to show me how to change the little girl. Much to bab’s displeasure. In the end, this is where our adventure of began dropped in a new world.

"Look, Jonathan. This is a very important day for Merge Corp. This commercial might seem like child's play, but if we screw it up we'll lose millions. Now get your ass down here or you'll find yourself in the unemployment office by noon tomorrow!" Charlotte Pickles exclaimed before hanging up her cell phone. "Mrs. Pickles, we're running a bit behind schedule." The director nervously stated. "What's causing the delay?!" Charlottes fumed. "The baby that's supposed to star in the commercial is not cooperating with her mother. The kid won't stop crying." The director explained. "I'll fix this. You just get that camera ready!" The businesswoman declared confidently as she walked away from the director and over to a young mother and her bawling baby girl. "We don't have all day to film this commercial." Charlotte stated bluntly. "I know, I know, but I can't calm down little Madison." The frustrated mother replied. "You're obviously a terrible mom. I have a daughter of my own who's a perfect little angel." The CEO paused slightly. "You can't let this little brat walk all over you or you'll never maintain control of your family like me. Now shut her up and get out there!" The tense situation was broken by the ringing of Charlotte's mobile phone. "Damn it, Jonathan! I..." "That's not an age appropriate toy you're holding in your hand." The woman on the other end of the phone said in a voice reserved for infants. "Look lady, I don't know how you got this number, but you..." Charlotte stopped mid sentence. "That's better. Now I heard you were needing a baby and mommy to star in your diaper commercial?"

Chapter 1: In The Garden